Not quite white

I've enjoyed the challenge that comes with painting white flowers, getting the balance between coloured shadows and white highlights right.  I'm very pleased with how this has worked, the shadows are delicate but not boring grey.

 

Blushing Bride

Watercolour on paper, 15" x 11"

Tree Peony WIP

I drew out a new flower last night and after just a few hours it is already taking shape nicely!  The beauty of white flowers is that you only need to paint the shadows...

The Last Dance

I completed a new floral yesterday, this time of something which has fascinated me for years...... the way flowers change as they die, yet still have a unique beauty.

 

The Last Dance

Watercolour, 14" x 11"

AVAILABLE

I painted a single tulip with one drooping petal some years ago.  I think it's a subject I need to explore further.

Tired Tulip

Watercolour, 10" x 14"

SOLD

More spring flowers

Spring really is here now, with the usual mix of beautiful warm days and dull, wet days. I'm enjoying painting the brave early flowers which cheer up the garden.

The most recent is this pink hellebore, I loved how the light was hitting the petals, cancelling out the colour so all I could see was bright white highlights contrasting with deep pink.

Take a Bow - watercolour, 7" x 5"

Before that, these delicate primroses, again the lighting was special.

Primrose Posy - Watercolour, 15" x 11"

The last, but first to be painted, more hellebores!  This was much looser than the other two.

Lenten Roses - Watercolour, 14" x 10"

Spring has sprung

While the mornings are still very chilly it's good to see the first green shoots appearing from bare soil.  The daffodils aren't quite flowering in my garden so I bought some from the supermarket for the bargain price of £2, and they inspired me to paint this!

Fresh Faced

15" x 15", Watercolour on Fabriano Artistico 140lb

Holiday memories

I rarely paint landscapes, but occasionally I am inspired to try.  This is a view from clifftops on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales.  I spent a wonderful day walking along these cliffs with my husband, I think it's the most beautiful place.  I am truly blessed to live in such a beautiful country.

Gower View

Watercolour, 22" x 14"

Not for sale

FREEBIES!!!!!

I'm running a giveaway on my facebook "fan" page and thought my blog followers would like a chance to take part too!

One lucky winner will get to choose three greeting cards from this group:

 

To enter, you need to be a facebook member (so you are able to comment) and simply leave a comment on  this image (you might have to "like" my page first).  I'll be selecting the winner using a random number generator, and the draw takes place on Friday 18th February.  I hope to see some of you over there!

KISS...... and this blog in top 50 list!

Keep It Simple, Stupid - what I had in mind for this painting.  I had a very busy reference, a mass of purple coneflowers, it could have been extremely complicated.  I chose to isolate a single flower, keeping the background very simple (in theory), and using complementary colours.

Centre of Attention

watercolour on hot press Fab. Artistico

10" x 14"

My selection of hot pressed paper was, on reflection, a mistake as it made it far more difficult to get a smooth background.  There are a few hard edges but it didn't turn out too badly.  The trick is to use lots of water, wetting the whole of the area before adding strong pigment and letting it mingle.

A nice surprise this morning as I learned that this blog was included in a new article about the top 50 watercolour blogs!  I'm at #40, and I'm thrilled to see that I'm in some very good company!

Well I never!

I rarely paint abstracts, mainly because I never know where to start, and then what do I do next?  On the occasions I've tried, I have rushed, not considering my next move, and ended up with a big mess.  This time, I went slowly, planning each brush stroke..... amazingly, I really like the result!

Abstract - Watercolour, 14" x 11"

Breaking out

I almost always paint quarter sheet paintings, not because I love working at that size, but because it's the most practical size for my own work area.  I've been feeling more and more frustrated and penned in, not able to enjoy the truly magical effects of watercolour as much as I would like.  I finally broke out, taking a half sheet and letting the paint do the work.... what fun!

Popping Poppies - 15 x 22 inches

Peony #2

A second peony, more procrastination as the chocolates are still waiting for me to return.  All those delicious white-edged pink petals were fun to paint, even at just 7" x 7"!

