Strawberry Sketch

This farm shop punnet of strawberries looked so wonderful I just had to do a ink and watermedia sketch. I have my sketch book which has a nice midtone colour which helps speed up the process. White was done with a pitt artist brush pen. A nice treat to eat them after the sketch was finished.

Snowdrop Vase

Snowdrops were early to flower this year. I decided to pick some from the garden and put them in my glass snowdrop vase, found in a charity shop. I set up a small still life in my studio. Below is a quick sketch in conte on a blue background. I decided to add additional pattern for interest under the vase.

I next did a tonal study in oil using 4 tones only. I mixed these tones before starting to paint the still life. This was a fun exercise. A nice way to show appreciation for such delicate flowers which cheer us at this time of year.

Carnoustie Art Club Demonstration

Recently I demonstrated the above pastel painting for the Carnoustie Art Club. I set up a still life inside a box which had a hole cut out at the side. I had brought along a lamp so I could directly illuminate the set up through the opening. This created an almost theatrical and dramatic affect to the still life. I enjoyed the process and sharing how I was approaching this painting.

East Neuk Open Studios 2017

I was so busy leading up to the ENOS event that I did not get a chance to post about the event beforehand. Thank-you to those that came to visit me at my new studio (Wash House Studio).

I enjoyed meeting with many people during the open studio event. I was even able to do some sketching during the day. A lot of people commented favourably on the sketch book and liked seeing what I had been painting. They could see my still life on the window ledge and were curious as to how I approached my sketch. The pastel book below is full of various coloured pastel papers, these give me a wonderful colour choice for the background. The green I decided to work on particularly suited the sunflowers.

During the week I did another study using watercolours and a long handled brush which was great fun to paint. My flowers were still fresh and inspiring.

It is full on right now for the Pittenweem Arts Festival 2017.