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I hear from my UK friends it’s been raining a bit there. I am lucky enough to be in Southern Calfornia at the moment. It actually rained here the other day so I put on my wet weather gear and went for a walk. Mind you the locals thought I was crazy! They think they may dissolve if they get wet.

Golden sunsets and sandy beaches are calling out the be painted.

 

 

 

Don’t panic, this is not my christmas post, but since my last post I have added a temporary gallery to my website – Christmas Images.  They were just a few silly christmassy paintings that could  be ordered or used as free eCards. I ordered a batch of cards of the snowman and recieved them within a week!

 

I have been on Vancouver Island on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada for a few weeks. I created this series of paintings on the nautical chart of Howe Sound that reflects a few of the sights.

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I am starting to think I should make a collection of my friend and family’s assortment of pets.

I was looking at some of my food and drink watercolours and they made me start to think about how I have to be inspired when painting …. or do I just need feeding and watering?

I have packed away my great temporary studio in California, returned the oil paints that had been lent to me and we are on the road again. I am back to the dining table as my studio. But it’s great being on the road.

So far we have crossed Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Presently in Louisiana.

I doodle most evenings creating a variety of mainly weird drawings. When we settle again the watercolours are coming out!  The drawing on the left I did by lifting out from a rough charcoal background.

 

 

I don’t normally get this much room to do my painting in.

 

How lucky am I? I have been given a ton of oil paints. I have never used oils. After a little  googling and a few to questions to my cousin, who kindly donated them, I have plunged in.

My first thought is this is a task to be done in a well ventilated area. Oil paints and its associated thinners, medias and concoctions stink.

Secondly, try not to paint your hands, face, knees just try to get something on the canvas.

Thirdly, you have to be patient. Oil takes a long time to dry. I think I need to have about six projects on the go at once.

What to paint is not always easy to decide. An idea may come while in the grocery store or while driving down a road. However, sometimes experimenting is the order of the day, for instance using Yopo paper. I had a great time dolloping all sorts of colours onto the yopo paper, which is like a plastic sheet. Then squash two sheets together, a quick twist and pull apart to reveal a fantastic array of colours. Then more fun. Look at the swirls and let your imagination flow. Refine what you see in the image with a few adjustments, additions, splashing, dabbing or anything you want to do. In my case my creation had to be equine. The result, a fiery and colourful image. I love it. Look hard and discover!