Vancouver Art Gallery

Yesterday I had a really enjoyable visit to Vancouver Art Gallery. It isn't all that large compared to other Art galleries that I have been to but they seem to have regularly changing exhibitions to make up for this. I joined the art gallery as a member so will be able to visit and see the changing exhibits.! There was a fantastic exhibition of paintings by Maurice Cullen and his circle called, "Exploring Light" Canadian landscape paintings. It was wonderful seeing paintings of Canadian scenery and all the different ways that the artists had tried to capture light on snow. There was also a collection of paintings, sculptures and collages by a German artist called, Kai Althoff which I found puzzling. I had timed it just right to hear a talk by someone who worked there, which helped me to understand the exhibits, she also encouraged discussion amongst the listening people which was fun. There was also a room where you were encouraged to participate in weaving while someone taught you, so I had a go. I thought that the entrance price to the gallery was fairly expensive at $17.50 for someone only going once, but the membership with free entrance for a year and two complimentary passes was much better value especially as we are here for a year.

A Snowy Start and Some Art

Our time in Canada so far has been great we have an amazing amount of snow, rain and snow with rain! Before Christmas I enjoyed a trip to Seattle Art Museum whilst visiting friends in the USA. I enjoyed the variety of art there but especially a group of paintings called "Edward Hopper's Women". You can take a look at it from HERE. A lot of the pictures seemed to have been done while observing ladies in restaurants and I did wonder if nowadays he would have been considered a suspicious character, sitting and looking at ladies who were often sitting alone. I also enjoyed a gallery of Native and Meso-american art which included a lot of historical information.
We also went to the Olympic Sculpture Park. There were all sorts of amazing sculptures there. One was meant to be an eagle but we looked at it from all directions and none of us could see anything Eagle like about it , more sort of dinosaur! I liked a huge tree that was made from a silver type metal, at first we didn't even register that it was a sculpture!
I enjoyed a book from the library on the life and works of Emily Carr. I had kept hearing her name mentioned as one of the most famous British Columbian artists, but had no idea who she was. She did a lot of pictures of Totem Poles and painted in a variety of styles one of which looked a bit like Van Gogh.

Living in canada

We have the amazing privilege of living in Vancouver in Canada for a year. What a treat for an artist. The scenery here is stunning, but I couldn't bring my paints with me, so I hope to buy some soon. The photo above is one I took of a lovely place called White Rock we visited this week.

Street Art at the Tate

I had an unexpected treat yesterday. While in London we passed the Tate Modern and saw their display of Street Art. Six artists had created art on the buildings facade. There is also a walking tour of other artist's work around the local area. A tunnel shaped building in front of the Tate had maps of the walking tour and videos about "Street Art" playing. It was also fun watching people drawing on the walls of the tunnel using marker pens provided. It's on until the 25Th of August and if you are visiting London well worth a visit especially as the display and the Tate Modern are free.

The Vikings Are Coming!

I am very lucky to have August off from school. Next term we are looking at the Vikings and have to do it in a very practical way. While clearing out a cupboard at home I found an old box full of Fimo. It was a bit dry but just usable. I started making one Viking and then got a bit carried away. I now have, Vikings, Settlers, a monk, Saxons, King Alfred as well as a small long ship, which I have to say was a bit of a triumph as I had no idea how I was going to do it. I commandeered my husband's box that his new laptop came in and created a tissue paper map of England and the Scandinavian countries. The Vikings now have a whole new land to conquer and I have had tremendous fun.

Don't Forget Your Sketchpad!

Now the holiday season is upon us and suitcases are being packed all over the UK, here is a little reminder, "Don't forget your sketchpad." Holiday times are one of the few occasions that we can sit somewhere beautiful or interesting and have the time to draw what is around us. I love taking a small sketch pad and drawing wherever I go. I have gradually gathered a book full of holiday memories that's much better than a souvenir. If you are taking children with you, pack a sketchpad for them and draw together, you may be amazed at what they produce and may provide them with a hobby for life. Don't worry if your drawings aren't perfect, (a lot of mine are pretty poor) just enjoy doing them and every so often you'll get a "gem".

BLUEBELLS, BLUEBELLS, BLUEBELLS

Finally Bluebell time has arrived in the UK. Today we went for a wonderful walk in The Vyne Woods owned by the National Trust. As it's nearby we often go there in all seasons but Bluebell time with its sweet smelling carpet of flowers is definitely my favourite. It wasn't sunny so we didn't get the wonderful light and dark greens in the photos that the sun brings, but it was still absolutely stunning and hopefully I can use my photos as a basis

for artwork as I have done in the past. I hope you enjoy just a tiny taste of the Bluebells, it's shame I can't post the smell!

