July News

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Sue's News - For updates, special offers, class info and an insight into what's going on in my world

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JULY NEWS

Week 31:  30th July to 5th August
It's always a delight to drive through the narrow laned countryside of Stowupland and Gipping to the painting venue of Heartlands. This morning we spotted deer in a field just before we reached the farm. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had the doors wide open and the fans going on overhead. Heartlands is full of feel-good and uplifting vibes. Subtle little things - like a small fountain which gives a discreet trickling water sound. Nearby there's wind chimes gently twinkling in the breeze. Marion, the owner, also plays beautiful 'chill' music all the time too. There's crystals on every window sill. I decided after my first visit there that I should introduce some of these effects at home. I now have a small water fountain by our painting table, I have a growing collection of tranquil 'chill' music and I have wind chimes hanging around my studio. It does help create an atmosphere of complete relaxation and tranquility.
Week 30:  23rd July to 29th July
How can 10 years fly by so quickly? It seemed like only a short time ago that we were celebrating my brother in law's 40th! Saturday night we celebrated his 50th and he doesn't look a day over 30. The difference with this birthday was his teenage son now towers over his dad. My nephew and I have a comical relationship. His nickname for me is 'Craze Me'. Apparently he confessed to his mum a few years ago that I 'crazed him', (all in the best possible taste you understand). One thing I know for sure, he will never forget the bedtime stories I told him, I don't think he'll get over my tooth fairy episode and we had private hysterics when I showed him how one should walk with crutches (which nearly put my back out). He's become quite an expert on Shakespeare....... apparently, he informs me, Hamlet is the son of Piglet. You learn something new everyday.
I took advantage of today's private students in order to push my own boundaries. They had actually pre-selected their painting subject from the class subjects page BUT when they arrived, I settled them in with a cuppa and a biscuit, gave them some reference material and asked them if there were any other subjects they might fancy. I wanted to see how well I fared with adapting at a moment's notice.   4 painting subjects were selected, 2 of them I (temporarily) dismissed for varying reasons and we re-selected the painting subject from the remaining 2. The result of today's exercise.........?  I have 2 very happy students who have returned home with framed works of art plus I'll be working on one of their other selections ready for another private class plus I think I passed my own test.  Now, what can I do next to add a little 'edge' to my comfort zone? Any suggestions?
After today's class I was asked 'show us a fir tree'. I quickly slapped some medium on a canvas pad and threw on 3 fir trees with a fan brush, as requested. I asked if they'd also like to see a mountain ........and threw one of those on the pad too, followed by a splash of lake and a few reflections. All in all, this painting took 3 minutes, if that. Just shows that with the right tools and knowing how to use them you can produce anything you want to.
Here's a couple of images from today's painting class. These young students worked well and concentrated hard, listening to every word. The 'follow the leader' style of instruction worked really well and it was great to see the student's delight in watching their paintings transform from random dawbs and lines to a full forest. We had several 'take a deep breath' moments when it came to adding in the main tree, fearing it may spoil the painting. I explained that the main tree was hugely important as it added another dimension to the painting, throwing everything behind it into the background. You can see Connie's painting on the left and Annie's painting on the right. We've used a total of 7 brushes and a painting knife each and it's great to teach all the different effects each brush can create.
As it's the school holidays, today I shall be teaching some children. It'll keep them amused for 5 hours and they'll have a lovely artwork to wow their family with.  We'll be playing 'follow the leader'. I shall have no painting subject on display at all. It'll be blank canvases and the painting subject will only develop into something recognisable about halfway into the lesson. A bit like a Rolf Harris 'can ya guess what it is yet?' I've arranged for a pizza lunch and there's plenty of choccy biscuits and juice on hand. Now, where's my spare overalls.......?
Yesterday's seascape has been strung and hung in the dining room. It really seems to go well in there with the neutral colour scheme. It adds to the calm ambience too. We're wondering what kind of frame to put round it and we've narrowed it down to either the wide silver or the wide black with silver. My dining room is quite bright today - whilst picking some greengages (or yellow plums?) from the tree at the bottom of the garden, I also decided to snip a few roses from my father's rose bushes. Such bright colours and so fragrant too. He would have appreciated them in full bloom, but he would have appreciated a greengage crumble even more. As soon as they're ripe they'll be straight in the pot. I must get some of these frozen so Darrell can enjoy them when he's here.
