Class of Jan 17th--Winters Walk

Winters Walk is painted using acrylic and oils,we have had a lot of fun doing this painting in the past in classes.
You will learn composition,perspective,colour and how to use several different brushes and what they will do, as well as a painting knife.


The painting is suitable for all ages and abilities from 6 years upwards
If you would like to join us for this workshop please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk
or ringing me on 01584 872013

Class of May 2nd -The Waterfall

This is the subject for May 2nd class.
This painting is done in oils on a black canvas which helps take the fear out of it to a certain extent-a black canvas appears harder to spoil than a pristine white one-especially to first time artists!
You will learn composition,perspective,colour and how to use several different brushes and what they will do, as well as a painting knife.


The painting is suitable for all ages and abilities from 6 years upwards
If you would like to join us for this workshop please get in touch via the website
www.paintingmyway.co.uk
or ringing me on 01584 872013

Happy New Year

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Healthy New Year for 2009

Heres to a creative time in 2009 !!!

Diane and Bill xx

Scotland

Well we are into day 3 of our Scottish holiday and we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves so far! We stopped off at Carlise on Sunday evening after a lovely journey from Ludlow-no holdups on the way-just a break for a beautiful Sunday lunch at Beeston Castle-we are calling back there next Sunday on our return home!

We made our way up to our friends in Montrose on Monday afternoon, and after getting settled we all went out for a fantastic meal at the Cutty Sark pub.

The prawn cocktail was to die for-I have never tasted prawns like them-you really could taste the sea! The ribeye steak and trimmings, pepper sauce was gorgeous and the mango sorbet was delicious! We will be on strict diets when we get home no doubt!

Today we all went out touring round the area-Ros, Lincoln and Domenic knew just where to take us and we had a brilliant time.The weather was lovely-the sun shone all day.

First of all we went to Gourdon habour and had a look around, got some great photos for inspiration!

Then we went on to the top of The Garvock Hill where the view was just amazing-you could see the Grampions and miles around.

I have loads more photos to put on when we get back, so will do so next week.

From there we went Laurence Kirk and had some great coffee and homemade scones, from there we drove to the Fettercairn distillery and then on up to the top of Cairn o' Mount where we could see right across the Mearns to the east coast and sea.

On the way back down we went via Banchory and dropped in at Milton of Crathie , had a wander around the craft shops and gallery which was a bit of an eye opener!

From there we drove back to the coast and Stonehaven and parked at the beach where we enjoyed some freshly cooked chips!

From there we went to Dunnottar Castle---oh boy what a beautiful sight.

Set on a huge mount of rock really high up-you can see why it was only attacked twice in its history!

Again, some great photographs to come when we get back.

We made our way back , had a couple of hours on the computers sorting things out and loading pics, before getting ready and making our way back to the Cutty sark for some more delicious food.

This time I opted for the chicken stuffed with haggis with fresh veg served with a whisky sauce--I wasn't disappointed!

After trying the garlic bread last night that Ros had with her meal-we decided to have a side order of that--I dread to think how many calories are in that-it was dripping with lashings of garlic butter---wont have to breath over anyone tomorrow!

Anyway-we are off to bed now-have worked out a different route to what we had decided originaly-Ros and Lincoln have told us about the beautiful views to be had en route via The Trossoachs and Pitlochry -the colours should be wonderful at this time of year.

I think I have covered just about everything--the fresh air and good food have made me very tired-a good nights sleep is guaranteed!!

latest class updates--Stormy Skies--Nov 8th

I have just 3 places left for the Stormy Skies painting.

This has proved to be a very interesting subject in the past.

We use just black and white oil paint in this painting-its very interesting to see just how different pressures on the brush produce such different effects. There are many shades of grey through to black in this picture-all produced with ease with just brush strokes!

There will be the option of adding in a palm tree or three to the finished painting.

Suitable for all abilities-even first timers

you will learn to use several different brushes and the palette knife in this class.

If you would like to join this class please get in touch via the website

www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Serenity In Green -Oct 11th--one place left

I have just one place left for this new class subject "Serenity In Green"

on Oct 11th.

There will be the option of doing it in different colours-someone has already requested shades of browns, although it would work in several other colours such as blues or purples.

If you would like to join this class please get in touch via my website www.paintingmyway.co.uk

Jane and Heathers Day

Jane and her daughter Heather came for a class today.Heather had taken a look at www.dianetheartist.com where I have 200 paintings on show and chosen this one to do.

