Art Art & more Art!

Hello All!

Well I am now a few months into running my new art workshops and I have to say I am absolutely loving them and they are going so well. I have met some fantastic people and it feels wonderful to inspire others to try new things!

The courses I have run so far are 'An introduction to Art Journaling' and I am in the middle of a 5 week 'Expressive Drawing' course. I have also been tutoring one lady one to one in abstract art and getting set for some lovely Christmassy one off workshops over the next few weeks.

While all this means is I have less time than usual I have found myself totally inspired and keep sneaking off whenever I have a minute to work on my own stuff and to come up with new ideas for workshops.

Here are a few shots from the recent workshops:

It is lovely to see how different everyone's work is. I am particularly proud of the drawing course. Some of the participants were nervous and unsure of their abilities to start with however two of them were so proud of their drawings they have since framed and put up their work at home.

As well as the workshops I have been very busy with a new abstract canvas, here's how it looks so far:

At the moment I seem to be attracted to yellows which is unusual because it is not a colour I normally use. That said I am loving how this one is turning out!

More to come some! Bye for now xxx

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

Finished Painting and Creative Play

Hello All,

I haven't had the time or inspiration to do a lot lately and I think cold evenings mean I end up curling up under a blanket rather than doing any art. Today however I am not at work, the kids are at school and it is freezing outside. The perfect day for some creative play.  So I just got a piece of A3 paper and a selection of art materials, set myself up with some music and a cuppa and just let myself play with the materials, not thinking too much about it:

So far so good and it felt good to be creating. I also wanted to share my latest painting which is now finished:

I am really pleased with this one, I love all the metallic colours combined with the subtle pinks. 

well back to another cuppa, maybe a biscuit and some more creative play before the it's time to pick up the kids.

Bye for now xxx

New painting

Hi All,

I have tried to start the new year as I mean to go on with the start of a new mixed media abstract painting.

I started with the texture with modelling paste and glass bead texture gel both free hand and through various stencils. I then started adding colour to the smooth areas using pigment powders. I decided to use a box canvas and I am enjoying the texture spreading around the sides.

My aim is to ensure that I put aside time every week for painting and hopefully get some of them exhibited somewhere. fingers crossed.

Bye for now xxx

New Painting

Hello All,

Autumn is well and truly here or actually already on its way out with the first snow fall the other day. Christmas adverts are back on the telly and Christmas music in the shops. This is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the colours of autumn and the lovely bright crisp cool days (before it gets miserable cold and wet) The build up to the Christmas season is one the best bits with cosy evenings under blankets and delicious food ahead.

Inspired by the colours I got stuck into another painting:

To me it feels like autumn leaves in the rain. I like how the texture softens into a wash of colour like the colour is draining out down the canvas.

I hope you like it! Bye for now xxx

New Painting

Hello All,

After completing my last painting I was inspired so much by the combination of textures and vivid colour that I dived straight into another and have managed to get it finished relatively quickly:

This one makes me feel like I am under the sea looking up to the surface at the light and pattern of the current. It is full of different textures and shimmery bits that catch the light:

Here is a detail of that texture. I didn't paint this as a commission, just for enjoyment but luckily it has sold nearly straight away.

I am now trying to focus on arranging some workshops as I haven't been able to fit them in now for almost a year. These are definitely top priority now! I have also been hired to deliver a children's autumn themed craft party next month so I have that to organise too.

I will be advertising my workshops via my website which you can link to from here so look out for them! 

Bye for now

xxxx

Finished Painting

Hello All,

Just a quick post to share with you my completed 'painting from nature'

I am really pleased with how it has turned out and I think I have managed to capture the texture, patterns and colours of the stone. I think the painting and stone work best together so I will be getting them framed  side by side. This has inspired to make a series of these with different textures from nature, perhaps all stones or I could include leaves, tree bark etc.

Anyway I hope you like it. This week I am back to my altered book journal....more on this to follow.

Bye for now xxx

Painting From Nature

Hello All,

On Friday I handed over my latest commission and it was well received; it was lovely to see her reaction. Letting go of paintings when you have been working on them for so long is sometimes hard but when you see how much they are appreciated it makes up for it.
Lately I seem to have lost my art mojo and haven't been doing a great deal other than the odd art journaling page. With this commission completed though I am starting to feel inspired to get some more painting done. My youngest daughter goes to school in September and although I will miss her terribly I want to take the opportunity to paint a lot more, get some more commissions and possibly (if i'm lucky) a few exhibitions!

This weekend I came across a stone I picked up in an old copper mine a while back. I loved it for its colours, textures and the flecks of glitter throughout it. I have been meaning to paint it and so decided to have a go on a small A5 canvas:

Here is where I got to so far. I think I am matching the colours quite well but need to work on adding depth and texture. Back at Uni I used nature as my inspiration quite a lot and it is nice to get back to that for a bit! This might inspire a bit of a series perhaps, mounted with the stones beside them?! who knows. I will continue to work on it and see how I go.

Bye for now! xxx

A bit of painting keeps me happy!

Hello All,

Phew after a frantic week I was very ready for a nice quiet weekend. I have been busy at work having recently taken on a new role which is challenging so I am still trying to get my head around it all. Then I had something on every evening and it all left me totally frazzled. A spot of painting was just what I needed. The kids were playing nicely so I set myself up with a cuppa and worked on my ongoing commission. Here is where I got to:

My daughter who is 7 said looking at it made her feel she was inside the middle of a rainbow where it is raining and sunny at the same time. I love that description :)

Recently I have also taken up a new hobby.... aerial hoops. I love it (despite the inevitable bruises) I love doing something so different and exciting. With this in mind I also, whilst I had my paints out, did a journal spread about it.

page in progress

The figure is me, taken from a photo taken at one of the classes. I like the textured background with the relatively simple spread. It definitely expresses how I feel when I am up on the hoops. 

Back to another busy week now, especially good cause it's my birthday on Friday!

Bye for now xxx 

New pieces in progress

Hello All,

I have been feeling a lot chirpier this week, the sun is shining, its by birthday next week and life is good. Busy but good :)

This weekend I started the third little canvas of my commission. I have added the first few layers, trying to tie it in with the patterns and colours of the two I have done so far. Here is where I got to:

I am not entirely happy with the left hand side yet but it is coming along. I have mostly used inks and pigment powders so far. 

I was enjoying the Moroccan pattern so much I decided to start a journal page using the same:

I started with a really vivid pink but then decided to layer it with the copper colour. I really like the shine on it and it feels like something you might find abroad somewhere like Morocco or Tunisia. I am just not sure where to go next with it. I am letting it sit for a while until I decide.

Its a busy week this week and next but I will try and find some time to finish it off. (and work on the canvas)

Bye for now xxx