Squirrels Eye View 12th March

Always great fun to do-using acrylic paint on large 2ft square canvas.We had a wide range of colours done, ranging from spring to winter!

First time for Lauren, and what a great job she made of it!

Love Dru,s painting lots of movement  !

Rach made a cracking job of her autumn colours painting..

Joan chose the brighter spring colours and added a pop of colour with some pretty blossom on  one of her trees!

Lovely colours Claire!

First time painting for Sue-- who made a brilliant job despite shutting her fingers in the car door when she arrived! Ouch!

Birches Workshop-April 27th

It was lovely to see Jill again, she came last year and painted Reeds In The Breeze using oils-and she wanted to try acrylics as she has been bought some as a gift...she chose to do the big 40in x 12in canvas and the soft sage green and cream colours

We met Julie just last Wednesday when we were on the market....she had never painted before and was quite nervous that she wouldn't be able to do it! She chose the monochrome version but used silver paint for the foreground trees...

Ali joined us at the last minute....we did her 'Hen' party last week...and she has been wanting to paint the Birch trees for some time...

Tony has been painting for a while-and it did show! He chose the autumn colours for his painting--but they were much more subdued than my version...I thought it looked like twilight,,and the others agreed,,,,

Adding the detail to the trees,,

Ali's trees are coming on nicely here..

Jill was using 2 dryers to save time!

Tony's trees are looking great...

Gills painting had a lovely calm, tranquil feel to it..

Looking good....

What lovely results--and all so different..

While we were packing away, we noticed Barbara who runs  the rooms we use for classes--she was arranging some more flowers for the church.. isn't this just beautiful..made from leaves pinned together...just beautiful!

Todays Medieval Fair

We were up at what seemed the crack of dawn this morning in order to go down to the medieval fair and get set up.
We had a laugh last night getting Bills outfit done for today!
I had a bought blue throw from a charity shop which I cut up and shaped into a cape, a hood and some gaiters in around 15 mins-some elastic criss -crossed around Bills legs and one of my antique copper artist palette clasp at the front of the cape/hood and he really looked the part!
The weather was much better than forecast-the rain didn't come until we were packing up at 4.30pm
We had a cracking day-the town was heaving with people all day, I didn't get chance to check out who else was on the market other than our near neighbours.
We are back on the market on Wednesday -weather permitting, and then we are doing the market until the week before Christmas and we are then having a break until the end of March-beginning of April-depending on the weather, I will post the dates on the website when I know when we are starting.

Class of Feb 7th--Birch Trees

The return of a very popular class subject. Painted using acrylic paint-you will have the chance to paint this in either monochrome or sepia tones.
always very successful with wonderful results that astounds everyone who is shown the finished article!

This class gets booked up very quickly so dont delay booking!

This painting is suitable for all ages and abilities
If you are interested in joining this class please get in touch with me via the website www.paintingmywy.co.uk

or give me a ring on 01584 872013 if you have any questions about this class

Class of Feb 14th -Summer Day

This popular painting is back again---bright and cheerful as always-you can ring the changes in this painting by doing different flowers to the poppies--I include thrift, cornflowers and daisies sometimes.


This painting is suitable for all ages and abilities
If you are interested in joining this class please get in touch with me via the website www.paintingmywy.co.uk

or give me a ring on 01584 872013 if you have any questions about this class

Bill Garden

This is how it all looked before the transformation! What a difference!

Ludlow Festival

Its that time of year again---Ludlow Festival--this year its Shakespeare's Richard III.
As usual the weather has changed from bright and sunny to wet and windy--as is traditional for the festival!
It wont stop the show no doubt--they will battle on the stage in Ludlows famous castle.

The weather usualy changes for the last night of the festival-there is a fantastic open air pop concert with a firework display as a finale.

