Poppy Fields

I have just one place left for this Saturdays Poppy Fields class.
This is a beautiful painting to do-and gives everyone the opportunity to really express their creative side painting the poppies!!!.
If you fancy having a go at this one please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk


It is suitable for 1st timers and as always we go through the painting step by step and I explain each stage as I demonstrate it to you.
The last time we did this painting in class we had some fantastic results and all of the poppies were sooo different to each other!!
I have a group of 3 coming here from Northampton which is over 3 hours away, so an early start for Cheryl and her friends on Saturday.
Cheryl came with 5 of her friends last year, one of her friends Nicky has since been with one of her friends and thoroughly enjoyed it, and it will be great to see Cheryl again.

Grimsby!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went off to Grimsby yesterday to fetch our new 4 berth caravan. It was a long journey but worth it. We decided that the other caravan was just a bit too small for us-
The new one has a double bed at one end and a seperate dining area at the other, so it means we can leave the bed down all the time we are away!!
Cant wait to get some nice weather and get away in her!

Classes full

The above 3 class subjects are all fully booked.
I have another date for the Birch Tree Walk on Sat March 29th but there are only 4 places left on there already.

African Dream and Oriental Dawn can also be painted in One to One sessions which cost just £40-please get in touch via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Saturday 3rd May--"Emerald Woods"

This painting of the sunlight breaking through the tree's in'emerald woods'has proved very popular in the past.
It is suitable for all ages and abilities including first timers.
If you want to join this class please get in touch with me via
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

19TH April --Stormy Skies

This is the subject for Saturday 19th April--"Stormy Skies is suitable for all ages and abilities-very atmospheric painting and its amazing that that 2 colours are used in this work.
Black and white paint are blended to make every shade of grey to create this work.Its a great exercise in tonal painting.
If you would like to join this class, please get in touch via
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Updated classes dates--April 5th

I am introducing this painting to the class of Saturday 5th April.It is called "Eternal Dawn" It is a scene from the top of Titterstone , Clee Hill nr our home.
It is suitable for all ages and abilities including first timers!
If you are interested in joining this class please get in touch via
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

congratulations

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
1920's, 30's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70’s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses full of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese & tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took cadging lifts.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

A trip to the coast on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the stream and NOT from a bottle. Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Kebabs. Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and only opened for a few hours at weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death! We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner shop and buy fruit Spangles and some bangers to blow up frogs with. We ate buns, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No mobile phones – no one was able to reach us all day. And we were always O.K.

We would spend hours building our trolleys out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in streams with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on Sky, no video tape or DVD movies, no surround sound, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were noLawsuits from these accidents. Only girls had pierced ears! We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross buns at Easter time.......no really! We had air guns and catapults for our birthdays, We drank milk laced with Strontium 90 from cows that had eaten grass covered in nuclear fallout from the atomic testing. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them from the street! Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet! Mum & dad didn’t need Brandy, Whisky whatever when they came in from work! Footy had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Our teachers used to belt us with big sticks and leather straps and bully's always ruled the playground at school. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! Our parents got married before they had children and didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kylie' and 'Blade' This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 70 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were!!!!!!

Sat 26th Class

First of all a big "GET WELL SOON" to Sharleen, who couldn't make it today due to the dreaded lurgy that has been doing the rounds.

We had our 2 regulars Jack and Yvonne and 2 new students Colette and Bill today.

Both of the new students admitted to being very nervous-this was soon forgotten as they got used to using brushes to bash and tickle the paint on the box canvas!!

As you can see , Jack got down on his knees to paint his daisies-this is a regular occurrence among students, they get in all sorts of positions to do different parts of their painting!!

I did ask Jack to say one for me while he was down there!!!!!!!

Everyone soon settled down and relaxed after putting in the sky-its a bit daunting putting paint onto a big white canvas for the first time, and today was no exception--Bill admitted that his arm was stiff from nerves and tension at the beginning!

We had several breaks when we all looked at each others pictures and were surprised at the differences in them.

I find the secret of it is to be able to stand away from the easel's all the time to be able to see what has been painted.

