BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

Had such a busy week.  Gardening mostly, so painting with plants!  Anyhow here is my arty news.

Easter Challenge, kept til the last and done with care.  Sue D'Arcy-Masters husband is connected with the Southport Lifeboat Station, and challenged me to paint the old station (a new one is going to be built) with the boat in front of it. So this is what I came up with.  Guess what, they have had it framed and it is going up in the new building when it is finished. How lovely is that!

I wanted something to put in pencils that have been kept at the back of a drawer.  I thought I might use them if they were to hand, so made these.  I stuck on all the Easter Challenges that you out there set me, so I can remember the fun I had over the Easter weekend painting them. Empty baked bean tins and glue that doubles up as varnish were used.

And I took my last brusho mini workshop.  I think they all enjoyed and learned from what I passed on from my workshop with Joanne Boon Thomas.  This is one of the paintings we did (we managed 3 in 2 hrs) and this was by the far most successful of the ones we did.  More brusho is being ordered and the word is spreading.

I am hoping for a quiet relaxing week this week.  Putting my feet up and the odd afternoon tea.

Enjoy whatever you are doing, wherever you are.

LAKE DISTRICT EN PLEIN AIR

While in this lovely area, I went out with a proper artist, and we managed to find two fine days to paint on the spot.

I am still recovering from painting this one!!!!   It kept raining so I kept picking up the seat easel and running to shelter, however, one of the times I tripped, fortunately a chair broke my fall, or I probably would have hit my head on a wall.  But boy did I hurt my hand, and my knee.  Should have painted the bruise, it was large and full of rich colours!  It is the view from Allan Bank, a small National Trust property on a hill overlooking the lake at Grasmere.  Wordsworth once lived there.

Sizergh Castle Near Kendal.  A lovely spot with beautiful sloping gardens. I felt I ruined this, as at the last minute I decided to darken the water.  Anyway it was a lovely spot and I enjoyed myself.

Have a wonderful weekend to one and all.

MEMORY SKETCHES

Had trouble getting into my blog!!  Wonder if anyone else has had problems today.

Anyway, here are some personal sketches of my recent visit to the Lake District in the North West Corner of England.  Six of us hired a lovely stone cottage and these were all sketched around Grasmere (of Wordsworth fame, the poet) I wandered lonely as a cloud ta da. Also there is a wonderful Artist and his father  well know in this area. If you like Lakes and Mountain paintings do check out this artist, sadly no longer with us, William Heaton Cooper.

Here are me little ole sketches.  Done in a small W & N sketchbook using water soluble stabilo pens and a touch of an Elegant Finewriter pen too.

View from the Daffodil Garden across the River Rothay towards a lovely tea room with outside space.  This Village is built in Lakeland stone which is a beautiful colour, similar to the water in this picture.  

Right in the centre along side the small green, there is this Gallery of Heaton Cooper's paintings and also a well stocked Art Shop (I always buy something, can't help it)

Most of you know I hate painting flowers - so can't believe what is happening to me, I actually sketched a couple of wild flowers tucked in under a wire fence.  On the other side were new little lambs, black and white. Ahhhh

View from right near our cottage overlooking the fields filled with sheep and lambs

One of my favourite places in the whole world!

EASTER CHALLENGE - THE END

Here are the last paintings (bar one which I cannot publish yet) of my Easter Challenge, where I asked you bloggers and fb friends to give me subjects to paint over the Easter Holiday.

Anenome - Ruth H Harris (nervous doing this as she is a beautiful flower painter)

A neighbour asked me to paint her house Carol Hodge, this picture was taken when we had such a long cold white winter

Albert Dock, Liverpooo - Val Downie - She suggested somewhere locally.  I took this picture in the summer. It is right near the Beatles Story exhibition, and the band were singing Beatles songs.  I cropped the painting so the conentration was on the father and son Liverpool Football Club supporters

Lupins - Judith Farnworth - very kind of her seeing as I don't like painting flowers!

Neglected corner - Joanne Boon Thomas - Brush and bleach.  Spot the Easter interlopers

Self Portrait - Laura Moore - rather flattering I think!

Sloth - actually two and the picture is from PMP Clare Smith.  Found this looks rather stripey, perhaps a new rare species of lesser striped sloth.

Thank you all for commenting and following my Challenge.

Now then, have a wonderful weekend (early wishes) but won't be posting for a while as I am burned out painting.

EASTER CHALLENGE PART 3

Here are the latest of my challenges set by you here on my blog and on facebook.  Talk about being taken out of my comfort zone!!!!  

Farm Machinery - Pam Williamson - Didn't enjoy doing this one and thought it was, what I have written in the corner.  Scrap without the 'S'

Icicles - Carol Hodge - A neighbour asked me to paint her house 

This is taken at the Albert Dock in Liverpool - Val Downie - I cropped this one so that your focus is on the Father and Son Liverpool Football supporters

Lupins - Judith Farnworth - you always get one bright spark who challenges you to something you don't like painting (flowers)

Hope you had a lovely holiday weekend folks.  Only a few to post later.