Swan Art With Photshop

Last week we went for a lovely walk along the Thames at Purley on Thames. We love it there as there is a lock to sit by with an ice cream and watch the novice boaters struggling. Walking along the river we saw all sorts of waterbirds and a heron busy fishing. Swans came up to see if we had any food for them. They went away disappointed but I did get a chance to take close up photos. I don't think they were impressed! I like to play with Adobe Photoshop and see what effects I can create. Sometimes it's useful to get an effect to use in a piece of art, simplifying the picture without the effort. I used to think it was cheating until I learnt about the Camera Obscura. I remember watching a programme about Canaletto, (who I thought had drawn his amazing buildings with such accuracy), and being shocked that he had used a camera obscura to copy the scene in front of him. I saw one of the cameras at "The Vyne" a National Trust House near us and looked at how it reflected the scene on the riverbank opposite onto the paper. All you needed to do was to trace the image it showed on the paper. I decided that if the Old Masters used aids to "cheat" then I'll use all the photographic aids that I can.

I've been down with a dose of nasty flu all this week. It seems such a waste of time to sleep so much but I guess that's the amazing way that we are made to help our bodies fight the virus. Yesterday I felt a little better and lay on the settee with my laptop and fiddled with an old sketch, that I already had scanned in the computer, and used adobe photoshop to turn it into a picture. It made me smile to see the sheep I'd drawn, whilst thinking it was very apt as I was lying on the settee. However I was not wearing a polka dot bikini!

I turned this....



To this............

Time to Paint Bluebells

Easter Monday in England, the weather is freezing cold and wet, every time we try to go out for a walk it seems to hail, but never mind the plus side is that it has given me time to finish the painting of bluebells that I showed half done, on this blog, on the 25th of March 2007! It's nearly taken me a year to finish but I have done lots of other paintings in between. I think I am pining for April and May when the Bluebells start to carpet the woods and there are few sights and smells better than a walk amongst them, especially when it's sunny and the light and shadows create a breathtaking scene. Roll on Bluebell time!

A Melted Wax Global Warming - Encaustic Painting

At the weekend we watched the film "An Inconvenient Truth" which had Al Gore speaking about global warming. It certainly made you think. We had high winds, hail and rain today in the South of England, I'm glad to say that even my plastic greenhouse survived the wind, although the news of coastal areas looks pretty bad. with lots of flooding. The painting above is done using encaustic wax on black card. I thought that wax was a very suitable choice for a painting about global warming. I did the earth and then heated the wax using a hairdryer, whilst shielding the lower half of the earth with paper. I was very pleased with the result, but its a shame that you can't feel the nice waxy raised texture on a computer screen.

PUBLIC PAINTING

A few weeks ago I had my first go at painting in public. I was asked if I would paint at the"Churches Together in Tadley" church service. The theme was about God's creativity. I sat with my back to the congregation and finished painting a picture that I started quite a while ago. I thought that I would be nervous but I soon forgot that there was anyone there at all. It was fun chatting to people afterwards and hearing their comments. I enjoyed listening to the "Proclaim Choir" made up from people who attend different churches in Tadley. There was a really good band and the children did a drama. I enjoyed looking at a selection of stands and displays that showed various creative activities pursued by people who are part of the churches in Tadley. It was a pleasant and interesting evening.


I started the painting half done.

My display of paintings above and other stands below.

Salvador Dali and a Generous Act

I am now working in a school for children with autism. I love it! This term the curriculum in art was meant to be related to dreams ,which I thought was a challenging topic. As part of it we were going to look at the work of Salvador Dali. I had vague childhood memories of going with my dad to see paintings by Dali in London and being fascinated by ants and drooping clocks, but I didn't feel I knew enough. Therefore my generous, non-art loving husband took me to see the Dali exhibition near the London Eye in the County Hall. It was fairly expensive but was well worth the cost. I enjoyed seeing the surreal pictures and objects and hadn't realised that Dali had done so many series of paintings. Even my husband enjoyed the visit and seeing all the eccentric but clever exhibits. I think he liked small statue of a swan that when looked at in a mirror below gave the reflection of an elephant.To cap the visit I found an unusual Dali finger puppet with a curly moustache, a wonderful story book about Dali for children called, "Dali and the Path of Dreams" as well as a Dali Colouring book, containing all sorts of wacky ideas, to take back to school.

SIDMOUTH SKETCH

On Saturday afternoon a few of us walked down to the sea, at Sidmouth in Devon, and sat on the rocks while we did some quick sketches of the view around us. It's always nice to sketch with friends.