If you are sat down at the easel, its hard to see what you have done properly,being able to keep standing away from the picture makes all the difference.!

Towards the end of the class, Colettes husband turned up and was amazed at the results-he couldn't get over the standard reached first time of painting a picture!

I showed everyone how to paint daisies and poppies and gave them all the option of doing one or both on their paintings, as well as doing a walk down to the beach instead of a row of foliage and flowers across the bottom of the canvas as in the original Summer Day pic.

We will be seeing both Bill and Colette again soon, as well as Jack and Yvonne.

The frames ordered will be ready for the next class too.

Although they have recently gone up to £12 each they still represent great value for money, the box canvas that we work on are very deep and you would be hard pressed to find frames to fit these at under £25 normaly.

Thanks to Dave The Frame who supplies Painting My Way with the frames.

New Bathroom

Its been a busy week for us-my son has had to get a new bathroom suite because the old plastic bath had started leaking.

Of course they had to call on Bill to help, so we have been round there most of the week-hence not much happening on the blog!

My 2 old girls -Smoky and Gizmo my 20 year old burmese cats have loved having us there-they have have bucket loads of fuss-and extra food treats! You would never belive they were 2o years old to see then running around.

Gizmo is at the front of this pic and Smoky behind her.

They are tiny little things compared to our Sparky and they are very vocal and talk a lot in their own way!

Tomorrows Class

We have a class of five tomorrow to paint the ever popular "Summer Day" painting.

Its always exciting to see how everyone interpets what I show them!!!

This painting always ends up looking really restful and tranquil, the beautiful blue sky and sea just makes you feel like you want to lie on the beach and take in the sights!

African Dream Class--Full

11year old Oliver who came to the Tropical Summer Day class on Saturday is coming to the African Dream class on Saturday March 8th.

This class is now full.

Todays Class

At last Ive got round to updating the latest news!

As you can see, we had some beautiful results in todays "Tropical Summer Day" Class.

I had 3 new students today-Pauline and her hubby Chris who I met what seems ages ago-and Oliver aged 11 who I had met even longer before that!

Jan who is now an old hand at the game also joined us!

Sue and her son Andrew had to cancel at the last minute.We will see them at some future classes.

Pauline and Chris were both nervous about coming today-they both admitted that they thought they would stand out like sore thumbs because they wouldn't be able to 'do it'

however they both settled down quickly when they realised that it really was as easy as I had told them.Neither of them had ever painted before, and they were delighted with their paintings at the end of the class!!

Oliver had no such nerves--children often don't-they don't have the same fear that adults get, if I say we will bash the canvas with this brush they just do that-the same with the tickling brush!!!

He wasn't scared of using the colour either-his painting was bold and bright-he even added some coconuts to his tree's at the end!! He wants to come again to do another painting, and we will be seeing him when he has his encaustic birthday party in February.

Jan was being very subtle today, her painting was very gentle and quiet.

Everyone was able to have a practise run doing the palm tree's on the canvas paper before commiting themselves to their own canvas-it was interesting to see how they all did their trees!!

Pauline and Chris have booked to do the Birch Tree Walk on the 29th March.So we will see them then!

Foxgloves

I have completed the second in my "Foxgloves" series. This time on 3 Loxley Gold canvas each measuring 10in x 24in.

The photographs don't do this art work justice.Its much more vibrant in real life.!!

I have included a close up of one of the canvas here.

I have painted all the sides and they all have a lot of detail on them.They need to be hung around 2in apart in order to see this detail properly.

They are very effective, the foxgloves in the foreground really jump out against the blurry background..

This art work will be ready to post in time for St Valentines Day.

The price of this work is £350 including special delivery in the UK.

If you are outside UK please get in touch,

please note that this artwork is copyrighted and logged with www.protectmywork.com

Cancer Research Donation

I have had an enjoyable few days-apart from having a streaming cold---painting some variations on Caroles picture that she painted at the weekend at the Advanced class.

