19/11: UPDATE

I'd hoped to have started work on an English Mastiff  but have been busy with other things so .. watch this space!!

  Yesterday was the AGM of the local art Group I visited as a guest recently so I attended  and signed up for full membership next year.  Mulled wine and mince pies were served - very jolly!

Then it was off to the Horsebridge Gallery armed with sausage rolls, nibbles and wine ready for the 'Open Night' which ran from 6pm to 8.30pm.

It was packed full which was wonderful.  I think the visitors were more interested in socialising and drinking than buying ... but it was a great atmosphere.  Lots of smaller items - cards and crafts were being purchased but not pictures.

Best news was that I had Red Dots on two of my pictures.   3 pictures had sold on the Exhibition's first day (Wednesday) and 2 of those were mine!!!  It was the horse and the spaniel which sold - smaller pieces, but great news nevertheless - and the exhibition still has 6 days to go.




The 'dad and daughters' picture was despatched by courier yesterday.  It has been shipped in a dark pine wood frame which isn't to my client's taste but fits in with the other furnishings in 'dad's' home.  It was completed in coloured pencil on Clairefontaine Pastelmat

Now I'm just getting ready to 'commute' to London to meet with other Executive members of the UK Coloured Pencil Society.   The Society will celebrate its 10th year by staging a huge Exhibition at Central Hall Westminster in September.  Today's trip is to have a look at the venue (I haven't been there before) and sort out a gameplan.

17/11: SHOWCASE 2. HORSEBRIDGE GALLERY, WHITSTABLE

'Made in Whitstable' is an internet community/group comprised of 'local creative people'     20 of us are exhibiting works this week at Horsebridge Gallery in Whitstable.

Last night the arts and crafts were assembled/hung/laid out and the exhibition opens today with a Private View tomorrow evening 6pm to 8.30pm (drinks/nibbles being served)

I took a few photos during the hanging process as I'm not sure how practical it will be to do so during the week when the gallery is open to the public - I'm thinking positive that there will be lots of interest as Whitstable is a bustling place (and the Gallery is a nice warm refuge in cold weather - it has its own cafeteria too).  We finished hanging my pictures before many of the others so I haven't got pictures of all the exhibits but there's plenty to see if anyone is in the area.

A lot of the art on display is 'contemporary' and mine looks a little out of place - not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing ... also I know I have too many cats (that will be remedied as I get time to produce more non-commissioned pictures).  I am exhibiting some original pictures for sale, and showing some sample pieces which aren't for sale -  to demonstrate my portrait work and create interest for commissions next year (I will be cutting down on commissions in favour of  exhibition pieces but would still like to have a few on the go)

Its all a learning curve - here is my 'bit of wall'

and my neighbours' exhibits - I don't think they are all hung yet.  Flash photography has shown up all the indentations in the walls but in reality they don't look this bad.   At the end of each exhibition all nail/screw holes have to be filled and painted so the walls are pitted but not as dirty as they look here.

16/11: WILDLIFE PICTURES

Our garden visitors are costing an absolute fortune at the moment.  The hedgehogs are shovelling in as much food as they can in readiness for hibernation.  A month ago they were eating 1/3 tin dog food each evening with some peanuts, raisins and grated cheese for interest.  Now we've increased that to 2/3 tin food and extra 'bits'.  They really are gaining weight and looking very 'portly'

We have 7 bird feeders hanging from branches of the fruit trees in our garden.  I replenished all the fat balls on Sunday and they're almost empty again just 2 days later ... I blamed the starlings who arrived in droves yesterday - but now I know who the real culprits are.   3 of the little' tree rats' were raiding the feeders this morning.   I managed to get several pictures of this little beastie as he wasn't worried about the camera

and my final 'wildlife' episode ....

David suggested I should produce a small 'contemporary' picture to include in the upcoming exhibition based on Zebra stripes.    We recently bought some  frames and mounts from Hobbycraft as we were attracted to the shape - they are square rather than traditional oblong shape.  So his bright idea was to draw something to fit one of the frames.  

I cracked on with this cropped study using pastels on Pastelmat for speed.   It didn't meet with his approval - he'd been thinking of something more abstract and done in graphite (I had to 'educate' him that graphite is not a 'fast option' and I am not an 'abstract' kind of woman)!!

