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 :)