Society of Botanical Artists exhibition

Hi, it has been a while since I posted but it has been busy here. I am absolutely delighted to have a painting accepted for the Society of Botanical Artists exhibition in London. I was very proud to take my painting up to London for the handing in day although it was a bit of a job getting on the tube with a large painting. The painting accepted was of Parrot tulips as shown below. I love these flowers and have bought several more different varieties to grow. Lots of lovely painting next spring hopefully. I completed a painting of Honeysuckle some time ago but was not very pleased with the composition so I decided to change it. I think the alterations I have made to it are a great improvement.

Forgive the photo. It is difficult photographing paintings.

                                                               The Exhibition details are as follows:
                                                                        Annual Open Exhibition.
                                                                           Changing Seasons.
                                                               The Society of Botanical Artists.
                                            Friday 13th October to Saturday 21st October from 11am to 5pm every day.
                                                                          Central Hall Westminster,
                                                                                          London

SW1H 9NH.

The paper is a natural white but it is very difficult to get a good photo.

Painting an Iris in watercolour.

Hi, I have just finished painting an Iris (Chieftain) in watercolour. I tried using Arches watercolour paper for the first time and found that the paper responded better if I painted with a drier layered approach than laying down large wet in wet washes. This also helped portray the papery petals more easily and add layers of colour to the darker petals. The paper responded well. I thoroughly enjoyed painting this flower and would like to paint the flower with an even more close up composition. I used Sennelier artist quality paints.

Changing Sails Charlestown

Hi, I now have a place to paint all to myself which is lovely. The first painting completed in my studio was painted from a photograph and sketches I made a few years ago. We were visiting Charlestown in Cornwall. The harbour at Charlestown has been used many times as a film and TV location and often has sailing ships docked. This year the sails were being changed on one of the ships and I thought it would make an interesting painting. The time had come to have a go at the painting. I have just bought a set of Hazel Soan watercolour paints and this was the perfect project to get to know the paints. The paints were great to use and performed well. I had to simplify the rigging whilst retaining the impression. I painted on rough Saunders and Waterford paper which is a lovely paper to use and is very forgiving.

Changing Sails, Charlestown.

                                                   

Moonlight pastel painting

Hi, Just a short update on my painting. I have recently finished a pastel painting based around Charlestown in Cornwall. It is a great place to visit and usually there is a sailing ship in dock in the harbour. The harbour, dock and ships have been used as a location for a lot of films and TV series. Taboo and Poldark have both been filmed on Location at Charlestown. I wanted to paint a sailing ship in the harbour with moonlight reflected in the water. I used a number of photographs I had taken, both day and dusk, to produce a basis for the painting. I haven't painted using pastels very much but having just finished the pastel course with Jane Ward I wanted to have a go at my own composition. Overall I was pleased with the result particularly the sky and the moon light. It was very difficult to create the silhouette of the ship and harbour so that it showed enough against the clouds in the sky. It was great fun to try.

Painting of Bedruthan Steps Cornwall in Mixed media.

Hi, My latest painting is of one of my favourite places, Bedruthan steps in Cornwall. The coastal scenery is very dramatic and I thought it would be a good idea to paint the view from a higher perspective and I think it has worked well. I also decided to use both watercolour and pastel. I painted the painting to a reasonably finished stage and then used the pastels to add the final texture and drama to the sky.

Bedruthan Steps.