Peony Procrastination

Yes, I am still avoiding the chocolates!  I just need to be  in the right mood for that kind of painting, and I'm not at the moment.

Todays distraction is a small peony, painted without any initial sketch on a scrap of Fabriano Artistico extra white paper.  I quite like the looseness I've achieved!

Peony Procrastination - 7" x 7"

Green Skies

Taking a break from the chocolates, I felt like playing with pigments and water, inspired partly by Maggie Latham's "100 Washes" blog, and partly by the book "Wet in Wet Watercolour" by Ewa Karpinska.  What started as a simple wash of shades of blue and indigo became something completely different when I accidentally dipped my brush into green gold - a dramatic stormy sky appeared on the paper!  I had to use it, and turned the wash into a stormy landscape.  I wish I hadn't left the patch of white paper in the centre, that was an unhappy accident, but the discovery that green gold and indigo make a wonderful brooding sky was happier!

Still plugging away...

I never imagined it would take me so long to paint these chocolates! I'm concentrating on painting the darker areas on the tissue paper, I'll add some colour to the lighter areas once I have the shadows in. I wish I was more disciplined and didn't procrastinate!

Chocaholic dreams..... or nightmares?

The chocolate painting is coming along, especially the sweet treats themselves. The real headache is painting the magenta tissue paper, very slow going!

Happy New Year!

Starting 2011 with a still life - this time of chocolates I was given for Christmas! They were a loose selection, chosen specially for me, and presented in a beautiful box, surrounded by magenta tissue paper. I has been hard to resist eating them, but painting chocolate is almost as much fun!

This is the full painting, it's a challenge but I think I need that right now!

A busy time, but I'm still finding time for painting

September has been hectic, with two more visits to The Kington Gallery, and making arrangements for my youngest daughter to move to University in South Wales. I have managed to complete two watercolours though (I think I'd go mad without painting!)

First I painted these crocuses which were a joyful sight earlier this year, after a very hard winter.

Crocus Chorus
15" x 11", watercolour on Fabriano Artistico 140lb

Then I was inspired to return to macro florals after visiting the studio of Peter Horrocks in Kington, Herefordshire. His work is fascinating, abstracts "painted" with pure earth pigments rubbed onto the support in layers.

I chose a single gladiolus flower which had wonderful lighting, great to paint in this exciting medium!

Glad All Over
11" x 15", watercolour on Fab. Artistico 140lb

I think I'll continue to explore macros for a while, they present some interesting challenges.

Another racing scene and an exhibition

I worked hard to get this watercolour completed in time for my joint exhibition with Janet Thomas at The Kington Gallery, which opened on Saturday and runs until late September. The time constraints seemed to do me good because I think this is one of my best!

I attended the opening day, which wasn't only an exhibition opening, it was also the opening of this unique new gallery, and was thrilled to make a "big" sale within the first hour! "In The Running" has gone to a new home with a lovely lady who I know will enjoy it - it's a wonderful feeling when that perfect match happens, the right painting for the right person.

The gallery itself is very special. For the last year, it has been a labour of love for Janet Thomas who bought a disused restaurant and set about turning it into a welcoming place for both artists and art lovers. It is going to be a massive asset for this small market town in rural Herefordshire!

More racehorses

In the Running
Watercolours, 15" x 11"

Another painting based on reference photos taken at Hereford racecourse. This time I was inspired by the lighting, especially the shadows being cast by one horse and jockey, landing on the lead horse.

This painting will join two other racehorse paintings and several florals in an exhibition in my friend's new gallery in Kington, Herefordshire.

Horses for a change

Final Hurdle
15" x 11"
Watercolours on hot pressed Fabriano Artistico

I needed a change from flowers, and I always enjoy the challenge of painting horses in motion, so I looked through my reference files and found a photo I took at Hereford racecourse a few years ago. The challenge I was presented with involved working out how to depict movement and speed when the horses were literally running straight at me! I think I managed it.