WHITE GLADIOLA IN PASTEL

Penny brought these lovely gladiola to one of our recent ladies group meetings, as we had planned to practice working with white flowers together. As you can see above, I demonstrated that white flowers are anything but WHITE!!

Here is an earlier stage before adding warm tones to the background, which made it come alive.

I enjoyed working in pastel again after so long.

FRONT GARDEN AND GATE

Seem to have had nothing but rain this August, so sat in the front sun room doorway and sketched our garden gate leading out to the lane. Afraid the lamp on the higher parking area is a bit out of proportion - but oh so useful as you park up in the dark when it comes on automatically.

Also sketched the hanging basket on the garage wall, alongside the gate.

Both in my columbine second garden sketchbook of course, making a double spread.

NORTH WALSHAM NEW ART CENTRE STORYBOARD

This is the completed canvas 14" x 40" high for the Opening of the new Art Centre constructed alongside the North Walsham High School. Its three paintings were created in acrylic ink on Lana Vanguard adhered to the canvas. An artist friend likened it unto a story board as I was inspired by the variety of students' work in the art department and, of course, the amazing architecture of the new art centre. All in all, great fun to do.

Here is a close up of the third acrylic ink collection mainly inspired by student's work in the art department. I could not resist the cat/dog or whatever animal it is created for a ghouls and ghosties project their tutor gave them and , of course, we always need a big butler sink with all that paint and dirty brushes about .

NORTH WALSHAM NEW ART CENTRE

A small town 7 miles from my home recently received a grant to build a new prestigious art centre available to students and the community. The local NOVA group of artists were invited to produce work for the opening. Along with other members I visited the construction and art department of the school to get inspired to create work for submission. I am producing one canvas 40" long with three images painted with acrylic inks onto my favourite Lana Vanguard support, stuck to the canvas with gesso.

The top image is of the construction showing part of the school behind. The added school logo is one I noticed in the art department.

This is the second image create by a visit into the school art department. The faces along the top were inspired by those made by the students with wire. The hard hats appear because we took them off and placed them on a blue table top after our visit to the construction.

I have ideas for the third image based on seeing the butlers sink and a big black cat piece of artwork in the art department and probably a row of what seemed like Russian dolls, but I think were painted ceramic bottles created by the students. I'm pleased with how its going, but have ideas about outlining each block image with thick black marker pen and bringing out some of the objects by outlining in pen. Nor sure yet.

TWO BOAT PAINTINGS IN KINGS LYNN

The West Norfolk Artists show hung at St Nics Chapel during the Kings Lynn Festival is over and I happily went along on the last day to meet the gentleman who purchased my two boat paintings.

Here is an image of a section of the exhibition showing my fishing nets painting top left and the Kings Lynn Fishing Boats down the aisle hung near the font.

Here are close ups of both works, which I produced in oils after originally creating them in acrylic.

Sorry, this photo was taken at the exhibition after the hanging and as it was at the top of the board, the perspective makes it look awkward, but the cabins and masts were at all angles due to the rocking of the boats tied together at the quayside - 5 boats in all!!

MUNDESLEY BEACH HUTS

Mundesley is a small seaside resort on the north east coast of Norfolk. There is a sloping path leading down to a beach backed by colourful wooden beach huts. I must admit though I coloured two of them pink to add some warm colours to the cool palette. Another watercolour on my Lana Vanguard shiny support, mounted and framed in white to exhibit at the forthcoming Worstead Festival.

Here's an early stage of the watercolour:

CELEBRATION - title for my latest piece

Although I finished this in oils, in fact you could say its mixed media as it was originally started in acrylic a couple of years back with lots of different kinds of modelling pastes and Liquitex glass beads textured gel for the vase and wine glasses.

Over the past few weeks I have worked on it in oils and it has changed radically. I think the original idea of two people preparing to celebrate came from an advertisement but I added the flowers, vase and reflections and shadows. ... and it probably has no bearing to the original image now its finished.

Developed on a 20" square box canvas using Michael Harding oils and keeping my colour palette quite restricted. There was a period when I was inspired by the idea of painting scenes by a window from a row of pansies in bloom in little terracotta pots painted first in watercolour and then an acrylic version, snowdrops in the window and a couple of works I did for my sister in law with little white flowers with window boxes. I think I'll plan some more for a Christmas show I will have to prepare for later in the year.

Oh! yes, here's the CELEBRATION PAINTING:

... and here are images of some of the earlier window series paintings: