ANNIE'S GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS

Annie Arkwright from Accrington, Lancashire at the Commonwealth Games.

There is some good news and some bad news.

The Bad news first.  Annie turned up for the table tennis with her tennis racquet and table cloth, and was disqualified immediately. She was devastated. Her last chance of a medal (or so she thought).

The Good news now.  Annie got 2 gold medals but NOT for competing.  One was for being the most friendly competitor and one for trying the hardest.  She was in tears and received a standing ovation as the first medal was presented, by the President of the Commonwealth Games, Justine Time. Then the second put round her neck by the Chieftain of the McHaggis Clan.

Scottish BBC reporter Mick MacMuckle interviewed her and through her tears she smiled and said "Eeh lad I were only being me, a friendly Lancashire Lass, it's in our genes and I live by - Do as you would be done by.  On my 2nd medal, well I always tries to to me best, then I have no regrets".  And then she did the Usain Bolt stance for her official portrait!

Annie has been chosen to lead the singing of - I would walk 500 miles (not kilometres) a Pretenders song, and the final song - Old Lancs Sign.  Please sing along with her tonight if you are watching the Closing Ceremony.

Have a reet grand Sunday all of yee (Says my friend Annie).

ANNIE ARKWRIGHT/COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Annie Arkwright from Accrington, Lancashire is appearing in the Commonwealth Games in Bonnie Scotland.  She is representing England.

The first picture shows my friend Annie (the favourite), at the start of the Upside Down Doggy Paddle race.  The opposition, as you can see, have left her on the starting blocks.  And I wonder why?  Just look at those love lorn eyes.  Can you see the hunk in the background.  It's Bruce Brews from Australia, the winner of the Gold medal for the High Dive Board Belly Flop category.  Annie finished the 50m but it took her 39.58 mins as she was daydreaming all the way to the finishing line.  The crowd went wild as she finished, but Bruce was nowhere in sight.

Rumours have been abounding that Annie has been throwing up at the Games.  This is what happened.  She has been practicing Tossing the Caber for a long time (a Scottish sport) when it should have been Throwing the Javelin.  Anyway when she turned up with the caber (basically a tree trunk) they did let her throw up.  When throwing up she throwed up wrong and it bounced on the ground and throwed up behind her!!!!  So basically she threw up minus 4 feet.  It's sad to say another medal chance slipped away.  She was sooooo upset she actually threw up  ...............  poor Annie.

She designs and makes her own uniform and her sponsor is 'Polly's Lancashire Ice Cream'.

BRUSHO FUN

I keep venturing back to paint in Brusho.  It's exciting and unpredictable, like watercolour, but even more so, and vibrant as well.

These were painted in the garden.  Brusho is a powder that you paint with. Sometimes you sprinkle direct on the paper and spray first, so in the garden you get fun things happening when it's a bit breezy.

If you would like to know more about Brusho I will put some links on at the end of the post.

Venice in Brush! Sprinkled on the paper and sprayed.  Each colour has other coloured crystals in it, so you can get varying effects.  I did not draw the buildings in the distance just drew the horizon and where I wanted the posts.  You lose the drawing somewhat anyway.

And, of course, being in the garden I had to paint the washing.  The washing is NOT as dirty as it looks, honest!!!

Have a wondrous weekend one and all.

Now for some links for you.  Firstly, if you are on facebook, check out Beautiful Brusho Moments.  Also Joanne Boone Thomas's facebook page,  who is the queen of Brusho.  She has done a DVD and ebook. It's magic! These can be bought from the SAA (Society for All Artists). www.saa.co.uk. or a you tube clip of her using brusho  www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcs6NNczOqM   

PESKY FLYING ANTS

Firstly,  thank you all for following my blog and to those who comment a big thank you.  Please, if you follow me on facebook, don't feel you have to respond on both posts. I am trying not to spend so much time on the internet, but find looking at other blogs is inspirational and I hate to miss anyone, and really do try and catch up with them all.  Though I am sorry I don't always have time to comment.

This blog is annoying me, one minute I'm signed in then I am not!  What is going on?  Fingers crossed I can post this without any trouble.

Well it's hot here and muggy, so out come the pesky flying ants. Loads of them all at once.  Birds diving to catch this delicios bounty.  So I thought, perhaps they are not so horrible after all and proceeded to find a little picture of one in a 'spot that insect' type of book, and armed with a magnifying glass looked at one trapped in a spiders web. Here he is.

I decided to zuzz him up a bit, so he didn't look so creepy.

ROSES GALORE

Right well, I hate painting flowers.  Tried to paint a rose and it was awful.  So decided to master a nice loose rose if it killed me!  Here is my progress.  The way I did it reminded me of when I was at school, cramming just before the exams.

First of all I aplogise for duplicating some of the roses.  I have been trying out collage editing using Picasa and Photoshop.  It's taken that long that I have not bothered checking them!

First of all I sketched some roses to try and understand the form of these beautiful flowers, pencil, elegant finewriter and stabilo water soluble.

Here are several roses.  These are influenced in most part by Jean Haines, Hazel Soan and Janet Whittle.  I am using free paper that I got from an Art Festival (St Cuthberts paper) and have decided I don't like Hot pressed.  Also trying different colours (some not real) therefore trying to add more fun to the exercise.