I have painted this picture in order to raise money for Cancer Research.
Cancer has touched many peoples lives in one way or another, and I hope that this painting will raise at least £180 for the cause.
This oil painting called "Foxglove Dream"is done onto a high quality Loxley Gold deep edge canvas measuring 10in wide x 24in long.
The painting continues on all 4 sides of the canvas so it does not require framing.
The photographs do not do this picture justice, it is much brighter in real life.
The foxgloves are quite detailed, and lighter than they appear in the pics.
I will take some more close up pictures tomorrow when the light is better!!

It will (or should be) dry enough to post in around 3 weeks, it can be delivered in time for St Valentines Day-I only use special delivery for paintings.
It is next day delivery,insured and trackable.
Please note that this work is copyrighted and logged with www.protectmywork.com

New Home

We have spent the day helping my daughter Beckie and her boyfriend Wayne to move house-the weather was better than forcast-thank goodness.
They have worked very hard to get it as they want it-every room had to be decorated, it has been painted white all through-though it dosent look white on this photo of Beckie in her new front room!
Im sure they will be very happy in their new home and we wish them all the best for the future.

New Challenge

As you can see the images above are quite different to my normal style of work,I have decided to challenge myself this year to try new styles of creating art.

I have had my Chinese brushes and ink for almost 2 years now-sitting on the shelf waiting for me to pluck up courage to have a go!

I took the bull by the horns and ordered some Chinese paper and yesterday had a my first go---above you can see my results.

I have several books-bought from boot sales which explain the technique but have had lots of hints and tips from my friend Trine in Norway who uses the technique a lot-and is very good at it.

Its totally different from what I'm used to--the rice paper is soooo absorbent-you only have to touch it with the slightest touch of a wet brush and its there-and once its there on the paper there is nothing you can do-unlike when using oils and acrylics where you can scrape it off or paint over the top.!!

Its going to be very interesting to use these materials but I am looking forward to more experiments with it.I will post the results on here for you all to see-and have a giggle at!!

Results from Jan 12th Advanced Class

We had a very interesting day yesterday doing the advanced class.

Sharleen and Hayely were unable to make it unfortunately, but Jack,Carole, Yvonne and Jan came and as you can see we had some fantastic results. Four totaly different painting!

Jack had a copyright free book of photos from the SAA(Society for all Artists) which he bought along to show us--brilliant for giving some inspiration on what to paint--I will be ordering a copy for myself tomorrow.

He had scanned and printed his and Yvonnes choice of subject and bought them along.

Jan bought along a picture her hubby John had taken on the Welsh coast, down by St Davids.

Carole had a birthday card that had given her some ideas for a floral painting.

This was the first time for everyone--The idea was to give the student the confidence to paint on their own at home with out me !!

They had to do everything for themselves--with my supervision.

I had already prepared some work sheets , printed and laminated them for them to use both during the class and at home.

To start they had to prepare the undercoat that we use to coat the canvas--some old yogurt pots came in useful for this--everyone agreed it was easy enough to do--so that was the first scary thing out of the way.

Jack had decided that his choice of painting needed a canvas in both black and white--after a few tips he was soon done.

Everyone was a bit apprehensive about things for a while--they had to decide on the best brushes for the job, help them selves to paint--everything as if I wasn't there!

It was great to see everyone thinking for them selves and making decisions.

I was able to correct some small things that happened- but everyone agreed it was a very useful day,everyone learnt a lot and it has given them all the confidence to start painting at home.They all know they can ring me ANY time and I will help them.All in all a great day.

We took Carole back to Leominster did a bit of shopping and then finished the day off with Jan and her hubby John up the road at The Squirrel.

We all had a steak and some wine, the time just flew by we arrived at 5pm and in no time it was 9pm--where did the time go to?

A thoroughly great night--thanks both!

Ashford And Caynham WI

We had a lovely turn out on Wednesday night, the hall was packed with interested people.As you can see from the photo, there was an interesting backdrop on the stage, a painted scene of mountains!

I started the night with a demonstration on a black canvas--using transparent blue paint ,I started painting on the canvas--of course no one could see anything until I started putting on the white paint---then there were lots of oohhs and aaaahhhhs as it quickly developed into a snow scene.Using the same brushes but this time on a white canvas I painted the ever popular Summer Day painting.This is one of the most popular painting's that I do in class, and it always goes down well at the demos too.

