de peren

I was working this morning, this afternoon I had to go for a routine blood test, so really didn't think I'd have time to paint.
But thanks to the superb care at Queen's Hospital Romford, I was in and out for my blood test within ten minutes!
Which meant painting time and a very happy me :)

So I nipped over to Judy's blog, De Draad Aquarellen HERE who recently showed us a step by step to painting loose pears.
Absorbing the lesson, I drew my own pears and had a go at the technique.
The result, whilst not as loose as Judy's, is one I am very pleased with.
My red, yellow and blue were what I had to hand, not the same colours, so that's different too ! 
Nonetheless, in gratitude for Judy taking the time to do a step by step to explain her loose technique, I called this painting :

de peren 

Have you met Kathryn?

Have you met Kathryn over at Studio at the Farm?

She recently asked me if she could paint a photo of Missy, which had inspired her.
This is the photo, go HERE to see the stages and to enjoy Kathryn's wonderful blog...

As Memory Fades

here's the finished painting:

As Memory Fades

The idea was to paint what happens as memory fades.
The blocks represent the memory that somehow can be grasped, almost right but not quite perfect. The shadows around some of the blocks represent the certainty that this was how it was - yet they lead nowhere. The lily represents the vitality of life and the desperate need to hold on to something that was once familiar and loved. 

But you don't need to know all that :)
You could just enjoy it for being different :) 

available HERE as a print, poster or card.

Water lily 2, more stages

Here we go with more stages to my latest water lily

Blocking in some more greens

blocking in some more blues

this is the right way up and I've added some more greens and blues to unify the whole. You can also see in this photo what a difference an overcast day makes to the colours in the photo! Now, there is only the lily left to be painted, and then she's done :)

Artistic Inspiration

Inspiration is all around, if you have a creative mind!

Recently, my friend Lynne got married up in Scotland and these beautiful shortbreads were her wedding favours. She kindly sent some to Paul and I, as we sadly weren't able to attend on the day.

While I was photographing them for a possible painting, who should be waiting, oh so patiently, just in case there was a treat for her?

As it happened, Lynne had very kindly sent a Dentastix also, so Missy didn't feel left out :)

I leave it to your imagination as to which will be painted first!

The memory of Love

Here's my finished painting - thanks for the suggestions on what to watch for. I hope you enjoy this finished piece.

The memory of Love

and then I thought, "what happens as memory fades?" 

From talking to others, a thing seems to be remembered in pieces, not in the whole.  A little block here, a little block there, so you get the flavour of the memory, if not the whole scene. 

Which means, don't you know - there's another painting coming out of my brush.... here are the first two photos of it ! 

As Memory Fades... stage one and the close up

waterlily, nearly there

here are the next stages :

adding some more greens to the lily pads

 adding some greens and yellows to the pads for variation. Starting on the waterlily, adding some new gamboge for the yellow and a mix of f.ultra and aliz crimson for the shadows on the lily, and the water droplets.

 Lifting some whites in the pond, to give an illusion of ripples and depth to the water. I'm almost there, but am spending a little while looking, because I feel the large lily pad may need adjusting.

Whatever I decide, the next picture you see will be the finished one :) 

waterlily, more stages

Glad you all enjoyed seeing Missy again.
We've had such dreadful weather in our part of the country, we haven't been out very far afield. Hopefully that can change soon and you'll see more of our little precious :)

Here are some more stages to the waterlily

deepening the blue of the water with french ultramarine
and adding the palest wash of sap green to unify the leaves

 adding different strength washes of green gold, sap green, yellow ochre to give recession to the leaves

 and in this one, just painting the shadows under the leaves
with a mix of french ultra and aliz crimson

Hope you're enjoying the step by step :)

Missy's slot and an intro

Good morning all.

Never far from my side is the faithful Missy.
Here she is, wanting to be near whilst I had the easel set up indoors and made a start on a waterlily painting. She's just adorable and I feel blessed that she shares my life.

This is what the painting looks like, close up.

No drawing at this point, and no masking either. Just a white space in the shape of a lily, left unpainted. More progress paintings next week :)


and then I wanted to introduce you to a painter you may not have come across before. His name is Ross Lynem and he paints the most beautiful, colourful art. Take a look at his blog HERE .

He is a North Light featured artist - and every brush stroke shows me why!  One day, when finances allow, I'd love to own a piece of his work. Do go over and take a look, you'll enjoy his painting, I'm sure.

Pancakes with James

Over on Painting Friends, I had made a challenge to paint breakfast.
This is another of my paintings to depict just that.
The other two are Breakfast Chez Moi HERE
and Breakfast on the Patio HERE

This is my third breakfast painting and I think the last.
Named after James Martin the chef, whose recipe for pancake with chocolate sauce was the one I followed to create this.
Whether you like the painting or not, I can recommend the recipe.
It was delicious :)

Pancakes with James

15" x 11"

Arches 140 Rough

WN aq paints

Echoes of Youth

Did I ever tell you I love to read?
Reading was my passion before I ever picked up a brush to paint.
Now I can use the inspiration of one to fire the completion of the other.
The Book Challenge is one of my favourite challenges over on the Painting Friends forum (whose button I've recently added to my blog!) 

Recently I finished a book called The Beach Hut.
The row of huts had their own occupants and the book told the story of their lives and how they intertwined. One occupant had been a ballerina in her youth before she had to change career. Ballet, to quote the book, had been her whole world.

So when at a recent art meet, there were a few items to choose from, I chose to paint the ballet shoes:

Echoes of Youth

6" x 11"

Arches 140 Rough

WN aq paint.

Happy Endings

Here we go with the finished painting.
I hope you enjoyed the step by step and weren't hanging around too long to see the end :)

Happy Endings

15" x 11"

Arches 140 Rough

WN aq paints

Happy Endings, work in progress II

Added a pale wash of cobalt and french ultramarine over the surface the glasses are standing on and the glasses too

 Starting to add darker values on the glasses and splash. Same mix as above with the addition of a little yellow ochre

Adding in the pink for the pink champagne (perm rose weak mix) and in the spill on the table

Even more values in the glasses and defining the spill

 Now there's only the masking to take off and a little tidying up and I'm done.
Next post will be the finished painting !