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“Underwater Dreaming” – Is one of my artworks from last year, this one evolved from trying  new techniques at a workshop with Penny Murison for the CCAS.

I really enjoyed her workshop, it really includes having not much control at all over what is happening with the paint it was a heap of fun.

So today I just finished framing and will be entering it the CCAS Summer Exhibition which is starting next Friday 20th January at the Studios at the Gallery. It should be a great exhibition and an annual event on the CCAS calendar. I am tossing up between a couple of other works to enter as well, please come along if your from my local area and support the artists and all the work that goes into putting on community events.

8X10 inches, 20X25cms

A Fabulous little warm up for me for the beginning of the year I thought I would share with you all. These were the roses that I bought on Pink Rose Day, I blogged about and supported last year. (wow it feels weird saying that it seems like it was just the other day).

Calling this one pretty much done, maybe a few tweeks here and there.. its been a fun experiment trying this technique ..I feel like I can call it done, tho I can see areas I would like to keep working but time calls for finishing up a different painting and moving onto the next thing

• Self – portrait WIP… continued

• Self portrait in the old masters / realism styles -WIP 1
• Start of portrait

“Love Fuels” – Acrylic on Canvas

Calling this one done It’s really fun to step back into some more of my “fun / impromptu” style of painting

I could keep going but I am learning to know when to stop, and I can hear my pencils calling me – uhoh!

A little angel was lost 9 years ago today.

Thankyou little one  for your wonderful gift of gratitude & love & appreciation of life itself.

Forever treasured and remembered.

I have however been having a wonderful and hectic time and have also been missing my art.

Finally squeezed some in today!

Love experimenting and moving out of my usual pieces I have been in such a rut !

Here is the progression- this post  is particularly for Ingrid, who keeps checking up on me to see if I am painting! (Thank You)

Loving that its evolving as I go

I have always been facinated with the realism in some of the old masters works, it shows up in my coloured pencil art reguarly but I haven’t been dedicated enough to try in oils or rather I should say I have tried and failed.

In this style of painting in order to achieve the luminosity that the old master achieved the process is to paint in an underpainting of “dead” colours and then go over with skin colour after (in brief terms).

I am doing this from a photo and learning alot as I go, here is my session from one day to the next still finalising the layers and values of these “Dead” colours before I even think about the colour layers.

On the left is the beginning of the first session and on the right after, you can see in the latter one I have concentrated on the highlights there is more definition of the shadows, everything is much smoother and blended. I added more colour to the background as I would like to get that to dry alot and finalised that before i start too much with the hair. I can see that the nose and the mouth is not really quite right – (Do I really smile like that?) and I can see a few areas that I need to get to yet.

Not sure how it’s going to come out but it’s all about the journey not the destination right?