This year the line up is

The Manfreds with Paul Jones,Mike d'Abo, Mike Hugg, Tom Guiness and Rob Townsend,

PJ PRoby--'Somewhere' 'Maria' 'Hold Me'

Chris Farlow---- 'Out Of Time' Handbags and 'Gladrags'

Brian Poole---- 'Twist and Shout' 'Do You Love Me?'

Mike Pender---'Sweets For My Sweet' 'Needles And Pins' 'Dont Throw Your Love Away'

Vanity Fare---'Hitching a Ride' 'Early in the Morning'

As usual we will be outside (weather permitting) on our patio listening to it all going on in the castle, having a bbq and a glass or 3 of wine!

For more details go to http://www.ludlowfestival.co.uk

Forest Pool--Class Full

The Forest Pool class on Sat 5th July is now full.
I will be setting another date later in the year for this popular subject.

Jake

Here is the latest addition to the Jennings family.

Meet Jake the african grey parrot who came to live with us today.

He is 18 months old and talks ,sings and whistles tunes.

Its funny how things come about-I happened to see him mentioned last night on one of the forums that I go on --his owners have had a change in their circumstances and can no longer keep him.

After an email and a few phone calls Rich said he would bring him all the way from Southampton to make sure he settled in.

We had to do some furniture moving in the front room to fit his cage in, but got everything sorted just in time as they all arrived.

Paddy didn't think much of being kept in his cage while we settled Jake in , but I'm sure he will soon get to be friends given time.

He really is a character and whistles the Mcdonalds tune.

I know Rich and Nat will miss him a lot, but Im going to keep them informed of how he is with emails and phone calls.

He will be spoiled rotton like Paddy Bird is-as I speak he is tucking in to grapes and red peppers!

Craft Fair

We are on the monthly craft fair tomorrow on the square in Ludlow.
As usual I will be demonstrating the technique I use in class as well as doing encaustic work too!
Lets hope the weather holds out-sounds a bit iffy by the forcast!

Janes Summer Day

Jane came for a one to one on Wednesday.

She had been to a class once before but couldn't wait for the next one so came to the house!.

We had a lovely afternoon and Jane painted a beautiful painting.We took some pics with my camera phone and sent them to her daughter to see-she was very impressed with her mums achievements.

Class Of April 5th

Well we had another great class yesterday-we welcomed Jane for the first time-everyone else had been several times before.She admitted to being a bit nervous but soon settled down and everyone put her at ease!
We had 7 in class so Bill had to bring up the easel he made for me a while back.I will have to go over to Kidderminster this week and get another easel the same as the others.
They are evry expensive but well worth the money,good and sturdy for all the bashing we do in class!
The time flew by as usual, although for once we didn't go over the 4 hours, we still had a couple of good breaks for tea, bickies and sandwiches.
Everyone was amazed to see how different the paintings all were again, some were quite subtle and some more bold, but its always interesting to see how everyone interprets what they are told and shown.
When it came towards the end there was a bit of reluctance from 2 of the students to paint in a large tree in the foreground-in Janes case it was the normal-''I'm really happy with what Ive already done and dont want to paint anything over it'' and in Kays case it was simply because her painting didnt really need a tree, she had enough going on in her painting to take it or leave it! In the end they decided to put one in, and they both looked brilliant.
Janes partner was gobsmacked when he came to collect her after the class had finished
We will be seeing everyone again soon!

Class For June 21st "Summer Day"

Back by very popular demand 'Summer Day' is one of the most popular paintings that we do in class.
The changes can be rung in many different ways and it is always very successful even with first time students.
The painting always turns out different in every class-as usual!
Each person interprets what I show and tell them in the step by step sections differently.
Each person will paint their sky different to the next person , as with the sea and the beach, when it comes to doing the foreground flowers, its lovely to see the confidence emerging from even first time artists as they paint a variety of flowers from poppies to daisies.
If you would like to join this class please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Todays class