The silly thing is, we'd both forgotten that when we purchased the frames and mounts, we didn't purchase the glass.  It was a deliberate decision to keep costs down at the time and facilitate storage at home until the frames were needed.    We don't have a Hobbycraft store close to us so .... here's the 'nearly finished' drawing but it won't be hung with the other pictures tonight.

13/11: JRT PUPPY BETTER PHOTO and RUNAWAY HORSE RESCUE

I photographed Reggie this morning in better light so this is pretty accurate re. colouring.   The portrait has been left in safe hands where it can be collected by Reggie's 'dad' on Monday - hope he likes it

En route to the stables to visit my horse this morning I stopped at a parade of shops to buy a couple of items at the little co-op store.  As I got out of my car I saw a horse cantering down the road towards me straight into oncoming traffic.

I managed to wave down the first car and forced all the traffic to stop and stood in front of the horse who slowed down and came towards me.  He was just a youngster - but around 16hh which is quite big and he was really sweated up and stressed.   Luckily he had a headcollar on and I was able to grab that and lead him off the road but he was so jumpy I struggled to hold onto him.

At that point it struck me that I didn't have a clue what to do.  I could barely hold onto him - I'd already yelled at a truck driver who was loading metal pallets very noisily onto his van which was spooking the horse more.  I shouted to a passer by to help me get my mobile phone from my handbag - thought I could call the girls at the nearby stable yard to drive down with a leadrope or something to give me more control... but the guy just shrugged and walked off.   All the passengers in the stopped cars just stared - nobody came to help.

Now I know that handling horses worries some people, but they could see I needed some help and not one person got out of their car - even to offer to phone the police!!   What a great society huh!

I was wearing sandals and worried about getting stamped on and I couldn't lead the horse to the nearby grassed area as there was a steep grassy bank to negotiate first and I had visions of being towed unceremoniously and being forced to let the horse escape.  Eventually, after what seemed like an hour (probably just 10 or 15 minutes) two burly men came on the scene - they'd seen the horse canter past their nearby 'smallholding' and followed him, armed with a long piece of rope.  I was so relieved.    All they did was tether the horse to a tree on the green to await rescue from his owners.   The horse was tied in view of their property so they promised to keep an eye on him and supply water if/when necessary.    I was shaking for ages afterwards - just thinking what might have happened if the horse had run straight into an oncoming bus or car - its a busy road.   Yuk!!

I think the horse had broken out of his field - he was a coloured horse (but quite fine) and probably what we Kentish folk call a 'pikey' pony - belonging to the traveller/gypsy type fraternity who graze their horses on common land in the County.

I'm aching tonight - had my arm/shoulder wrenched a bit - but what hurts most is the knowledge that not one passerby tried to help!!   Where are all the good samaritans when you need them?

12/11: JRT PUPPY - PASTELS ON CLAIREFONTAINE PASTELMAT

Meet Reggie!   A rescue JRT puppy.

This must be one of the fastest pictures I've produced in recent years.  Normally I like to take more time and even work on more than one picture at a time so I don't get 'blinkered' or bored with what I'm doing.  Once finished I like to let the portrait sit for a few days before I call it finished - I don't have that luxury with this picture.  Recent computer hiccups have put me a little behind schedule butI thought I had until Monday to complete this ... Unfortunately,  there's been a change of plan and its required tomorrow - so I outlined Reggie late last night and completed him today.

Luckily this is a fairly small portrait - to fit a 16" x 12" frame and he is soooo cute - he almost drew himself!

I've had to use flash photography this evening so the picture isn't wonderful but I might be able to get a better photo early tomorrow.  I try to update my website gallery periodically so its important to get the best photos I can (my scanner only takes A4 and most of my commissions are larger than that)

I didn't dare stop to keep taking WIP pictures so here's the initial outlining stage

and here's the end result (possibly)  -  tonight's photo :

I know Reggie's owner wants me to do another portrait when Reggie is a bit more 'grown-up' but I'm very happy to have been asked to draw him at this stage in his life.  He was rescued after being rejected because he has a short lower jaw (I think its called an underbite) but it doesn't detract from his cute face or personality does it?

