Druid

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Two days, one name change from frost woman to druid. The painting is complete. I enjoyed painting as a demonstration while at the exhibition this weekend. Thanks to my friend Raina for modelling for the initial face. Then lots of metallic paints later this image emerged.

I may do a bit more to the dark areas but I’m pretty pleased with it. A good weekends work.

Jupiter tryptich finished

Swift photos of the paintings. Taken on the kitchen with a cat hovering and wanting to walk across the canvases. One is a bit overshadowed by the lighting in the kitchen but I wanted to show that they could be hung in various directions.

I showed them to someone and they wanted them! So they will not be available at the Orme group of artists exhibition on Saturday and Sunday but at least I can exhibit them so people can see what I can do…

My poor eyes! Lots of details …

Twigs and blossom

IMG_20181122_004229_653My winter woman has turned into an early spring woman snow is still on the ground but cherry blossom flowers have sprung from the trees twigs and branches, it feels like an old surrealist painting, and I don’t object to that but I wish I coukd do better details .

This has been a fight! Hours of messing about with the shading and shaping of the branches. It’s not finished yet…..but I need a rest. Night all.

Finished

Green brown woman is finished. Ready to go to her new home. I tried to get a 3d effect with light and dark tones. One thing that happens when I try to imagine a subject is that it needs to look at least slightly like it could exist. With this I wanted to try and make the leaves look like they were real, but when you imagine things it does all depend on what you remember, how it’s put together and what colours it has.

Anyway I want the customer to be happy especially since it has taken a few weeks to paint…. Now all I have to do is finish Jupiter before this weekend!

Busy time…..

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Suddenly I’ve got a million and one things to do, a commission here,  a sketch there, painting for an open day, painting for an annual exhibition. Also a craft fair… What do I do.. I decided to rest today. I felt stressed and worried so I thought let it be for a day. Instead I repotted old houseplants and went to choir practice. I’m still tired after that, but I don’t feel rushed off my feet. You can only do what you can do. I’ve also told the people who want flat pieces of foam board painted  with landscapes that they will have to wait.

The result of resting was some photos of the plants I have potted up. As usual I played with the images. Being creative is so important to me.

Now it’s 2.30am, a cold wind is blowing round the house. Sometimes you can hear the wind whistling through gaps round the windows. But at least I’ve had a break. Tomorrow I’ll try and get more painting done.

At stoking curiosity

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Wow there’s a lot of things going on down at Spode today. The Stoking Curiosity event is very busy. I’m down at studio 21 and hoping people will pop in. There’s just been a call for a poetry workshop (I’m having lunch at the works canteen cafe) then will be back to continue painting Jupiter today and tomorrow.

So if you get the chance come down and see what’s going on today and tomorrow

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Manorbier castle

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This just popped up in my Facebook memories. A painting on canvas I did of Manorbier Castle in South West Wales (near Tenby). There was a guardhouse near the entrance and a shop and cafe There is a Chapel towards the side nearest the sea. The castle is surrounded by trees and if you follow the road down past it you eventually find a path that you can walk on that takes you out into a shallow bay. The rocks are very interesting with long thin bars of rock separated into long segments lying horizontally ( if I remember rightly) . On the left hand hill overlooking the bay you can see the castle and on the right hand hill, separated by a valley, is the church up in Manorbier village itself.

It’s a few years since we went and my memory is hazy, but my partner remembers Gerald of Wales lived at the castle. I think it’s one of the few privately owned castles in Wales and I’m pretty sure someone lives in apartments inside the battlements.. Its definitely worth a visit, there are lovely gardens there. The only thing is try and go on a dry day as some if the steps are a bit slippery in the rain.

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