All gone quiet

No painting at the moment. Spending time catching up with all the things I should have been doing when I was painting and then exhibiting! Also studio is a complete mess with all equipment I was using piled near the desk instead of where it should be. Rather a long, tedious job, as, being in the eaves of the house, there isn't much wall space to store stuff, so it tends to move out into the room rather a lot.

Also trying to work out where framed paintings left from the exhibitions can fit in the house. Just managed to put up the ones of Amber and Shadow (present female golden retriever/red setter cross and sadly departed female flat-coat retriever). They've been sitting upstairs for a while and now have a major place on the stairs in the hallway.

"Amber"
Ink and soft pastel

This painting was done for my degree course I was on - part of the module was to sketch animals and having two dogs lying around the house made the exercise much simpler. The acrylic ink I normally use is much too vibrant for this type of subject, but luckily I have a lot of calligraphy ink sitting around from when I did more pen work. The "nut brown" was a great underlay, using it as a wash underneath and then adding the pastel on top. One of my daughters has said I really capture her - by putting the mad eyebrows (seen on the top left)! They definitely give her character....

 

 "Shadow"

Graphitint pencils

This was done quite a long time ago and then put in my plan chest with a view to framing. Typically other things got in the way and I didn't get round to doing it for ages. The image has been used as my avatar on a few sites.

Took ages to do, but graphitint pencils are excellent colours for doing a black dog. Obviously used water to make a wash underneath and then came back with more pencil work on top. When the light shone on her, one could see blue and also liver colour (must be a throw-back to a previous generation, as you can get liver-coloured flat-coats).

Luckily I have now got both framed in the same wood and they look great on the wall. Needless to say, these will never be sold, as they are too close to my heart!

Now all I have to do is Benson (present male flat-coat) and Gemma (first dog - golden retriever). Benson is a problem, as whenever I try to take a photo be puts his head immediately in front of the lens, making it a comic photo, rather than a good one for a portrait - oh well, one day.... Already tried Gemma in watercolour. However, that was many moons ago and I have definitely improved in technique since then, so will try again, as I know I can do better.

Also been "commissioned" by husband to do a couple more pastel paintings. Found a home for the O'Keeffe Lily and the Laurel Berries, but could do with at least one (if not two) more in the same size and style of the O'Keeffe one to end up as a series on one wall.

Better get sorting that room out, so I can get started....

Busy weekend.....

Last weekend was pretty manic. We started off on Friday setting up the Open Gardens exhibition. Then, on the Saturday, Nina and I took a stall at the Eltisley Fete, displaying our cards and mounted works:

My work here - browser had quite a few works, but reserved my newest work for the Open Gardens the next day.

And Nina had her works on the other side of the table.


A very exhausting day - extremely hot, but luckily it was an open marquee and we grabbed the end pitch, so had a nice breeze coming past us! The cards were, as usual, popular. However, it wasn't quite the event to sell paintings - even mounted ones. It was officially a donkey derby with added attractions and we were doing it as a favour for one of Nina's friends.

On the Sunday morning we returned all the Eltisley stuff to Angela's garden and finished setting up. We had been asked to keep to the theme of gardens and plants - and looking through the windows at our work, it blended in very well with her garden.

My paintings were directly in front of the door, with Sherry's table, with her cards, just in front. Our biographies were on the table outside and the board leaning against the plants on the right was there to announce when Amanda and Gareth were performing.

A view past the table looking down Angela's garden. This was before the event started - it got quite crowded, as over 200 people attended the Open Gardens and I am sure most came through Angela's garden!

The three artists (Nina, Sherry and myself) were allocated two stands each. As my paintings are rather large, I only managed to get four paintings on each stand, whereas the others got more on. My technique is easier when done large, but I am starting to do some smaller works, as not everyone wants such a large painting in their house. The latest ones (nigella, hibiscus and calla lily)  are smaller, but by the time I had done those, I already had enough for the stands (and I only picked them up on the Saturday morning from the framer, so cutting it very fine....)

This is my second stand.

Just inside the door was my table and browser - which was now full of the new paintings I had done over the last month specifically for this exhibition. I had ordered new cards as well - they worked particularly well in this small size and gave a vibrancy to the display.

