blog RSS

Today the weather took a downwards turn, the sunshine had gone and we had grey skies and rain, but the flowers were enjoying the water and I was happy in my studio. I thought some of you would like to see how I paint a poppy in as loose a way as I can, it's not easy and it doesn't always work, be brave and have a go. 1     Sketch out your poppy   2.   I then use a spray bottle to wet the paper   3.   Be brave, the paper really can be quite wet,...

In this blog I will try to explain as clearly as possible how I painted an avocet and his reflection so hopefully if you want to you can have a go yourself. I know following step by step guides can be difficult and to be honest , much of what I do has come with a lot of practice , so don't be too hard on yourself if it doesn't go as well as you'd like first time around, the process of painting should be a challenge but it should be fun too. I.    Draw your birds and try to...

I am sitting in my studio trying to get stuff sorted after getting home yesterday from a week's teaching in France, phew, what an amazing experience that was! I am not the most seasoned traveller so the trip by myself seemed pretty daunting , but having arrived safely the real work had to begin. I was staying in a little village called St Puy  (The town of Saint-Puy is located in the department of Gers of the french region Midi-Pyrénées) Our home for the week was an old French farmhouse that had been lovingly restored by the owners Terry and Jill This was the...

If you know me then you'll know I love bees. They are starting to return to the hedgerows and flowers of Mid Devon and they are returning to my paintings too. I have been working on a very large piece this week and there are quite a few bumblebees in it. Here is step by step guide to just one little bee Firstly I make a simple sketch      Then I paint the tiny eye, leaving a white spot for the light reflected, there is cerulean blue in there too     Once I add a bit more blue...

Spring seems to have left us ,as the rain falls on my studio roof, April showers are now order of the day and the temperature has most definitely dropped. I keep nice and cosy and sit enjoying new views from the large windows in my studio. I like to allow myself to paint whatever I fancy towards the end of the week and sea birds have been attracting my attention . Today I wanted to keep things simple and concentrate on the birds and their reflections, letting  the white paper do the work for me. It has been a lovely day painting...