Watercolour Workshop

This weekend I spent a wonderful time at Sidmouth in Devon on the Tadley Community Church Ladies Weekend. On Saturday morning thirty ladies chose between an aerobic, singing, creative writing and painting workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed running the painting one and we had a relaxing and fun time painting in the shade of a tree in the beautiful garden. Some amazingly beautiful flower paintings were done especially as some of the ladies hadn't painted since they were children. As you can see from the photos of the lovely English Country Garden there was no shortage of subject material.

AN ARTIST'S THOUGHT FOR SUNDAY- A Work in Progress

When I paint there is usually a stage where I have put the background on a picture and it looks a bit of a mess. This picture will end up as one of my favourite bluebell woods. I have a plan for the picture, I know how I want it to end up but there are various stages along the way before it is completed. Having a picture only part done always reminds me that we are a work in progress too.

"...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1v6

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

In the UK it's Mother's Day today so I thought that I'd put up this piece of clip art that I did with my digitizer pad and pen. I have so enjoyed my "computer" art that I haven't done much "real" art this week, hopefully I'll do some more painting next week. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! I'm just off to eat chocolates!

COMPUTER GENERATED FLOWERS

I have enjoyed playing with my digitizer pad and pen. These flowers were created using the brush and metallic paint setting. I rubbed away a few parts that I didn't want with the "eraser".

A Room Filled With The Paintings of Stanley Spencer

On Sunday we had an interesting visit to the Sandham Memorial Chapel in Burghclere near Newbury. We live nearby, and can get in free as we are National Trust members, but for some reason have never been there before. I knew there were some paintings by Stanley Spencer there, but didn't expect what I found. Every wall in the chapel room was covered with huge murals. They were about Spencer's experiences during the war. It was almost like being inside someone's mind and looking at their memories. It made me feel like I was looking at someone's private "art therapy" and was wonderfully interesting, but also mildly disturbing. If you are in the area it's well worth a visit, but the chapel only consists of one room so plan something else as well. If you'd like a look at some of the paintings you can view the photo gallery at the, "National Trust" site here.

ARTIST'S THOUGHT FOR SUNDAY

You will go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Isaiah 55 v 12

VOLITO 2 My Wonderful Digitizer Pad

I have been given the most wonderful gift. It's a WACOM, Volito2 Digitizer Pad. (In the photo it's shown with my laptop, with the pad and pen at the front.) I think it's one of the most amazing bits of equipment for doing computer art. You use the pen, on the pad, just as you would a brush or pencil and it paints or draws onto the computer screen. It comes with some software called, "ArtRage 2" that enables you to choose types of background texture, type of drawing tool and a variety of colours and tones.

If you live in the UK have a look at the Amazon link at the bottom of this blog where you can buy one for £26.05. Amazon was the lowest price that my husband could find, to buy one for me, and mine arrived the next day!!



I did this palette on the computer. I find it amazing that it doesn't "exist" anywhere, only as a computer image. I could print it of course.
I enjoyed using the buttons that made the "paint" look as if it was squeezed from tubes, then smudging them with a brush. You can set the brush to be dry or wet, so that it goes on top of the paint underneath or merges with it, just as wet paint would.
The palette was done using a "roller" setting over a "canvas" background. You can decide how thick or thin you want all the strokes to be. Of course as I've only had it a few days I am just learning how to use it fully.

A MUDDLED STAINED GLASS WINDOW IN WINCHESTER

I had a wonderful day out on Monday to celebrate a friends birthday. We went to Winchester Cathedral, which is not too far away, and enjoyed a tour given by a very interesting guide. I kept looking at a huge stained glass window at the back of the church. I couldn't work out what style of art it was in. It seemed to be a random mosaic using pieces of coloured glass, but occasionally you could work out a figure or part of a figure. Was it an abstract? After a while the guide said that during the English Civil War the "Great West Window" had been deliberately destroyed by the Parliamentary troops when they camped in the cathedral. After the Puritans moved out, the towns people collected the glass pieces and hid them. When it was safe, and Charles the Second was returned to the throne, the glass was brought back. In 1660 it was put back into the window, reforming as many images as possible, but mainly done in the form of a mosaic. I was fascinated by the window and it's story, and would love to have been a fly-on-the-wall when it was restored. "Anyone got a bit of blue arm? I can't find his other eye!"

Medieval Art and Architecture at Winchester Cathedral: The British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions for the Year 1980: v. 6 (Baa Transactions)

BLUE LAGOON REFLECTIONS - A Happy Accident in Encaustic Wax

Sometimes when you do a picture in Encaustic wax, it just melts in the best possible way and creates a lovely picture. When I ran the iron across the card in this picture to create the lake it perfectly reflected the mountain behind it. It's lovely when things work out how you want them to. What a shame it doesn't happen all the time.

AN ARTIST'S THOUGHT FOR SUNDAY

Painted by Sue Whittick in encaustic wax.

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40v 31

HOW TO DO AN ENCAUSTIC WAX LANDSCAPE

• Use glossy card,(the picture above is done on A4 size), to work on, and use encaustic waxes. You need an encaustic iron, although you can try it with a travel iron, (as long as there are no steam holes) but you don't get such a good effect.
• First put some blue and mauve/pink wax onto the upside down iron. Then turn it over and smooth it across the top of the picture to create a sky. If you don't like what you get just do it again.
• Put some mauve and blue on to the iron near the tip, hold it vertically so the tip is towards the top of the picture and wipe the wax across the glossy paper, slightly staggering it to create a ridged effect. Do this several times and move the iron up and down, to create a, "mountain range."
• Put some green onto the underside edge of the iron and smooth it several times to create a few hills/fields.
• Put some green and other colours onto the iron. Press part of the iron down onto the paper. This causes the wax to spread out in air pockets and create a nice foliage effect.
• Do another layer of smooth green to give the impression of fields or valleys in your landscape.
• Add in some more foliage as before. You should be gradually working your way down the paper.
• Put lines of blue and mauve,(whatever colours you used for your sky) along the length of the iron. Starting at the edge of the paper, working horizontally, slide the iron across the picture, creating the lake. You can go back across this with an empty iron to pick up some of the wax, creating a water effect. If you are not happy with what you get, just do it again until you are. Wax is very, "forgiving!"
• Create a bit of foliage in the foreground, and maybe smooth a green path.
• You can do reeds by putting wax onto the very edge of the iron and running it at an angle along the paper. On the picture above they have been done using a heated stylus, (like a heated fountain pen). You can put a few extra flowers on by touching the paper with the tip of the iron covered with a wax colour of your choice, or touching the paper with a stylus.
• These instructions are for the picture above, there are many other ways to do a landscape using encaustic wax.
  

A PAIR OF DOLPHINS FOR VALENTINES DAY

I think that dolphins are rather lovely and fascinating creatures, so I thought that I would put a pair of them on the blog today for Valentines day. I did the picture with encaustic wax, using a small encaustic iron, shaped like a travel iron, and also a heated stylus, which is rather like a heated fountain pen. I loved the feel of smoothing the wax across the glossy card using the iron. It's much more fun than ironing clothes, although I have teased my husband, occasionally, that I might iron a picture onto his shirts! If you love trying new mediums but have never tried encaustic art I would recommend having a go.

BEAUTY OR THE BEAST?

On a trip down the Grand Canal in Venice, enjoying all the historic architecture, we came across this giant, "Magenta Balloon Dog" guarding the doors to a magnificent building. It made me laugh, as this stainless steel sculpture, that looked like a giant modelling balloon, seemed so out of place and yet also so wonderful. There was nothing to tell you why it was there, and I couldn't decide if it was a "tacky" eyesore or a beautiful and amusing sculpture, reflecting lovely bright pink colours over the water. When we came back I found out that the building was "The Palazzo Grassi", an art gallery housing post-modern art by contemporary artists, mainly owned by Francis Pinault. This explained a lot to me about why this enormous pink poodle was sitting alongside the grand canal, but I still couldn't decide whether this sculpture, by Jeff Koons, was a, "Beauty or a Beast". What do you think? Click on "comments" below to let me know.You don't need a google account, just click on "other".

AN ARTIST'S THOUGHT FOR SUNDAY

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 33 v 5

The photo is of a section of, "The Grand Canal" in Venice. Have a look at some live webcams of Venice.

MURANO GLASS - A DELIGHT TO THE EYE

Another thing that was a visual pleasure in Venice was all the glass surrounding you. Most windows were filled colourful displays of glass from Murano or cheap imports from abroad. On a trip to the Island of Murano we watched men glass blowing intricate pots as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I would have loved a try! Some pieces of art glass were both amazing and mystifying, as well as being expensive. I loved one window display, that had great big tubes of paint made from glass, glass brushes - painting glass paint - along a glass wall, and this big glass pot storing large glass brushes. I wouldn't want to buy them, but it was fun to look at them all.

I once enjoyed a days stained glass course, given to me for my birthday, and would love to be able to make the dichroic pendants that I sometimes buy on eBay. There were lots of types of art glass in Venice that I would love to be able to make and experiment with, but for the time being I enjoyed seeing Venetian glass, made by others, in all it's glory.

MOSAIC HEAVEN at ST MARK'S BASILICA

One of my favourite things in Venice was looking at the mosaics in St Mark's Basilica. The photo shown above is of a mosaic set into the outside of the building. The inside was covered with amazing mosaics of every colour, often on a gold background. The floor was also beautifully tiled with patterns and pictures that seemed to be made from polished stones of different colours. Upstairs you could get a good look at the mosaics close up. I looked very carefully to see how they had got the various effects, and realised that they had tiles in lots of shades of the same colour. It reminded me of having a box of pastels of different shades to use to create light and dark areas. As I stood looking up at the high domed ceilings I also wondered how they had physically managed to get the tiles fixed onto the roof. I can only presume that it was with an early form of scaffolding. I came away amazed by the skill of the people who had created the mosaic artwork all those years ago.

Academia Gallery Filled With Great Paintings

The Accademia Bridge in the photo above, leads to the Accademia Gallery, filled with paintings from the 1300's to the 1700's. It was a real treat to wander around amazing paintings by artists such as Bellini, Giorgione, Carpaccio, Tiziano and Tintoretto. I loved seeing a huge painting and then going really close to see the brushwork. I find it almost magical how lines of colour can transform into legs and clothing when you step back.

A quote by Pablo Picasso,

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

A CITY FILLED WTH ART - VENICE

I have been very fortunate to have a short break in Venice. What an amazing city it is; no wonder that so many people have painted it over the years. I have taken lots of photographs and hopefully will be able to use them as a basis for some artwork over the coming weeks.

The "ARTIST OF THE WEEK" LYNNE with "WATERLILIES"

The "Artist of the Week," is Lynne from Stoke Poges in the UK. I really liked her photograph of waterlilies, taken at Cliveden. It reminds me of some of Monet's paintings, and I can imagine him sitting there painting them and trying to get them just right. Not only does she take photographs but she also makes lovely cards, which sometimes include her paintings of flowers.

A quote from Claude Monet,

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."

PAINTING STYLES and a CHATTERBOX

A book that I read about, selling your art, encouraged artists to have just one style of painting in order to become more saleable. I could understand the reasoning behind this, but for me, I thought that it seemed a bit boring. I suppose I tend to have a different style for each of the different mediums that I use.
With encaustic wax, (as in the picture above), I tend to do landscapes or abstracts that are nearer to fantasy than reality. With pastels, I tend to portray animals and birds. With acrylics, I paint somewhat realistic pictures, especially my favourite; bluebell woods. With watercolour, I love to experiment with vast landscapes. With mosaics I just have fun, and enjoy the feel of turning tiles, glass and other oddments into pictures. Lastly with sketching, I enjoy capturing a memory on paper to bring home and have forever. Why would I want to limit myself to one style? Yes, a style emerges within each type of medium, but why would I want to lose the choice of waking up and thinking, " Yes, I feel like the freedom of encaustic wax today," or, "I feel like painting a place that I'd love to be walking through"?

I like having multifaceted artwork.

When I was small my next door neighbour used to, affectionately call me, "chatterbox", as I would follow him up and down, the low fence dividing the gardens, chatting to him non-stop, when he was trying to have a peaceful time gardening. If, " Your style is the way you talk in paint," then long may I continue to be a "CHATTERBOX!"

The Problem With Watercolour Painting

I do watercolour painting, (as in the moorland above), I love the feel of it, but find it much harder to get a good effect than with other types of paint. The thing I don't like, is that if you make a mistake, that's it , there is no going back. Also, you have to plan your picture in advance to leave all the areas of light that you want on the paper. I like acrylic paint because if you make a mistake, you wait for a minute and you can paint over it.

Watercolour has it's attractions though. It is rather fun not quite knowing what the paint is going to do when it spreads into wet paper, and also it's very useful for putting colour into line and wash.

I was looking at a book this week called, "Loosen Up Your Watercolours (Collins Artist's Studio)by Judi Whitton. It was very helpful as it was deigned to help you stop yourself "filling in " everything, which is my problem.

If you want a look at some of her pictures, you can have a look at her "Online Gallery" here.

How to Draw - Some Advice on Art

A quote by Howard Ikembo,
When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, "You mean they forget?"

Why is it that just about every child freely enjoys painting or drawing , but if you say to a group of adults that they are about to paint or draw, a look of panic passes over their faces. Is it that they have become too worried that what they have on paper is not perfect? Or have they had unkind words spoken over their work in the past that has made them too afraid to try? I would think that it's a mixture of both.


"Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud." by Alex Osborn


I'd like to encourage everyone who hasn't painted for years, to get out a pencil or paintbrush and have some fun on paper. It doesn't matter if the end result isn't perfect, but you may end up with a wonderfully, happy picture like Reuben's one above.

A Squirrel in Pastel

If I paint animals or birds I often use pastels, like on the squirrel here. Maybe it's from my caveman roots, as ancient pictures of animals have been found on cave walls since prehistoric times, done in a pastel-like pigment or charcoal. There is something very satisfying about having a box full of chalk like pastels in different shades of every colour. I also like to have some pastels that look like pencils, which I use to add on fine details. A useful book for learning how to use pastels in a variety of ways, is ,"Beginner's Guide to Pastels", by Angela Gair. It covers, the best pastels, paper and equipment to use, expressive strokes, blending, layering, scumbling, feathering, and much more.

Lastly, my most IMPORTANT advice for using pastels, (so you don't have a dirty-faced embarrassing incident like I did once), is, "ALWAYS LOOK IN THE MIRROR, AT YOUR FACE, BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE, AFTER USING PASTELS!"

Learn to Paint Abstracts, and Encaustic Fun

I read a very interesting book this week called, "Abstracts (Collins Learn to Paint)", by Laura Reiter. I don't do many abstracts and was interested to see what they were all about. I found the "Working With Collage" chapter helpful.
The nearest I usually get to doing abstracts is using encaustic waxes, on a day that I don't feel like doing a traditional picture. I cover my food warmer with glossy junk mail, (I always knew that there had to be a use for it), then I put my card on the food warmer. Next, I drip wax from the encaustic iron onto the card and blow the melted wax around with my hairdryer. It is incredibly therapeutic! Occasionally I try to direct the wax into a dramatic sky, but sometimes, just like a very young child, I see what I think it looks like and then add a few details. It's the sort of thing that everybody should do at least once in their life.

A quote by William Baziotes,
"Each painting has it's own way of evolving. When the painting is finished, the subject reveals itself."

A Pastel Parrot and a Happy Memory

Once we were with a small group in Spain. To advertise a local event taking place, we were doing balloon modelling in the local Plaza, and then giving them away to children. Lots of children were coming up asking for particular things to be made. The translator, (who shall remain nameless), usually rather good at translating, said that the children were asking for parrots. Parrots were duly made, but it became obvious that lots of the children were walking off with their parrots, looking surprised, disappointed and then puzzled. Eventually, the translator realised ,that he had misunderstood, the local dialect, and in fact the boys were asking for swords! This explained the disappointed looking boys we'd seen. They had asked for a sword and we had given them a parrot! We changed over to making swords, which was a lot easier. Later we laughed and laughed at our mistake, and the bemused look on the boy's faces. When we returned home, I drew this parrot, in pastels, to remind us of that funny occasion.

Acrylic Art Painting - Free Online Lesson - Bluebell Wood

Work on a canvas covered board or acrylic paper. Do a rough sketch, showing where you want the trees and paths to be, until you like the composition.

To stop your paint from drying too quickly and save washing up your palette, put several layers of wet kitchen roll in a container. Then put some grease proof paper/baking parchment on top. If you put your paint on this you can stop your paint from drying out too fast, and just throw the paint-covered paper away at the end.

Paint the sky onto the backgound. Make sure that you are happy with it, as it is hard to change easily once you put trees on.















Next, mark in where you want the grass to be. Make it dark, as this will give you some dark background colour.















Paint in your trees, using a variey of shades, to give them a textured appearance. Make sure that you have worked out where your light source will be coming from.















Keep checking your painting against your view, or photograph.



















Add in some bushes on the horizon, and the leaves on the trees that are going to be in the distance.















Add in some more leaves, the path and start to define the grass in the foreground.















Add in more grass and some shadows.















Paint on your Bluebells, remembering that they are larger in the foreground. Maybe add a tiny silhouette of a deer in the distance.















Finally, put on your last highlights and touches. This painting will have a nice texture. If you have done it on canvas board, you will only need a frame, not glass.

A THOUGHT FOR SUNDAY

Genesis 1 v 27 - "So God created man in His own image........"

A quote by Leonardo da Vinci,

"The painter's mind is a copy of the divine mind, since it operates freely in creating the many kinds of animals, plants, fruits, landscapes, countrysides, ruins and awe-inspiring places."

