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