Patchings festival 2015

My stand, ready for visitors!

I finally have a few moments to share my experience of Patchings festival with you! It was my fourth year as an exhibitor at the festival and as always I loved every minute of it. It is an intense week, as it takes me a couple of days getting things ready at my end, then a whole day setting up the stand. I was very lucky to have my husband helping again with this! The festival then runs for four days and I travel to and from home each day, so I leave the house at 8.00 am and by the time I get back at about 7.00 pm I'm pretty shattered. As you can see from the photos things get really busy!

As always bunting and fairy lights!

Things got BUSY!

We had fantastic weather for the whole event, apart from some pretty extreme wind on the Saturday. Thursday was baking hot in the marquee which was unpleasant at times, but at least the sunshine brought all the visitors out.
 As always I was chatting to people all day long but I managed to get some painting done, starting off with a large canvas of Polperro harbour. Yes it was hard to concentrate on the painting because I break off to answer somebody's question and then before I know it two hours have passed!

A small crowd watching me paint

Just starting

Thursday morning, me and Sue ready for action!

We sold lots of cards and 2016 calendars and four original paintings, and gathered lots of email addresses for the newsletter. I'll be pulling a name out of the box any day now to win the painting of clementines. Good luck if you entered!

As always an original painting in the prize draw (above the flowers)

Choosing a frame for one of the paintings sold during the festival

More than anything we had lots of fun chatting to old and new friends, and as always it was great to catch up with twitter and Facebook and Instagram friends - meeting some of these for the first time! I also had friends who were stallholders for the first time this year and it was great to see them doing so well and having a happy experience. It is such a friendly festival and I'm looking forward to next year already.

With Robin Mason, fellow Harbour Gallery artist

With Luigi from Venice, who was a gondolier for 45 years!

With twitter friend artist Alice Hall from Cornwall

Spotted dog at the allotments

Demo at the allotments
12" x 16" Oils

I've enjoyed some great workshops in the last month, here are some photos from one I did in Nottingham with the Spotted Dog art group. Hello to you and the guest artists who came! We had a great day with gorgeous weather and were based in Inham Nook allotments. The allotment association were very good to us, and we also had use of the village hall so all in all a perfect set up.

Here's the demo I did before lunch, I probably could have gone for a simpler subject but well! It was all about that light hitting the glass greenhouse roof. A few of the members said to me that they weren't sure they would even find a subject of interest to paint at an allotments... but I think they'd seen the light by the end of the day. :-)

"How does it all fit together then?"
"Well it's like this...."

Better crack on with this so folks can have lunch

Thanks very much to Dave Singleton for these two photographs.

Exhibition portraits day eight

Desmond

Desmond was in my portrait hot seat today. Only two more days left of my exhibition and two more ladies will be modelling for the last two portraits. I think I will really miss the portrait sessions next week. 

My exhibition has been a great success and so far twenty-nine paintings are going off to new homes or have already gone. This fills me with much joy, what a great start to a new year! :-)

If you might like one for yourself there are plenty more still seeking ownership, and you can see which ones by following this link to my website.

Desmond in the hot seat

This painting of Staithes is still available, and it's one of my personal 'hot favourites' from the year!

I'm not sure if I told you yet or not but I'm teaching a plein air painting weekend in Staithes this year at the end of June, for the Staithes Art School. We will have an absolutely brilliant time there and there are still a few spaces left to grab - maybe you can join us?

Click here to go to the Staithes Art School website and have a look...

Shadows in the beck, Staithes

Exhibition portraits day five

Me painting Ant painting me painting...

Well today was a little different because my portrait model of the day wasn't just being painted, he was painting me too! It was a little bit more of a challenge but lots of fun and turned out well. We had about two hours of painting time but with distractions of course. Luckily it was quieter in the gallery today for visitors :-)

I have five more days of my exhibition here in Nottingham left to run, and five more portraits to paint.

The whole exhibition is now on my website and will only be there until the end of the month, click here to view.

First stage - sketching out in raw umber

Second stage - adding colour

Ant

I was really quite pleased with the result, and the best fun was painting the moustache! Here is Ant's acrylic portrait of me, I love it! To see more of Ant's work have a look at his blog by clicking here.

Ant's portrait of me

Exhibition portraits day four

Judy

I love painting grey or silver hair - so much variety of beautiful colour in it. This was day four of my series of portraits in the gallery, I think the visitors are really enjoying the chance to watch a bit of painting going on rather than just seeing the paintings on the walls. It's tricky for me to concentrate on the painting as I'm also handling all my own sales, watching who comes in and out, chatting to everyone, answering questions and making coffee when occasion calls for it! Fun though, and you know I like a challenge. 

