The Patchwork Dog

Here, using my own sweet jack russell terrier as a model, is a child's toy...a patchwork dog.
I hope you like him.

The Patchwork Dog

The Westport Burger

Another food painting, from a meal served to my husband in 1B Westport Cafe.

The Westport Burger

I am delighted to say that this, together with The Westport Club, The Westport Oyster and the The Westport Special will soon be hanging in 1B Westport Cafe, in Cupar, Fife.

painted on my favourite watercolour paper, Saunders Waterford, by St Cuthbert's Mill. 

The Westport Club

There's an award winning cafe in Cupar, Fife called 1B Westport Cafe.
This is one of their most famous lunch dishes, the club sandwich, painted in watercolour, by me!

The Westport Club 

If you visit Scotland, be sure to drop in to Cupar and try one for yourself!

painted on Saunders Waterford 140R paper, from St Cuthbert's Mill.
 

The Shooting Star

This painting was made to celebrate the life of a friend, who passed away recently.
It was commissioned by his sister and given as a gift to his daughter.

She had seen a shooting star on the night he passed and informed her aunt that the star was her dad.

This is the painting that commemorates that incident.

The Shooting Star

Painted in watercolour on Saunders Waterford paper. 

Paddy on holiday, Milarrochy Bay, Loch Lomond.

On a recent holiday to Milarrochy Bay, Loch Lomond, I took my painting implements.
The weather was so beautiful, I painted en plein aire.
Of course, I had a model who was at hand all the time - and so I painted a portrait of him, as well as taking photos and making sketches for further paintings.

Here's the portrait:

Paddy on holiday

 and here are a few pictures of the place we stayed, so you can see some of Scotland's beauty.

A three painting post, watercolour and cyanotypes

I've been so busy, I've really neglected my blog.
So I'm trying to bring everything up to speed.

There are three paintings in this post - one watercolour and two cyanotypes.
I was so fortunate to have been gifted a day at a printing works to learn how to make cyanotypes - a process used in making blueprints.
You can use all sorts of papers to make cyanotypes - and I chose to use watercolour paper, so that I could paint some details in watercolour afterwards.

The Sun Always Rises

 Harvest Time

and finally, a watercolour commission of a lovely rescue boy

Tanner 

I thought, for interest, I'll also show you the cyanotypes as they were hanging up to dry, after coming out from the wash tray, in which any excess chemicals were removed.

and for those on you on Facebook, I now have an artist page HERE

Holidays, lochs, woods, deer and dogs!

We've been on a holiday, exploring our new country of Scotland.
We visited lochs and woods and had a boat trip on the newly launched Iolaire, run by Loch Tay safaris, owned by Highland Safaris.
We panned for gold, found gemstones and generally had a wonderful time.
There are many paintings, waiting patiently now for me to get my brushes wet!
A few pictures for you - and then a couple of paintings. The dogs were a prize donated to a raffle to aid rescues and the stags were from a photo I took at the Scottish Deer Centre.

and now, the paintings

Welcome

Two Friends

both painted on Saunders Waterford 140lb rough, my favourite paper, made by St Cuthbert's Mill.

Misty Mountain Cottage

I've been a busy little bee recently and my poor blog has been left alone, whilst I'm still trying to find a new routine. Perhaps routine is not for me any more! Perhaps I need to be a little more scheduled in my attitude. One day, I'll figure it all out!

In the meantime, here's another painting.

Misty Mountain Cottage. 

on St Cuthbert's Mill Saunders Waterford 140 rough paper.
15"x 6"
 

Hart of the Universe

I love star gazing. Just last night I was out watching the night sky. It was beautifully clear, although very windy, but the stars!
There's an attraction in the firmament and a feeling of being watched over, cared for. Whenever I spend time stargazing, I always come away with lifted spirits.

Not always can I be outside - sometimes it's not practical, so I painted this picture for myself. I can see myself painting a series of universe pictures.. each one with a different animal. For the moment, here's the stag (hart) . Indicative of my new life in Scotland, which I love.

Hart of the Universe

 On St Cuthbert's Mill Saunders Waterford 140lb Rough Paper , 15" x11"

London River Thames: Summer Cruise

Today I have adapted one of my photos of the Houses of Parliament to produce this painting

London River Thames: Summer Cruise

When I look at a photo, I try to see what can happily be left out and still have the painting work.
In this one, I left out the bridge that crosses the river, the buildings to the left and the actual sky and water reflections.

Every single photo I take can be adapted. Not all of them are, because sometimes I am fortunate enough to take just the photo I want to paint. I used to paint only what was in front of me, but now I tend to pick and choose. The result is a somewhat more creative painting.

I can't remember who said it, but someone did - and what they said was: What you leave out is as important as what you put in. Good advice!

If you'd like to own a print, sticker or totebag with this image on it, please check out my Redbubble page. Click on the word "HERE"

Baby

I have a good friend, Debra, who recently moved into a home of her own.
She loves elephants and bright, bold colours - so I painted this for her.

Baby

Wish you and Baby many happy years in your new home, Debs!

Spring painting, garden inspiration and some sketching.

To plant a garden is to have an endless source of inspiration, when you like to paint.
I have been busy creating both a front and a back garden here in my new Scottish home. I have not been so busy, that I haven't had time to paint.
Once the work is done and the plants are growing, I take some time to sketch and to paint. This way, not only do I work in my garden, but I take some time to enjoy it also. Physical work is good, as is feeding the soul. Gardens and painting do both for me.

