Holiday in Austria

Hi, I have just returned from my holiday in Austria. We had a fantastic time and very hot weather. Austria is a lovely country to visit and the scenery is spectacular. We camped as usual just outside Lofer and I managed to do some sketching. Here are a few of the sketches I made.

View up the river at the camp site.

A quick sketch made of the Geological trail a short walk up the valley from Lofer.

Two small sketches completed at Konigsee.

Konigsee

Sketch made whilst waiting for the bird flight display at Hohenwerfen.

Photograph of the view sketched.

Sketch of the Gross glockner on a spare envelope.

Photograph of the mountain.

Sketch of Krimml Upper Falls.

Very quick sketch looking up the valley towards the upper Krimml falls.

Peony painting update number three.

Hi, Just a quick update, I have finished the painting of a peony. Overall I am pleased with the completed painting and really enjoyed painting the stems and adding the reddish colour. The leaves took a long time to finish but I think I have achieved enough contrast between the their top and bottom surface. At the moment I am working hard on my dress. So its back to sewing.

Peony painting update number 2

Hi, Lots of things happening here. My son has had his masters results and we are very proud of him. I am still painting the Peony painting. It has taken a lot longer than I expected because I have had a lot of other demands on my time. I want to make my dress for my sons graduation. I have cut the pieces out and now need to get on with the sewing. Today, however, I have given some time to my painting. I have painted all the top surface of the leaves trying to create some shine. I have adjusted the colour with a glaze as they were a little too bright. I have now started working on the backs of the leaves which are a more greyish green than the top surface. I am using the same colour mixes. After I have painted the backs of the leaves I want to add a little red on the leaf edges.

Peony painting update.

Hi, most of my classes have nearly finished for the summer and I have had a lot of paper work to complete for them. I haven't had a lot of time for the actual painting but I have managed to tackle a couple of the peony leaves.

I am using sennelier paints for this project and I really like them. I know some artists prefer other makes but these paints are very creamy and lovely to apply on the fabriano artistico paper I am using. I wanted to create the effect of light striking the leaves. The leaves are not glossy but do have a slight shine. The under surface of the leaves is a more subdued shade and more blue. My drawing has a lot of backs of leaves for me to tackle but I will complete the top surfaces first. I also have more leaves to draw for the centre flower stem.

Peony Flowers in watercolour.

Hi, Another very busy week. My son is home for university and looking for a job. I had a lot of get together's with friends which was great but I am afraid I have eaten much too much cake. My current projects have been to finish a crocheted fairy light bunting decoration which I began a long time ago. I used the pattern from the craft seller magazine. I have lots of cotton left over to make a second set. I think the bunting is fun and very cheerful.

 I have also started a painting of Peony flowers. These flowers are absolutely beautiful and cry out to be painted. I have purchased several bunches of flowers over the last week to try and get the flowers to open enough for me to paint the last flower. Eventually I managed to get one flower to open for me to paint. It is so frustrating when the flowers won't open. The paint I used was Sennelier helios purple and it a lovely match for the flowers. I love the outer petals and sepals which add a real splash of colour.

I have purchased yet another bunch of flowers to work on the leaves.