We received good feedback on the paintings and managed to sell a few cards - thank you MOO.com for making them look so professional!

Sherry was sadly away for the event, so we manned her section. This is Nina and Amanda. Amanda had done a beautiful poem, which was written out in calligraphy and put into a wonderful picture with cut-out flowers. Unfortunately the sun was shining on it when I was taking photos beforehand and so the photo doesn't come out well. Didn't realise until we were dismantling and it was too late.

She and her husband, Gareth, also performed quite a few times throughout the event, with a piece that Amanda had composed especially for this occasion.

They started off near the exhibition, but later on moved to under a tree (it was a very hot day). Lovely backdrop of climbers going up the tree behind them. Should have taken a photo of that, but by then loads of people were milling around and didn't get a chance.

A lot of the visitors said how much they enjoyed the fact that Angela's garden had all these other things going on. Obviously her garden stands well by itself (she is, of course, a Chelsea award winner), but I think the music lured people in, as they heard it over the garden wall and then we added another dimension with all the art work.

We knew that this was not the forum for selling paintings, as people were specifically coming to view the gardens. However, I think it was worth doing - not least because it was raising money for Macmillan. It was great to show friends and neighbours what we could do and, with the sun shining, the whole day was very enjoyable, albeit rather tiring!

There were quite a few other events going on in conjunction with the Open Gardens - one gentleman has a steam train in his garden, giving rides to people (shame I missed that, as I was manning the art show). Then of course the ladies from the committee for the Village Hall put on a great afternoon tea, which I believe was extremely popular! The people involved in the Open Gardens raised a lot of money for Macmillan Trust, which is absolutely brilliant and was, after all, why we all did it.

Last of the paintings for the exhibition

Right - going to stop painting now and get on with the boring stuff - like printing labels etc! Here are a few of the last ones:

While having a "strategy" meeting with the girls about the exhibition (which was, of course, done over a very nice casual lunch in Sherry's garden), I saw the nigella she had in the garden. Kindly she gave me some, so not surprisingly I went straight home to paint them! Just the right type of architectural shapes for my style of painting. They have a lovely maroon tint to them, which I accentuated for this painting.

Nigella I
(acrylic ink and pastel) 








And here is another one, using different, slightly lighter colours. Think I might do more of these, as I love the shapes.

Nigella II

(acrylic ink and pastel)

Yellow Calla Lilies

(acrylic ink and pastel)

Whilst at the garden centre recently, I picked up a few potted plants with a view to painting them. We had some wonderful white calla lilies in the house recently (from displays done at a recent party) and I had attempted to paint them. Unfortunately I haven't quite worked out how to paint white flowers with acrylic ink, as normally I would use subtle colouring to show shadows of the petals etc. Acrylic inks are wonderful, but subtle they are not! I attempted it, but it didn't work, so thought I would buy a yellow one, as I loved the shape of the flowers and the spotted leaves added extra interest. Definitely think I'll try these again.

Hibiscus

(acrylic ink and pastel)

This was another flower I picked up at the same time. One has to paint the flowers immediately they come out, as they disappear so quickly. I bought the plant with one flower in full bloom, but didn't go upstairs to paint until the next day. The flower had died and the other buds hadn't opened yet! Now, when I see them out, I rush upstairs to capture it!

This is a section of another painting - I was particularly pleased with how this flower turned out.

 

Details of Hilton Open Gardens and Carnelian Exhibition

Here is the flyer for the exhibition next Sunday. Sounds like quite a number of great gardens are going to be opened up to the public and Bruce will be operating his children's railway in his garden. Also cream teas available (and they are always good....) Shame I'll be holed up in Angela's conservatory, although I think there will be lots of visitors to Angela's garden. Angela is the designer of a medal-winning garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show and her garden looks fabulous - not a bad place to wander out into, if the exhibition is quiet at any stage! Her company is called English Eden and her website can be found here: English Eden  

If anyone wants to come and see us, the address is : Garden House, 1 Pecks Close, Hilton, Cambridgeshire PE28 9QN.

Just finishing the last of the paintings and hope the framer can fit them in! Need to add the last touches this morning, as it is Wimbledon men's finals this afternoon and I'm not missing that!

