Unconditional love

A new painting in oil on wood about unspoken communication between a dog and his owner. No words are necessary as they share warmth and love. 39 x 39cm

Three paintings selected for the SWA Exhibition

I m very pleased that three of my paintings – “They always come back”, “You cook – I’ll drink wine” and “Unconditional Love” have been selected for the Society of Women Artists exhibition at the Mall Gallery, London. The exhibition opens with a preview on 5th July attended by HRH Princess Michael of Kent. If […]

Back from painting in italy week

Wow, that was a fun week. The painters from the UK were joined by italian painters on the day we went into the mountains to paint at Serramonacesca and we had an al fresco italian lunch by the stream. Another day we did charcoal drawings at the 300 year old oil press in Pianella. Spoltore […]

Working with pastels

1 Decide what colour ground you are going to use and block in the shapes   2. Put in some of your more dominant colours, trying to work on the whole picture at once 3. If you’re working on a dark ground, try to establish some of the lighter tones. If you’re working on a […]

Final painting of “Abruzzo market”

Here is the final painting that I have worked up from the oil sketches. I decided to put a woman and a boy in the nearer foreground to add more focus. I also  sorted out some of the shapes and tones but tried not to overwork it.  Size 30 x 30cm oil on canvas.

Demonstration. A 4 hour oil sketch

1. No styling here for this project – just a straightforward oil sketch of a street market in Abruzzo to demonstrate the stages. Starting with a warm colour where the buildings and a street market will go. 2. Next I blocked in where the cool greys go 3. Adding an indication of where some greenery and […]

Brushing up on my italian

As we are going to be joined on the italian painting holiday by some local day students I am brushing up on painting terms in italian to describe things like “see the horizon”, “try to see..” Hopefully our mixed cultures will enhance everyone’s experience! All the materials are either out there or packed in a […]

Pottery Ladies

Ah, the joy of getting in a real mess making a pot. I always wondered how some of my class used to stay looking so clean. This painting is a homage to those ladies who could preserve their nails and their composure and still turn out a lovely pot.

Plans well on the way for painting in Italy

  Just returned from finalising plans for the week of drawing & painting in Spoltore, Abruzzo, Italy. We have a cook, a great art shop in Pescara and accommodation booked. Working on menus and specifics about the schedule of sites and visits.