VIEW OF THE CITY OIL PAINTING

I had decided to create another 16" x 16" box canvas piece for the Kings Lynn Summer Show in oils, but it wasn't until I was on our way back from Yarmouth with Sandra that I came across the very subject. VIEW OF THE CITY OF NORWICH FROM MOUSEHOLD HEATH early evening.

View of the City complete

(actually there is a little more of the foreground pathway and sky as I cropped this image to use for postcards being printed by Vista)

It all came about because our return to the city coincided with the outpouring of the Norwich football club fans after the last match of the season which meant they had won the cup. The main road was blocked and everything came to a stand still, so we headed off across country to approach the city further round and Sandra took me on a detour past the prison to see the view that just about every artist worth his salt living or visiting Norwich has painted, from Seago to Cotman I am sure!!

Well, above is my finished version and below an early stage of blocking showing more sky and pathway foreground area.

I was trying to consider what tones I would use to create the early evening light and it was only later when I realised my other works for the show had figures that I decided to add the loving couple seated on the bench. Hurrah for google images for some references of people proportions to the size of the bench.

Early blocking in stages, not really knowing where it will eventually lead me!!

PASTEL WORKSHOP

two works in progress (plus the inevitable cups of tea)

Way back at the beginning of May I had a pastel workshop with my regular artists, but realised this morning that due to so much dashing about I had not posted info about our day together here in Coltishall village hall. It seems (thank goodness for my routine) I had put the photos I had taken onto my hard drive Coltishall workshop folder, so it was easy to find them.

I took many brightly coloured subjects and one of our kind ladies brought some new interesting figures and pots. So here are a some photos of the subjects they all chose from - I loved them so much I wanted to join in and in fact took photos for use in my studio when I get the time:

dancer, pansies and lace - blue plate, orange and vase of flowers

floral portion of our mixed subjects for a pastel workshop.

The morning began a little different than most of my workshops, as we plunged straight into a full subject learning as we went. Here are some works in progress (as well as the photo at the top):

... and here are some floral works :

I could not get all the variety of work into this post, but must mention our young lady's work on the Venetian mask Maggie kindly brought in for us. It would also seem we got so involved I did not photo the finished work at the end of the day and I know there was a delightful study of the ballerina with flowers as well as the one above with the lamp . Naughty tutor!!

PS: I have had real trouble with this post - with uploading the images and now with this massive space before the comments and other details - it won't let me delete blank lines all the way down!!!! I've given up trying so keep going if you want to add a comment please!!

I've been in to get rid of the blank lines this morning, hurrah it worked today!!

MELTON HOUSE GALLERY REEPHAM

I can't believe how the time has flown since I journeyed over to Sutton Bridge to take an acrylic workshop for a group of artists over there in Lincolnshire on the 21st April. I stayed on to visit friends and ever since I have been back have been delivering work for Norfolk and Suffolk shows, attending previews, stewarding and visiting Yarmouth one lovely day with Sandra to see the Seachange Exhibition and visit a new gallery opened by Michelle who runs the Beccles Upstairs gallery. Oh yes, then on 1st May had my local group at a pastel workshop, so no time to add a new post to my blog.

Then I came home early from delivering and invigilating at a West Norfolk Artist show at Ringstead Stables Gallery, as I had developed a very itchy rash and everyone was worried it was shingles. Fortunately, my doctor saw me on the afternoon of my return and diagnosed an allergy. So I am on cortison creams and anti histamine tablets and slowly improving.

Then last Wednesday (the day I returned) I had an SOS from a new gallery which opened this year in the lovely market town of Reepham in Norfolk. Having seen my book Ten Years in the Life of a Painter, Laura asked particularly for my flower pieces. It was a lovely opportunity at very short notice to find a selection of floral works available from my stock and I rose to the occasion taking down work for her to select and hang the very next morning. We had great fun together working out what went where with much juggling and changing of minds as the morning progressed. Eventually there were 13 pieces hung, including the Norfolk Poppyfield acrylic on an easel in the window -

Here is the hanging in progress

and the corner where we hung the four watercolours I had brought.

My larger acrylic pieces made a grand showing on the main wall opposite the entrance doorway. I'm going back tomorrow to meet their PR lady and photographer, so will photo that as Laura straightened and labelled all the works after I left on Thursday.

ST NICHOLAS CHAPEL WORKSHOP OIL PAINTING

At long last I have found time to get on with my oil painting of the West Norfolk Artists Workshop at St Nicholas Chapel in Kings Lynn to make a pair with the Rehearsal I painted earlier. I have used the same colours as before but created the piece much lighter.

Blocking in stage:

This next image is where I got to yesterday and, as you can see, I still have the painting on the right hand panel to create and straighten up the nude painting. It turned out to be one of my dear friend Sandra's acrylic paintings of Becketts Chapel in Wymondham. Amusingly, she has offered to come over and paint it again into my painting for me!!

(Sandra's website address: http://www.sandrarowney.com/)

nearly finished: Thought you'd like to see the pair together I photo'd a few days ago, as they were propped up side by side in my little studio room. As you can see, very different lighting. I am really enjoying adding figures to my work after many years.

Rehearsel and Workshop side by side:

Don't forget to enlarge images for detail.

ACRYLIC WORKSHOP

Don't forget to

enlarge images.