Now progressing I feel and becoming more experimental.  The real word is winging it!  Most of all the above roses and the other collages are without drawing.  Some painted from roses in the garden.  Middle bottom is a bright brusho painting  which it is in fact quite large and is landscape format, as is the bottom right hand one which is on the impossibly unpredicatable Yupo paper.  Now I was getting to enjoy painting flowers, a feat in itself.

Ah, at last!  I feel I have made progress.  The first is loosely based on a Janet Whittle painting in one of her books and the second is a tribute to my lovely Mum, who loved her garden and her roses.  I picked two different roses from my garden and put them a glass top hat that belonged to her and which I turned upside down and put some fresh water in for the roses.

I actually painted over 40 roses!  I feel all the effort was worthwhile.

A serious post for once.

I wish you all a wonderful rest of the weekend. xx

HINT FOR PLACING PEOPLE

In case you haven't tried this idea, here is what I do sometimes when wondering where and how big to place people in a painting.

I often use a piece of acetate or see through plastic.  Drawing with a water soluble pen, or wax crayon I draw several sizes of people and then move them around the painting to see where they look most suitable. 

Simple idea but very effective.

This is a small piece of acetate, to show you how I used this idea on my recent Scotland painting. I do have a larger sheet.  If you use crayons you can also try different colours

This can be other things too, eg boats, trees etc

 I should have put the man in red on the right somewhere, but for now he is staying where he is.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

ANNIE ARKWRIGHT v. SERENA WILLIAMS

Annie Arkwright from Accrington, Lancashire v. Serena Williams from t'other side of  Th'Atlantic.

Annie's looking a bit pale.  Hasn't used her spray tan as the rules at Wimbledon are 'predominently white' hence her delicate skin colour!

Annie, looking resplendent in white, is sponsored, not by Nike and it's famous tick (pronounced Nighkey), but by Nookey and a reverse tick, with a gold A above.  She was wearing designer clothes by the famous fashion designer Pri Mark, and specially made shoes from S Melly.  The racquet by Dunflop.

Annie lost 6-0, 6-1.  The crowd went bonkers when she won a game, against all the odds.  First 15-0 was when she served an ace just as Serena Williams's nicker elastic snapped, 30-0 another ace as Serena was hitching up her dress, 40-0 when Serena's bra strap broke (who then threw a strop) and the winning shot,

was when Annie unleashed a storming forehand, just as Serena was picking her nose - that'll teach her!

When interviewed by a Lancashire Sports Reporter, called Sue Darker, she beamed "It were a reet grand game.  I could see the fear in 'er eyes!  I could'a won.  I blame it on me big brekkie.  Eggs, bacons, sausages and three rounds of bread fried in dripping.  I'll be fitter next year - I'll leave out a slice of bacon".

Annie Arkwright shot to fame for going from a  staid librarian to a red basque exotic dancer, after reading Fifty Shades of Grey.  You can read more about her if you click on the label Friends of Mine.  

ESCODA - NEW FAVE BRUSH

Always wanted a big posh sable brush. I was lucky and  I sold two paintings so had enough money to buy one.  I have become a convert to Escoda because of their quality and price compared to others that are similar.  The point is to die for.  Anyway got a 16 Reserva Kolynsky Sable and painted practically this whole painting with it, except the fine detail. Which at a push I could have tried I suppose.

The view is of a beautiful spot in Scotland.  The Bonnie Prince Charlie Monument near Fort William.  Taken from a photograph I took on my recent holiday there.

This was just after heavy rain, suddenly the sun came out, but this man still had on his lovely red jacket, so had to put him in the foreground.  I am going to darken the sky a bit and feel the man should have been on the right hand side to balance the painting.  But what the hell, I am only playing.  And enjoy playing with my new brush I did!

SCOTLAND AND SKETCHES

Here's a continuation of my Scotland trip.  One day I threw a tantrum as I didn't want to go on a long, climbing walk in mud and bog.  So, yahey, I had an afternoon all to myself to paint.  I found a lovely spot by the edge of a Loch with a nearby shelter.  I had to dash in a couple of times because of a storm!  It was so quiet and lovely and I enjoyed every second.

We went on a steam train - pic sketched on the train from a brochure

Just had to paint this little red boat (can you see his smiley face).  My hubby was in a panic as we had just over 15 mins before the train left!

View from the corridor outside our bedroom. We stayed in a little castle complete with old baths, turrets but a beautiful garden full of rhodedendrums (can't spell it)

This is what I painted when I had my free time.  The Loch is a sea Loch and is Loch Shiel.  Apparently there were otters and deer nearby, but I never saw them.

Have a lovely Sunday!

OCH AYE TH'NOO

Have just had a wonderful few days up in the Highlands of Scotland.  Spent lots of time of the train getting there.  Here are some sketches done to help pass the time away.  Not easy on a wobbly train.

Just used a tiny tin of paints and a water brush pen, and a permanent 0.5 black pen

Sorry to any of you thinking of buying this car, it is NOT as short in the bonnet as I have made it!  Once I had drawn it in pen I couldn't rub it out!

A few things I found in the newspaper.

All done in a 6 x 4 W&N sketch book