An Encaustic Storm , Painted in Wax

A quote by Plutarch,

Painting

is

silent

poetry.

A Page From My sketchbook - Greece

A quote from Tintoretto,

"You can never do too much drawing."

I don't buy souvenirs when we go on holiday. I take along my small sketchbook and do a drawing. Sometimes, I use watercolour pastels too. I end up with a book of wonderful memories to look at from time to time. Some are good, some are not so good, but to me, they all evoke a feeling from where we were. Today's sketch is from a water sports holiday in Greece. In the mornings all the boats, for people to use, were lined up along the water's edge. Whilst my husband windsurfed, I sat myself on a sun lounger and drew these wonderful boats that vanished into the distance. What a lovely memory for this grey and wet day in Tadley.

An Artist's Thought for Sunday

A quote from Michelangelo,

"The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection."

A Happy Artist's Finished Mosaic

I was very pleased to finish my mosaic today, and am happy with the finished result. Actually, the truth is that I need to screw two hooks into the back to hang it, but that's easy. (Famous last words). I love to grout mosaics and to finally see the individual tiles come together as one picture. The grout covers the tiles with a powdery white surface and then there's the excitement of polishing the powder off to reveal the shiny image. It's a shame that a photo can't truly catch a picture, as the mirror tiles, (which just look black in the photo), have bursts of light, just like when you look at a sparkling sea.

A quote from Scott Adams,

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

My Mosaic One Stage On

I have got a stage further on my mosaic. All it needs now is the grouting. I added some mirror tiles, as the vast sea started looking a bit plain. They catch the light in an interesting way. I took out some of the blue tiles and added some darker ones, to try to lead the eye up to the cheerful lighthouse. I decided to glue on a lighter shade of blue for the sky. I think I'm quite pleased with the effect now, although it was a bit hard to photograph.

A quote from Claude Monet,

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly"

Mosaic in Progress

I spent a happy morning gluing pieces onto my mosaic picture. A nifty little tool I bought, to score the tile and then snap it, has helped considerably to fit pieces into awkward places. Safety glasses are a necessity though. I have glued the waves at the bottom, and am working upwards. I haven't glued the boat on yet as I keep wondering where to position it. I'll have to decide soon, so that I can put the rest of the sea on. The bottom of the boat is lovely, it came in a box of glass off cuts that I bought on eBay and is dichroic glass. Someone's pendant that went wrong I suspect. Well it certainly makes an interesting feature. Their loss, my gain and I love to recycle bits and pieces. Hopefully, I'll finish it this week and then I can do the lovely process of grouting, which makes the whole picture suddenly come together as one. If you fancy a go at mosaic, why not click the link at the side of this page, to see a book that explains all.

A Picture That Always Makes Me Smile - a Thought for Sunday.

When my son was about five he did this picture for a Sunday school mini-competition. He was delighted to win a giant size Mars Bar,(as did many of the entrants.) I have to say, it's value is worth much more than that to me. Not because it's my son who did it, although that obviously helps, but because whenever I look at it, it makes me smile. I always called it, "The Happy Shepherd," because the shepherd looks so jolly, pleased and totally in charge. Although two of the sheep look quite a long way off, on the second hill, you somehow know that the shepherd isn't worried and everything is going to be OK. Several years after my son did this picture he said to me, "I could do you a much better one now." How do you explain, to a young child,that it's value isn't in how well executed it is, but in what it expresses and how it makes you feel? Maybe we should remember when we do our own artwork, that although we want our pictures to be perfect, that isn't the whole of what makes paintings precious. It also makes me remember that even if we feel we are in a place in life that feels a bit risky, that the Good, Happy Shepherd is there and is in charge. That's something to smile about!

Mosaic - The World's Best Jigsaw Puzzle

We went to Hobbycraft in Reading today, to buy some more glue to get started on a mosaic. I was looking through the book, "Design Sourcebook Mosaics" and the pictures were so amazing that it inspired me to get going on one again. I love doing them. I call it "The world's best jigsaw puzzle," because not only do you get to put the pieces together, you also get to decide what the picture will be. I have some off cuts of shelving my husband made, to work on, and various tiles and glass pieces, I've gathered over the years, just sitting waiting to be made into a picture. I can't wait to begin. I'll put the photo up today of the first one I did a few years ago. It sits proudly on my kitchen wall. I don't think I cut the pieces as you are meant to though, because after getting fed up with trying to shape the tiles for the sunflowers, I put the yellow ones in a box, covered them with a plastic bag and smashed them with a hammer! A bit unorthodox, I suppose but, it worked.

