The End Of An Era......

It is with great regret that I have to announce that I will no longer be running my workshops after Dec 10th 2016 due to health reasons.
It has been a very,very hard decision to make ....

We have met many lovely people and made many friends over the 12 years the workshops have been running..
Its been a wonderful journey for all concerned--so many laughs along the way, as well as the beautiful masterpieces that were created in my workshops.

I know, because you have told me , that I have changed lives, made you feel confident and opened up a whole new world to you--not many people can say that and I feel privileged to have been part of that..



I have just 6 workshops left to run as I have had to cancel some . My last workshop will be on Sat Dec 10th--''Summer Day''... fitting as it is my signature painting.. so a huge ''Thank You'' to everyone who has made ''Painting My Way'' what it is today. 

I still intend to paint --I will not be hanging up my brushes entirely, but I will be painting pictures to sell, maybe trying some different techniques..but I will be able to paint when I feel able to and rest when I need to.

The website will take on a new look in the new year, and all the pictures of my students can be found here on my blog too..

  The copyright of all my painting subjects will remain mine ....

Bill and I will miss the Saturday workshops so much...Saturdays just won't be the same without the 'bashing and tickling' and all the banter that goes on...


I have been quite overwhelmed by all the messages that we have received since I announced the news..thank you everyone 

Diane and Bill xxxx
 

 

Antrim Annie.....

We have had much fun over the years with various caravans.. all quite old ones, but they have all served their purpose.. Mainly used for staying in at the various shows we do, and useful as storage for paintings in the winter!       However I have always yearned for a decent size bathroom... the usual little tiny bathrooms that most caravans have are quite claustrophobic!     So I have always been on the lookout for one with an end bathroom.. well last Sunday I found just what I have been looking for.. An Avondale Antrim....we went to have a look and I fell in love,,, The bathroom is bigger than our en-suite at home,, loads of space , a proper shower cubicle and also a full size cooker and fridge too...found a few random things left in her --such as a full size Christmas tree and lights LOL..Also got a full size awning and porch awning with her too,,,

We didn't have an oven in our last caravan, just 3 rings and a grill... which to be honest was enough,,but we have the option now with a big oven too..!    The full size fridge with big freezer compartment will be most welcome....plenty of room for ice cubes and wine, as well as the food!

Loads of storage in the bathroom as well as the rest of the caravan...all the fly screens and sun screens work too..which is a bonus..

cant wait to try out the shower...

Was sorry to see our old one go,she sold the very next day, before we fetched  Annie home. I hope her new owners will have as much fun in her as we did..        I have done a deep clean throughout in Annie, and she is sparkling now.. We have decided to have a couple of nights away next weekend to try everything out-she is quite a bit newer than the old one.so will be interesting to see how everything works,,we are not going far from home but looking forward to it just the same.. the parrots are already looking forward to being spoiled by Jeannie who parrot/fish sits for us... She loves it here too-so everyone is happy!

Burwarton Show

We had a cracking show at Burwarton this year,,it was very busy from the word go...

We set up our stall a little different to usual, and managed to get everything out really neat!

The tiny pictures proved to be very popular....and didn't get chance to paint any more ready for Tenbury show on the Saturday..

record crowds attended..

This Summer Day painting is going to Australia,,,

and 50 Shades Of Green is going back to Canada,,,I gave instructions to the customers on how to get any dings and dents out of them on arrival back home--both paintings were being packed into suitcases to take back..fingers crossed they arrived safely. We had 2 new students yesterday who had met us at the show too,,,

The Waterfall Workshop

This workshop was planned for a long time by Jennifer who has been a few times with various members of her family and friends... she had a lovely little pregnant tummy last time we saw her-- the lovely little girl girl was 15 months old when they came to paint!   Scary where the time goes to...anyway  10 of them came together , and another 2 lots of 2... Michelle came to me around 5 years ago and had a private workshop at home-so it was lovely to see her again... she bought along her friend Lynne..It was also lovely to see Joyce again--she received her Artist Brooch off me because she has been at least 6 times! Her daughter Adele came along with her--it was so good to see her--we were at Grammar school together -quite a few moons ago LOL... didn't really get chance to catch up though--must meet up for a coffee at some point Adele...

everyone had a wide choice of colours to choose from... Michelle chose the yellows/greens

Lynne chose to use a lovely purple as a background which gave it a very mysterious feel..

Joyce used ochre and yellow..

Adele adding a few trees...

Ann chose a lovely shade of blue for her background.It worked really well--you would never know that she had not painted before..

looks very misty in Rose's background..

Kerry's background was lovely and vibrant,,,its always amazing how differenet the paintings are -right from the word go..

The paintings develop very quickly...

Fiona went for quite a subtle look,,,

you can add as many trees as you wish..its one of those paintings that just works no matter what,,

Helen adding some shading to her trees here--first time painting for her too...

the bushes go in after this stage,,and completly changes the whole painting--subtle or more dramatic--the choice is yours!