Ann Tyler won the raffle and she chose" Summer Day"--she has just moved into the area from the seaside and she said it reminded her of where she had lived.

I donated "Winter Wonderland" to the WI to use for raising money for their chosen charity.

Trine

Well more congratulations to my dear artist friend in Norway--Trine.

She been asked to write a monthly piece for her local paper.
Her first one was published today.
You can view her daily blog here on this link
http://mtv65.blogspot.com/
She sells her work all over the world, it is much different to my style -she works in chinese inks and paper a lot, although she has started using her encaustic waxes again.
We had such fun when she came over in 2006 and stayed with us for week.I am sure that 2008 is going to be a fantastic year for her.

wine v water

I was sent this by one of my good friends--made us laugh!!!!

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine and those who don't.
As Ben Franklin said:
In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces.
In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.!
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of s##t.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service!!!

WI Demo

I have the first of the WI demo's today.We are busy sorting everything out to take.It seems ages since I have done one of these, Im really looking forward to it.
It is not far from home, this time just 10 minutes away, so that makes a real change!We are usualy traveling for miles to do them.
It will be hard going after the meeting--there is usualy a delicious spread of sandwiches and cakes--will be very trying on the old willpower tonight!

Weight Watchers

Well Ive gone back to weight watchers after quite a break--things were getting quite busy on the run up to Christmas and I havent been there since Oct.
I was expecting to have put on much more weight than I had--just 7 1/2lb .Which when you consider all the goodies we had over Christmas is good going!
So its time to knuckle down to it again-all the temptations have gone to my friends and its back to the sensible eating once more!!!
We are having a lovely piece of salmon for tea with jacket spud and peas-havent had that for ages and Im really looking forward to it!

Slide Show Of Some Of My Work

http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?ArtID=25677&Tab=SlideShow
If you click on the link you will be able to see a slide show of some of my work
I hope you enjoy seeing just how many different subjects I paint!!
Its on one of my sites called Art Wanted which is an american site-hence the prices being in $ instead of £.

Congratulations Trine.

I have to congratulate my good friend Trine who lives in Norway.
She is a fellow artist, who works in a totally different style to me. Here is a link to her site http://mtv65.blogspot.com/
She does a lot of Chinese style painting using traditional inks, paints and papers and she has really worked hard at her art. She is now selling her work all over the world and even has an e bay shop.
It would seem it has been worth it-last year she had an article written about her in a magazine-now a Norwegian newspaper has done an interview with her about her and her work! You can read all about it on her blog.
We met when she came over here last year and stayed with us for a week to paint.We had a lot of laughs and fun and we have been great friends ever since.
Well Done Sis xxxx

January 19th Class

"Tropical Summer Day" Is being painted on Saturday 19th Jan.
This is a mixed class of children and adults.
I have had one cancellation for this class, so if you are interested in painting this picture please get in touch via http://www.paintingmyway.co.uk/

It is suitable for all ages and abilities.

January 26th Class

"Summer Day" Bright and cheerful, this painting has been one of the most popualr painting's done in my classes.

I have 3 places left for this class on Saturday 26th Jan.

It is suitable for all ages and abilities even children and 1st time painters.

If you would like to join us please get in touch via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

February 2nd Class

"Poppy Fields" is the subject for Saturday 2nd February's class.

Poppies are always popular with all ages, and this painting is no exception!

This painting is done using oil paints, and is suitabe for all age ranges and abilities including children and 1st time artists.

This is a bright and cheerful picture and quite simple to paint.Its a lovely subject and very interesting to see how everyone interprets the actual poppies when painting them!

There are 4 places left for this painting.

if you would like to book a place please contact me via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

February 9th Class

"Birch Tree Walk "
This class is being held in our new venue in Telford.
This class is full, but I am holding another one on march 29th .
There are still some places left in that class.
This is proving to be one of the most popualr paintings that we do in classes.
We use acrylic paint and also encaustic wax which makes it very interesting to do!!

Please get in touch for more details via http://www.paintingmyway.co.uk/

February 16th Class

"Oriental Dawn" is the subject for Saturday 16th February.