EASTER CHALLENGE PART 2

I'm doing an Easter Challenge..... I asked people to take me out of my comfort zone and suggest subjects for me to paint over the Easter Holidays, as I am not doing anything else.  Here is my next batch

Chicken - Debbie Nolan.  Guess what kind of egg I was eating.  Just for research you understand, for this painting.

Easter Bunny - Ngaire Magalotti - an Aussie friend on facebook.  Actually the orange in reality is really bright.  Transparent Orange

Farm Equipment - Pamela Williamson.  Far too tight painting this, wasn't happy with it at all

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury and the photograph is by Theresa Jones on PMP. - Idea from Sue Caton.    Supposed to be a drizzling and misty day. I am having trouble linking this to the photographer so apologise to her and will get it sorted as soon as I can.

Hat and gloves of the old fashioned Easter kind.  - Celeste Bergin.  Thanks for bringing back memories

Chicken - Dana Mallon.  A chicken mad lady suggested this one.  It is done in Brusho!

I do hope you are having a brilliant weekend and are not feeling too sick with eating loads of chocolate.

EASTER CHALLENGE

Well I have been overwhelmed by the interneters who have given me subjects to paint over the Easter.  And here are the ones and whipped through yesterday.  The hardest ones, though, are ready and waiting for me.

Helen H Trachy - Woman cleaning windscreen with broom.  This is no ordinary woman it is Me Grand Friend Annie Arkwright.  No ordinary broom for her!

Carol Davidson - Horse.  Actually it is Polly Panicking Painting Peoples Pictures

Beverley Wells - A banana that doesn't look like an ordinary banana painting - took ages thinking about this one, and created a kind of stained glass window. Brusho.

Rita Vaselli - she had seen on facebook a picture of real sheep but they had been coloured and also online there is a page about William The Lurcher, so asked his owner if I could paint him and here is the combination.  William dreaming of sheep and sheep having nightmares about William

Carol Hodge - Cream cake (no calories in this one)

Gill Fox and Martine Weare - I combined one here.  A nighttime scene with the moon and a painting in one colour - here I used Indigo.

There are a mixture of sizes from postcard size to 15 x11" and the challengers are from Blogland and Facebook Land, so thank you all for taking me out of my comfort zone.  All except the bananas are in Watercolour, the Bananas are in Brusho!

I'll be back with some more of these challengers.

Happy Easter everyone

FRANCE & CHALLENGE ME

Have been cruising in the South of France.  Zis was a wonderful 'oliday.  Beaucoup de sunshine and beaucoup de wonderful places to visite!  My objective was to do one sketch each day, even if only 5 mins. Here are a few sketches followed by an Easter Challenge. More of that later .....

Tourancon - A Medieval Castle and sketched whilst the boat was moored.

Avignon - I was singing "Sur le pont D'Avignon..." as I was sketching this bridge that is not complete

Within the walls of this hospital in Arles,  Van Gogh stayed and painted.  It is called Espace Van Gogh now!

Avignon from outside the city walls.  You can see the Palace where Popes used to live at one time, based in France.

Now then time for a Challenge.  Last year I asked you for subjects to paint over Easter, as I have, hopefully, four days to myself to paint (hubby is off playing or watching Golf).  So bombard me with ideas and take me out of my comfort zone yet again.  I so enjoyed it last year, I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and get on with my paintings.  Any subject at at all.

Sorry I haven't been looking at your blogs, but will be back up to date soon.

FAST AND SLOW, LARGE AND SMALL

I've been painting animals recently, elephants in brusho, which you have seen before, and here is a small snail, his name is Sebastian. I painted him because I came across a poetry book I won for being first in poetry when I was at my first school.  I saw this poem called The Snail's Dream by Oliver Herford.

A snail who had a way, it seems,
Of dreaming very curious dreams,
Once dreamed he was - you'll never guess!
The Lighting Limited Express!

And I thought, ah ha, never painted a snail before, so here he is.  I won't paint one again, actually I can't stand them, but actually their shell is quite interesting.  I used wax to try and get the sense of texture and a shiney, slimey body.

And next is Sharon Whitley's Monthly Challenge a Tiger.  This one was a difficult one, so kept putting it off and painted it on the very last day of March.  The photograph is quite stunning and is by Gary Jones, Wildlife photographer.  And I thank him for sharing this photograph with us.  If you look at her blog you will see a link to their website, where you can see her wonderful birds and animal paintings  and  Gary's wonderful photographs. Called Portraits of Nature

And today I am off, with a good friend of mine. to learn to paint like Turner, at the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight.  Now there's a lovely village.

INGRID'S BEAUTIFUL FLOWER

Not very often I feel like painting a flower.  So when I saw this, and Ingrid Ormestad said that I could paint it, I couldn't resist.  Most of you may know I don't like painting flowers.  Well - I enjoyed this one, just a little bit, and it's not too bad.

Thank you http://ingridormestad.blogspot.co.uk. A beautiful artist. Do go to her blog and look at her 30 day challenge paintings especially.