Spoodle to go! (103)

Happy new year to everyone - sorry for not updating the blog for a while, the silly season got in the way!

Daisy, our spoodle, loves going to the beach. As we live very close to the beach, Ian attached a basket to the back of his pushbike to transport Daisy in. We used to strap her in with a harness so she couldn’t jump out, but she took to this novel mode of transport remarkably quickly and now we don’t restrain her at all. An old hand at it now, she nonchalantly scratches herself or leans over the side so she can see around Ian and look where she’s going. It’s downhill on the way to the beach so her ears blow back in the breeze and she looks quite comical.

This painting was done from a photo of Daisy in the bike basket, taken at home before we set off for the beach. I redid the background as the garage door didn’t make a very appealing backdrop for the painting! I think Daisy’s front legs look a bit thin in the painting but that was actually how they looked in the photo!

Upcoming art exhibitions & Cottesloe beach (56)

I’m excited to announce that I have two art exhibitions coming up before the end of this year. I will have different art in both exhibitions so please try and get to both if you can. Details are above.

This painting is of the Indiana Tearooms on Cottesloe beach, one of the more popular beaches in Perth and a magnet for tourists. This unusual building sits right on the beach and features in many photos. The original building on the site was built in 1910 so it has become an icon around these parts.

Iconic or not, I wouldn’t recommend eating here. Ian took me to the Indiana Tearooms for our first anniversary dinner. Although we got a stunning view of the Indian Ocean, the menu was very ordinary as was the food and the service, and the prices were extraordinary!

The dramatic sky and sea were a pleasure to paint, but I found it quite a challenge to paint the Indiana (buildings are not my strong point!) However, I quite like the quirky way it has turned out.

Stone circle (71)

This is my latest finished painting, based on a photo I took during a six day hike in the Peak District last August. I went with my partner and the walk was the highlight of our trip to the UK. Spectacular scenery, good weather, picture perfect villages and great food and beer every night are hard to beat! We stayed in pubs and B&Bs along the way, which was a pleasant change to walking in Australia where you usually have to carry everything with you.

We came across this stone circle on Stanton Moor near Youlgreave. The moor was a centre for the Bronze Age inhabitants of the area and contains many traces of their occupation. At least 70 barrows as well as stone circles, ancient enclosures and standing stones have been found here, and the area is of such archaeological significance that it is now protected.

Fence post, Akaroa NZ (33)

This is a painting of a lichen covered wooden fence post in Akaroa on the South Island of New Zealand. It is taken from a photo I took about five years ago.

Akaroa is a spectacular part of the world. I loved how the luxuriant green vegetation in the foreground contrasted with the ancient volcanic cliffs and bright blue sea in the background.

I found the amorphous lichen very hard to paint, but I persevered and think I captured it pretty well.

Roath Park, Cardiff (63)

This is my latest painting that I used for my Christmas cards. The scene is taken from a photo I took in Cardiff one wintery day in December 2009. It was bitterly cold and there was ice on Roath Park lake all day. You can just see this in the foreground of the picture.

Roath Park is Cardiff’s most popular park and when I was studying for my degree in Cardiff I spent many happy hours here. It has recently been awarded the prestigious Green Flag award which recognises its high quality and importance to Cardiff. It was built on 130 acres of ‘reformed’ bogland and the lake covers an area of 30 acres. Roath Park opened to the public in 1894 and still retains a Victorian atmosphere. The lighthouse in the picture was built in 1915.

The painting came together quite easily apart from the lighthouse that was a bit crooked to begin with, and the clocks at the top also needed some fiddling with. I think I got there in the end though!

Overstones Farm, Stanage Edge (5)

My fifth painting was of another ‘edge’ – a scene taken from Mum’s trusty Peak District photo book. Stanage Edge in Derbyshire stretches for about 6km and is the largest and most impressive of the gritstone edges, and a popular walking spot.

I was drawn to the photo because of the autumnal colours and the hazy, dream-like quality of the landscape. The farm buildings seem to blend into their surroundings. This is another sketchy, naïve painting but I think it suits the subject very well.

William Clough Valley (1)

The next batch of blogs will focus on my early work. Those of you who have been following my blog may remember that in my first post I mentioned that in 2006, on a visit back to the UK when I was staying with my Mum for a while, I picked up her pastels and did a painting. This is that first painting.

The subject, William Clough Valley in Derbyshire, came from the trusty book of Peak District photos. Although it is quite simplistic in style it was enough of a likeness to the photo to inspire me to take up art again.

By comparing this painting with my latest work (the cat portrait below) you can get an idea of how my style has developed over the last four years.

What’s new pussycat? (62)

Sorry for the long delay between posts – I’ve recently returned from an unexpected trip to the UK. This is my latest painting and my first pet portrait. I decided to do it as a present for my brother-in-law who celebrated a birthday a couple of weeks ago while I was in the UK.

