Latest work in Progress

I've had a very stressful time of late with ongoing financial and health problems. Life has been a struggle some days and very emotional but I have managed to paint and draw still. It helps to blot out things, a kind of meditation or mindfulness, where you can live in the moment and forget future and past.

 While driving, I saw a beautiful autumn sycamore twig against the blue sky, all yellow and russet and glowing,so stopped the car to get the branch. Sycamores are a gorgeous tree in autumn one of the most colourful here I think along with red oaks.

  It is in gouache on a blue mount board for a change. I had to draw it quick as it was curling up a bit in the dry indoors but I love the way they curl and catch the light. The branch is dried up now but I made colour notes and took a photo in case the leaf colours changed too much.

Should be finished in the next few days.

 

After Elan

 

The exhibition at Elan went very well and I met some lovely and interesting people. Not many sales but it wasn't about that for me, just being able to show the work and have people appreciate it is enough. I did a few simple and small demos of conkers, acorns and crab apples and have inspired a few people to have a go which is brilliant.

 

 

I was pleased that this painting was the most admired maybe because it was the biggest with so much to look at. I loved it being shown underneath an oak tree, that looked great. Also the gouache work was more popular with people than the botanical work but it does have more impact.

The hanging equipment I highly recommend if you need to hang on these boards; very easy to use and unobtrusive.
Not sure where I will exhibit next maybe at the SBA in Westminster next May and also at Elan again. I must find some more venues in Wales; I was given a few ideas by some lovely people too which I'll follow up.

 

Lastly I highly recommend you take a look at my friend Shevauns' new botanical blog. Her sketches are so exquisite and neat that they put mine to shame!! Beautiful work Shevaun xx

http://botanicalsketches.blogspot.co.uk/