blog RSS

So on a wet and windy day in gloomy February I have decided to return to a subject I have painted many , many times before. Hares. I love the intelligence in their eyes and the power in their bodies.We are lucky enough to see them from time to time, but when we do it is always a glimpse before they rush back into the the landscape from where they came. Firstly I find a photo to use and sketch out the body, I use masking fluid to mark out the whiskers     Then I concentrate on the head,...

Today in Mid Devon we woke up to  snow , my 10 meter commute to the studio in my garden was a little scary ,     but once safe inside I decided to paint a woodpecker in flight. A woodpecker visits regularly and they are always a joy to watch, there are many paintings ( mine included) of them on trees, this time I wanted to capture one on the move.   So a sketch of the subject , making sure I had the wing right. I want to convey movement but I don't want too much of a blur.   ...

I am asked many times how to produce looser watercolours , and as with most things in life it isn't easy. I think you have to be quite confident in your painting to begin with and then you have to be brave. This being the weekend , time being short but still feeling the need to paint  I though I would try to paint a robin as loosely as I dare. I found a good photo that was royalty free and sketched it out    #   Then I like to paint the eye as realistically as I can, I...

A new year begins in my new space with an old favourite. I know the title of this blog sounds like a very dodgy perfume , but what I am trying to do more and more is capture the essence of an animal , by being as unfussy as I can. I want the very essence of a fox ( or robin or hare). This is more difficult than it looks and very tricky to explain my process, but here goes. Firstly with heater on and the winter sun streaming through the windows, I can begin work in my garden studio...

I sit here this morning from a wild and windy Devon, and I am so excited as I am now in a studio, having moved from my spare room ( which was my painting home for 3 years) I live in a small village in mid Devon and we live in a small cottage in the village. The thing that led us to our cottage ( our home for nearly 20yrs) was the garden. It has lovely views over the countryside and is relatively large compared to our house. I have long since dreamed of a studio, and set my...