OLD WATERCOLOUR FLORALS AGAIN

Thanks Lottery Girl and Robert for asking for more floral work to be posted. Here is a collection of watercolour floral work from the past. I dont think I need to comment on them - just enjoy the wonderful colours of our lovely plant world - Im sure you will recognise the flowers.



Afraid had no time to create new pieces or use my sketchbook and now we have visitors until next Wed and hope to be getting out and about this lovely part of the world.
My computer has really been playing up lately so took the plunge and ordered a complete new system with much more RAM memory, harddrive and processor to handle all the images I use. and while I was at it purchased a 3 in 1 HP Photosmart C4280 for just £44 on Amazon- hopefully all this spending will make internet work quicker and less fraught.

SOME OLDER FLOWER STUDIES OF MINE

I hope to manage a couple of flower studies in my beautiful new hand made sketch book (see last post) before we have visitors towards the end of the week. Big difficulty will be choosing which from the wonderful plants now blooming in the garden. Before I start I thought I'd show you some of my floral studies from pre-blog days.

Here is a selection of water colour or acrylic works: (dont forget to click on images to enlarge)
The rose is Ruby Wedding and was hung at the Society of Floral Painters exhibition at the Ventnor Botanic Garden show in the Isle of Wight and sold a few years ago.
This little 8 x 20 inch acrylic on canvas was commissioned following the sale of poppies in similar format sold at a gallery in Holt, Norfolk. The client wanted to hang a pair together and cornflowers were her choice for the second piece.

Another watercolour but I cant remember why I painted this one except the lovely lanterns were growing in my garden when we lived in a Cambridge village and I added teasel to the design. I sold it during a Cambridge Open Studios event.... I think!.

I'll add another post with different floral work another time - if you are not too bored!!??

HANDMADE SKETCHBOOK

Here is the front cover of my wonderful sketchbook created by Karen Jinks of Cambridgeshire. I selected the cover fabric via her website link she sent me by email . I was also able to choose the type of watercolour paper I wanted and size. As you can see I chose pink butterflies, as this book is going to be used for botanical studies of a selection of the flowers in my garden throughout the growing season.

This is the clever binding called coptic stitch and it binds groups of 7 x 7 inches Sanders Waterford HP 300 lb watercolour creating 36 pages in all making a lovely chunky personalized sketchbook.

Just to show you the inside back cover and how very very professional the workmanship is. Lain on top for the photo is her business card and you can contact her via her website http://www.karenjinks.co.uk/ or by email info@karenjinks.co.uk

By the way the whole job including postage (which the stamps show was nearly £3) and the lovely packaging came to £15. Its a joy to look at and going to be a challenge to even put my first mark!!!

JULY WORKSHOP

We had our fifth monthly workshop yesterday since I started them in March and, such are the vagaries of running public classes and workshops, four had to cancel at the last moment for most legitimate reasons - a car accident, falling ill, having to stand in for the bossman at the gallery he works in and as normal one just did not turn up.
Anyway, here are the subjects I prepared for our day. The violin for those who have attended regularly and the flower pot and jewellery box for those who had only studied geometric shapes and tones to date.


Below is a watercolour in progress - albeit this lady had accidentally purchased gouache paint tubes - but was able to use plenty of water to get fresh clean washes. This work was redrawn into watercolour pad after some time spent getting to know her subject with pencil sketches and planning the composition in her skektchbook.

One of the members chose to leave out the flowers and concentrate on the basic shapes of the flowerpot, box, pot pourri container and curves of the lace table mat. After a few thumbnail pencil sketches this was the composition she worked on in her watercolour pad with blue tonal washes.
Our gentleman of the day, who turns out to be an avid gardener, sketched various designs from the subject and finally decided on cropping and going in very close to concentrate on the flower shapes and pot with the jewellery box and pearls .
One of the major subjects I feel most members need help on is understanding colour theory - so there's homework this time round. I handed out samples of my colour wheels and discussed cool and warm colours, complimentary colours and neutrals. Look forward to seeing what they achieve with primary colours from their own paint boxes or sets of tubes.

MY LOCAL ALLOTMENT GEMS

Dont forget to click on the images to get to the detail. For instance that white bindweed in front of the drum is a nightmare round here winding round and choking up our beautiful plants if you dont do a regular check and good hearty tug. Just a bit of English fun to share with you today.


Those of you who have been following my blog will remember we have an allotment area at the end of our lane. I walked through there today to visit our local surgery for some blood tests (just trying to get to the root of some 'funny turns' Ive had lately!?) . Its always a treat to see what every one is doing with their small patch of land. For those of you overseas who dont know this term, its land belonging to the local parish council for letting to people to grow their own vegetables and fruit. I think it stems from the 1940's when dear old UK was under seige and we were asked to DIG FOR VICTORY due to the shortage of imported foods. It has continued ever since in many towns and villages.

In my sketchbook above are two entries that made me see modern 'installations' art. The drum was a fantastic colour due to owner (met him up there today) cleaning the rusty metal and the elements turned it these fabulous torquoise and bronzy shades. The tap is connected to a cylinderical concrete and stone post and there was a lot of teasel about.


These sketches are to show the various ways the allotment gardeners use to scare away the birds - especially a lot of pigeons around here. Liked the idea of a 'naked' umbrella frame being used to hang plastic bottles to blow in the wind. We are such an ingeneous nation of gardeners!!! This particular gardener told me they all use such items as cassette tape strung on poles, old shiny computer discs, and as you can see from the scarecrow named Worzle strips of silver paper.

WEST NORFOLK ARTISTS EXHIBITION ENTRIES

This submission for the East Norfolk Association's summer exhibition in Kings Lynn is called DANCING ON WATER. It was created with acrylic inks poured over each other with liquid diluted liquitex acrylic paint onto flat canvas sheet - a method I use when I want 'spiritually' inspired figures . Shapes appear which I then develop. It made me think of 'Walking on Water' demonstration by Jesus but more contemporary and 'dance' like - thus the title. Framed up in silver with a double white mount as if it were a watercolour painting, it measures 24 x 15 inches.

Then, of course, there is the one I have been posting as it developed - the FONT AT ST NICHOLAS. Here it is completed in its French sycamore frame.


Since my last post only been working on a commission which they do not want publicised , so thought these might be of interest. Quite pleased with the effect of the lighting in the chapel oil painting. Been preparing greetings cards from this work today for sale at the exhibition.

KRAFT PAPER LIFE DRAWING

I was staying at my daughters and left Tues to go straight to life drawing session in the afternoon so decided not to take too much equipment. Thus I bought a roll of kraft paper (sold as post office wrapping paper for a £1) and boxed up some white chalk, conte stick and charcoal to put in my weekend case. These were the results. Great fun and very direct.
Sorry Claire your thigh looks remarkably large - but I think there was some perspective in this as it was nearer to me - well thats my excuse..

When we got to the last pose of the session, I was very tired so decided to simply play a little and the outcome was the hand on the thigh and a view of one of Claire's feet.