 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
Sue's News - For updates, special offers, class info and an insight into what's going on in my world For your ease of navigation, all underlined text is a clickable link to the relevant page AUGUST NEWS Move forward to September News HERE Week 35: 27th August to 2nd September  I managed to have a play around in my studio yesterday afternoon. I have 2 small oval canvases which I purchased in Portugal earlier this year and I knew exactly what I wanted to put on one of them......I wanted to have a warm sunrise in yellows, oranges and reds. I also wanted to show how a version of New England would look in another set of colours and on a different size/shape canvas. I think this works quite well and I enjoyed the exercise.
Whilst we're in a floral frame of mind - the latest DVD release from Darrell Crow Studios is entitled 'Rose De Mystique' at £11.50 including postage and packing to any European address. You can find details of this new DVD right HERE just scroll down beyond the Christmas Candles. Availability to Europe is immediate.  News just in from Darrell, the landscape painting class on Sunday 28th October will be 'Castle on a Lake'. I do not have an image for this just yet, but will announce it on Sue's News as soon as it's received. That's how new and unique this painting subject is! The floral painting subject on Saturday 27th October will be 'Two Poppies'. You can view a larger image of this delightfully fresh posy on the Painting Classes and Painting Subjects pages.
I do apologise to those of you who are wondering why I haven't replied to your e-mails. I hope to get around to this by the beginning of next week at the latest........promise. With a 6 o'clock start at my PC this morning and the full intention to answer a few, I'm afraid it's 2 and a half hours later and I still haven't wrote a single one!  I am continually touched by the very kind people I come across in my art business. This morning I received a payment from a customer in France. Although they knew the price of the DVD's they ordered, they actually added a considerable amount to their payment. In their letter they have asked me to add the extra towards tea and biscuits for my classes. I'll actually put this in the October kitty for the Darrell Crow Tall Ships Class and treat the students to something a little extra, there's a bakery next door to Capel Village Hall and I'm sure I can find something for everyone in there. Thanks for the very kind gesture Tom & Lucy - I've popped a little extra something in your package with compliments from myself and Darrell.
 I have a new DVD announcement! From next week I will stock a wonderful oil painting DVD selection, for beginners and improvers, from John Redfern Harris of Creative Painting. Having just spoken at length to John this evening I am delighted to stock his exciting painting projects, which range from a Siberian Tiger to a typical English landscape. I will have a shopping basket for these items up and running within the next 24 hours, although availability will be from the middle of next week. The DVD's start at just £4.90 (plus postage and packing) for a single DVD. I have to laugh, the DVD's say that subtitles are included incase you can't understand John's Yorkshire accent!
I have a free day tomorrow (touch wood) and although the housework, garden and laundry calls, I really should be working on some painting projects. I still have the Elvis portrait to complete, I have a private class commission to design, a typical English countryside with rolling fields. The Italian Tuscan scene, another request for a class subject, needs to be designed also. My previous attempts at this did not quite turn out the way I planned, however, in the week I saw a marvellous image of a Tuscan sunset with the long tall firs in silhoette - that's given me the inspiration for a slightly different angle on it. I have a half finished male nude in the studio.............(a painting!!) Do you know, it's almost easier to get on with the housework!!  Pam finished her 4th painting today, a soft pink and lilac snowscape. It's been a pleasure to teach Pam and now she has all the equipment to continue painting at home, maybe even joined by her young grandson. Pam, not one to dither, has tackled each painting project with no fear whatsoever. I've enjoyed watching her unique style shine through each project. Today she showed off a little.......not content with painting a rickety fence, she also added the nails that held the cross planks! Already Pam has ideas of subjects she'd like to tackle for herself; places she has visite. Pam is one busy lady and I don't think she'll mind me mentioning her involvement with the N.S.P.C.C. She's releived me of some space and kindly taken away 2 of my 'class' oil paintings to be used in fundraising events. Keep me posted Pam with your new paintings.
 Pam, our 'Speedy Gonzales' lady from Cheshire, sailed through Woodland's End today and finished in around 2 and a half hours! She just simply watched the brief step by step demo and worked it in her own way. I was left wondering what to do for the other 2 and a half hours. In theory, if we can do one painting in half the time, we can do another! So we did!! Pam now has a blue version of the gentle New England seascape. Tomorrow we're tackling a snowscape - I wonder how long it'll take to complete? Even better, I wonder if we'll have time to go to the pub afterwards for a glass of wine and a discussion about art ;)
 Today's student is all the way from Cheshire. We've been enjoying chats about the Middle East as she too lived in the Emirates and spent time in Lebanon. One thing us Brits used to treat ourselves to was a trip to the gold souk. 2 of the most popular things to buy would be a necklace showing your name in arabic in 18 carat gold. The second most popular item would be a gold puzzle ring. Today's lady was wearing both. The only other time in the UK I've seen the necklace and ring together is when I see my mother or sister.
