Back from Staithes and London

Sketchbook watercolour Staithes

How is it possible that it's July already? Yes I know it's been a couple of days now but it's taking a while to sink in...
Sorry I didn't get a chance to blog from Staithes, I really was too busy teaching and chatting and eating and painting and dodging the rain showers. We had a really lovely few days with variable weather. I will show you a couple of paintings I was able to do up there. It was fascinating watching the way the colour of the sea changed according to what the sky was doing.
This is a watercolour from my sketchbook that I did on the afternoon before the painters arrived, while eating a nice lunch outside the Cod and Lobster.

Have been very busy framing in the studio since getting back, and yesterday I drove down to London to drop off six paintings for the Russell Gallery's summer show. I also visited the Society of Women Artists exhibition at the Mall Galleries where I have two plein air paintings hanging - one from Morocco and one from Cornwall. The show finishes on Saturday at lunchtime, and disappointingly I couldn't get a catalogue as they'd run out. It's a real shame as I like to keep all the Mall Galleries catalogues from shows that I've had work in, so if you know of anybody that might have one spare I'd be really grateful.

Staithes

Limited time with wifi so just sending you a quick photo postcard! Have arrived in Staithes ready for my painting weekend with twelve lovely eager painters. Let's hope that the weather continues as it was today...

Radio interview and Pintar Rapido

Rowing club at Putney

Today I was invited along to BBC Radio Lincolnshire to be interviewed by Melvyn Prior, live on the 'Melvyn in the morning' show. It was so much fun to actually go into the radio station, as last time I did an interview via telephone about painting the pageant in 2012. This time Melvyn wanted to talk about our year living on the island as well as my latest awards.

If you'd like to, you can listen to the interview during the next seven days. The radio programme is 2 hours 59 minutes long, and if you want to just skip to my bit I come in just after the first hour.

You can listen here! 

I also wanted to tell you about an event coming up in London, called Pintar Rapido. It's on the weekend of the 19th and 20th July, and it's an exciting new annual plein air event in the UK which began last year. Hundreds of artists will be joining in (including me), on the Saturday painting in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea and on the Sunday exhibiting all the paintings at Chelsea Old Town Hall on Kings Road.
If you'd like to take part in all that excitement then you need to act quickly because the closing date to register for an artist's pass is June 30th.
It's sure to be an incredible atmosphere and a fun weekend. Find out more here :-)

Poppies everywhere!

Flaming June
8" x 16"
Buy it now

They are here for only a short while and when you come across a field of poppies in June they are so magical. This seems to be a good year for poppies in Lincolnshire, and these ones are only about a mile from where I live so I simply couldn't resist. 

This was one of those that almost painted itself, tripping off the brush so fluently, and in under an hour and a half my work here was done.

By the way the sky looks a much more subtle blue in the real painting than it looks in this version on my screen, and possibly on your screen too. Looks better in the progress shots below.

I took a couple of photos as I went along, as I know that many of you like to see the stages.

Sketched in with the brush, then placing of greens

A touch of red so I could see it in situ, then blocked the sky in 

Great studio for the morning :-)

A relaxed demo and the end of a great festival!

Relaxed at my demo!
Thanks to Bob Owen for the pic!

I loved everything about Patchings festival, and had a really nice last day to end on. I thoroughly enjoyed my demo in the Festival marquee in the morning, although I would have liked another half an hour (it was only one hour). It was so nice afterwards back on my stand as I continued with the still life painting and chatted to people who'd watched the demo. I must especially say hello to the lovely group of friends from Leeds!

This is how my set up looked up on the stage. My trusty cockerel looked rather lovely with the black of the marquee behind. Funny thing is I almost didn't paint him - thanks for reminding me Clare! :-)

And here's me relaxing in the afternoon with a well deserved glass of Pimms, and with me here is the fabulously talented Michele del Campo. 

Today I've been trying to unpack from the festival and catch up with emails and give my little dog some overdue attention and walks!

OH MY GOODNESS

With my prize winning painting!

Everything got more and more amazing today... my red sail painting really wanted to go out with a bang!

It's now received three prizes in as many days... I know! You're thinking 'how'?! Well today Ken Howard RA came to Patchings to help choose ten exhibitors in The Artist exhibition for the 'exhibitors award' which means they will have a group exhibition at Patchings at some point next year... and I'm one of them!

Then Ken has to choose his favourite piece in the exhibition for The Artist purchase award and... yes!! Indeed I was as surprised as you are believe me! This means that The Artist magazine will purchase my painting and it will hang in their gallery with all the previous winners of this award. For ever. :-)

So yes, I have been a bit giddy and excited today!

Festival day 2 - perfect summer's day

Plein air demo yesterday

The second day of the festival was just as busy as the first, and weather-wise it was a textbook English summer's day, really beautiful weather. That's set to change apparently as according to the weather reports we're expecting rain and hail storms today! I hope that doesn't put people off coming as there's so much to see and do, and the main marquees link together so you can keep dry with us :-)

I did a plein air demo yesterday afternoon down by the courtyard where the resident studio artists work, for an hour and a half. I had a lovely group sitting and watching too. When I brought it back to the marquee I found it a little dark so I shall probably do a few adjustments this morning.

Thanks so much Sue for being my 'right hand man' this past few days, which you do so well! X

Painting Dana on Thursday

Festival day one, a portrait and a prize!

What a grand day! Wow, I don't have much energy left to talk but here's a quick run down... saw about 300 people on my stand (no I wasn't counting but it sure seemed like a lot of people) and I think I have demos booked for the next 22 years!

A lovely artist and Facebook friend Dana Mallon offered to pose for me this afternoon and we had a great time with lots of stopping to chat to people. Somehow I managed to get something done, and Dana is really pleased with it! 

And... I found out I won a prize! My painting 'Sails up in harbour' which you all know well right back from the original sketches in France last summer has won the Pro Arte award in The Artist/Patchings competition exhibition which opened today in the Barn gallery. Very happy!

See all the prizewinners here...

Remember to go and visit the exhibition if you come to the festival! 

Painting Dana

Dana Mallon

Sails up in harbour wins a prize!

A box of drawing pins later...

After a day of using hundreds of drawing pins, staples and rolls of velcro my stand is almost ready!
When I get back in the morning I need to do a few bits and pieces like putting items out on the tables and switching the fairy lights on (which are wrapped around the bunting).
I've got a wall this year for unframed plein air paintings...

I'll take more photos on the first day of the festival opening. This is the huge festival marquee that I'll be doing my demo in on Sunday morning! See that huge screen at the end so that you don't miss a single brush mark?

And those naughty knitters have been yarn bombing the whole festival site... doesn't it look fabulous, rain or shine?

Patchings here we come!

New calendar and new cards

Hot off the press! Today I picked up my brand new calendars (never had a calendar made before, very excited about it!) and four new designs of greetings cards to add to my collection. Everything on my exhaustive (exhausting?) list is packed and loaded up in the car and trailer ready for setting off to Patchings art centre in the morning and setting up my stand in the painting marquee. 

Next time I'll report in with pics of my stand because by hook or by crook it will be up and running by this time tomorrow... studio away from home...

but when I arrive in the morning it's going to look like this...

Patchings festival opens on Thursday!