Stormy Poppies Workshop

Lots of fun on Saturday...painting Stormy Poppies in oils.. choice of canvas size for them 16in x 20in or 12in x 24in

Robyn soon had a dramatic sky happening...

2nd time for Mark , he came down from Mansfield along with his friends Karen and Alan..

Alan is nearly finished here..just a few more poppies to add..

Karen chose the taller canvas , the painting suits both sizes very well!

Kate has some lovely crashing waves here..

It never fails to amaze me just how different everyones picture turns out! A touch more black paint can  change the whole atmosphere of the painting!

The Mansfield 3 !!!!

Wonderful results--will look forward to seeing you all again x

Stormy Skies/Poppies Workshop

I cant remember laughing quite as much as we did in a workshop on Saturday---don't get me wrong-we always have loads of laughs in the class but Saturday it was exceptional!! Unfortunately we were missing 4 people due to tyres blowing out en-route and sudden illness..but the nine ladies who did make it ensured we had a fantastic time! Fiona above was a first timer who came along with Ali-who had booked 8 places..3 of her ladies didn't make it on the day :-( As usual all the first timers were a little unsure of how they would do ...but all of them made a beautiful job of their pictures..

Sue was another first timer..I think it  amazes everyone just what can be done with just black and white paint--and such a tiny amount of it as well.

Ali is joining us again in 3 weeks along with Jen..

Margaret came along for the 4th time with her friend Joy who was painting her 7th picture and received her artist brooch that she  should have had last time!

Joy was actually painting her picture for a wedding pressie for a friend who had admired her first painting of Stormy Skies when she saw it...isn't she going to be thrilled when she opens it!

It was lovely to see Julie who I went through Grammar School with--great to catch up--she was most surprised to find there was no odour to the paints or the thinners --she had been worried about getting a migraine from it but she was perfectly fine...We only use a tiny tiny amount of low odour thinners right at the end of the workshop so nobody should ever bee affected by it--and the oil paint s themselves have very little smell.. so it the thought of the smell has ever put you off trying oils-rest assured you will be fine!Julie made a cracking job of her painting too...

This is the culprit for most of the giggling--Kerry was a  first timer--she had us in fits all through ...

Jen bought along a lovely baby bump so she had a sitting down easel ...she was also  giggling all day long too!

We had some unusual things appearing in the skies right from the start--  But the one above -everyone agreed looks like a koala bear

this one looks like a giraffe

quite a spooky face in this one..

and another in this one!

Wonderful results from them all...thanks all of you for making it such a great day for us too...did me the world of good to have a good chuckle like we did!

beautiful pictures ladies--

Wonderful results!

I'm very lucky to have such a rewarding job--looks like they all enjoyed the experience too judging by my comments book---thank you for your kind words-it means the world to me-will look forward to seeing you all again in the future!

Stormy Skies Workshop

Tracey was not sure if she wanted to add poppies or not-in the end she did..and lovely they looked too! This was her 2nd painting-she has done the acrylic "Yesterday" one previous..so first time in oils for her..

This was a birthday present for Mal-who didn't even know what was happening until the morning so she had no chance to be nervous! Her daughter Katrina bought her along with her sister Rebecca..both Mal and Katrina were sure they wouldn't be able to do much of a painting to start with but soon settled down quickly and they were pleased to see just how easy it was!

Trudy made a lovely job of her painting-first time for her too--

Lauren is expecting her first baby in July,,she went for a subtle effect..with lovely soft shades of grey..made possible by using the 'tickling' brush...which caused a huge laugh--and a good job I explained that the 'bashing and tickling ' brushes could not be bought in the art shops--at least not by those names! You can imagine the looks on the faces of staff in the shop when asked for a 'tickling brush'..Lauren added some glitter to her painting right at the end-it looked lovely-and we came to the conclusion that both she and I were magpies in a previous life-as I also love anything twinkly and shiny!!

Beautiful stormy sky Pat..

I loved Rachel's stormy sky..it was a little too dark to start with but she tamed it down with a bit of a wipe with kitchen towel and some white paint..soon sorted! She used the knife really well and has some brilliant waves.

Beth also used the knife really well-- and the light over the top of her hills really caught the waves and stood out beautifully..

Rebecca seemed to find it quite easy-after the initial nerves-which is completely normal-she bashed and tickled perfectly! She used the knife with ease and had some lovely waves in no time at all..

Katrina contemplating what to do next|..add poppies or not? She did-any beautiful it looked too..

Well done everyone!Beautiful results from you all!

beautiful results girls!

Well done--love the finished results!

Stormy Poppies Workshop

Apologies for being so late getting the blog done...its been hectic since the workshop and I have been poorly too..We had a new venue for Saturdays workshop--Clee Hill Village Hall--lovely location with good lighting.Above you can see Martin with his little helper Luke-Luke helped his Dad put in some poppies! It was Martins 3rd time with me..

Anne did a more subtle painting than hubby Martin.. this painting works really well--bold or subtle!

This was Chris's first time painting--she came along with her friend Katie who I knew as we went to Grammar School together many moons ago! Katie has been saying for over a year whenever Ive met her at the boot sales that she will come along sometime--and at last she made it! I had warned her that it could be addictive and sure enough she and Chris booked up for another workshop on the day! They really enjoyed it and created some great paintings

Katie putting the finishing touches to her masterpiece!

Dawn and Adrian came for the first time-they had requested that they do a diptych on the taller narrower canvas...they made a cracking job--everything was lined up -sky,sea and grasses--wonderful results from them!

Pauline and her hubby Malcolm have been once before and painted Mystical Moon which is a completely different sort of painting to this--they both seemed to find it quite easy and both made smashing jobs of their pictures..

Malcolm adding the finishing touches to his painting..

Veronica went for the subtle effect, love it! Lovely soft sky and water--she didn't want to add the poppies-which are an optional extra anyway...she really got  the hang of the liner brush and managed to do lovely fine grasses.

Helen's hubby booked her in as a surprise for her birthday..she loved it! She loved the tickling and bashing brushes and was amazed at how easy each stage was..

Dawn and Adrian's finished diptych..

Well done both !

four of the first timers!

wonderful results!

Brilliant results from everyone!