It was another busy day with lots of visitors, and I wanted to show you some of the lovely comments people have been leaving in my visitors book. 

Painting sales are going well too with 18 going to new homes so far... and you can browse the exhibition from the comfort of your own armchair, no matter where you are in the world (the wonders of modern technology eh?) by clicking here.

Working out in raw umber

Adding colour

Lovely comments... 

Exhibition portraits day three

Andrew

I really enjoyed my day at the exhibition today again! Lots and lots of visitors and yet somehow in the midst of it all I managed portrait number three! Here is Andrew.

I was prompted to take a couple of photos during the process today, I'm so glad I did.

The early stages, applying shadow and rubbing out highlights with a rag

The end of the underpainting, using just raw umber up to now

Applying colour, after a lunch break

Andrew with his portrait

Pssst! The exhibition paintings are now live on my website! Most of them are there anyway, I just need to add another six soon. Click here to view!

Exhibition portraits day two!

Eileen

Another portrait, another busy day at the gallery and a few more paintings sold! Have had well over 200 visitors now, so as you can imagine that means a whole lot of talking. I'm really pleased with how I've managed to get on and produce a portrait with the many, many distractions - albeit good distractions! Luckily Eileen wasn't in a hurry and was extremely patient and we were both pleased with the result achieved.

I'm afraid the photo flattens the colours and brushstrokes a bit and you can't quite see the painterly qualities. If Eileen gets a better photo in daylight I'm sure she will be happy for me to post it on the blog.

Somebody was asking where the models are coming from and I can tell you that they have all arranged and booked in their day, since seeing my plea on here a few weeks before Christmas. There are eight more days and eight more models.

I haven't managed to get the whole exhibition online yet but it won't be long and I'll let you know as soon as I do :-)

Exhibition portraits day 1

Vivienne

I had another great day at the exhibition - with over 80 visitors and a photographer from the Nottingham Evening Post in attendance! 

I don't quite know how I managed to get any paint on the canvas with all that was going on, but here it is, my first portrait of the ten! I'm going to attempt to paint a portrait from life for each day of the exhibition. I am pretty exhausted tonight though ;-)

The colour of light exhibition

The gallery in a quiet moment - just my mum!

 I promised you photos, and here are some for starters! I've had a really good first day in the exhibition, with over 60 visitors and five paintings sold. I know it looks as though no-one was there except one person (and that's my mum!) but this quiet moment was the exception! When the gallery was full this morning I was too busy chatting to take photos :-)

Two vibrant still lifes with flowers
'French coffee and roses' SOLD

Lots of lovely paintings of boats and the sea!

Such as this one from Bréhat
'Pêche à pied at Port Clos' SOLD today

There are interiors and portraits

There's a Venice section!

Cats and flowers and cakes!

Also lots of people have written lovely comments in my visitors book! And I can't thank you my special blog subscribers, my Facebook and twitter friends for all your messages of support re my exhibition - I'm overwhelmed! And I feel like you are all here with me.

Now you see it, now you don't...
three snowscapes hanging in a row this morning

And only the one on the left is still available to buy now!
Orchard in winter SOLD
North heath lane in the snow SOLD

By Friday I will have all the paintings in my exhibition online and available to buy from wherever you are, so there's no reason for anyone to feel left out, ok? ;-)

And tomorrow I start with my first sitter for the ten days of portraits... I'm feeling this is a pretty good way to kick off a new year, if a trifle energetic...

Trying to show you how big the gallery is!

Private view

The front of the gallery

It's been a long day hanging the exhibition and thank you for all your help Pipa. It all came together just in time for a lovely private view! Oscar and Matthew did a great job as 'assistants' and Tim was in charge of topping up glasses, not to mention the cheese platters and home made crackers! It was great to see everyone, thank you so much to those who came I do really appreciate it. I'm afraid I almost forgot to take photos of the Private View as I was so busy chatting but here are a few! Four paintings have chosen new owners this evening so I'm sure they will all be very happy together!
If you can't make it to Nottingham you can now view the whole exhibition online at my website www.haideejo.com
Just click on the 'Exhibition 2012' link in the side bar and you can see in the comfort of your own home what we've got up on the walls here in Nottingham, and should anything take your fancy just send me an email and I'll put a red spot on the label straightaway! :-)

To see the paintings click here!