Anne's the bossy one..

I was raised in a farming community in the North Island of New Zealand, and migrated from New Zealand to Queensland, Australia in the early 1980's.

I have been painting for as long as I can remember, seriously since the early 1980's full time for 6 years. I paint in watercolours, acrylics and oils.

A little about me ....JJ is soooooo bossy dontcha think??...LOL

I have been painting for about 6 years now I think ...... mostly in acrylics. I have given oils and watercolours a go but I hate the drying time of oils and I can't get the hang of watercolours.
I am married to Brian and I have 3 children aged 28,26 and 22 ....Paul, Sinead and Orla.
I used to work in a bank but gave up that job about 10 years ago to look after my mother who sadly died 3 years ago this March.
I am putting up a pic of myself .....JJ ....where is yours?

A new member

Guys, we have a new member to our group, Colleen. She is my painting buddy here in Brisbane, and is very brave and going to join in all the challenges. I reiterate that there is no pressure, but also point out, that we only get out, what we put into to our art. Life too for that matter..

I have let the side down this week, and don't have a finished painting to post as yet, the only drawing I have done so far, is my sketch for the castle challenge. Better move myself, tomorrow is Friday..

3 hour pose nude

This guy was SO SO pale, and the room was so cold that they had a heater on for him. I added A LOT of color to his skin, but he still looks washed out. I asked the lady in charge if we could ever have a model who was a person of color. No offense, but this boy didn't even have HAIR! What is with this generation that doesn't even like hair??

Okay, I put a little more paint down. I think it looks better.

A knife painting that didn't go quite as planned......

Bonamargy Friary .....I did this one last night but it looks dirty and dingy .....so I will strive to do better in the next one ...... or maybe even have a go at fixing this one ......

Weekly Painting Challenge

Dunluce castle—‘Dunluce’ meaning ‘strong fort’—rests on the edge of the clifftops between Bushmills and Portrush.

Originally built by the Normans in the twelfth century, Shane O’Neill’s army successfully besieged the castle in 1556, attacking from the land behind as it was impossible to scale the sheer sea walls. Underneath the fortification, a sea cave could hide several boats for a quick escape to Rathlin Island or Scotland.

Some of the walls of the castle have collapsed into the sea, and it has recently been discovered that the 30m high cliffs holding the foundations are starting to erode. Nevertheless, the roofless ruins of Dunluce castle on the north Antrim coast remain quite breathtaking.

He would not stand still .....

I tried and I tried to get a man to pose for me so that I could paint him but the men around North Antrim are all very shy you know. I even tried to get my hubby to do it but he wasn't in the slightest bit interested.. I mean I only wanted a five minute pose for goodness sake....... I've seen what some folks do with a five minute pose! Then eventually this big burly guy offered to do it and I was scared to say no to him ....well would you say no to him? Anyway the problem was he wouldn't stay still ....that explains why his right side doesn't quite match his left side and goodness knows what else you can see wrong with him .... So after a 48 hour pose this is what I ended up with ..... I mean I did let him have a few breaks for tea and buns and the odd nap .....thank goodness I was paying him for the pose and not by the hour!
OK so I'm kiddin' but I needed some sort of excuse for my bad painting ....I did this from a pic of the anatomy of a man that I found on the internet ..... I enjoyed doing it though and if I learned anything it was that it is extremely difficult to paint a figure ..... I still need to find a man brave enough to pose for me though .....now where did my hubby go ....I'm sure I heard him a minute ago .....

A Challenge!

I say we should draw one drawing a week. Whatever we like from inside our homes. It can be anything at all, a chair, the toilet if you wish, any item you have sitting on a shelf, crockery, cutlery, fabric, food. The supply is endless, your immagination is at your fingertips.
It will be great practice, increase our drawing skills, and we might even enjoy it. We could even be inspired into making paintings from our sketches. Who knows.

What say you?

We post our drawings at the end of the week, saw Friday. O.k.

I am still painting every day .....

I am still painting every day ....I just don't have anything to show at the moment ....maybe tomorrow ......

Snowy road

A watercolour version of the acrylic road. I am not too happy with this painting and will paint it again this weekend.