I couldn’t think of anything to buy him so decided to paint him a portrait of his favourite cat, Sweep. Mum claimed she had taken a photo of Sweep some weeks before, so I printed it off and set to work. Sweep has very unusual and pretty markings and I worked hard to get them right. When it was finished I was confident it was a reasonable likeness.

However, when John opened his present he looked bemused and asked whose cat it was.
“It’s Sweep, your cat,” I said, amazed that he couldn’t tell.
“But Sweep doesn’t have any white on his face,” John said.
At that moment, Sweep came into the room and John picked him up so I could see. And he didn’t.

So whose cat had Mum taken the photo of? That remains to be discovered. It certainly looks similar to Sweep … but not similar enough! So my first pet portrait worked at an artistic level but not on the most important level – an exact likeness to the subject.

The Crooked Spire, Chesterfield (14)

This painting is from a photo I took of the fourteenth century St Mary’s and All Saints church in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The church is commonly known as the Crooked Spire because the spire is twisted (45 degrees) and leaning (2.90m) from its true centre.

The twist is considered an original design of the spire, but the lean is believed to be due to the absence of skilled craftsmen because of the Black Death, insufficient cross-bracing, and the use of unseasoned timber.

Of course, people have come up with alternative explanations for how the spire came to be crooked. One story tells how when a virgin got married in the church the spire was so shocked that it bent down to get a closer look. Legend has it that should this ever happen again the spire will straighten up! Another story is that a Bolsover blacksmith mis-shod the Devil who leaped over the spire in pain, knocking it out of shape.

For any trivia lovers, there are 72 twisted spires in Europe (though only one in the UK), and the Crooked Spire has the greatest lean and twist of them all.

I have taken many photos of this church over the years because it is such a photogenic subject and stands out for miles around. I found the spire’s twist and lean difficult to paint, though it wasn’t very pronounced from the angle I took the photo. If you ever visit this church my cards of this painting are for sale in the church shop.

Kilchurn Castle, Scotland (13)

This painting is of a scene taken from a biscuit tin at my Mum’s house of Kilchurn Castle. This now ruined castle, which was built in 1440, lies beside Loch Awe in Argyll and Bute in Scotland.

I loved the colours of the Scottish hills in the background and how the castle is reflected in the loch. Although this is one of my earlier paintings, and my style was rather unsophisticated at this stage, I think I managed to capture the essence of the place.

Hardwick Hall (46)

This painting is from a photo I took of Hardwick Hall, at the end of a summer’s day when the shadows were just starting to creep across the lawn.

Hardwick Hall is an imposing Elizabethan house in Derbyshire. It was built in the 1590s by Bess of Hardwick, who, at the time, was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I. It has not been altered since – much of the furniture is original and magnificent tapestries still line the walls of the house. There are a great many windows in the house, which is unusual for the time and a sign of conspicuous wealth. As children we were taught a little rhyme about it: ‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall!’

Hardwick Hall will always have a special place in my heart because it is very close to the village where I grew up. Hardwick Park was our playground - we often had picnics there as kids, I used to ride my horse, Fudge, through it, and my brother played cricket on the cricket ground behind the hall. In those days, the road through Hardwick Park was open to through traffic. That was before trucks started to use it as a short cut, which resulted in it being closed and traffic being diverted a long way round.

I painted this picture last year, while I was living back in the UK. My 12 year old niece, Bethany, and I spent a day together and decided to each do a painting from my photo of Hardwick Hall. Hers was in acrylics and mine in pastels. I thought hers was much better than mine – kids are often amazingly creative.

Pelican (18)

The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) is the largest flying bird in Australia with a wing span of up to 2.5 metres. It also has the longest bill of any bird in the world (up to 50cm long). The capacity of their pouched bill is 7 litres.

Pelicans are a fairly common sight in Fremantle and I decided to paint one after I’d seen some on a morning walk along the beach. I sourced the photo from the internet.

Old Maritime Museum, Fremantle (32)

The Old Maritime Museum in Fremantle is now called the Shipwreck Galleries. I found this picture in a tourist brochure and later also discovered it on the internet. I like the interesting angle of the shot and how the anchor dominates the picture and leads the eye to the old limestone buildings. The prominent position of the anchor also ties in with the nature of the museum.

This is another A3 sized painting so, as my scanner only handles A4 sized paper, some of the scene has been cut off.

This painting will be exhibited at Fidels, Essex Street, Fremantle from 26th January to 25th February 2010.

Solitude (51)

My niece, Sophie, and I have a lot in common – a love for hiking being one of them. She wasn’t even deterred by a 20 mile hike I took her on with my cousin and friends in February 2007 when she was only 12 years old. It was the worst weather I have ever hiked in – light drizzle soon turned into torrential rain – and about a third of the way into the walk, poor Sophie, who didn’t have very good waterproofs, was ready to give up.

