Serenity Workshop March 5th

Apologies to the lovely ladies who came to paint Serenity on March 5th.... life has got in the way of updating my blog!  I got bursitis in my right Achilles tendon just after the workshop and ended up on crutches for nearly a week! Its much better now thank goodness but I have to be careful for a while,,its connected with the polymyalgia, and may have happened because I have cut down on my daily steroid dose!

I got the hang of the crutches quite quickly but getting up and down stairs was interesting to say the least!

New Exhibition

I will have some paintings in a lovely gallery called ''Evolution'' in the Darwin Centre ,Shrewsbury from 1st Oct.

I have put in a variety of work, some workshop subjects and a couple that aren't..all are completely different to Mike Hatch's wonderful paintings--Mike owns/runs the gallery and paints the most beautiful portraits and landscapes.. I love the frame on the Summer Day painting..

Serenity

Poppy Fields is on a hexagon shaped canvas.

Forest Fire

This is one of my favourite paintings--30in x 30in Midnight Birches...

Serenity Workshop march 21st

Had a lovely time teaching Serenity on March 21st  which was also my birthday!  Caron had to leave early to catch her train--she used the dusky lilac shades which proved to a popular choice..everyone was amazed at how different the paintings turned out as usual..

Sue and Angela painted with me for the 1st time..beautiful results ladies!

Ro and Sarah used the blue shades,,,lovely cold feeling to the end paintings..

Well done everyone--will look forward to seeing you all again!

Serenity Workshop Nov 22nd

Sorry about the delay in updating the blog--life has got in the way! Its been pretty hectic in one way and another-combined with me having a big flareup with my illness..pretty much back to normal now thanks goodness! We had a lovely time in the Serenity workshop in November...Cathy -above came from London the first time last year to paint with me--but has now moved quite near--She loves purple--so naturally chose the lovely dusky mauve as her colour!

Ruth has been once before with her Mum Beverly, they both chose to use shades of blue and purple for their painting--it worked really well...so well in fact that I did one myself in the same shades the following day on the market! It will be an option in future-along with the green,grey and dusky mauve.

Beverly making a start on her snowy path,,

Jerry was booked in as a pressie from his daughter who has been once before..he really enjoyed himself..

Carol used the lovely soft green for her painting--

Loved the grey version...Alison seemed to find it very easy!

Sheila was convinced that she wouldn't  be able paint anything worthwhile after being told at school that she wasn't artistic...she got quite emotional as the day went on and her beautiful painting progressed.. I feel so privileged to be able to give people the feeling of achievement that they get when they come to a workshop...

all hard at it!

Stacey adding the finishing touches

Hazel is a bit blurry--but the painting is just great!

The last bit of snow really adds a big difference..and the final touch of subtle glitter on the snow really makes a lovely touch..

Grrrrr too much sun on the paintings-- what a shame!

Beautiful results!

well done everyone!

Serenity Workshop

We had a lot of fun on Saturday as usual--Ive lost my list of names again-so apologies to start! I do know some of them though! Helen above chose the soft green shades-as did I..Its amazing how just the change in colour can alter the whole mood of the finished painting.!

Jackie had the dusky lilac shades which makes it quite warm..

Amazing that is is a first time student...lovely trees in the background!

Students had the option of the path running form either side of the canvas...it works perfect whichever way they decide to do it!

Another first timer---they all amazed themselves with their results!

Loads of laughs all day with these 3 sisters--they had us creased at times...first time above!

Rachael (I hope) has been before....her 2 sisters were first timers...

Everyone managed to get the angles of the snowy path correct first time...usually there are some paths done that would be impossible to walk on!

Looking great!

I think everyone agreed--the fences were the scary part of the painting!

Rachael has been a fantastic customer of mine-introducing lots of people to my workshops..thank you very much xxx Most of today's workshop have already booked up for another, plus another lady who has seen some of the paintings created by one of her friends has also booked up to come with them..We will look forward to meeting them all again in Sept for Foxgloves and Dragonflies..

Shouldn't moan about having a sunny day--but it made the photos turn out rubbish :-(

Well done girls!

Beautiful results girls!

The Hereford 6 !!! All friends of Rachael's,,lovely when you get a group who know each other! Less nerves then!

Back home to relax after cleaning the brushes...nothing like a nice glass of Cava..

and it dried the washing lovely after too!

Changes....

We decided to sell the large aquarium that we had in the hall recently..having bought a beautiful unique sideboard from Ikea when we were away on holiday last week! We delivered the tank and cupboard to the new owners last night and Bill was able to get on and finish the laminate flooring that was not done under the tank!

I fell in love with the sideboard as soon as I spotted it--and knew it was just perfect for the space...it had been decorated especially for the showroom and is the only one like it!

The abstract painting I did in class last Saturday goes perfectly with the theme..and the lava lamp was bought out of storage to sit on there too...

I added my lovely collection of of coloured candle holders on top too..love the warm glow that was given off by it all..much nicer than the cold blue light of the aquarium really...so I'm a very happy bunny now its finished!

Serenity Workshop

Josie's 3rd time painting with me--her confidence is growing and she has bought a set of brushes from me so she can have a go at home-she knows she can give me a ring if she gets stuck on anything...I'm always happy to help students who want to try it solo! She called by the market this morning to pick up some odourless turps, and she was telling everyone how wonderful the workshops were bless her! I think I will be getting a few new students to the workshops now LOL..

Martins wife Anne came long to paint The Waterfall the other week--he fancied having a go at the Serenity one  with her... he made a grand job of his painting--though at the end he joked ---"Ive been less nervous resuscitating someone"--he is a first responder! I don't think he will be as nervous next time though...he made a lovely job of his painting..

Anne used the dusky lilac shades for her picture-- it gives a completely different feel to it--quite a warm feel to it! She mastered all the different stages quite easily,,and remembered things from the previous workshop!

Sue was with me for the first time--she absolutely loved every minute of it--she came by the market today so happy with herself and chuffed to bits with her painting! She wants her hubby to join her in another one soon! Its so satisfying for me to see the end result and see how happy it can make people to achieve something they thought was beyond them!

We met Katrina recently on the market--she is from Tewksbury so had quite a drive to get here...she was a little nervous but surprised herself with what she achieved--she said once she had booked on-line she thought "OMG what have I done-well Ive paid so I have to go!"  But she is so glad she did--it really does boost peoples confidence when they see the painting develop before their eyes..

We had a group of  5 friends join us...Debbie didn't seem to struggle with any of the steps at all..

Martin chose the green version to do--its still my favourite colour for this painting...his background trees were lovely-its always amazing for everyone to see just how different everyones painting turns out--all as individual as they all are!

Angela was amazed with herself and what she achieved..

Margret adding her snow to the bushes---she didnt seem fazed by any stage of the painting!

Jennifer adding her finishing touches to her painting--   I really enjoyed teaching this painting..its lovely to watch the confidence grow with each brush stroke and see the students making decisions, and comparing each others pictures..there are always bits that would be painted slightly different if they paint it again..but that's only natural and its part of the learning curve--I still do it with every painting I do now!

WOW what lovely results from everyone-- they all want to come again and do another one!

Its always quite amazing how different the paintings turn out-- a bit extra paint here and a little less pressure on the brush there makes a big difference to the end result...

Lots of depth and distance in all of the paintings--well done everyone!