We were minus one student today--Yvonne had to work.Im sure she would have rather been painting!
We had a mixed lot of students today,
Sam who had been once before bought along her mother in law who hadn't done anything like this before.
Pauline and her hubby had been once before and Jack and Mandy have been quite a few times.
Right from the start you could see that the paintings were going to turn out very different to each other.
As soon as the surgical gloves(Supplied by me to protect their hands) went on and they picked up their natural sponges, the paintings all evolved in different ways.Jack had several spooky faces appear in his pic straight away--he always laughs at me picking them out!
But soon everyone was spotting faces of trolls and all sorts of things in the paint!We had a a great laugh as usual in the class.
The pathways all went in different directions which made it very interesting.
The trees were a bit scary for some of the students to do, but everyone soon settled sown and when it came to the splattering part, we ended up in fits of laughter! I ended up with black spotted boobs, and feet after some of the splattering went wrong when I was holding the plate with the paint on (thanks Gwen!!) But everyone soon got the hang of it in the end!
When it came to the finishing touches-adding the foxgloves with the encaustic pen --there were lots of nerves , but again after a few practise runs on some card everyone produced some great foxgloves.
I had previously ordered some acrylic varnish from the SAA, as I knew we had some acrylic classes coming up.
All acrylic paintings benifit from a couple of coats of varnish to bring out the colours and protect them.
I am happy to supply the varnish at cost price from the SAA to my students.
Pauline and Chris also went away with the SAA joining forms, catalogue and a free copy of Paint magazine.

A Litttle Gem

I found this gem on a forum I use--it makes a lot of sense!

A professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes".
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and pour the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now" said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are important things- your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions - and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."
"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car".
"The sand is everything else- the small stuff. if you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you."
"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Class Cancelled

I made the decision yesterday to cancel today's Winter Wonderland class.
The weather forecast was absolutely awful and as the people who were coming had a far distance to travel I was happier cancelling than risking them travelling.
When I spoke to them they said it was fine, they were getting nervous about the trip anyway.
This is only the second time I have done this in 4 years, but better safe than sorry.
I am re-booking them into another class in May, I have no spaces left until then.

So I am having a lazy day, catching up on the website updating-have joined another 2 sites to sell my paintings on and am going to take a look at the local art society exhibition later today.
Its blowing a gale here today and the radio have been giving out weather warnings and telling people not to travel unless its necessary, so I know I made the right desion to cancel the class.

News Letter

I have been asked by several customers if I will produce a regular newsletter to show people my latest paintings and also with details of classes that are coming up in the future.
I shall be sending the first one out at the weekend. If you want to be added to my mailing list please email me on enquiries@paintingmyway.co.uk

Dusting !!!!

Ive nicked this off one of the artists forums that Im on--sums it all up really! lifes too short to dust!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dusting!

Remember...a layer of dust protects the Wood beneath it.

A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' on the
furniture

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were
just perfect - 'in case someone came over'
Finally I realized one day that no-one came over; they were all out
living life and having fun!
NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the 'condition' of my
home.

They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing
while I was away living life and having fun.
If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!

Dust if you must ......

but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter,
bake bikkies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed, ponder the
difference between want and need?!
Dust if you must,but there's not much time . . . .

with beer to drink , rivers to swim and mountains to climb,
music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must,

but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes,
the wind in your hair,
a flutter of snow, a shower of rain.
This day will not come around, again.

Dust if you must ,
but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind. . .

And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust!

Space in Class "Eternal Dawn"

There is one place left for the class of April 5th.
I have had an unexpected cancellation for "Eternal Dawn"
If you would like to join this class please get in touch via the website www.paintingmyway.co.uk
This painting is suitable for all students from 1st timers to more experienced artists.

WELL DONE JIMBO

I havent had the finishing results yet but my son Jim finished the rally at WEston Park today. The car ran brilliant, a previous over heating problem he had was sorted out and he was chuffed to bits with his performance today.
He is out celebrating with all his rallying mates tonight!