Finally......! We've got our new seascape painting subject.   This morning I was watching a Darrell Crow movie, New England Mid Summer Dream. I'd forgotton what a beautiful calm seascape it was. Immediately, out came the paints and 6 hours later we have our new painting subject. Why 6 hours? Well, I have to make mistakes throughout to make sure I can correct them and I had a few setbacks. Not once, but twice, Ziggy managed to upturn my pot of thinners. I had a number of phone calls, knocks on the door and also had my DVD making machine churning away in the background. Next time, I shall make sure I paint in the studio, but this time it was great fun painting along with Darrell (even though the DVD remote control is now covered in paint). The New England Mid-Summer Dream DVD is one of the bonus DVD's that comes with the Basic Floral DVD set. You'll find a larger and more detailed version of this painting in Sue's Gallery and Class Subjects .
It was great to take our break outside in the sun during yesterday's private lesson. I am finding these private sessions are becoming more and more popular. They take as much time, if not longer, as a regular class. Of course, students have the opportunity to fire away as many questions as they like on both painting technique and products. They also have the chance to select their own painting subject. I have found that although the word 'private' would hint that I can only take one student at a time, I can in fact take up to 3 during a private session. Many people like to come along with friends, as did this weekend's pair. If anyone is interested in a private session, please contact me on 01473 311938 or e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk
Week 29:  16th July to 22nd July
Arriving home in the early hours of the morning, we were still drenched through. Apparently there was no rain at home, but Blickling Hall, the venue of the Peter Gabriel concert, had tons of it. A sea of umbrellas, thunderbolts and lightning (very very frightening) and a lot of rain (none of it red) did not spoil the concert. In fact, I think it added to the humour and everyone was in the same boat, so to speak. With rain pouring off our umbrellas and into our wine and onto our knees and backs we still managed to have a good bop. For the middle of July, it was amazing that at times it was so cold we could see our breath.   Here's us enjoying a beaker of wine whilst snuggled under umbrellas. As one banner said............'It's only Water!'
We've had to do some quality control tests this morning. We dashed off to the supermarket to pick up some picnic bits for our Peter Gabriel gig this evening. We found some bargain collapsable chairs in bags on special offer and treated ourselves to a couple. As soon as we got indoors the shopping was thrown to one side and we dashed outside with our new 'bags'. Our chairs were set up within seconds on the patio and we tried them out. Comfortable too......! We both noticed a little net in one of the arms. 'Ooooo' I said, 'Good place to put your snacks'. 'Ooooooo' Alan said, 'Good place to put your drink'. You can see how our priorities differ :)
I had to do some 'car blocking' this afternoon. Dear friend, Ellie, came over for a spot of lunch today. As she too is suffering from back problems she is not allowed to drive. Not a problem, she caught the bus instead. As I dropped her at the bus stop to catch her return bus, the driver, on seeing no one actually standing at the stop decided to carry on driving. With a quick about turn I chased the bus through the village. The driver pulled away from the main bus stop just as I caught up with him! Not about to let it happen a second time, I managed to pull in front of him at the next (and last Capel stop) and wouldn't move my car until Ellie was safely on the bus. The driver gave me the most awful scowl as he drove past. Quite a Starsky and Hutch moment - when Ellie's about things always have an element of excitement.
We've had some recent additions to the 'Your Gallery' page. This page is for your own work. None of the paintings featured here are produced in my classes. If you'd like any of your paintings shown here then just drop me a photo in an e-mail to info@ayoubart.co.uk
I've had another couple of enquiries regarding the Singles Class. I really must get cracking on this and get a date organised. I have some ideas about the painting subject and I really am thinking of scratching the idea of a landscape and going along with an abstract theme - an organised abstract theme.  My mind has been really busy thinking about all different angles for this class and I think as long as it's fun and it's different, people will enjoy it and have a painting to remember their day.  I was so distracted with class ideas that I thought I had lost the kitten again. I hunted high and low and then high again and found him in a little tunnel he'd made for himself on the bed!
It's Steffi's birthday today. She decided upon a special meal this evening so

off we went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients. Whilst shopping I decided the Apollo Studio could do with some little extras. I have put together a lovely Bathroom Essentials pack, containing just about all you need for a stay in the accomodation. All full sized tubes and bottles and all sealed. I then decided a Chocolate and Champagne package would be nice as an extra treat too - so we have that in hand also. Later I'll add a bouquet of roses to the 'Optional Extras' packages. If you can think of anything else that might be a nice little package, do let me know. It's looking so good we might have a weekend in there ourselves - just to get away from it all.