10/11: SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

I've had computer woes this week - my machine has crashed several times daily losing workfiles, and several emails have been bounced back to me for no apparent reason - the rejection notices were stored in a file I don't usually check so it took a while to learn I had a problem.  Frustrating to say the least!

One of the bounced emails was to a client for whom I'm drawing a family group in coloured pencil - it had progress pictures attached for her to review and because of the computer glitch we lost a few days - I'd expected it to be finished by the weekend.   Never mind, all is now well.  The portrait is approved but just needs final tidying up over the next day or so.

Whilst waiting to hear from her, I didn't want to start the next commission which will be in pastel, so I slotted in this coloured pencil portrait which will be 'an example piece' for next week's exhibition at the Horsebridge Gallery, Whitstable .

David thinks I have too many wildlife pictures to  display and need a coloured 'human' portrait to balance thing up so I decided on this 'celeb'.   It took a couple of afternoons and is drawn in coloured pencil on white Mellotex card which is not recommended for coloured pencil work - the card doesn't hold many layers of colour and is best used with graphite, but I like its smoothness and lack of 'tooth' and enjoy a challenge now and then!   It was drawn specifically to fit an existing mount and frame - the mount is a rich mottled gold and cream colour and the frame is sort of  matt brass colour which works beautifully together I think.  I'll do the final 'tweaks' tomorrow and then she will be framed, ready to go!

04/11: WHO'S GOT THE CUTEST LITTLE BABY FACE?

Its been a very busy week and I've fallen behind with my blog but lots has been going on behind the scenes.   I've taken on the role of PR/Advertising Director for the UK Coloured Pencil Society and as a 'newby' have spent a lot of time reading through historical posts on the Executive's forum to get up to speed.     2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the UK Society and there is a fantastic event planned for next September to mark the event.  I'll reveal more later ... but all you coloured artists need to get to work on pictures to submit for next year's Exhibition/s  .... Preliminary Announcements will be made in major art journals/forums over the next few weeks

I still can't show any commission pictures on my blog.  Two are at the framers, I should finish the current 3 person portrait over the weekend and then will start on a cute puppy which is also a Christmas commission but I will be able to show on my blog as the recipient doesn't have access to a computer.

One of my pictures was accepted for the 'Simply the Best' Competition and will be exhibited at the Art Materials Live event at  the NEC Birmingham over the next few days but unfortunately I just haven't got the time to visit the show this year (which will save me lots of pennies)

We had lunch with a friend today and met her new baby ... this is Carly a very boisterous chocolate lab puppy.  She is very exuberant and difficult to photograph but she will be allowed outside from Monday so hopefully will run off some of her excess energy.   After trying unsuccessfully to calm her down I shut myself in the kitchen with her, applied my best Cesar Milan (dog whisperer) technique and she accepted my leadership immediately and posed nicely!   Good old Cesar!

Isn't she cute?

A much better behaved baby is our very own Grand-daughter Sophie Louise who we met 'in person' on Tuesday when she had reached the grand old age of 2 days!

I took loads of photos but because her Mum and Dad haven't seen them all yet will hold fire on posting the best ones ... but I just loved this because there is a 92 year age gap between Great Granny (Doris) and Sophie .. amazing!

and this is Sophie Louise in Granddad (David's) safe arms ... I think she's just worked out he'll be a 'soft touch' in the future ... just flash those eyes at him and she'll get her own way :o)

31/10: HALLOWEEN BABY

Grand-daughter Sophie Louise finally arrived at 1.22am (2.22am if the clocks hadn't gone back) despite her Mum's intentions not to have a Halloween baby.   Guess Sophie is setting the scene and letting Caroline know who is really boss!!   Mum, dad and baby are all doing well at home and we'll visit in a day or so (just need to be clear of my cold symptoms first).

Now I know its Halloween ..... this post just appeared twice.  I've deleted one of them but apologies if it still shows as two for anybody that follows my blog

29/10: 'GIRLIE COLDS' -V- 'MAN-FLU'

I've been feeling poorly for a few days - sore throat, aches & pains and streaming nose - so it came as a great relief to discover (from hubby) that I'm lucky just to have a girlie cold and not MAN FLU!  
Which means I'm still fit enough to get on with my commissions, do the washing, cleaning  and cook his meals of course.  