‘Aunty Libby, I can’t carry on,’ the little soul cried plaintively.

I (the wicked aunty) told her ‘You’ve got two choices, Sophie. You can either hike on, or stay here and die.’ This retort has since passed into the family annals!

However, Sophie made it to the pub (the halfway mark) and was fortified by a roast dinner and semi-dried clothes. The weather was even worse when we emerged from the pub, but we retaliated against it – splashing in the stream that the footpath had become, shrieking at the sky and daring the rain to come harder. It was one of those days that, although unpleasant at the time, remain in your memory for a long time afterwards. Like anything worth achieving it was a challenge.

On my last trip to the UK, Sophie and I did some weekend hikes and stayed at a youth hostel overnight. One of these trips was to Eyam in Derbyshire. This picturesque little village is infamously known as the Plague Village, because the bubonic plague arrived here in 1665, in a parcel of flea-infested cloth sent from London.

This scene is painted from a photo I took on our walk near Eyam. It was a glorious day and we came across these two trees standing all alone in a sea of heather and grasses.

This painting will be exhibited at Fidels, Essex Street, Fremantle from 26th January to 25th February 2010.

Caregwastad Point, Pembrokeshire (43)

Wales will always have a special place in my heart for three reasons: one, I went to university in Cardiff and fell in love with the city; two, my maternal grandfather (who I never met) was Welsh; and three, the Welsh accent makes me go weak at the knees!

In 2006, an old uni friend, Ally, and I spent a week hiking on the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. The walk turned into a bit of a reunion because we met up with three more uni friends en route. Before and after the walk we stayed with Tim, a friend I worked with during my industrial training year in Reading who has now ‘emigrated’ to Pembrokeshire. Tim walks along the coastal path every day with his dogs Jake and (Mad) Mick and was our support crew on the walk.

This scene is painted from a photo I took of the stone monument at Caregwastad Point, where we had lunch on the first day of the walk. It commemorates the failed last invasion of Britain, when a group of French conscripts scrambled ashore in 1797. A more difficult landing place would be hard to find.

This painting will be exhibited at Fidels, Essex Street, Fremantle from 26th January to 25th February 2010.

Kaikoura, New Zealand (21)

Another New Zealand scene, this time of Kaikoura on the east coast of the south island. Kaikoura teems with wildlife and is a popular place to see whales, Dusky dolphins, sea birds and seals. Fur seals congregate at the tip of the peninsula and, finding myself with a few hours to spare between buses, l walked out to this spot. I got so engrossed in watching the seals that I forgot the time and had to hitch back to town to catch the bus.

The rugged coastline makes for spectacular scenery and I couldn’t resist this picture. The cloud was creeping up the Kaikoura mountain range so only the tops were visible, and the sky above the mountains was stormy. Despite the dull day, the colours of the sea and grass were really rich and vibrant.

This painting will be exhibited at Fidels, Essex Street, Fremantle from 26th January to 25th February 2010.

Termite mounds, Kimberley (47)

And now for something completely different –  and you can’t get much more different to the UK than the Kimberley region in north Western Australia.

The Kimberley covers nearly 423,000 square kilometres (three times the size of the UK!) and is one of the world's last true wilderness areas. Bordered by the Indian Ocean in the west, the Timor Sea in the north, the Great Sandy Desert in the south, and the Northern Territory in the east, the Kimberley region is full of spectacular and diverse scenery.

The rich colours in this area are very distinctive. I found this scene in a tourist brochure and felt drawn to paint it. The lone tree amongst the termite mounds seems to capture the isolation and heat of the location. I started this painting before I went to the UK for a year and completed it when I got back a few months ago.

Ox Stones, Burbage Moor (39)

Welcome to L.U.Arts, my art blog!

Many people are surprised to discover that I'm an artist (are there no bounds to my talents, they say?!) and ask how I got started. I actually began doing art and crafts at a very early age as my Mum is an artist. In the UK, I studied art to 'A' level standard, but when I decided to pursue a career in science art took a back seat.

I now live in Fremantle, Western Australia. It was not until 2006, on a visit back to the UK when I was staying with my Mum for a while, that I picked up her pastels one rainy afternoon (and let’s face it, there are plenty of those in the UK!) and took up art again.

Since then, I have done over 50 paintings. I usually use pastels, but occasionally work with oils and acrylics. Many of my subjects are painted from photos I’ve taken on my travels around this wonderful planet of ours.

The picture on this blog, of the Ox Stones on Burbage Moor in Derbyshire, is featured on one of the cards in the prize pack on offer to celebrate the launch of my blog. I’m still getting used to this blogging lark and haven’t yet worked out how to upload more than one photo per blog (or even whether it’s possible). So, I’ll post four more blogs over the coming days so you can see the other cards in the prize pack.

I’d love to hear what you think about this blog and my art (both good and bad), so please leave a comment or email me at LUArts10@gmail.com.