14 members of the Sutton Bridge art group attended this workshop in Lincolnshire last Wednesday, before I moved on to stay with friends. Arriving after a very easy journey with hardly any traffic, the first thing I asked was for the tables to be set up as above, so that everyone could face inwards to the 4 or 5 different still life subjects I setup in the middle. These covered

my good old copper pots with oranges and my tall African family statue;

grapes and china plate and bowl;

brown ceramic fruit bowl with pineapple and white and terracotta tea towel;

blue vase with yellow daffodils ;

dried flower arrangement of hydrangea heads, artichokes, my wooden snowdrops and large peonies all in a chunky creamy and brown country vase and my bronze cat.

All had draped cloths of varying colours and patterns as backdrops.

I also took along a few paintings to demonstrate the various techniques from sculpting with modelling paste, use of crackleglaze for some candles, blending soft colours, splattering, glazes of thin layers, and applications of heavy duty, normal consistency pigment through to acrylic inks and finally the use of gutta silk paints to add decorative elements.

After discussing the various acrylics and mediums available on the market over a cup of coffee, we then quickly moved onto the methods of applying acrylic paint. We started with thin washes overlaying dried paint to see how glazes work to create luminosity and the method of mixing paint on the canvas to keep the colours pure. Moved on to applying thick paint with knife in large areas and then mosaic broken lines of various colours or tones to achieve an impressionist effect.

Before lunch break, we had covered

masking with card, torn paper and masking tape;

spattering with toothbrushes;

flicking a loaded brush;

all wet on wet and wet on dry to see the different effects.

Finally I gave away my secret of 'printing' colour shapes after applying paint to pieces of watercolour paper.

Everyone had the chance to try various mediums from flow enhancer, sand, beads, etc and my gutta silk paints for gold or silver highlights. We discussed crackleglaze and tried using modelling paste.

During the last few moments of the morning everyone prepared a stretched canvas with gesso coloured and applied as they chose. A very busy morning, getting us all ready for a 'masterpiece' using chosen techniques in the afternoon.

AFTERNOON CANVAS WORK

Amazingly, quite a number chose to work with modelling paste and one lady did a close up of a daffodil simply using this technique for the petal shapes and placing colour afterwards. Two other ladies asked if they might use my 'sculptured poppies' painting as inspiration to use modelling paste and the impressionist mosaic style of applying acrylic paint.

modelling paste close up daffodil and sculptured poppies in progress

photo of one of the still life subjects with acrylic painting in progress , paint having been applied very thickly on gessoed smooth background.

This lady was very clever in creating the artichokes and teasel by placing modelling paste with a knife in small marks to create the various shapes that made up the individual dried heads.

Two other works created in the afternoon are posted below. Unfortunately, I did not get round to everyone with the camera as they finished their main work, such a pity as there were some really different interesting pieces such as the African family statue, where the artist had added beads, seeds and silk gutta in gold to create their costume jewellery.



this gentleman used varied washes for his background on top of white gesso (the white area would turn into a lace tablecloth by the end)

and another gentleman started to block in after placing composition with brush and diluted acrylic

All in all a very happy, funfilled and successful day - of that I am assured as I have been asked to visit them again for another workshop. Sorry if it has turned out to be rather a long post - hope you manage to drag yourself through all the text to the images at the end.

ANOTHER GARDEN SKETCHBOOK SPREAD

Here is the last garden sketch I did when relaxing after my op. I added the catkins from the front garden to balance the spread. Afraid I took photos rather than scan (don't know why!!) and you can see my shadow on the left.

.. and some close up photos for more detail.

Had a very busy time since Easter and now off in the morning to take an acrylic workshop in Lincolnshire. Happily it is not far from where I lived in the Fens so will be spending evening and staying with friends. Some of the Thursday evening art group I used to run will be coming over to spend the evening together. Really looking forward to it.

On the way back I am delivering work for Sandra and me to the Grimston St Botolph's church for their Spring time annual show. .. so the car will be loaded!!!

On return hopefully will find more time to comment on all your lovely blog postings.

VISIT FROM ANITA AND MAGIC GARDEN SERIES

Completed Magic Garden Series No: VIII - Garden Pond

16" x 16" box canvas acrylic

Just had four lovely days of Anita's company here in the Broads of Norfolk. We had two whole days out visiting wonderful local beauty spots sketching and lunching out together in the sunshine. Her work is wonderful and made my so called sketches look so poor I am not even going to post them to you!!!! Do go over to see what she achieved with her Alphonse Sketchbook with scenes from my home and plein air work at Horning and Reepham in her 'visit to Joannie's sketchbook' at http://artbyanita.blogspot.com/ .

On Sunday we stayed at home sorting, planning and chatting and I asked Anita for her opinion on three of my magic garden series for a summer show, which some children visiting an exhibition last year called THE LUMPY PAINTINGS because of their many layers of thick paint!! One I had never really liked so never exhibited and after a really helpful critique, went to my little studio room and made many adjustments. Below are two stages of the changes after checking some iris reference photos taken at my friend's garden pond when I realised I had originally painted cultivated garden blooms that would not grow by water:

Decided the left looked unbalanced so added a further yellow iris slightly duller in the shaded corner:

The final adjustment can be seen in the finished piece at the top, which came about by me having coffee in the sunroom this morning with Clive and noticing the pale blue sky dropping right down between the trunks of the trees in the corner of the garden. I feel the uneven line of the blue pond I have now created between the reeds and blooms and the added stronger final yellow layer to the irises really adds to the character of the work. Do you approve Anita?