Bluebell Woods Workshop July 9th 2011

It was lovely to see Doreen and Bev again after a break.....its their first time at this room we use!

Maysoon has attended quite a few classes now and is a confident artist..I will miss her when she moves back to Scotland permantaly :-((

Gill came along with Karen--she made a great job of her painting--

hard to believe that this was only Lizzy's  2nd painting in my workshops---

Karen chose to use a large 14in x 36in canvas for her painting--the subject suited the large canvas as much as the 12in x 24in canvas.

Pauline also chose the larger canvas.Its been interesting to watch Pauline gain more and more confidence each time she comes to class, she really has found her own style--as her hubby Chris has as well--both are completly different !!

Chris decided that his wood would have crocus instead of bluebells!I have got used to Chris doing his own thing in class now---thats the beauty of the technoque--you can apply it to anything you want once you know it!

Sue recieved her artist brooch for attending 6 workshops--she is a little star--always stopping and helping us clear tables, wipe down and put away! Its a big help to us....she likes to take home the left over paint--oils and acrylics so she can have a go later--and Im happy that the paint isnt being wasted. And I love to see what she has done with it when she emails me later! She is very inventive---and rather than waste the last of the acrylic paint last time she painted sheets of paper  ready to use as backgrounds for paintings in the future!

Vera loves her workshops--maybe her grandaughter will join her next time---

Lynda has been 3 times before--and created a wonderful painting today..

Anne (on left) had not painted before--and daughter Lizzy had been to me once before--although they had been at opposite ends of the room to paint during class we were amazed to see just how alike their paintings were at the end--the paintings could easily be hung together as a diptych--their style were so alike!

Karen and Gill with their finished paintings--they had to leave a bit earlier than the rest of the class...

what lovely paintings---

well done girls!

Well done everyone ---

Bargain Break In Ludlow!

I get students from all over the country coming to Ludlow for my workshops--many travel to Ludlow on a Friday and stay until Sunday -today I found a bargain that will help you make it a very special weekend --KGB is offering a 2 night stay at one of the best hotels in the Ludlow area for just £99 for 2 people for 2 nights.That includes a glass of champagne when you arrive and breakfast. You have only 7 days to buy the voucher which is valid for 1 year. We use KGB a lot for our short breaks and have had a bargain with each one! Take a look at the deal and read the reviews of Fishmore Hall   http://www.kgbdeals.co.uk/national

Izzy and Her Fish Art!

Izzy-lovely to hear from you--if you contact me via my website www.paintingmyway.co.uk   I have the irons,wax and card available! Are you on facebook--I have put the pics on there as well

Hi Izzy lovely to here from you

WOW!!!!

We had a hectic time on the market today--and as usual there were people wanting to have a go at the encaustic art! We had a group of girls who were on their way to see the 12th Night play in the castle.....there were some beautiful results but this one was special--I didn't get her name but this young lady created this beautiful picture using the iron and wax on a black card. Can you see the 3 fish?

Its amazing what can happen with the melted wax--this really is a stunning picture---it will be framed and given pride of place I think!

Back Home!

We were up and away early on Sunday to go down to Surrey for a 2 night break-courtesy of Groupon....what a beautiful sky .......it stayed dappled like this for miles!

WOW--I feel a painting coming on!

We arrived at The Hawkley Inn mid afternoon after stopping at Blackbush Sunday market and a couple of boot sales! There were lots of locals outside enjoying the sunshine when we arrived....the staff were lovely---but our room wasn't quite ready so we retired to the beer garden to enjoy a well earned rest and drink  after the 140 mile drive.

our room was beautiful...a king size bed,overlooking the fields in front of the Inn. It was in the middle of nowhere-and was one of the quietest places we have ever stayed, the windows were open all night and we didn't hear a single car!

The bathroom was lovely--very new--and the shower was huge-big enough for 2 ;-))

the only thing about being self-employed is the fact that you are never away from your job! The phone calls are diverted to my mobile-even though my friend stays at out house to look after the pets/house. All Jeannies friends know to ring her mobile when she is at ours if they need to speak to her! So I have a few mins twice a day when we are away to deal with enquiries for classes etc via my website /emails. I was glad to put my feet up with a nice cold vodka and tonic when we arrived at The Hawkley Inn,Liss after walking round the markets!

The Moose in the Hoose

The view from our room---wonderful!

After a huge full english breakfast on Monday we went off to Southsea for the day--

lots to see..

lots of inspiration,,

was fun watching all the boats coming and going to the Isle Of Wight--and interesting to see just how good the zoom is on my camera!

Pretty good zoom by look of it! I took this at same time as the pic above!

We went for a mooch around the front---

was interesting to see round one of the towers...

HMS Warrior in the background at Portsmouth docks where we went after......

Looks like Paddy on my shoulder here!!

While we were looking at The Mary Rose we noticed a band setting up-along with film cameras--so we kept watching!

Turned out The Royal Marines band have a new CD out and they were filming the advert for it for TV. I will be adding it to facebook in a short time...

One of the many real ales stocked at the Inn......

2 courses evening meal was included in the deal we had on Groupon---and this rib eye steak with garlic butter and hand cut chips was sooooo good!

and the cheese board was to die for! 6 cheeses----and The Hawley Inns Moose wallop real ale chutney.....nothing could be better!

the scenery around the Inn was just beautiful! Lots of lanes, great fun when trying to find it in the first place!

This morning on the way back home this morning we stopped at The Lavender Fields nearby--the smell was just delicious...and the shop smelled even better!

Todays Workshop--Reeds in The Breeze

We had 9 ladies in today to paint "Reeds In The Breeze" all were new to Painting My Way though some of them have used watercolours before.They travelled from far and wide---Ruth came from Liverpool via Manchester to pick up Susan---she paid me a lovely compliment at the end of the workshop when she said she would happily have travelled much further to come-she enjoyed it so much! Then we had ladies from Kidderminster,Stourbridge,Halesowen,Knowbury , Craven arms and Ludlow! We had lots of fun-everyone was amazed at how quickly the painting came together..we had everything done except the bushes,grasses and poppies when we stopped for lunch at 11.50am!

as it was such a lovely day we grabbed some chairs and tables and sat outside in the sun to eat lunch...

lovely backdrop of the church behind us...

Lovely tranquil results from everyone....looking forward to seeing everyone  again!