We had great fun, Jane has been to lots of classes before and has had her advanced student brooch, Heather had not painted before.

They were both cracked up at Jake who didnt stop talking all day.Last time Jane was here he copied her laugh, which cracked us all up!

Jane found the acrylic paint quite different to work with compared to the oils she has been used to in previous classes.

When we started on the second coat and it was easier to blend it all started to feel right again.

Both me and Jane decided that we liked our paintings better upside down-when we turned them to paint the bottoms!

So Bill did some re-stringing when we had finished as the canvas were strung the wrong way up!

They were both very nervous when it came to painting the tree.

They both really liked their sunset skies and were scared they would spoil it.

After watching me do my tree they plucked up courage and did the most beautiful trees each.

Jane added some little birds in the sky and Heather painted a little cat sitting on one of her branches of her tree.

They were both delighted with the finished pictures-I sent them away with enough varnish to give them a coat tomorrow--this will bring out the colour even more on their finished pictures.

New Kittens.

First of all a big thank you for all the emails , private messages , phone calls and hugs sent to us since yesterday.It means such a lot to know that so many people understand.

As you can no doubt see from the photos above there are some new additions to the family.

It has turned out to be good timing-my daughter Becki knew she was having these two bundles of fun several weeks ago. They have certainly helped heal the pain of losing Smokey and Gizmo yesterday.

Becki had grown up with the old ladies -as they were known-since she was just 3 years old, and although she had moved out from her brothers house where they lived 3 years ago, she still saw them.

I got a text from her this afternoon asking what I thought about the new kittens being called Smokey and Gizmo---I think its a fitting tribute to two wonderful little cats,so the dark one is being called Smokey and the black and white one is Gizmo.

We went around to see them this afternoon-- they are just gorgeous-full of mischief.

Smokey hasnt got the hang of pulling her claws in when walking on the carpet , and Gizmo has decided the best place to sleep is on top of the sky box!

They will be spoiled rotten with Becki and Wayne, and if they turn half as good as their namesakes they will be lovely little cats.

Morning Mist

Morning Mist

Painted in oils onto a staple free box canvas, this painting is very atmospheric. Swirls of fog surround the tree and bushes in the early morning.

The canvas is staple free and all of the edges are painted to give a contemporary feel. It is strung and ready to hang .

It is one of my recent works,and so is still wet but will be ready to post in around two weeks time--15th Aug onwards.

It measures 20 cm x 50 cm.

The cost of postage and packing in UK is included in the price.

If you are outside Uk please get in touch. £65.00

All Worth It

On Saturday night I had a call from Jack, one of the students who had come to paint "Stormy Skies" in class that day.
At the end of class I had said to him that the painting would look good in one of the black frames he had previously bought from me--well evidently he went home and put it in one of the frames and he was gobsmacked at the effect---thus the phone call to tell me!

I get calls from students very often, telling me that friends and relations don't believe that they have painted the pictures taken home by them-indeed we have had some paintings disfigured by people who don't belive that the person concerned could have painted such a brilliant painting in just 4 hours!
Several times now I have had calls from students upset because of finger marks where people have touched to see if the painting is wet-we have been able to rectify the problem each time thank goodness!


I only supply 2 different colour frames-a blond wood frame and a black one.
I find that these suit 99% of the paintings we do in class.
If any of the students want another colour I can get that for them for the following week.
The cost is just £12.

Craft Fair Tomorrow

We have been busy tonight getting everything ready for tomorrows craft fair.

The cars loaded up and the rest of it is ready to load in the morning,the forecast isn't great but as the Ludlow Festival is still on it will probably be busy.

I have got a few paintings to take with me to finish off, in between doing demonstrations of oil painting and encaustic art.

I sold out of all the encaustic art supplies last Saturday at Shobdon, and I am hoping the new lot of stuff will be here in the morning.

Time for bed now, will post tomorrow about the day!

Droitwich Spa Art Society

I have been asked to travel all the way to Droitwich Spa Art Society to do my Painting My Way Demonstration. Its quite a distance from us , but we will make a day of it and travel there in the morning have a look round Droitwich and have the demo in the evening.

Its a large group of over 6o members, it will make a change to have 2 hours to do the demo in--usually at the WI's I only have around an hour to do the 2 paintings!

Usually I get asked many more questions when I'm at the art society/club do's so the extra time will be useful.
Its not until November but the way the time is flying by it will soon be here!

Commissions

I have been busy over the past couple of days working on a commission of Swallow Falls in Wales.