Tree Painting

I had painted the most gorgeous tree painting you have ever seen (trust me ....would I tell a lie!!) on this little board 6" X 8" I used a knife and slabbered on the paint and when it was at it's most beautiful state I though ....I can make this even more beautiful .......sadly I was wrong and it ended up a mess ....so I had to take a paper towel to it and I rubbed most of the paint off leaving a lovely dirty greeny/brown colour! So I painted ovet the lovely mud with blue and started again and after 30 mins or so I have this one ......
I am actually quite happy with it ....I was kinda trying to copy JJ's gorgeous painting .... (don't tell her!)
Painted on board with knives and mine is dry ....I used acrylics!

Track to the old barn over the hill and behind the trees.

This is the finished painting, unless you have some good critique for me, which is always welcome. ;-) Those darn trees in the background are showing up darker than they are in person again.. grrrrrr. oils and acrylics are just so hard to get a decent photo of..

Gum Trees

I tried, for the first time, knife painting. I had a ball!!!!!! I can't for the life of me get the colours to read correctly, because the oil paint is still wet, so I guess it is the glare that is bothering the camera.

Values aid chart.

Giants Causeway

This is a small painting .... 5" X 6" ....I was trying it out hoping to do a bigger version soon. I had done this one before size 16" X 20" but I could not get the landscape to look right. I seem to be having the same problems with the smaller version. I need to learn how to paint grass ......
I can never get the green right ........ someone told me hookers green was the best out of a tube but I didn't have any so I mixed my own with ultramarine blue and cad yellow ....
I have to do 2 or 3 small paintings for my friend's B&B which will be getting busy, hopefully, by Easter. She had already sold some of my paintings and prints so fingers crossed for this year .....

Snow landscapes

The first painting, after I took the photo, I put the snow back into the middle of the road, I like it better, I will see tomorrow, if it stays. Not much more to do to this one. When it is dry, I want to add the white snow highlights is all I think.

The second painting, the vegetation is showing a darker than in person, but it is close. The snow is reading correctly. I have been working on it every day. I am mixing my oil paints with liquin now to get them the constituency I want, and I sit the paintings in from of my fan every night to dry. They do dry over night, enough for me to work on the next day. I have the fences on either side of the track to paint in still on this one

Nectareach

The fruit is actually a peach, but I was talking to Ree on the telephone while I was painting this, and we were joking about nectarines, peaches and my Chookooster. (You had to be there) I had two references, and they were very yummy, thank you very much!

The background is a mixture of viridian and white ragged on top of a light apple green background. I don't know what on earth possessed me, as I hate green! I have some gold acrylic paint, that I use for rubbing onto picture frames, and I rubbed some onto the board. It looks quite neat actually.

Painted with acrylics, on a 5"x7" canvas board, and I will frame it in a gold frame I have here. The colour is almost right, but not quite. Hard to take photo's at night, especially of acrylics. That light area inside the stalk, does not look anything like that in person. The white highlight on the stalk, isn't stark like that either. Oh well, you get the picture. I worked on my two oils some more, and I am liking them so far. I will take a photo tomorrow.

Back update

Not sure if she is getting any better looking ....I have made her head a bit smaller. At least I now know to start off dark with the next one .....

Skier

Acrylic - 5"x7" on canvas board.

Reference photo is Jen's (rue d oak) Snow Thread Palette Talk wc

Two snow painting wip

Here are two snow paintings I am working on. 8"x10" on canvas board using oils. The one on the right is going to be a tar sealed road, (photo courtesy of Shipbroker wc) the one on the left is a snowy driveway, (photo courtesy of the landscape forum challenge wc) fence post to be added among other things. I am enjoying these too, just waiting for them to dry a little so I can paint some more. I use alkyd, and a turpentine substitute as my mediums.

Back

I have been trying to do this lassie's back using paynes grey and white to help me work on my values a bit.........still working on it ......
Oil on board.

Berries in snow

I did this one quickly last night ....before JJ starts shouting at me!!!
I spent about 30 mins on it .......I know ....I know .....I am trying to make an excuse for it being awful. I actually enjoyed this quickie!
Oil on wallpaper.

