Finished painting of my daughter

Hello All!

I have been so busy and so inspired over the last few weeks. I have been finding time to do something creative most days which has been fantastic. On top of that I have been speaking to a group based in Chesterfield called Straight Curves about the possibility of running some workshops there. That is all looking really positive. I will let you know when those start to take place!

Today I thought I would share the finished painting of my daughter. In my last post I talked about starting one of her and had done an initial sketch. Well here she is:

I can't tell you how pleased I am will how she turned out! It was a challenge but I enjoyed every minute of it. It really captures her cheerful bubbly nature. I am looking to start one of my youngest daughter next and I will keep you posted!

Bye for now xxxxx

Portrait Practice

Hello All!

Today I thought I would share some of the portraits I have been working on. I decided after watching 'the big painting challenge' on the BBC that it was about time I practiced painting 'well known' faces. I have never had a problem painting people I don't know very well, but the more I know the person the harder I find it to capture them. Family members are difficult but the hardest by far is a self portrait.

Well practice makes perfect and so practice is what I'm doing!

I started with my mum. I did a sketch of her first:

That went well and once I have done a sketch I feel more confident that I can translate it into paint.

So here she is. I am really pleased with how she turned out and it is the best painting I have ever managed of her! With this boost in confidence I tried to paint myself:

I enjoyed working in monotone for this one and it looks quite effective over the wash of colour. I look really serious but that is because I was looking in a mirror and concentrating! It didn't turn out too badly but doesn't look entirely like me. 

I am now on to the next one and I have really set myself a challenge by choosing to paint my daughter! Not only a face I know as well as my own but a child's face which in itself is difficult to do. So far I have only done my first sketch but so far so good;

I hope you enjoyed looking at my progress so far. I'll keep you posted on how the latest one turns out!

Bye for now xxxx

Finished Painting - You are only as old as you feel.

Hello All,

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed getting by teeth stuck into a portrait these last few weeks! It has been a challenge but I have loved it and it is always exciting to see them appearing in front of you as they take shape. Here is the final piece:

I wanted to keep the background quite simple but fun. When I came across the photograph I loved how despite initial appearances she is clearly young at heart, wearing her boppers. I hope I have managed to express this. I do believe it's true what they say... that you are only as old as you feel!

Bye for now xxx

Portrait Progress

Hello All,

Over the last few weeks I have been working on my new portrait and really enjoying it. It's been great getting back into painting a portrait and although its challenging I love seeing it take shape. I have taken some shots as I have been going along so you can see the progression. Here it is so far!

I am now on to the background which I am going to keep quite simple with a little texture and coloured with pigment powders. I hope you like her so far, I will post a final picture when it is finished.

Bye for now!

 xxx