Cupcake and roses

Cupcake and roses
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Oils on stretched canvas, 10" x 12"
I wanted to work again with the same subject that I was using for the thirty minute exercise, and this time get the teacup in! It's a teacup filled with candle, it's very pretty. I also wanted to use the same colour palette and even more importantly, I wanted the same boldness about the brushstrokes. And economy! I wanted to use the minimum of brushstrokes as necessary, place a mark and leave it alone.
I didn't have a time limit this time! I think I've achieved everything I set out to do, I like it very much! Would quite happily keep it but I'll put it up for auction in case one of you wants a chance!

Here's a detail, lovely smooth lusciousness...

Yum, I could eat those colours... or I could actually go and eat the cake I suppose...

Ten min prim

Ten minute primula
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I'm still thinking about my faster painting workshop and decided to challenge myself with a ten minute time restriction today! Simple enough subject, small board (18 x 13 cms) and paints ready to go.... it was achievable I think!
It's such a good exercise as it forces you to consider what are the most important things about the subject that you need to get down!
Here's a close up so you can see how lush and thick the paint application was...

Still euphoric over the success of yesterday's thirty minute painting I find myself asking why isn't it possible for me to do ten such paintings in a single day? It's a great theory isn't it? So why doesn't it actually WORK like that?! Answers on a postcard please...


Hmm... sounds like a challenge though...

Painting faster!

Cupcake, rose and hyacinth
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I've been preparing for my next workshop which is all about painting faster! It throws up some very interesting questions about what exactly you would call fast, and what the benefits are of painting faster. What would you consider fast in the completion of a painting? For me it's anything up to an hour and a half. Back in the day, at university, we painted in full colour from the life model with only five minutes each pose. That's what I call a good education!

So today I set my timer for this painting and gave myself thirty minutes. Not a second more! I started getting anxious when I had ten minutes left mind you!
Although reluctant to stop when the timer finished I did and am actually really thrilled with it! I think I captured the essential info with an expressive, direct feeling to the marks and bold colour. If I had unlimited time I'm sure I would have lost that with 'fiddling' and 'neatening up'! Sound familiar?
I used a fairly small board (10" x 8") and fairly large brush and laid out my paint on the palette before I started the clock.
I thought you might be interested to see the objects I was working from...

There are still places available on the workshop on Monday... you know you love a challenge! Find out all about it on my website www.haideejo.com

Epicerie avec les agapanthes, Bréhat

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Epicerie avec les agapanthes

I haven't been painting all weekend (apart from 20 minutes today!) but here's a plein air oil painting of the Ile de Brehat from last August. The building is the island's epicerie, at the far end of the market place behind the huge stunning bed of agapanthus flowers. I varnished this painting today, and thought you may like to see it! It measures 30 x 20 centimetres, please click the link above to see auction info.
Jo mentioned she liked to see the painting in the context of my studio in the last post, and could she see more of my house?! Well I thought you may like to see how I display the little paintings on my kitchen dresser, along with all the other clutter (!)

Perhaps I should have tidied it for you! I think the paintings look very nice on there though! ;)

Much excitement and a deadline!

I've been in rather a state of excitement and nervous tension today! I found out that this painting of Camille using her iPod touch has been accepted through to the next stage of the selection process for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition! I am so hugely excited that I may have a painting hanging in the exhibition that I haven't been able to think of anything else all day!
The only slight snag .... which I will sort out, don't worry! .... is that the painting is currently in France, so I need to go and collect it, frame it and get it down to London by the 15th March!
Now, where's my passport...

Painting from the model

When I was finished with painting the model on Sunday, I turned my attention to the other artists...

Last of snow

I'm having a very busy week with three birthdays in the house so if you don't hear so much from me that'll be why! This is the snow I was painting 'en plein air' on Friday, now I'm working on it some more in the studio and nearly all our snow has melted! So this may be the last snow painting for a while...

Fred's paddock in snow

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Fred's paddock in snow

I loved the long deep shadows and the pinky warmth from the setting sun, the patterns of the stone wall broken up by snow and the way the trees seem to huddle together, bracing themselves for more snow to come...
Oils on canvas board, 24 x 18 cms

Last snow in the lane

Last snow in the lane

I have been having a ball getting out and about painting the snow! Mind you, it took me about four hours to warm up after painting this one! Sorry to the Fulbeck ladies that I didn't make it back to the hall but I didn't get this finished until after 1pm! I went in search of remaining snow and as you can see in the background we still have the fog hanging around! I loved the character of this ivy clad tree and think I will return here in another season.
Oils on canvas panel 24 x 30 cms

O Christmas tree!

O beautiful Christmas tree! I've always adored Christmas trees for drawing and painting purposes. This is a black artificial tree that we brought over from England with us. Although it is described as black, I didn't use any black watercolour in the painting of it, but mixes of indigo blue, crimson and viridian. I did use lots of masking fluid! This painting took a long time as I built it up in lots of layers. My first step was to apply masking fluid 'spots' to represent the little lightbulbs, and then to apply a pale blue wash over the entire piece of paper so that the only truly white bits would be the lights. When that was dry I applied masking fluid in a ring around the lightbulbs. After putting colours down for the various baubles I masked them all out. I also painted the violet shadows cast by the tree onto the wall. I built up the dark colour of the tree in several stages, taking my brush in the direction of the tree branches, and not having to worry about saving the decorations or lights as they were all masked. It was really important for me to mix a deep intense colour, as the watercolours always dry lighter and I was after a strong contrast between the dark of the 'black' tree and the lights and ornaments.
It always makes me sad to take the decorations down in January. I miss the extra lights, but continue to light candles every evening ;)