 

It was pretty hot here today...about 42 deg. Missy(dog) Hazel(kitty)and I stayed indoors.While they both totally relaxed, I 'cooled off' with the snow scene!
I took some artistic license and simplified the tree area. Also changed the mood to more of a night scene.Oh! I also gessoed the surface and combed into the damp gesso to create some texture.
It was a very pleasant way to spend an extremely hot afternoon.
Acrylic on Gallery wrapped canvas.
Size:25cm x 20cm

Ticked Off

I have been having this dream lately. There are these paintings waiting to be painted, and they are going through my mind, frame by frame on a cinema scope film. There are a lot of paintings waiting to be painted, maybe as many as 50, and I can't quite see them, can't quite grasp them, all except for this one.

Don't be fooled that this is just a few X's on the paper. I had to place each one just so, with the right amount of density, the right size, the right tone, the right amount of paint, the right amount of layers. I have just counted them, and there are 24 X's. I didn't know that I had to paint that many, until just then. But I knew when I was painting them, exactly when to stop. The red tick had to be placed right in that exact spot, with the exact amount of paint and the exact size. This painting took me an hour to paint. It is around 5"x7" acrylic on arches paper.

I don't feel liberated, but I know I had to paint that painting, and now I can move on to the next one, when it makes itself clear to me.

I think I am loosing it. Hey?

Bed utterly and completely finished. DONE!!!!! ;-)

I have shortened the head post and put the bar in the bed end. I am still going to paint this one larger sometime soon.

 

I am posting two because I missed out a couple of days ...I think I am still behind.
Art Spectrum W.colour, W & N gouasche on gessoed Arches 300gsm rough.

Size 27cm x 13cm

 

A Corner of the yard...Art spectrum watercolours on Arches rough 300gsm

Size: 14 cm x 27cm

2 small oil paintings

I have done very little oil painting and this was a lovely change for me. The paint actually moves for me!! ..... These are both 6" X 8" .....I wanted to try and see if I can get more light and atmosphere coming into my paintings .....
C&C welcome .......

Bed done..

Well for now. psst - don't tell anyone I forgot to put the curved bar on the foot of the bed to match the top of the bed. (I will do that later this evening more likely)
Fire away..... Can you see the changes?

Bed update

The shadows are not as dark in the actual painting.

Fire away............

Oh floor is just blocked in, I have had enough for tonight.

My Bed wip

Well I did work on this some today. I am having trouble with the detail, because the board is so small and I am having difficulty seeing what I am doing, but I will finish this as I am loving it. Painting it I mean. I have close work glasses, and on Friday my new every-day glasses will arrive. They will help too.

So for what it is worth. I think that headboard is still out of wack. I have painted it 3 times already. Tell me what you think for sure.....

Annes Puffin

Question? Are you using cheap paints?

I tweaked your puffin in my photo-editing program. I am by no mean accomplished at this procedure, but for what it is worth, here it is. You can see I have added a shadow to the under part of the birds beak. Now it looks rounded instead of flat. I lightended the variated the shadow above the birds eye. I have increased the shadows on the body, and changed the shadow on the grass. The grass is longish, so maybe you would see the birds feet? You background looks ok-ish. (I told you I am a hard task master) Keep practicing. Practice using a rigger like Ree suggested for painting grasses. Look in those videos for how to paint grasses. You have the right idea, in that the grasses become more blurred the further they reced into the background.
Shadows are TRANSPARENT. Always transparent. When you go for your walk, study the shadows all around you. That is how I learnt. At first all saw were plain brown shadows, then I started to really look, I got down on the ground and looked. I saw that the shadows are darker closer to the source (object casting the shadow) and lighter the further away the shadow was. The shadow is warmer next to the source too, and cooler the further away is it. I saw colour in the shadows. That took a lot of practice looking, but I finally got it and statred to see the colour. When I am out now, I actually paint things in my head naming the colours I would use in my head. A shadow is always transparent, you can always see the support, the table ground whatever the object is based on through the shadow. (for what iot is worth, I made a huge error on my nectarine shadow, beside the colour, and it was pointed out to me by my friendly art critique.) WE have to remember this in every apitnign we paint. WE need to practice these techniques over and over so they become seconf nature. For me reading is as good as painting, so here ar esome links that might help you. Aslo have a look through those video's on the video bar on the right. Get one up un a seperate window by clicking on it and then search for videos on painting shadows. Seeing is better than reading


Shadows.