I've battled on regardless, albeit more slowly than usual and am about 1/3 way through another triple human portrait.   Its another one intended as a surprise Christmas gift so I won't post work in progress pictures here.

The portrait I had been working on was put to one side whilst my client decided what colour mount/matt he wanted.  I was mean and photographed the portrait with a variety of coloured mounts so he could see the way the colour altered the overall appearance.    Since the portrait is a gift for his wife, he couldn't ask her opinion and has had a worrying couple of days trying to choose (!!)  but he has now made an 'executive decision' and the picture will go to be framed next week.

As I have no current art to show - here are even more pictures of our 4 legged visitors.   In bad weather we started putting their food under a plastic storage basket (with the plastic cut away from both ends).  Once the family of hedgehogs increased it was clear that 3 hogs couldn't share the food so David bought a larger container and cut a door into it.  The hogs were very suspicious the first evening - they inspected it several times then scuttled off without venturing inside but now they like their bespoke 'feeding station' - and there's room for at least one more, should they decide to bring friends round


As you can see there's barely room for two.  The sandbag on top is to prevent the container blowing away.

and this is the new deluxe model .. it probably doesn't need to be weighed down.   I haven't photographed the hogs using the new feeding station as they were very unsure of it at first and I didn't want to upset them.  But there is now plenty of room to throw a hedgehog party !

OK - have a great weekend everybody and don't forget to change the clocks tomorrow evening/Sunday morning.  

26/10: WEDDING COUPLE - THE 'BIG DAY'

You may recall the two double portraits I completed recently as a gift to the Bride/Groom-to-be on their wedding day.   They were married on the 8th October and 'Mum' sent me this photo of the happy couple and has allowed me to show it here.  Don't they look fabulous.

I will be doing portraits of other family members ... including the dog at some stage when the dust settles!

So ... wishing them both a long and happy life together

24/10: PATTER OF TINY FEET (or not) !!

My stepdaughter was due to present us with our first Grand-child on Friday but so far nothing has happened.  She was told that 80% of babies arrive later than scheduled which leads me to wonder why midwives/antenatal nurses don't just add 1 week to to the scheduled arrival dates to so they hit their targets more accurately ????!!

Anyway, grandchild is expected to be female and will probably be named Sophie Louise ....... watch this space !!!





In the meantime, I can report lots of activity on the 4 legged baby front.  We now know we have 3 hedgehogs.   Two are fairly small and one is pretty huge.    The two 'little ones' have turned up together to share food, the bigger one turns up on his/her own.

Unfortunately I can't get good photos because the noise of the patio doors opening frightens them and the big one scuttles off.  The little ones don't exactly roll into a ball (as I would expect) but they kind of lay down sidewards and 'play possum' for 15 mins or so ... till they think all danger has passed.

This picture is of 2 'littlies' ... disguised as one big prickly  'blob'

One of them was startled by the noise of the patio doors opening ... and scuttled off.  The other one was a little slower to react:   Bye !!!!!

and its survival instinct kicked in ... it took up this strange submissive pose and stayed  absolutely still for 15 minutes or so ... then realising the danger had passed it just ambled off !!

We've also had lots of squirrel activity in the garden.    We cut down all the sunflowers recently and left the flowerheads in the garden so the seeds were available for birds/squirrels.

This photo was taken on telephoto and although its not crystal clear I just loved the sun dappled effect on the garden/squirrel

Wasn't quite so chuffed later on when the little 'tree rat' decided to bury all the sunflower seeds in the 'better' areas of our lawn

but he/she is only stocking up in readiness for Winter (which is fast approaching) so I can't get angry .... and what a magnificent tail ....

Last night we attended the official opening of the 'Outside the Square' Art Gallery in Margate.

Despite the horrible weather, the event was really well attended and I met some of the artists exhibiting at the Gallery.    I met the Gallery owner a few weeks ago and he suggested he would be interested in exhibiting a few of my works in his Gallery, but I won't have anything available till the end of the year ... so let's see what will happen.