Its a place that has inspired me from the the first time we went there 6 years ago.

Paul and his wife have each commissioned a painting that means a lot to each of them.Im working on Pauls at the moment--he has sent me the photos of the scenes but also given me the go ahead to do my own thing with them because they love my style of interpretation of subjects.

.I am really enjoying this----although I am still doing my usual and emailing each stage for confirmation too!

I am really pleased with the results-the pic shown does not do this painting justice!

Can You See----?????

I painted this abstract a couple of weeks ago, using a canvas that I had used during the advanced class to show students different ways of doing things.I used up some of the green paint left over from the class and created this painting that I called "Woodland Green"

Yesterday my friend Jan called to say she had been looking at the pic on my blog and she could see some eyes in the painting--when I looked I realised that there is in fact a cats face.If you look at the darker part of the painting it is quite clear! Very odd!

The painting has now been re-named "Woodland Green Cat"

Saturday 26th April--change of Class

Next Saturday was supposed to be an encaustic day-unfortunately Bev and Maureen who had booked to do that class cant make it after all. I will re-schedule the class for another date

So I have decided to hold another oil painting class instead.
Forest Pool is also a class subject for July but I have 2 people interested in doing it next Saturday.
If you would like to join them please get in touch via http://www.paintingmyway.co.uk

This painting is suitable for total first time painters as well as more experienced ones.
It is painted onto a black background which makes life much easier!
Its a very atmospheric picture, the light just glows through the background trees and onto the surface of the pond.

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.

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.

class of May 3rd --Emerald Woods

This painting has just 2 places left-its a very popular one and quite easy to do.A lot of scope for individual personalities to shine through!

Please get in touch via the website if you would like to join the class.
www.paintingmyway.co.uk
Check out my 'snaps' pages on my site to see all my happy students with their paintings---you will see that many of my students come back time after time--my classes get booked up very quickly and I have a waiting list for some subjects.

The classes are very friendly,laid back and informative at the same time- great fun and a beautiful painting to take home as well!
Take a look at the guest book to see what some of the students have said about the classes as well!

I have kept my prices the same for the past 4 years--£35 which includes all materials used in class. We paint on a high quality box canvas which does not need framing-although if you wish to do so we supply a lovely frame to match your painting for just £12. Great Value!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY JIM!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe my son Jim is 30 today.

As usual I had some problems for him to sort out on the lap top!!!

He called round last night with his girlfriend Kerry and then my daughter Beckie and her boyfriend Wayne called by too, so it was great to have everyone together and have a chat!

Paddy loved it cos he could terrorise poor Beckie who's scared of him!!

ON A SADDER NOTE------

Today we had another funeral to attend, this time at Hereford crematorium-funny until Rita's cremation just over a week ago I had never been to a cremation, now Ive been to 2 in less than 2 weeks.

Fred the husband of my old friend Gladys passed away suddenly last week, so we went to say our goodbyes.

We called back via Leominster to drop off some posters and invites to the private viewing for Carole who has attended 10 painting sessions along with daughter Hayley.

We met her new puppy, a beautiful pattendale x jack russell puppy.

Sharleen- another of my students had given her some advice about training her and it had worked really well, she no longer nips at Caroles nose!!

Wellesbourne Art Society

We had a lovely ride down to Wellesbourne, nr Stratford Upon Avon yesterday. We stopped off and had a wander around Stratford, bought some bits and pieces before finding our way to where we were staying for the night.The Old Dispensary.

We had a lovely welcome from Jenny.

Pictured above are the lucky winners of the raffle with the 2 paintings that I did for them that evening.Catherine and John.

We were doing the demonstration at the local fire station--they were 2nd in at the dreadful tragedy in which 4 firefighters died.

The proceeds of the raffle for the 2 paintings I painted during the demo, went to the fund for the families that lost loved ones in this tragedy.

I will be returning to do one or two classes there by the sound of it,I only take 7 people max for a class in order to be able to give everyone enough time and show them the method thoroughly.There was a lot of people interested last night, so may have to make it 2 classes instead of 1 class.

Since I started teaching people to ''Paint My Way'' --my prices haven't gone up at all in over 3 years .I have absorbed all of the price rises of canvas , paint, and brushes and the cost of hiring rooms to hold the classes--because to me the most important thing of all is to show the ordinary man in the street that THEY can paint beautiful oil paintings -all they need is encouragement and to be shown a technique,which shows in what they produce in my classes-

The exhibition in Dec 'From Small Acorns'' will show that.