Speaking of price increases, I shall be putting up the price of my private classes also from September 4th. The price will increase from £45 to £50 per private lesson. If you are a guest in the Apollo Studio , you will receive a £10 discount. If you come along with a friend, you will also receive a £10 discount each. I can take a small group of up to 4 people from home. If you'd like to secure your private lesson at the old price, please drop me an e-mail on info@ayoubart.co.uk or call me on 01473 311938 before September 4th. Refreshments and a light lunch is included in this price along with the chance to purchase products at a reduction. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about the price increase on the Basic Landscape DVD's and the Basic FLoral DVD's. I can confirm that on September 4th, the Basic Landscape DVD set will increase from £61 to £80 and The Basic Floral DVD set will increase from £75 to £94. However, 2 extra DVD's will be added to each set: Adapting Water Mixable oils to Basic Landscape Oil Painting and Adapting Acrylics to Basic Landscape Oil Painting will be added to the Landscape series, giving 11 DVD's in total plus the bonus DVD 'My World'. Adapting Water Mixable oils to Floral Oil Painting and Adapting Acrylics to Floral Oil Painting will be added to the Floral series, giving 12 DVD's plus bonus DVD 'Romance of the Rose'. All orders in the last 7 days and until the price increase will be getting the extra 2 DVD's thrown in for free. If you'd like to take advantage of this special offer CLICK HERE to be taken to the shopping basket.  Last Friday, whilst at my daughters, a friend of hers suggested I should get myself to Jimmy's Farm. He said it would be the ideal place to do my type of painting classes and demos. Jimmy's Farm (of BBC1 fame) is just outside of Ipswich and I'm embarrassed to say I have never ever been! On Saturday the subject of Jimmy's Farm came up again. On Sunday was the start of the new series of Jimmy's Farm .......... Ever get the feeling someone is trying to send you a message? Today I had a day off, the ideal opportunity to pop over and see what Jimmy's Farm was all about. Fabulous place, rustic, plenty to see and do, many craft and produce stalls, so nice in fact that we stayed around for lunch. Jimmy seemed a bit busy, being a Bank Holiday, so it was proba not the best time to approach him. Fingers crossed I'll try and make an appointment next week. His nature trail into the woods is absolutely delightful, just the sort of thing I like to paint, as you can see.
 Yesterday's students had selected to paint the snowscape 'Purple Peaks' but without the purple! Instead they quite fancied brown, creams and caramels, something much softer and warmer. The painting was easy to adapt and the end results were really fantastic. You can see a larger version on the Class Subjects Page. Regular students are producing such wonderful work, both in class and at home that I have made a decision not to go ahead with a solo exhibition in October at the Cloisters Gallery Bury St Edmunds Cathedral. Instead I shall share the experience with my students and will encourage them to join me. We'll even plan a post-exhibition night out for after the event.
Week 34: 20th August to 26th August  Yesterday morning brought a couple of suprises for both myself and Steffi. We both received parcels each. Mine contained some unique hand made troll beads for my bracelet. A lady who I met via an art forum was so grateful of some information I offered to her that she made me a wonderful 'Pink Floyd' logo bead, along with a handful of beautiful wooden beads. Thanks Lorna, very much appreciated. Steffi's parcel was a lovely card and chocolate congratulating her on her recent exam results. She was so touched at the gesture from a dear family friend and painting buddy. Thanks Tom - What a great way to start our days!
 It looks like we will have company this evening by the fire. My every move at the bottom of the garden was being observed by 2 smaller members of the family. They watched me scrub the furniture and get the candles ready. They know when something is up. Lets hope this time Ziggy is a little more careful with the candle wax this evening as his fur has only just grown back in his little bald patch. Both cats like to join us around the fire and they wiggle close and bask in the warmth (after a bit of play fighting). That's when we like to pop on Pink Floyd's 'Meddle'. There's one particular track that has David Gilmour playing guitar with a friend's dog giving the vocals! This has the cats running between all 4 speakers trying to find the howling dog. It gets them every time. PS: Notice how both cats innocently look away the minute I try to snap them!