The Gallery was jam packed full of works from artists around the world so he obviously doesn't have space available at the moment for new artists.   The Outside the Square Gallery is being promoted as the one closest to the new Turner Gallery which will open in Spring 2011 - the area all around the Turner Gallery site is being rejuvenated and lots of grants are available to small businesses to encourage the growth of a 'cafe society' and bring the town back to life.... I have my fingers crossed.  Margate used to be such a wondrous place but it turned into a real 'no go' area in the last couple of decades when British Tourism died a death

24/10: SNOW LEOPARD - CHANGE OF PLAN

I had a change of plan and frame for the snow leopard .... it is now being shown in a bigger, wood frame which I hope sets it off better

22/10: SNOW LEOPARD - PASTELS ON PASTELMAT

Because we have a busy few days planned, David decided that today should be the day to organise me and the pictures that I want to display at the Horsebridge Gallery, Whitstable in November.  

He has been stripping my studio walls of pictures and sorting out labels etc.  My 'daydreaming tiger' which won Reserve Best in Show at the UKCPS International exhibition in Stamford last month arrived back here today, and the tiger I recently completed in pastels was collected from the framer today.  As usual Tony (from 'Picture This' at Birchington, Kent) has done a wonderful job but I was surprised how large the finished picture is ... and how heavy it is!!   I seem to have mostly cat pictures but probably won't have time to add any more dogs or horses to the collection.  Lets hope there are lots of cat lovers in Whitstable around mid-November (domestic and wild cats).

So my plans to work on the coloured pencil portraits were postponed until tomorrow afternoon but I did manage to (almost) complete the snow leopard - despite all the interruptions!

A few more WIP pictures:   I'm never quite sure whether its best to show the pics in reverse order (ie latest pic first, or t'other way round)

This photo was taken last night and turned out very dark  ... but although not accurate, I preferred the darker background and so I changed it this morning

As you can see these are all photographed at different times of day, in different light conditions but I think the colours shown here are pretty accurate

This next photo looks a little too 'blue'  but I wanted to photograph the picture before I sprayed it with fixative.  I'm not a fan of commercial fixatives as they really 'kill' the vibrancy of the pastels at times, but I'm using soft pastels rather than pastel pencils on this leopard and I'm not comfortable about framing it without 'fixing' it first.  

Finally this evening I photographed the leopard with the mount and frame I'll be using.  This is a single mount and I normally use double mounts with pastel works so I will be putting spacers between the picture and the mount to provide an 'escape route' for any stray pastel dust in the future.  The frame is a very simple brass one  which I had at home

I may re-photograph this tomorrow in better light - but you get the idea I hope:

This is the framed Tiger picture.   I really struggle to photograph pictures once they are behind glass as I always end up with me or something  else quite inappropriate being reflected in the glass.    This is the best I could do today, and it has muted the colours a bit

21/10: BUSY, BUSY !!

Where does the time go?

We've called in a few decorators to quote for repainting the interior of our house.  At 3 years old I hope the settlement cracks have finished appearing now and its time to get all the plaster/woodwork 'made good' and freshened up with a couple of coats of paint.    David (bless) isn't a DIY person.   I like decorating but just haven't got the time so .... we're just waiting now to receive the estimates so we can decide who we choose and when it can be done.    

I haven't done any work on the 3 child portrait as I was sorting out the decorators ... actually if truth be known I had a pretty thorough house-cleaning session as well.  Silly isn't it ... I wanted the house to be clean before the decorators saw it (must be more like my Mother than I thought) :o(

My client has seen the portrait at its current stage and made some suggestions regarding one of the children which I'll deal with tomorrow.  At this stage I normally put a 'grid' on the picture to make sure I'm on track before adding more detail.

I do have another 'Big Cat' on the easel.   Its a snow leopard - another large pastel so has to be segregated from the coloured pencil artwork to avoid dust contamination.  I've done a bit of work on it today but will leave it alone for a few days till I finish the children.  

I'll post more WIP photos tomorrow, but am in a hurry tonight as I'm going to a demonstration/talk by Chris Christoferou the Wildlife artist.   I'm dragging David along tonight as I don't like driving in the dark these days - the talk is being held in a school about 20 minutes drive from home but its along fairly dark country lanes and my eyes don't like headlight glare.    Actually I think David will enjoy it as I believe it will include hints about photography and composition etc.  