First thing this morning we had to take Ziggy to the vets to get him checked over. He weighs in at a very light 2 pounds 4 ounces! You can imagine how tiny he was 3 weeks ago as he's doubled in size since we collected him. He was good as gold throughout his inspection and didn't make a squeak when he took his injections and tablets. He fell asleep in his basket within minutes of us returning home. Ahhhh, what a brave little boy.
I think I did my back an injury yesterday whilst lifting and turning with a heavy plant pot. Today I have been mostly relaxing on the settee with the kitten (and some DVD's) to keep me amused. However, by this afternoon I became a bit bored so I decided to make another website. Settling into my office chair, with some extra cushions and a cuppa tea, I set to work. I think our little accomodation, The Apollo Studio, could do with it's own website, which has been prompted by several comments of 'do you have to attend a painting class to stay in it?'. There's still some buttons to tweak on it, but so far I'm really quite pleased. Check it out by CLICKING HERE   Feedback would be much appreciated.
The good weather means a day in the back garden. The area behind my studio needed some attention. This has been cleared, cut back and tidied up. It now houses my water butt and it's the new area for my herbs. I've planted several bulbs and it really looks quite tidy now. I've tightened the screws in a bench and re-painted it. The patio area has been thoroughly hosed down and the pots have all been fed and watered and weeded. The patio furniture has had a thorough wash down too and it's all ready for our evening glass of wine. The back door had been open most of the day and I was a little concerned when I couldn't find Ziggy. I hunted high and low and finally found him as I came to my office to update my website. Hearing a little purr I looked under my keyboard shelf and there he was, upside down, doing an impersonation of a paperweight!
Week 28:  9th July to 15th July
I have a spare ticket for the Peter Gabriel concert in Blickling Hall, Norfolk next Saturday evening (21st July) - is there anyone interested in it? It'll be open air and pic-nic affair (finger's crossed the weather stays nice).   We're really looking forward to seeing Peter, a first for us as we've only seen his concerts on DVD to date. Very inventive singer with some stunning stage visuals. Contact me on 01473 311938 or info@ayoubart.co.uk if you're interested.
We had a nice little greeting when we returned home. Ziggy came running down the stairs (which is comical as his hind legs go faster than the front legs) as soon as he heard us come in. He then proceed to bounce upon anything and everything, just for the hell of it. He climbed the easels, he caught a fly and he ran in and out of cardboard boxes. He then had a boxing match with Ripley, our older cat, who is 10 times bigger than Zig. After a few somersaults under the table, which amused us while we were drinking our coffee, he pretty much wore himself out. He's now resting........... (He's the small grey dot on the settee). But........it's all go outside. As I'm typing this there's a perfect view from my office window of a bi-plane doing loop the loops and dives and flips. Luckily I have the binoculars close at hand and I've been enjoying a close up view of this Red Baron enjoying his evening flight. We often see him, dunno where he comes from or where he goes too, but he certainly makes a lump go to your throat with some of his fast dives and swoops.
Amongst todays students we had 3 first timers. Matthew and his dad had travelled down from Scunthorpe the night before. They sat side by side and painted really fabulous oil paintings, each different in their own way.   Matthew didn't hesitate when it come to the 'bravery test'. He quickly and swiftly put large brown lines right through his canvas and later turned them into quite prolific foreground trees. His Dad, on the other hand, sat and pondered for a little while before placing his trees, which really shows just how fearless kids are.   Set off in one of our newer style frames, their work looked like they'd been painting for years.......... Here's Matthew's work for you to see.
Next week will be a holiday for me (don't worry, I'll still be processing orders and taking class and accomodation bookings). With 7 clear days I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be a scorcher. 7 consecutive days means I can get my teeth into something massive. If the weather's nice I'm going to seriously tackle the back garden - if the weather's not nice I'll re-decorate the lounge. Either way we'll have some changes by the end of the week. Whilst on the subject of the weather, one canny chap asked me this morning if he brought some sunshine with him when he comes here for a Painting Holiday can he have a discount? My answer........of course you can.  Remember, if you're booked into the Apollo Studio your private lessons carry a £10 discount each.
Sue's Arty Party Forum members will be aware of a comment passed by one regular, Neil. Neil mentioned about being a guest instructor and I've taken him at his word. In less than 4 days we have the Hall booked for Sunday September 16th and the painting subject, Moonglow Wave, finalised. You can see the details of Neil's class on the Class Timetable page.   You can see a large image of his seascape on the Class Subjects page. Neil will be offering all students taking part in this class a step by step illustrated tutorial showing how to make this painting for yourself.  Not one to take any chances as I never compromise on standard, I would just like to add that I have seen Neil's work, he has extensive teaching experience and the quality of his free tutorial shows me not only his attention to detail but also his passion for painting. You'll be in safe hands and I'll be your hostess with the mostest on the day. It'll be fun, that's for sure.