Look at these links.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/1805/264/
This one is pastel on paper, but it relates to whatever medium you use and is a good start.

http://painting.about.com/od/landscapes/ss/lightdirection.htm
Determining your light direction.

When you you paint shadows http://painting.about.com/od/paintingforbeginnersfaq/f/FAQshadows.htm

SHADOW COLOUR http://painting.about.com/od/colourtheory/a/shadows_Impress.htm

Cast shadow and form shadow http://painting.about.com/cs/paintingknowhow/a/shadows.htm

Simple advice on painting shadows. http://www.johnlovett.com/shadows.htm

COLOUR Lurking in shadows. http://www.carolinejasper.com/pages0/inprint/AmArtst11.01.htm

Read through these. We will have a shadow paint in when I can, just can't right now..

That Puffin again!

This chappie has been causing me so much stress ......but then he is male so that explains a lot!
I thought I had the background done before I started the puffin but then when I painted the bird the background didn't look right at all. Apparently it's one of the many faults I have when I'm doing a painting. I have been told it so many times that people are now getting fed up pointing it out to me!
So I had to go and try and put in a better background which is very difficult with that b****puffin standing there ......sorry but that's the way I feel about him ..... I have had enough of him for now ..... he goes to the top of my pile of c*** ..... but I just wanted to show him to you first.
You can see why I need JJ's lesson on shadows ....I was only guessing ....and I need a lesson on painting grass too ..... and .....
If I sound like I'm in a bad mood then I am ......

I will have an update tomorrow

I have had the kids all day, and it has been full on. I did however, paint for an hour after they went home and have painted in one pretty neat looking bed leg. I adjusted the values on the sheets, and have repainted in the wall behind the headboard. I drew the headboard back in and will paint it tomorrow. No kids tomorrow.. I still have a fair bit of work to do on the sheets,and the rest of the ironwork on the bed. I am enjoying painting this, even though it is so small, and I am looking forward to painting a bigger version. This little practice has inspired me.

Fiddle

This is my painting for yesterday ........unfinished again!
Tonight I will be trying to either finish the dog or the puffin ....so although it will not be a new painting I will be showing tomorrow it will hopefully look better than the first time I showed it! ......here's hoping anyway!

Puffin

Still unfinished so any advice would be appreciated.

Pencil sketch on paper. I have started the painting, on a 5"x7" canvas board. I messed up the head of the bed, had to scrape off the paint, seeing as I tried to fix it by over-painting it. White on black!! Needed a lot of white paint.. I will have another go at it tomorrow. The drawing took me quite awhile to do, the perspective is a bitch..

This is my bed..

 

5/1/09
I had actually started this before today..but it had a long way to go. So, because I didn't want to waste the beginnings and because it still fitted the criteria of small paintings ..I decided to finish it and use it.
Acrylic on gallery wrapp ed canvas ..6" x 8"

Getting out of a painting rut!

I usually try to paint Marine but am in a rut at the moment so this is a little practice piece I did last night ..... how much further away could I get from Marine!! ....well maybe she is getting ready to go for a swim ....who knows!

Metal Statuette

I had a "fiddle" and painted out the base. Here is where it stands. Using that term loosely as it is actually floating.. Maybe I will leave it, maybe not.. What do you think?


I have had this statue sitting on the entertainment unit for years. I bought it as a gift for a girlfriend for her birthday one year, and for some reason didn't end up giving it to her. I love it, so I don't mind that I still have it.. Acyrylic on canvas board 5"x7"

Painting is not quite as dark as showing here..

Pear 4/1/09

 

Acrylic on canvas panel 6" x 6"

 

Well, I changed the background and fiddled with some other bits...also worked on a new one for today which I hope to post later.

Summer Blooms

 

Acrylic on canvas panel...6" x 6"

3rd January Pear

Acrylic on panel board 5"x7" I am about to eat my reference..
First image is the adjusted image, more "lights" as Ree suggested. Had to guess them seeing as I ate my reference last night hahahaha......