These are the first stages.  I'm making use of an old piece of Pastelmat on which for some reason I seem to have experimented with white pastel in the past - hence the big splodge ... the plan is that this will disappear in the leopard's dense fur later on.  Its a fairly big piece at 20" x 16" to fit an old mount and frame I have at home.      Whilst it is lovely to have a custom built frame for every picture the last one (tiger picture) cost around £75 so it makes a big impact on the selling price.     Incidentally I should be picking the framed tiger picture up tomorrow!

more tomorrow!!

20/10: BIRDS and BEASTIES

We've noticed that our car appears to be very attractive to some of our garden visitors - no idea why though?

I believe these are Carrion Crows and they periodically gather on top of the car roof/bonnet wing mirrors etc and spend ages pecking.  At first we thought they were catching bugs trapped in the wipers but now I wonder if they are just admiring themselves.   Has anybody else encountered this behaviour  - today we had 6 of them on the car but by the time I got my camera set up to photograph them the others had flown.   Apologies for the lopsided pictures - I had to aim the camera between the venetian blind slats and the windows are double glazed.

Alfred Hitchcock eat your heart out!!

I'm really chuffed to report that as well as having regular nightly visits from Spike the (huge) hedgehog, we also have a smaller hedgehog visitor who I've named Iggy.    They arrive separately but both love the dog food and mild cheddar treats I put out for them.   Regrettably they neither of them touch the bag of special hedgehog food we bought (at great expense) from a pet shop recently.    So, the hedgehog food is being scattered on the lawn for whatever birds/squirrels or other creatures might appreciate it.   Talk about spoilt!

and finally, a kiss goodnight from my 'old girl' Roxy ... she has really gone grey over the last couple of years but she is very happy in her 'retirement home' as well she might be ... she's on full livery and she's the matriarch - keeping all the other mares in order (girls and boys don't mix at her yard)!   This photo was taken on Saturday and its probably the last time she will be allowed out without her Winter Clothing as the weather seems to have definitely turned wintry now.

17/10: TOO BLEARY TO BLOG!

We had a late night/early morning and are both very 'jaded' today ... so I did a little more on the 3 child portrait  but thought it best to put it to one side till tomorrow when I've had a decent night's sleep.    My client has been on holiday for a few weeks but I think he is back this weekend and I'll find out soon whether its possible to show WIP pictures.

I had intended to make a start on the next '3 person portrait' commission as that will also be in coloured pencil .. but not a good idea until the brain is in gear again!

So I played around with the Cheetah picture a bit more  - David still doesn't like this one.  He doesn't think it stands out enough from the background ... so I spent an hour darkening the background slightly by applying dark green, dark blue and black coloured pencils on the reverse side of the film.  Drafting film doesn't take many layers of colour so this is about as dark as I can get it - bearing in mind the picture will be finished with a white backing sheet behind the film.

My purpose was to make the Cheetah's eyes stand out so I don't mind that the rest is a bit 'insipid' ..  I'm calling it a day on this one now.

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Well I hope everyone had a great weekend ... and I'll catch up with all my outstanding emails etc tomorrow - apologies and all that!!!

15/10: COLOURED PENCIL PORTRAITS - WEDDING PRESENT

These two portraits were commissioned by 'Mother of the Bride' as a gift to her Daughter and Son-in-Law on their wedding day.

The first is a portrait of the Happy Couple based on a holiday snap.  The second is a portrait of my client's parents who sadly weren't alive to witness their Grand-daughter's wedding - the bride was very close to her Grandparents.

The portraits were to be a surprise and to have pride of place next to the Wedding Cake at the Reception and I've been given permission to post them on my Blog as the Wedding was last Friday.   Hopefully I may get some photos of the big day?

Unfortunately, I didn't photograph the portraits when they were in their final double mounts - which were silver inner and white outers.   But I hope these give the idea.

The portraits were completed in coloured pencil on grey Pastelmat as I wanted to keep the portraits fairly consistent and Grandmother's outfit, being white, needed a darker background to show it off properly.

