Friday, September 7, 2012

Friday, work in progress...

Work in progress - had to stop not long after this as the light had gone

I really have lots and lots of business/admin/email/workshop writing type work to be getting on with after my lovely August break, so that kept me busy all morning. Then of course Friday afternoon at 2 o clock is coffee time with my friends, and I haven't seen some of them for six weeks. Everything else stops for an hour and a half on Friday afternoons during term time :-)
Then I was able to get out for two to three hours with Mabel, glorious late summer, late afternoon day as you can see! I can't tell you how many times I've walked past this barn and considered painting it. It's good to finally get on to it!
I got quite a lot further with the painting (the barn anyway) than this but couldn't take a good photo and there's one or two touches I want to finish.
I was reading about some fascinating research this morning by Dr Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard medical school. He found that volunteers who practised piano skills using only their imagination, looking at the keyboard without being able to touch it, gained the same brain pattern improvements as a group that had actually practised the exercises on the piano. I always knew it was a good thing to mentally draw or paint something when you haven't got any materials to hand. In fact, I did quite a lot of that when my children were very young and their needs kept me so busy! :-)

8 comments:

  1. That is so true! Imagining a painting before you even start it, is magical....usually the best ones. Your spirit and energy are intoxicating.keep up the great work.

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    1. Thank you Nancy, you're very kind! How's Cello? :-)

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  2. I think that is very true - and it's also quite amazing how differently you see colour and shapes when you have been painting all day

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    1. It's good to know you can practise anytime! :-)

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  3. What a beautiful painting already! The path has my attention with the play of light and shadow. Can't wait to see how the barn completes the scene.

    I'll have to try the mental painting idea. I think you must have to do it at a deeper level of detail than just planning (boy do I love to do that..., lot's of planned paintings laying around in my brain). Have you tried the drawing apps on your iphone? I like Inspire, either with a finger or a stylus.

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    1. I haven't really tried them Bobbi, but I've had a few goes with one on the iPad, Brushes I think it's called. Fun! Have you tried Lori Putnam's husband's app for the iPhone - it's called Value viewer ? I can't get it as I haven't updated my phone with the latest version yet. Sounds good though!

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  4. I do have Value Viewer, but I didn't know Lori's husband was the author. That's fabulous. And I should have used it today, but forgot...

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  5. I love your beautiful paintings: very good, smooth and beautifully painted color. Greetings from another painter.

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Thank you for your words!