Switzerland - A Page From My sketchbook

I was hoping to go out today, to take photos that I would be able to use as a basis for a collection of paintings of my local area. It has rained all day and been too dark for photos, so I gave up the idea. While pottering around doing other jobs, I came across my sketchbook. This time two years ago I was in Switzerland enjoying the beauties of a snow filled winter. I found it quite challenging working out how to portray snow, especially as the temperature was so cold and I had to take my gloves off to draw. I also discovered that no matter how remote you think you are, if you get out a sketchbook someone will appear out of nowhere wanting to see what you are doing. They usually appear when your picture is at it's worst! The memory of that beautiful place brightened up my dark and gloomy day in Tadley.

A Child's Eye View of Colour

A few years ago I was doing some voluntary work teaching art in a school. I was horrified to find that most 13 year olds seemed to be very hazy about which primary colours mixed together to make other colours. I therefore worked hard at teaching this carefully with some four and five year olds a little later. I took a little group around a table, took the primary colours and said. "I am going to show you some very, very special colours. With these three colours you can make any other colour in the whole world, apart from white, black and grey." They looked reasonably impressed. I then took some yellow and some orange and asked what they thought would happen if I mixed them. They weren't really too sure, although, as with most five year olds I had a whole variety of peculiar answers. I slowly mixed the yellow and red paint to reveal the answer. If I had pulled a rabbit out of a top hat I wouldn`t have got a more amazed reaction. All their eyes were wide open, and looked at me as if I had done something truly amazing. We went on to paint autumn trees with red, yellow and orange dotty leaves. During the following week a little boy, called Dan, came up to me and said, "Mrs Whittick, that art lesson was so wonderful, I dreamt about it this week."
I wish adults could retain that sense of wonder in colours, and the amazing things in this world around us. Let's get back to exploring colour, shape and texture with all the enjoyment and wonder of a child. I wish I could show you some of the art work that they did, but instead I'll put up autumn photos, I took, of trees in all their colourful glory at Winkworth Arboretum, owned by the National Trust.

But Is It Art? A Visit to the Tate Modern.

A very noble act occurred in December, after a works Christmas party, (that included a night at a hotel in London), my husband, "The Big G," offered me a visit to the Tate Modern. On entering, I was a bit concerned about how he would react to the art on offer, but hopeful that he might keep his voice low enough so that those around wouldn't hear him say, " I could have painted that!" I loved seeing the amazing work of Salvador Dali and was fascinated to see what else was on offer. We enjoyed trying out the sliding doors exhibit. These were a series of mirrored doors, in a row, that opened automatically. If you managed to stay in the middle of a set of doors without them opening, you saw yourself over and over again endlessly. How pleasant that is, depends on how much you like yourself I should think.

I also loved watching people go down the giant slides that went roughly from the top storey down to the bottom. The commentary on this said that the idea behind the piece was for the people to become part of the art work. People definitely became part of the construction. I thought it was a great idea and it looked tremendous fun. For all of us whose childhood didn't include those wonderful foam filled, ball-pooled play zones that are available now, it looked an amazing way to have a taste of them, BUT IS IT ART? I was left wondering if that made all the play zones and swimming pools with slides, art? Is it art because the the artist says it art and others agree with him? If the designer says that the Basingstoke Aquadrome Swimming Pool slides are art, does that make them art? Is it art because it was designed by an artist, or are all the other slides in England art too? Who decides? What do you think?

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, some pieces I loved, some I hated and all were thought provoking in some way. I should think that the artists would be happy with those reactions. I did think there must be a skill in persuading others that the way you have arranged a group of bricks is special in some way, or that the way a canvas has a slash in it is of tremendous importance.

By now you must be wondering how "The Big G" survived this immersion into the world of modern art. Well, his comment on leaving was, "I think they should sack the cleaners there, they've thrown out all the art and left the rubbish behind!"

I thought that was harsh as a sweeping statement on all the exhibits, but I must admit I did secretly agree that some left a bit to be desired. What do you think? Is "The Big G" like the boy who correctly shouted "The emperor has no clothes!" or is he just a cynic?

All pictures that I have uploaded onto this blog are the copyright of Sue Whittick and not to be used in any way without her permission.

An Artist's Blog Begins

Old Year out today and New Year in tomorrow, a fitting start for my arty blog to begin. I am accompanied on my journey by my own personal art cynic, my husband, "The Big G". Take him on a tour of The National Gallery in London and he becomes bemused by the time you reach Monet. "But it's all fuzzy!" he says, and I quickly rush him past Picasso and Van Gogh.
Tomorrow I shall tell you what happens on a visit to the Tate Modern!