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

BUM, DRAWERS & TURNER

Had a call from Lady Lever Art Gallery on Thursday morning, that a place was available that day on a sketching and painting outdoors workshop, free, no charge. Panic you can imagine.  As it was about 90 mins away. And I hadn't had my breakfast! BUT I made it with time for a cuppa. Phew.

It is a beautiful art gallery near Liverpool, built to house the works of art bought by  a man who built a beautiful village called Port Sunlight, for his workers to live in.  Famous for it's Sunlight Soap and I think Persil is a Lever product.

Because of the rain we first sketched in the gallery.

We had three subjects to paint.  First one a Statue.

2nd - View through a doorway.  I did this view because there is a W M Turner exhibition on at the moment, which I absolutely loved.  Most of the painting are watercolours.

3rd a piece of furniture.  This is a cabinet from 1670, loads of little cubby holes.  Wish I had taken a photograph of this.


These were 20 min. sketches.  After lunch we had to paint one of these sketches but using unrealistic colours, wet in wet washes washes blending and ending with pen.  So because the Turner exhibition was special to me I painted that view.

So a fabulous last minute arty day and great fun as I love wet in wet.

HAVE A FAB WEEKEND EVERYONE. 

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!