The painting is from my front garden - and I call it "Spring"

and the sketches come from my back garden, which is still being created. You can follow that progress, if you'd like to see it, HERE

Sketch one is a metal trellis of leaf and birds and two was the beginning of a trollius (globeflower) . That will have to be finished another day, because the sun was so hot, the paint dried before I could complete my wet-in-wet washes!
Both will eventually become fully worked up paintings - these quick sketches are pleasurable to do and help me decide if I want to go further with them. 
Saunders Waterford paper was used throughout. I like my sketch paper to be the same as my painting paper - and Saunders suits me down to the ground!

Until the next time, happy painting, happy sketching, happy gardening!

Painting with Charles Evans, via Watercolours in a Weekend

Recently I bought a book by Charles Evans, called Watercolours in a Weekend.
Although used, it was in good condition - and I had no other books by Charles, so I decided to purchase it. Aimed at beginners, to encourage them to pick up a brush, I nevertheless bought it and decided to paint the projects.
My reasoning was, it never hurts to go back to basics, does it?

So, here's the book..

There are nine projects in total, within the book.

In between days out, working around the house, garden and visiting my soon to be workplace, I have painted three projects so far.

Walking with Charles

Painting with Charles

Charlie's Beach

The book so far - is it suitable for beginners? Oh, absolutely! It's written in such a style that it feels quite possible to pick up a brush and paint a picture. For Saturdays, you have painting exercises to do - and on Sunday, using the techniques you've learned, you paint a complete picture. I have only shown you my completed pictures.
For someone like me, who has painted for a while, was it worth picking up?
Absolutely, again! It reintroduced me to a way of working that I haven't used for a while - and in doing so refreshed my ability. It made painting someone else's picture fun. That's quite a knack Mr Evans has - he makes painting fun.
At any stage of painting ability - isn't that what picking up a brush is about?

I have some paintings of my own in the pipeline now, but I will undoubtedly come back and tackle the remaining six projects in the book.
As ever, I used Saunders Waterford paper, and Winsor & Newton Artist Quality Paints.

Have fun with your painting, too!

Wedding Day

Good morning friends!
I have been painting some, and enjoying the new house and countryside too.

Here's my latest watercolour painting, painted on Saunders Waterford paper and using Winsor & Newton Artist Quality paint.

Wedding Day

I hope you enjoy viewing it. 

Coming back to life!

Good morning friends.    
Today's painting came about from an idea I had when I visited the beautiful city of Dundee. Once there, I was struck by how much public artwork is in place. It seemed to me that if you turned a corner, you would find another piece of sculpture. As an artist, I found the city a delight to visit.
the idea which germinated was that I would photograph the settings these artworks were in, but then paint the sculptures as if they were alive - hence the title - The Awakening. It's number II because this is the second such I've done.
The first is HERE 

As you know, we moved house recently - and I have to say that the Kingdom of Fife is a landscape painter's dream location. If you'd like to see some recent pictures, visit my other blog HERE 
We have been made so welcome, it has been like coming home to family who love you.

Now on to the painting..

The Awakening II

I hope you've enjoyed viewing it.

Unconditional love, good friends and a gift.

Painting is therapeutic to me. Whenever I feel stressed or impatient, painting grounds me. No subject more so than painting a dog. There is something about these most loyal companions that brings a smile to my face. That something is probably the unconditional love they have.

In alignment with this unconditional love, I painted a dog portrait as a gift, for someone who is trying their hardest to make things right in my world.

Thank you, my friend.

Here is Oscar

 Painted on Bockingford Extra rough, size 15" x 11"

A holiday, painting inspiration and the handsome Paddy

Recently we took a little holiday.
Four days of enjoying the countryside with my two loves; hubby and Paddy.

The photos from the trip are HERE

and little Paddy looked so cute when he placed his paws on the door of our folding camper that he inspired this painting:

Paddy

On Saunders Waterford paper, 140lb rough

15" x 11"

A challenge given - and the resulting Preserve the Moment

Over on Painting Friends forum (new members welcome, join HERE)
Mollie Jones, a talented artist from Texas, took some photos of a glass and fruit set up - and challenged each of us to produce an art work from one of the photos.

I chose one photo and adapted it to my vision. I didn't include everything in the photo, I left out a dish with extra fruit, I added in more sunshine and a bright background - and generally tried to make the thing my own.

Here is the painting that I created:

Preserve the Moment.

Painted on Saunders Waterford 140Rough, 

size 15" x 11"

The Sentinel

In a little pond, local to me, there is a metal sculpture.
The pond itself is nothing extraordinary, but I really liked the sculpture, so I decided to paint it and try to give the pond a magical feel.

This is the result.

The Sentinel

Painted on Saunders Waterford 140lb Rough paper, using W&N artist quality paints; it measures 15" x 11"

I hope you enjoy looking at it.

The Chameleon Shed and a return to blogging

Good morning friends.

If you've stuck around while hubby and I have gone through our 'horrible year', I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
For those who have contacted us and offered support, thank you. Your help and information have been priceless and helped us navigate a minefield.
Hubby is now well on the mend and his doctor has been so pleased with his progress, that this week he has been able to return to work on a phased basis.

So, back to painting and blogging.

I created this painting after taking inspiration from one of Joanne Harris' shed tweets. In a previous post, I'd said how she posts about her writing 'Shed' and each day, it changes aspect, depending on Joanne's fertile imagination.

The quote that inspired me this time, was:

This morning the Shed is a giant trunk, covered with labels from all over the world.

And the painting I created has been called:


The Chameleon Shed

I hope you enjoy viewing it - and I hope to visit you soon.
Thanks again for your support.