167. Refreshment

Faber Castell 1.7 HB pencil on

Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5" x 5"

Hi everyone. I haven't run away and I have been doing a lot of painting - walls! We've spent a good chunk of the last three weeks refurbishing our church so it's been all hands on deck, sometimes till late at night, getting our beautiful old building ship-shape. All the stained glass has been delicately cleaned, the wood cleaned, waxed and buffed and the building looks and smells wonderful.

I took time out with Az to do some drawing - our challenge was a glass of water and what better receptacle than these fascinatingly intricate glasses. Talk about a challenge! I thoroughly enjoyed it though. (I deliberately under-crop these images so you get a sense of my sketchbook page.)

157. Ocean Bottle Gift

Faber Castell 0.7 HB pencil then Staedtler 0.05 Pigment Liner,
Tombow brushpens, Neocolour II and Uni Pin 0.5 Fineliner pen

in Handbook Travelogue Journal, 5" x 5" (x2)

Our pre-school children's group made 'ocean bottles' yesterday and I was thrilled to be given one as a gift - it's a fascinating object containing two types of gel, sea creatures, rocks, etc. I should add that the bottles were taped tightly and securely (mine in red). I had to start with pencil as it was a little complex. The WIP images are below.

Thank you Helen and your lovely crew!

I achieve straight lines by running my hand along the edge of the pages using my little finger as a 'clip'. (This only works for me on A4 or smaller sketchbooks.) A tutor once refused to believe that I hadn't used a ruler but it's quite easy once you get the hang of it.

(Move the bulldog clips first though.)

Bubbles, rocks and creatures added.

Pen added with tiny dots to remind me of where the highlights and reflections need to be.

Pencil removed with putty eraser.

Two Tombow brushpens used to add the tonal values.

(Forgot to include the shadows before photographing it.)

Water-soluble wax pastel added.

All done!

119. Bluefields in Pastel and Watercolour

Watercolour and Schminke Soft Pastels

on Daler Rowney Murano Paper, 16" x 12"

Work in progress images

Initially, wrinkly, crinkly!

118. Parrottee in Pastel

Schminke soft pastels on Clairefontaine Pastelmat Paper,  9.5" x 12"

(Reworked)

Here it is; I've added a ton of colour into the water and also to some of the sky which extends into the trees. I just needed some warmth and colour to eliminate the grey here in 'Blighty'. I have to say though, after such a dreary day yesterday, the sun came out today and it has made such a difference! Anyway, what do you think?

I may well add more colour to the dark passages of water - same tones but more colour. Watch this space.

B&W check to see if tones work

63: Day Eighteen: YS Falls

Waterfall, oil on Pebeo canvas board, 10cm x 10cm (approx. 4" x 4")

I did this quickly to avoid missing out on posting yet another day. (I've been in hospital so am somewhat out of kilter and hoping to catch up soon.)

In case you're interested...
YS Falls is in Santa Cruz, Jamaica.  It's a beautiful, peaceful spot where you can take the family, swing across and/or have a swim and it consistently gets good reviews.  To gain access, you park then travel on an open-topped, long vehicle. (Sorry, I don't know the right name but it's very safe and you shouldn't feel ill going to the top.) The tour guides are polite and helpful; they'll take photographs if you ask and won't hassle you.  So pack a picnic, your shades and 'cozzie' and give it a visit.

Initially, I used fast-drying alkyd white for the waterfall but my husband couldn't tell what it was supposed to be so I scraped it off and re-applied it - no better.  After scraping it a few times, I remembered my Robert Gamblin Radiant White!  What a difference!

For the dangly foliage that drops down to the water, I scraped back to the warm yellow imprimatura layer.  I have quite a few colours but for each painting only normally choose a handful (as you would with pastels) - my choice is different every time - but, as I wanted to complete this quickly, I used pre-mixed greens.

Colours:   MH Permanent Sap Green and Schminke Atrament Black (for the deep darks), MH Oxide of Chromium, MH Bright Green Lake and Schminke Turmaline Green (free sample!).  Also, MH Burnt Umber, MH Unbleached Titanium, MH Yellow Ochre, W&N Naples Yellow Light, Gamblin Radiant Blue (to cool the water; also in the leaves directly above the fall) and, as mentioned, Radiant White.  The water at YS Falls is very clear but that's not obvious as I used RB and YO, opaque colours - very nice, but opaque nonetheless.

Phew! Can I go back to bed please?!

61. Day Eleven: Negril Beach Painting

Seascape, oil on W&N stretched cotton canvas, 14" x 10"

As I mentioned in post No. 59, this is the little version of a larger painting I have been doing for my office (see below). I may add writing to the billboard on the right (on both); it advertises a bar so should enhance the scene but I just wanted to get it done and posted so I can move on to the next one.

We've got sunshine today which is lovely.

Rather than use a lot of words, I'll show you the stages of this painting.

Initial sketch/drawing in pencil, pen and ink

Blocking in the sky and foliage

Blocking in the sea and sand

Painting around the edges

... and the RHS

Mini me!!!

There are quite a few differences; can you spot them?  Who said "One's bigger!"?  :D

I have a little bit of fiddly work to do on the larger one, such as the billboard signage, tidying up a small part of the background foliage which I had wiped out and painting a small fence. Whenever I go back to it, I enjoy painting it as it is so big and I feel like I'm actually in the scene.

Have a lovely weekend and happy painting everyone!

57. Day Four: Homeward Bound

Landscape, oil on Pebeo canvas board, 10cm x 10cm (4" x 4")

I rapidly painted this but was disappointed because I missed posting it to Leslie Saeta's site in the requisite time but then realised it could still be posted to my blog as that is always available!  This is one of the great things about Leslie's challenge - it makes us more productive than usual.  