My clients wanted to collect the portraits in person so we could say 'hello' properly and it was lovely to share their excitement .... I think it will have been a brilliant wedding!!

14/10: LEAVING MY COMFORT ZONE ...

A few weeks ago I contacted a local Art Group who meet fortnightly in a hall just 5 minutes drive from my home with a view to becoming a member.  The Group meets fortnightly and tries to alternate between themed drawing/painting meetings and demonstrations.    Most of the Group members seem to be oil or watercolour painters but I was assured that I can do my own thing and take pastels/coloured pencils to the sessions.

I've never belonged to an Art Group before so was a little anxious ... but they were a lovely bunch!

I joined them today for a demonstration in oil painting by professional artist Michael Richardson.   I was amazed by the speed at which he completed a Kentish snow scene  (around 45 minutes) and an oil beach/seascape of a familiar view about 3 miles from my home.  I'd always avoided trying my hand at oils because of the long drying times/smell and mess I associated with the medium.  But Michael rarely uses thinners or oils and his technique seemed to involve working quite small and detailed.   I don't really think its something for me but it was fascinating to watch an expert at work and, of course, lots of his observations about perspectives and colours are relevant to all mediums.

The Chairman of the art group has asked whether I'd be willing to demonstrate coloured pencils at some stage so I'm keen to see how other artists demonstrate - next week I'll be going to a demonstration by Wildlife Artist Chris Christoferou which I'm excited about - I love his 'big cat' paintings!

One big advantage about joining an Art Group or two is getting access to Gallery/Exhibition venues with shared costs.   This local Group is holding an exhibition at Fish Slab Gallery in Whitstable in early November (but as a newbie I didn't like to ask to join them this time - plenty more opportunities in the future).

I am also planning to join the Executive Committee for the UKCPS in some capacity and am looking forward to helping out with next year's Annual Exhibition.  As the UKCPS will be celebrating its 10th year the Society has ambitious plans and the venue will be in London - Opposite Westminster Abbey.   They plan to run workshops and demonstrations alongside the main Exhibition to 'bring coloured pencil art to the attention of the world of fine art'.  So ... exciting (and busy) times ahead for 2011.

11/10: CHEETAH - COLOURED PENCIL ON DRAFTING FILM

I took this photo today in better light conditions so the colours are more accurate.

I've put this to one side to begin work 'proper' on another Christmas commission.  I won't be able to show progress reports on my blog for that .. but will no doubt keep flitting back to this Cheetah pic for a little light relief between times.

10/10: CHEETAH - COLOURED PENCIL ON DRAFTING FILM

I thought today would be the day I'd start work on the next Christmas commission - a 3 child portrait.... but the weather was pretty good for a change and David (hubby) decided we should clear the runner beans (and collect the beans/seeds to use next year), empty the greenhouse and generally tidy up in the garden.

So,   as we already have a mega amount of home-made tomato soup in the freezer I thought I'd make a huge batch of ratatouille for freezing in portions.   I've also picked another big basket of pears which will ripen over the next week or so.

Yesterday I made lots of apple and blackberry pies/crumbles which are now in the freezer.

Forgive the rambling ... my point is that after chopping onions, garlic and chillies I always worry that the aromas might transfer to paper ..... you know when you look at eBay most sellers say 'from an non-smoking/non-pet home'  .. or similar ... well I love spicy foods and use a lot of ginger/garlic/onion in my cooking and would hate to get feedback about smelly pictures (!!)    sorry, I know that's a bit extreme but its my excuse for doing no more than outlining the group today.

In between my 'domestic goddess' duties, I did some more work on the Cheetah so here are the progress pics .... David doesn't like it very much - says its too 'fuzzy' but I wonder if that is because I've used a white backing.  In any event ..  I decided to darken the background more (working on the reverse side of the drafting film)  I'm pleased with progress and will add more colour to the body in between commissioned stuff .

This can be as big or small as I like, but I think this is a nice compromise - the mount size is 20" x 16"

I do have a few in-between 'work in progress' pictures but its getting late and I still have 'wifely duties'    .... mainly connected to the dishwasher !!


Back to normal tomorrow and I'll be working on the first of the 'human' commissions for Christmas ...