COLTISHALL LADIES GROUP

Last Thursday we restarted our Coltishall Ladies weekly group and two of us worked with pastels. I had another cyclamen plant in full bloom and it seemed a good subject to play with lots of colour.



Drawn in briefly with a cream coloured pastel pencil on an almost gold coloured 360 g/ms sheet from my Clairefontaine Pastelmat 30 x 40 cms pad with interspersed wax paper to protect each work from smudging, I then used my box of 72 soft Ashby pastels. At the end I used a natural sponge to wet over the background to see if it helped the main image come forward. Not sure it made much difference!!

Of course, I think you could say its not really finished as a piece of artwork but what I achieved in the afternoon involving tea, cakes and lots and lots of chat catching up on each others' news.

LADIES THURSDAY GROUP

My Thursday afternoon meetings continue with the five ladies invited attending as and when they can. This week there was just Helen and Maggie working with me, so we had fun.

I continued with a sketch I had done the previous day with my Stabilo brown fineliner soluble pen on quattro square block watercolour. It was of a local Gardens during the summer with one of their wired sculptures. This time a heron by the water. My visitors were surprised to see me use both a water spray to dampen the washes and then add ground salt crystals to create the effect you can see mainly in the left hand side foliage. Needless to say, it is nowhere near completed.

Maggie fell for my two little Christmas robin ornaments I had set by the side of a cyclamen plant in a basket. She added the logs from her imagination and I've promised to turn them into Christmas cards for her with my computer and Publisher software.

Helen brought along three works that had never been fully completed and we discussed what they needed. There was an acrylic landscape with poppies in a field which she felt had too strong a green in the distant fields. A watercolour of tulips in one of my square vases that needed anchoring with the use of a shadow at the base and also some darks into the foliage and petals helped bring it more 3D and alive. The third one was of a Yorkshsire cottage she staid at on holiday that just needed some attention to the pathway to the door. Then in the last 15 minutes or so she just got out a size 10 brush some green and red watercolours and created this lovely study of the cyclamen - adding some salt to the leaves whilst they were still wet. All without any initial drawing. Charming.

I thoughoughly enjoyed our afternoon together - our work encouraged along by music playing and tea and coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate.

WATER COLOUR SUNFLOWERS ON LANA VANGUARD

Finished Sunflowers in watercolour on Lana Vanguard medium 16" x 12"

On Thursday afternoon I only had one of my ladies arrive for a session of painting together, but that was fine. Just as I planned for the 6 ladies I had invited to be part of this rather personal group to come as and when they wanted with no commitment simply to spend art time together.

So I had the chance to paint the sunflowers I had purchased from the local farm shop and decided to play wet on wet on YUPO type paper (a French version called Lana Vanguard) and I used watercolour for a change in place of my more regular acrylic inks. Maggie had brought three red rose buds to paint in acrylic on a small canvas.

Here is the first layer and early design:

.. and some close ups of the various areas of the painting where you can see I added or lifted colour:

It was lots of fun and I simply developed it as I went along. Hope the top finished work will enlarge for you to see the detail of layers. These Thursday afternoons I am keeping for this little group are good for me as I don't have to do anything 'seriously' ... maybe that way they will turn out better!!

SECOND LADIES ART GROUP MEETING

Had our second Coltishall Ladies Art Group at my home last Thursday, everyone doing something different. I'm taking these Thursday afternoon sessions as a regular opportunity to get back to my sketchbooks I have so neglected this year.

Helen had brought along a cutting from her passionflower to draw after she finished her acrylic canvas of mixed flowers. I liked it so much, I decided to paint it directly into my garden sketchbook - maybe it will encourage my new passionflower to grow in my garden next year!! Philippa and I sat alongside each other so we could share the cutting and both tackled it with watercolour. At the end I added a few lines with Stabilo fineliner water soluble pens. Here's my sketch:

Before the time for the afternoon gathering, I walked up the lane and cut some blackberries which I also painted into my garden sketchbook. Well! I can always imagine the lane is part of my garden!!

Jasmine sketched one of my figurines - an elegant Edwardian looking lady with long flowing dress and big picture hat. Penny tackled the conkers we did the previous week and improved with each water soluble pencil sketch. Maggie had brought along a very funny bouncy chicken ornament to create an acrylic on canvas for a gift.

Lots of comradery, chat and fun by all. What a lovely afternoon it was together.

AUTUMNS HERE VERY EARLY

Had my first Coltishall Ladies afternoon Group meeting last Thursday and Maggie chose some of the conkers, acorns and rose hips I had collected from the lane to paint in watercolour. So today when I found I had an hour to spare, I decided to have a go in my monthly garden flower book, which I have neglected since July.

I realised how much I enjoy painting in this commissioned Sanders Waterford watercolour paper sketchbook, so have decided to get another one done for my Italian trip. At £15, a 7" x 7" chosen cover, size and paper its a great bargain. Just need to remember the name of the website for the lady in Cambridge!!

Was good to play with watercolour after so long. It is such a delightful medium to work in, putting layer upon layer onto the conker to achieve the strong rich warm colour, followed by a quick flick of the brush with blue and purple for the shadow.

Then I put three acorns in front of me with their little cups that we always called pipes when we were small.

A simple little posting today folks, but I am now enjoying so much freedom without any new oils or acrylic paintings to get ready for shows, as I have everything ready for Wymondham. Yarmouth and Sheringham. I shall definitely put the autumn/winter months to come over to sketching practice... although after another sale of a local landscape work at the Rising Sun riverside pub this week, I may need to do one or two more to hang in my permanent show there.