The rather straight white line was applied with a palette knife but the rest of the painting was done using a couple of Monarch brushes (lovely!).

No worries, although the original image was taken on my phone on a rainy evening, I wasn't driving at the time!  I'm off to work now.  Happy painting folks.  :)

54. Autumn in Blighty

Landscape, W&N Griffin Alkyd oil paint on Arches oil paper, trimmed to 8" x 8"

Before trimming (9" x 9")

This is to be cut and displayed on mount board so I used alkyd oils for speedy drying. It needed an autumnal look to it and nearly all my paintings end up predominantly blue (as opposed to red or yellow) so I used the 'Zorn' palette (Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White and Black*). I was very pleased with the nuances of colour achievable, including pale yellow and some good greens.

*  I wanted a black that was completely transparent so I mixed together Alizarin Crimson and Phthalocyanine Green. I thoroughly mixed it out with a small palette knife on a transparent party plate then tested it by adding white to ensure it was not biased to either red or green.  This gave me a very deep, luscious black without any chalkiness at all and resulted in a darker mix than the equally good Ultramarine Blue/Burnt Umber (or Burnt Siena) mix.

I agree that most mixes should still show a hint of their components but if I'm mixing two colours to get a third colour, the plastic plate has two benefits. I can turn it upside down to check that the two pigments have been blended completely - no streaks at the bottom of the mix - and I can also lay the 'palette' down onto a surface which is the same colour as the support I'm using to give an accurate reflection of how the paint will look on the actual painting.  My ground colour is often black, an umber (see previous post) or white so I usually have at hand a second support in the current colour placed under the transparent plate. Some artists paint their support and then the bottom of their glass or perspex palette; the party plate is less hassle and there is no clean-up or scraping off afterwards.

Phew!  If you've read this far, please will you let me know if all this information is helpful or if you'd prefer a shorter post? I'm happy to continue sharing my findings with you if you wish.

(Btw, Santa brought me a lovely present which I'll share with you soon!)

Happy New Year to you and your families.  x

53. Pink House, Cumbria

Landscape, oil on Pebeo canvas board, 30cm x 30cm (approx. 12" x 12")

Hello again, everyone.  I'm sorry I have not posted since mid-November (shocking!). Although I've done a fair bit of artwork, it was nothing I could post.  Some of it is for a friend's upcoming wedding, the last bit of which I finished yesterday so am now able to return to my own work for a while.

You may remember the underpainting above, done for Day 29 of Leslie Saeta's September challenge.  A week or so ago, I quickly blocked in some of the colour (middle image) but had to abandon it again until last night when I painted the distant mountains, tree, gate, road and finally the house.  I also tidied up the background trees and the dry stone wall.  I had originally shortened the fence (which in real life runs behind the gate and past the tree) but eventually ditched it altogether to achieve a more open space.

The only four colours used are from one of my major bargains - a pack of Royal Talens Rembrandt oils: Permanent Red Medium, Permanent Yellow Light, Ultramarine Deep and Titanium White.  I've heard it said that Rembrandt paints can be too oily but I get around that by simply using less medium than I would with, say, W&N paints.  My mix is Refined Linseed Oil, Stand Oil and Gamsol OMS at a ratio of 2:1:1 (Carol Marine's recipe).  I buy Gamsol from Stuart R. Stevenson on Clerkenwell Road in London - my first bottle was a free sample!  This time, I used two Liquitex brushes (soft, synthetic and great with oils) and a tiny palette knife for the pink blossom in the trees.

Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog and for reading this far!  I wish you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and colour-filled 2014.  xx

50. Bluefields - Stop the Car!

Seascape, oil on Daler Rowney Canvas, 12" x 4"

This is a view of Bluefields Beach that we pass on the way to Montego Bay.  I have stopped to photograph it so many times over the years that now, every time we approach it, the gentleman who drives us automatically asks me if I'd like to stop and take a photograph! :D
I painted the yellow boat with a palette knife so the paint would go down nice and thick.

 

I meant to photograph my pen and ink drawing but only realised once I'd got this far with the paint.

46. Trees on Whinlatter Pass

Trees on Whinlatter Pass, oil on W&N canvas board, 7" x 5"

This painting went into Leslie Saeta's '30 in 30' challenge nude!  I had only managed to finish the under-painting by the time the challenge was over.  It's done now though and I laid all the colour on top using a small diamond-shaped palette knife for speed.  I have corrected the background shape as it looked like a line of trees instead of a mountain range.  My initials were put in using a colour shaper which, believe it or not, was the fiddliest part.  Have a good weekend everyone! 

39. After the Rain on Whinlatter Pass, Cumbria

4"x4", oil on primed hardboard.

 Blocking-in stage.

Well, four days before the end of Leslie's September '30 in 30' challenge, I at last have something to post; it's been impossible before now.  Thank you Leslie for encouraging us to post anyway.  (I may still do a final fiddle with the reflections.)

This is a view we saw when we were in the Lake District a couple of weeks ago.  England has some beautiful spots and the Lake District has some exceptional examples.  It rained a fair bit while we were there but it didn't ruin our visit.  The UK landscape tends to look very green and lush due to the damp weather and it looks and smells particularly good immediately after the rain has fallen. 

36. Summer School Sketches

On the first day of summer school, we practised drawing and painting reflections as that would be the theme throughout.  On day 2, we drove down to the canal-side at Ware and sketched and painted there.  The weather was superb so it was a lovely day all round.