Hilton Village Hall presents Open Gardens and Afternoon Tea in aid of local Macmillan and Village Hall charities

Hilton Open Gardens

In aid of local Macmillan Charities

Sunday 14^th July 2013

2pm – 6pm

Admission by programme available from Hilton Village Hall on the day from 12pm. Suggested donation £3.

Further details can be obtained from Angela Potter on 01480 831986

Also:

Art Exhibition by The Carnelians

www.ninasage.co.uk
www.sherryrea.co.uk
www.lynn-norton.blogspot.co.uk
www.amandastuart.com

Children’s Railway

(tickets to ride, also available in advance from the Village Hall)

Cream teas in the Village Hall

Plants for sale

Children’s activities

The Carnelians  are a group of visual and music artists who produce exciting new works using a variety of techniques including printmaking (ranging from screenprints, etchings to linocuts and monoprints), inks, pastels and papercuts. They have put together pieces inspired by nature, and in particular flora, especially for this exhibition to complement the beautiful gardens visitors will see on the day.  
The Carnelians are:
 
Lynn Norton: has been influenced by the flowers she has found to create intense and vibrant works. New pieces include sea holly, abutilon and oriental poppies.
 
Sherry Rea: the focus of Sherry's work for this exhibition has been seedheads, dragonflies and trees. She has an innovative approach to texture, mark-making and its relationship to the subject and the interplay of light, colour and tone.

 
Nina Sage: experimentally layers patterns and textures taking inspiration from nature and has created new delicate works portraying gardens, butterflies and flora especially for this exhibition.
 
Amanda Stuart: has framed her poignant poem - 'Your Garden'- in a paper cut of Hilton's meadow flora especially for this exhibition. She will be performing some of her compositions throughout the afternoon.

Update on Open Gardens exhibition

All the paintings to be framed and most of work to be mounted are with the framer - can't wait to get them back in a few days. The order came in from MOO.com for my cards. Just did my favourite pictures from the current work and a couple of re-runs from the previous exhibition that proved popular. Really delighted with the way they have come out and can't believe how promptly MOO deliver - ordered on Sunday afternoon and they arrived here on Tuesday morning (having asked for normal print time and delivery) - and that was fourteen different designs being done - amazing. Love that company!

Strategy meeting with the girls tomorrow - last minute organisation as to what we need to do. The 10-day forecast doesn't quite get to the Sunday, but looks really pleasant for the Eltisley show and keeping fingers crossed for the Hilton Open Gardens on the Sunday. Lots of good gardens being opened - shame I have to man the art exhibition, as I would have loved to go around some of the gardens for inspiration. Anyway, hope there is a good turnout, as the Open Gardens event is raising money for the Macmillan Trust.

Fushia
Acrylic ink and soft pastels

The garden is full of beautiful flowers at the moment, so decided to do one of the fushia.

Tried to do some paler flowers to add some variety to my portfolio, but they really don't work as well in this style. After the exhibition I think I'll have to experiment with watercolour to see if I can do them in that medium. Just bought Jean Haines' book "Atmospheric Watercolours" and haven't had time to look at it properly yet. I absolutely love her loose style, so watch this space for a change of technique! Due to the Open College of the Arts modules I was doing, I haven't done watercolour for quite a while, so it will be great getting back into it again.

One thing I have discovered, though, is that the acrylic ink does work with masking fluid. I wasn't sure it would, as it doesn't with acrylic paint. Suddenly I find I can go absolutely mad with the ink in areas I would normally have to hold back to retain the light.

This is a section from "Close-up of an Anemone". I could never have achieved this effect without the use of masking fluid. 

Using cling film also works very well - especially to "knock back" colours if I have been too generous with the amount of ink on the paper! Used that technique with this anemone painting. I had difficulty in achieving the deepness of the centre without overpowering the rest of the flower and chucked one out as it hadn't worked. Used a couple of deep colours for the centre, but then applied the cling film and left to dry - and hey presto - a wonderful mottled look, that still retains a richness and depth.

Anyway - just over a week to go before the shows - just trying to do a few last minute paintings to mount. Trying to do a few smaller ones, as my paintings tend to be rather large, once they have been mounted and framed - not to everyones taste.