Yesterday afternoon I went into the Studio to sort out some things and the sky above Dundee was looking really dramatic. It made me think of the challenge I have set the students at St Andrews Art Club. I have asked them to do pastel studies of the sky and promised I would be doing it too. This started out as a sky study then I couldn’t stop and continued painting trying to capture the fleeting light.
I did this tonal study on mid toned pastel paper. I found the negative shapes really interesting in this study. I kept the shapes quite simple so as to strengthen the design.
Last week during our lovely spell of sunny weather I did some outdoor painting. I did the study in ink one day. Inspired by that I got my pastels together to do some field work. It was great to be working outside. I watched a fox cross the field in front of me he was oblivious of me painting away.
Here is a study I did at the cottage in Southampton, Canada. This was the view from the patio. Lovely to look out over the lake and bask in the warm sun and to hear the Canadian geese overhead. There were birds like humming birds, woodpeckers and nuthatches moving about around us. This year I had an art show at the cottage. It was great to show my work in Canada. I have been travelling there to visit my brother and family over the past 30 years. I always find inspiration for my painting from my trips.
I celebrated 10 years at the Pittenweem Arts Festival and this year we were blessed with great weather. Our cat Xena was able to come with us and join us each day at the venue. She did have to spend some time inside but kept an eye on things. Here are some photographs taken during the Festival.
I had some new work in black and white, this painting attracted a lot of attention.
Talking about attracting attention – Xena on display for her fans!
One evening after dinner we got a treat of a fantastic rainbow right over the harbour.
End of the Festival and packing up, what would we do without the wheelbarrow!?
One day to go until the opening night at Pittenweem Arts Festival. I look forward to seeing everyone! On the lead up to the Festival I have been doing a number of paintings on slate. The one above is one of them. I love the variations in texture which is a natural quality of the slate.
The Pittenweem Arts Festival is fast approaching, and is a week earlier this year starting on the 28th July and running until the 5th August. My web site has a page showing some of the paintings I will be exhibiting. See my Pittenweem Arts Festival 2012 page.
We had a great visit to Isle of May it was misty sailing out to the Island however once there it was delightful, warm and sunny! The trip has given me lots of inspiration. I did quick sketches of things that caught my attention as I wandered around the Island. This is a painting I did after the trip.
I am making a trip to the Isle of May and trying to decide what materials to take for sketching the Puffins and other seabirds we may see. I came across these ones I did a while ago using ink Tombow art pens in 3 tones. For the lights I left the white paper to show through. I think I shall pack them when I go.
I thought I would try something a little different. I have been collecting odd pieces of slate from beaches around Scotland with the intention of using them to paint on. However we were getting work done on the roof and the roofers left a couple of odd slate tiles in the garden. The tile was a nice shape with two holes either side perfect for a display at Pittenweem Arts Festival. You can see where the holes are one looks like a skylight on the top right the other looks like a round window at the end of the house.