It is painted in oil paint and is suitable for all ages and abilities including 1st timers and children.

Beautiful colours and a tranquil scene.

There are just 3 palces left for this class.If you would like to join us please get in touch via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Birthday Party Feb 23rd

I am doing a private birthday party on this date using the encaustic waxes.

It will be a fantastic day for all concerned producing wonderful paintings like the ones shown!

If you would like me to host a birthday party or any other sort of party for that matter , please contact me via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

for all details including prices.

March 1st Class

" Snowy Reflections"

This painting is the subject for Saturday March 1st.

It is painted in acrylic paint instead of the usual oil .We use a special shimmering paint on the water that gives it a really frosty cold look.

Its suitable for all ages and abilities even children and first timers.

Modern and contemporary in style , a lovely painting for todays modern home.

There are 4 places left for this class-if you would like to join us please get in touch via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

March 8th Class

"African Dream" Is the subject for Saturday 8th March.

This painting is done in acrylic paint rather than the usual oil paints that we use in the classes.

Its a very bright vibrant painting that really lights up a room.

Its suitable for all ages and abilities, including children and 1st timers.

The painting will also be dry to take home, with it being done in fast drying acrylic paint.I haver to get cracking and paint another version of this painting as it sold at the recent exhibition!

There are just 2 places left for this painting.

To book a place please contact me through www.paintingmyway.co.uk

March 15th Class

"Summer Day" is the subject for Saturday 15th March.

I had another class subject for that weekend but have had a group booking so I have changed the subject to the one they wanted to paint.!!

This has been one of the most popular subjects ever with Painting My Way.

Its suitable for all ages and abilities including 1st timers.

If you would like to book for this class another time please get in touch via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

March 22nd Class

"Winter Wonderland"

This is the subject for the class on Saturday 22nd March.

This painting has proved very popular over the past couple of years.

Its painted in oil paint onto a black canvas which makes it less nerve racking for first time artists!

This painting is suitable for all ages and abilities including children and first timers.6 places left at this time.Please contact me via http://www.paintingmyway.co.uk/

for details and booking

March 29th Class

"Birch Tree Walk" is back by popular demand!

It is painted using acrylic paint and encaustic wax.

It is suitable for all ages and abilities from 1st time onwards.

There are 4 places left at this time.

Please contact me via www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Class for April 12th

Todays class is going to be another advanced class for people who have been to me before.They will bring their own picture that they want to paint.Any copyright free picture they want. I will supply the materials and will help them through it.I will have a selection of my own pictures there for them to do if they have been unable to find something suitable.

Ally's Painting

Sadly todays student Mary couldnt make it for her present of a painting class.However her friend Ally came in her place.

As you can see although she was confident she would never be able to produce anything worthy of showing anyone , she painted this beautiful waterfall scene!!

She was typical of many of my "First Timers" convinced she wouldnt be able to do it--if I had a £ for every time I heard that one I would be very rich!

We spent the first 30 mins introducing Ally to Paddy Parrot and Sparky cat! Then we were nattering to Bill, so it was turned 11.30am before we got started.Ally couldnt belive just how quickly the picture started to take shape, she got the hang of the bashing brush and tickling brush very quick.When it came to the painting knife, she had no trouble-you would think she had used one for years.

When we finished Bill made her a box to transport her painting home safely--Ally has 14 horses as well as dogs and cats and she transports a lot of hay and straw in the car--we have visions of the picture being covered in bits before she got it home, so Bill made a lid for it too!!

New Year

Well its here, we are starting to get back to normal at last.
I have really enjoyed the break but cant wait to get started again.
I have my first private student coming this Saturday--she dosent know anything about it and wont until she dropped at my doorstep!!
Her friend Ally has done this several times-she just tells them to wear old clothes and she will take them for their Christmas present-they dont have a clue whats happening until I open the door and invite them in-its great fun to see their faces when they realise they are going to be painting a picture!
So watch this space to see what she does on Saturday!!

Im off to wrap up my sisters birthday pressie now----Happy Birthday for tomorrow Sharon xxxx--its not that bad being 37--honestly!!