Sweep (68)

 

Sorry for the delay between posts. There have been a few changes in my life this year. Things are just starting to settle down and I am finding time to do some art again. I've resumed art classes and plan on turning a workshop at my new house into a studio. I'm also back into blogging …

If you read the blog I posted on 6 September 2010, you'll remember I did a portrait of a cat I thought belonged to my brother in law, but it turned out not to be his cat! When I was in the UK earlier this year, I made a point of taking a photo of the real Sweep and this painting is the result.

Sweep has very distinct markings and it was difficult to get them exactly right, but I think it’s a pretty good likeness. I originally left the background plain, but Brian, my art teacher, suggested that I paint the carpet in the photo. This had an amazing result on the finished product –  although the carpet camouflages Sweep to some extent, it also seems to make her stand out more.

A river runs through it (54)

This scene is from a photo I took while on a hike with my cousins in Grindleford. It was a lovely crisp autumn day and the colours of the leaves on the trees were stunning.

I decided to do this painting in oils but it took me a long time to get it right and I nearly gave up on it at one point. I’m glad I didn’t though because I feel it captures the light and mood of an English forest in the autumn.

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!

View from Pwll Deri YHA (6)

This is a painting from a photo I took while walking with Ally on the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in the summer of 2006. We stayed at Pwll Deri youth hostel on the first night. We arrived at this remote hostel perched on a cliff top after a days walk to find that it was closed. So we sat down on the grass and enjoyed the magnificent view while we waited for it to open.

This is another naïve and sketchy painting, but the teasels silhouetted against the sunlight reflected off the sea give this peaceful scene a feeling of drama.

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.

Gritstone Edge (4)

My fourth painting was taken from a photo in a magazine which was called 'Gritstone Edge' I thought this was the name of the place but further research showed this to be a generic term for a type of rock formation. The northern Peak District is bounded on the east and west sides by scarps known as ‘edges’, which are made of coarse sandstones, referred to as ‘grits’.

I painted this scene in record time while waiting for Mum to take me to catch a bus. The time pressure means that this is more sketchy than the first three, and the grain in the paper showing through the pastel gives it more of an ‘unfinished’ look. The painting has rather a naïve feel, which Mum loved - she immediately framed it and hung it on the wall in her conservatory!