Several students at classes tell me they have unused acrylic paints sets at home, myself included. After much research I've found a delightful DVD which will encourage anyone to get those acrylics out and experiment, myself included again. This 2 hour DVD features 10 easy to paint subjects. The shopping basket for this item is HERE and is just £11.50 which includes postage and packing to any European address. It'll make you look at daisies differently, thats for sure......
I've managed to source a handly little oil painting accessory, the wipe-out tool. You'll find the shopping basket for it HERE.   A student mentioned this item to me last week and I thought it would be a good thing to have on the website as it can be very hard to find. With a wooden handle and 2 rubber shaped ends, this natty little tool is ideal for correcting and wiping out any oil painting errors you might make.
I am having a devil of a job with my new class subject designs. Sometimes it just goes like that...... I have been all day long in my studio, which is great. I've played with colours and various brushes, which also is great. I worked on another landscape and I seem to be following the same old 'samey' rut.  Here's today's disappointing effort, I'm really not happy with it at all. Steffi came out to check if I was OK for coffee and seeing my frustration she decided to take me off for a Curly Wurly. Whilst out she told me to just paint something else, something 'for me' for a change. So, I settled into the studio once more and produced 'Sunflower' in a very short time. You can see this painting in my Gallery.   I enjoyed very much the free flowing warm colours and looseness of this exercise. I lost myself totally in polishing and blending plus this will be a nice little painting to go into my Exhibition in October. It's not what you are expecting, I'll warn you. Not one to give in to defeat, I've decided everything else will go on hold until I paint myself right out of the 'painter's block' I'm currently suffering from.
We've just finalised the arrangements for Darrell's UK visit in the Autumn. Darrell will be giving painting workshops in Capel St Mary Village Hall on 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th of October. I'll post details of the painting subjects as soon as they are available. I'll also send a newsletter out as I receive each image from Darrell. Thursday's class will be from 1.00pm till 5.30pm. Friday's class will be 9.30am till 3.30pm. Saturday's class will be 10.00am till 5.30pm and Sunday's class will be 12 noon till 5.30 pm. If you'd like to provisionally book a space on any of these classes, e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk. 15 weeks to go and counting down......
At today's Art Group meeting I managed to work some more on my Russell Brand portrait. He's basically finished but really needs another coat of paint. My daughter is unsure of the coloured background, he was supposed to hang in her lounge and the background colour is supposed to match one of her cushions. After the Art Group I decided to pop into town to see if I could find a richer deeper red for the background (although the ladies of the Art Group suggested it might be easier to buy a cushion to match the painting.......!). This weekly meeting is absolutely great fun and we swing from intense chitter chatter to moments of quiet whilst we are all working on our seperate projects. I've only had 2 meetings with these ladies; during each, the topic of conversation has covered the best types of knickers on the market at the moment. I'm learning about things I didn't anticipate and am wondering what the next meeting will bring.
Week 27: 2nd July to 8th July
Today's class was great fun, with a couple of old faces and a majority of new faces. We've had some marvellous results and I want to encourage a couple of local students to seriously consider exhibiting their work next year. It's not all about a painting session.......I really like to encourage people to take things one step further and hopefully turn their hobby into a possible income. Our furthest traveller today came from Durham. His motor home sat in the car-park and his wife kept herself busy popping in and checking our progress, reading her paper and familiarising herself with Capel. I believe they visited the local pub, The White Horse, for a well earned refreshment as they left the village.
I've just returned from today's Painting Class and after a coffee and a rest I thought I'd check my e-mails. I have received the most wonderful e-mail from forum member, Neil. He has, over the course of the weekend, put together a PDF factsheet showing a step by step guide to paint a marvellous seascape. His attention to detail is fabulous and I know this guide will help many of you to see just how much liquid white base you need, how to create wonderful clouds. Best of all, this guy is offering it free to anyone who wants it. You'll see the link for this document on Sue's Arty Party . You'd be daft to miss it........ Thank you Neil for all your hard work, this will help lots of people.