Large and small waterfalls appeared ..

some had streams running into them..

some had rocks behind the water,

some wonderful reflections were added afterwards,,

this was a lovely surprise..a beautiful ''artist'' cup cake for everyone in the workshop--how kind of Kerry...they were all different and delicious too!

Amazing cakes--thanks so much!

every one was different!

nearly finished here....

Fiona's painting ended up quite subtle--  sometimes they start off subtle but end up brighter--

14 happy artists with their paintings!

The Gigglers....they earned the nickname in the early days of the workshops--always giggling away-- nothing changes LOL...

Lynne,Michelle,Joyce and Adele with their masterpieces...

Bits and Pieces....

I have had to cancel a few workshops of late because of my Polymyalgia having a major flare up...its very upsetting for me to have to do that , but I have no option when I can't lift my arms to paint!

It has been coming and going for a while now but each flare up seems to get worse and there are only so many painkillers I can have,,, it gets better when I rest-but of course it isn't that easy sometimes.
Between that and the discs in my neck degenerating and causing pins and needles in my arms and legs I have been in quite a state at times!

So a big thank you to everyone for being so understanding and moving to other dates..

I have now been put on a very high dose of steroids again, so the pain and stiffness should be gone again very quickly,,

We will be at the Festival At The Edge in Much Wenlock  this Fri,Sat and Sunday.. we will take the caravan, so I will be able to relax and chill if need be... Its a lovely event and the weather forcast looks like its going to be good...so it will do us both good..
I will have a huge display of paintings up--with the awning and the new Gala tent in use.. and lots of my ''Funny Quote'' shabby -chic slates..

We meet up with old friends we only see there, so looking forward to that very much.. some wine will be packed, and maybe some Pimms too...we just need the sun to shine and the pain to stay away and it will the perfect weekend!

Eaton Manor Workshop

We were asked by Tony who has a company in Leeds if we would do a workshop for his employees when they were staying at Eaton Manor nr Church Stretton as a well earned treat..After a bit of disscussion with him we decided on painting a big acrylic painting and also a small oil one too..We went and had a look at the venue last week to see where we could do the workshop, as there was a choice of rooms.. We were made very welcome by the lovely Laura who showed us all around the options  and we decided that the games room would be best --having a wipeable floor and good lighting--not that we usualy make a mess --but if there are any brushes dropped accidentaly its easily cleaned..

We arrived in good time to get the tables set up,easels and canvas at the ready..the only thing I couldnt prepare was the paint! As we had decided they were going to paint the "Yesterday" picture which has a huge range of colours I had to wait for the students to arrive and choose for themselves which ones they would like to do..but as I had set out some examples of the picture around the room they were able to come to the table where I had the paint and tell me quite quickly what they wanted,,

As usual there was a wide range of colours chosen,,Simon used the browns and creams with a touch of orange..

and everyone soon settled down to paint..

Love the pinks and purples..

bronws and creams were quite popular too..

Its amazing how so many different effects can be achieved using the same colours,,

Mark chose to do the monochrome version but added a touch of orange which worked really well

Luke used a lovely combination of blues and purples..

.

Steve's is lovely and vibrant in the yellows and oranges..

amazing how quickly everyone found their confidence..

contemplating where to go next,,,

the paintings took shape very quickly...

Tony used the chocolate browns..

More orange went into this one--and what a difference it made--completely different feel to it!

as soon as we start adding the black horizon line they change very quickly..

the sky looks quite dramatic on this one,,

I love the light in Tony's painting,,

love these colours..

looks like a storm may be brewing in the distance..

I have to admit-- I love this colour combination--its never been done in class before-but Kev really made a cracking job of it-very atmospheric!

as you can see in the background the wine and beer were flowing during the workshop--it certainly helps any nerves to disperse !

a lovely calm painting..

lovely warm glow on this one..

Just using the brushes at a different angle really makes a huge difference to the end painting..

that touch of orange is just great!

a good variety of foregrounds were added,,

just a touch of blue on the browns and creams canvas made a huge change...

I love these colours...

This one had us all looking closely--in the background I can see the Sydney Opera House and some dolphins leaping out of the water too!

such calm water here...

End Results---all brilliant-and all so different too...

some trees and bunnies were added to some of them..

well done everyone...

after a few minutes break while we swapped the acrylics for oils and the huge canvas for tiny ones and  we  had a quick oil painting session , painting Poppy Fields.

They soon found that the 2 mediums are completely different to each other..

but everyone seemed to like using it as much.

it only took about 30 mins for us to get these charming little paintings done..

as with the larger paintings-all very different to each other!

all very good! Below are the finished ''Yesterday'' paintings..

some twinkling stars and a shining moon...

awww-bunnies..

love the moon peering out of the clouds at the top..

Tony let me know that they got the acrylic paintings back to Leeds safely-we will pop over to Eaton Manor when the oils are dry and pack and send them to him. Tony said they all loved the day and we will look forward to seeing them again in the future..