Poppies Workshop March 31st

We had 2 cancellations  for  workshops due to the fuel crisis---Derek and his wife Liz had a long way to travel and couldn't get any fuel where they lived in Gloucester ..so it was quite understandable they were worried about making the journey..we are seeing them fairly soon for another workshop though..The workshop today was in oils on a black canvas and is as near to an abstract that you will get in one of my classes....Vikki is starting to do the background grasses here..

hard at it...everyone is concentrating hard here..

Tim had a long drive  in the morning from Banbury in Oxfordshire..his wife sat and watched the painting progress..

Bev said she had tryed some painting at home and couldn't get back into it and needed a little tuition again to get her back into it......it didn't take long until she was back on top form...

Maureen is always good and walks away from her painting, sits down and just waits to see if she needs to do anymore to her painting, rather than fiddling with it! It takes a lot of self control to do that.....

Christina is taking a photo of her progress so far here--always a good move to remind you how you have got to that stage....

Debbie had asked if she could do her painting using some brown shades so it would match up with her previous (1st) painting she did with me Reeds In The Breeze last October..I hadn't thought of introducing browns into the picture before but after trying it found it worked really well and added a lot of depth to the painting..it will be a colour option when we do it next time in class!  Debbie made a beautiful job of the picture---it would be soo easy to over do it with too many poppies-and she managed to introduce just the right amount to balance it...

Bev decided to do these lovely blue daises rather than poppies..they are just stunning and worked so  well with her background.

Tim was very rave when it came to doing a butterfly---I chose silver to do mine--but he decided to use the bright red--and made a cracking job of his ! We did all crack up at Christina's butterfly and I know she wont mind me saying that her first attempt looked more like a snail than a butterfly! We soon had it sorted and she had the most beautiful flutterby in no  time!

Debbie, Bev and Vikkie with their masterpieces

The Artists!

Christina, Maureen and Tim with their lovely paintings! I have re arranged a couple of classes later in the year so that Bev and her family can attend,including her mum who is comng from South Africa.. see my website www.paintingmyway.co.uk for more details

Sparkys on the mend...

For the first time Sparkys eye is shining when there is light on it.....it has been completely opaque until now, so that's a good sign that its getting better! He went to see the specialist at the vet eye hospital on Tuesday and after a thorough examination he has been prescribed Interferon drops, human anti-viral tablets and anti-viral cream too.He is feeling better in his self-he is playing like a kitten at times--he is now nearly 11 years old---but being kept in as a house cat now he needs to get some exercise or he will get too fat!

Fast asleep after playing with his toy mouse,,,

I put the aloe vera plant in the bath to water it--and Sparky soon followed---he is a bugger for chewing up all my house plants....

is that a guilty face or not ? I think so!

One of Sparkys favourite games if fetching a rolled up lottery ticket and dropping it in Bills slippers....

then he likes to roll them under the furniture so we have to get them out--I swear he laughs to himself watching us do it for him.We are so relieved he seems to be getting better though---its been a stressful time for all of us..back to the eye hospital on Wednesday for a checkup.Our local vet saw him on Friday and he said the eye looked 50% better and it looks better since then so hopefully he has turned the corner now.His shoulder had healed up beautifully, don't know when we will be letting him go out again though--the black cat we suspect is bullying him is still around the area..lets hope he finds another one to pick on and leaves our Sparky alone when he does go out!