After my scrape and my failed Tuscan scene earlier this week.......it crossed my mind for a brief moment, what if? What if I couldn't paint anymore? What would I do in tomorrow's painting class if I just couldn't get the painting right? I'm never one to leave anything to chance so I whipped out another canvas and painted 'Amber Amblings' in under 30 minutes, which is VERY unusual for me. In fact, I've changed a few colour tones and the difference is subtle yet effective. Phew, panic over. I'm now looking forward to next week when I will perfect this seascape and make it an ideal subject for a beginner's oil painting class.
Speaking to Darrell this morning regarding our October workshops and especially the Tall Ships classes has put me in a seascape frame of mind. After my trip to the Post Office I settled into my studio with a coffee and decided to work on a seascape for a future class project. Believe it or not, I had great fun experimenting with this one even though I was far from happy with the result. 5 minutes within the last brush stroke being made, out came the palette knife and the whole lot got scraped off. I thought I'd take a quick snap for Sue's News so you can sea the one that got away......
Just come in for a bite to eat and a coffee and decided to check my e-mails. I just had to share this one with you......MISSING!!! -

ROUND YELLOW THING USUALLY FLOATS AROUND IN THE SKY!!!
ANSWERS TO THE NAME ''SUN''
IF YOU SEE HIM TELL HIM IT'S JULY!!!

I aim to get an early start in my studio today. Just a few errands to run as soon as the shops open and then, in theory, the rest of the day is mine. I hope to create a new class painting - easier said than done. Sometimes I feel I have so much reference material it's a job to know where to start and what to do. I was working on a Tuscan scene for some private students 2 days ago and although the photo I am working from is relatively simple and really quite pretty, the painting itself is proving to be dull and empty. Not one to give up easily I'll give this another go. Wish me luck......
Earlier this week I had a private class with a chap who was making a painting for a Wedding present. The soon-to-wed couple had already admired a previous green toned painting of his and he wanted to paint another style in similar colours to give them a choice. Together we painted 'Hidden Secret', a tranquil waterfall scene. You can see his finished work here on the left. We managed to put the new small oval brush and the new mop brush through it's paces. You can see another of Tom's paintings in the 'Your Gallery' page. There's a classic 'happy accident' story behind this particular painting too...... Armed with new brushes, I believe Tom will be tackling his own version of 'Hidden Secret' and I think it also puts him in good stead to make his own 'Woodland's End' too.
I've just received a note from Val, the host of the Alentejo Experience. It reads: 'Well Sue. We have really tried. It looks like there are no bites except the Lebanese lady.  If she would like to come and paint with me here and have a break maybe with a couple of friends...please tell her about my web site. We still have 3 weeks to closure..but it's a late stage now for booking 6 people.
You have done a fantastic job.   I am very sorry that it couldnt go ahead.'  It's a shame this Painting Holiday couldn't go ahead, AyoubArt had 5 painters and 1 non-painter interested in this project so far and had received 4 enquiries from people who found out too late but would be interested in booking a Painting Holiday at Alfanges next year.   I'll let all the individuals know of this decision. But, as one door shuts always another door opens. Earlier this week I was asked if I would consider a painting package to combine with a stay at the Apollo Studio . So I shall offer the overseas enquiries an opportunity to take a Painting Break with me here in the UK and perhaps combine it with Private Lessons and local classes. The planning of this enterprise has been exciting for both myself and Val. It gave her a chance to come to the UK, us a chance to visit Portugal and an opportunity to meet some great people.
Hard to believe - it's 12 years today since Bob Ross died. His prescence, I feel, is stronger than ever. If he had known the huge legacy of art inspiration he was leaving behind I'm sure he'd be smiling. Thanks to him, a lot of people who never believed they could paint, have picked up a brush and produced oil paintings to be proud of.  I'll be thinking of him as I paint today in my studio.
The Master Copy of Paradise Falls arrived from the States this morning and a shopping basket for this new Darrell Crow DVD project can be found HERE .
The DVD Summer Sale is now underway and all the shopping basket prices have been changed for a 48 hour period only. If you have any problems making payment please e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk Looks like I'm going to have a busy day getting your orders ready, but rest assured, I have a very good looking Assistant Administrator - you can see this thorough young chap is checking the finer details of an overseas sales order.
Do you know what? I've been asked if I will do a special class for 'singles'. And........do you know what? .......I shall !! Now, whether you are a lady or gent looking for just a new pal to go to the cinema or restaurant with or whether you are looking for a little more, I hope a 'singles' class will appeal to you. We're hoping to tie the class in with an after-class meal. Watch this space for more news on this - and thanks Lyn & Barb for the idea.

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