 It's such a lovely evening after almost a week of cold wet weather, we've decided to go for the traditional bonfire at the bottom of the garden again. Our corkscrew willow looks normal from the top of the garden looking down. However, it's a different story from the other side. As you can see, we've cut away a large portion of foliage, installed some overhead lighting and a candle chandelier too. Our large table sits neatly underneath and in the still of the night, in front of a bonfire we feel we're sitting snugly inside a little green cave. With a glass of wine (Davey, we'll be using your commemorative glasses for the purpose) and our stereo playing the usual melodies, I can honestly say it's our little piece of paradise. This is the place where we sit and sort out the world in a far from serious way.
 Today I had to re-locate the painting class. Unfortunately we did not have full attendance so I re-scheduled some, and took 2 fairly local people at my home. It was a marvellous sunny day and we had the patio doors flung open wide. Our Saturday hi-flyers were out and we were circled by several old planes - the sound of the spitfire was so loud and so close, literally just above our heads. One of today's students has quite a passion for boats. I managed to find him a work-in-progress tall ships painting which Darrell left here last April. A 2 mast ship coming out of the mist between rocks, painted in siennas, umbers and creams. Consequently we now have another painter joining us for the Tall Ships class in October. As I was pottering around in my studio I heard the Bi-Plane and just managed to snap him as he flew overhead. Not a bad little shot for my micro digital zoom camera if I say so myself.
 I thought I'd pop over to see daughter number 1, as she lives close to the college (where I had to enrol the next years accountancy course for daughter number 2). She was eager to show me her new furniture and decor bits and bobs so I had another tour of her new flat. Dunno why.....but when asked what I thought of things I replied in French, which leads to quite a silly conversation using as many French phrases as we could think of. I took her the (incomplete) Russell Brand painting just to make sure the colour matched one of her cushions (!!) and I've left the painting with her so she can let his eyes follow her around the living room. So, l'apartment c'est tres jolie, aujourd hui il pleut et je suis fraud. Merci. Tres bien. Magnifique et le petite chat dorme. Fromage Frais s'il vous plait. A photo-text later shows me she's decided to hang Russell in a skylight recess - quite a predominant position and bathed in natural light.
 Big congratulations to Stef. She received her exam results this morning and has passed her first batch of accountancy exams. Tomorrow I will enrol her for the next lot. Well done Stef!
I've gotton myself into a right mess this morning. I donned smarter clothes today, after spending the last 8 days in 'painting clothes'. I went to my studio to fetch something and a tube of raw umber fell out of it's box, the lid went flying and i have a huge splodge of oil paint on my studio carpet. As the tube fell, it managed to make contact with my trousers about 4 times (pale cream trousers too!). Somehow I managed to get liquid white on my brand new brown top as well. So I changed into some different smart clothes. Within minutes my clean trousers picked up splodges of raw umber. So I changed again! Within minutes my 3rd pair of trousers picked up splodges of raw umber. I've whipped these off and changed back into old painting clothes and have been clean as a whistle ever since. I have no idea where this paint is coming from. The first thing I checked was the cat as it's about the only thing that's made contact with my lap....... Oh well, it's a good excuse to go out and get myself some new clothes I guess.  We managed to squeeze an extra space into today's class at Heartlands to enable both Chris and Pete to paint. It's really interesting for me to see the extreme difference in masculine and feminine painting styles and I was able to observe the dramatic changes between this couple's style, colour mixing and brush pressure. It's the first time I've taught 'New England' and I guess I was a little nervous as the painting is not one of my own, it's taken from Darrell Crow's New England Mid Summer Dream DVD . I took along my blue version, Dona Paula Bay, and it was so popular that we've booked this to be the next painting subject at Heartlands on Tuesday 25th September. Already several spaces have been taken, so if you'd like to do this one, don't waste any time in booking it up. Just drop a line at info@ayoubart.co,uk
Current guests, Pete & Chris are enjoying a short painting break in the Suffolk Countryside. They both paint with such a laid back attitude and have made some wonderful paintings to take back home with them. However, it's a long way to come for a painting class, unless you have a few days spare, so, they will be looking into the viability of me hosting a class in their hometown of York. (Yes Tom...... you read that right!) Fingers crossed, if we can get the numbers, there's no reason why a class shouldn't go ahead. Pete & Chris will be busy showing their paintings to their friends and family and hope to enlist a few willing students. Chris kindly brought me some rather picturesque calenders, showing some really lovely shots of her home town - a great source of painting inspiration. The calenders were all from a local charity and it turns out that Chris does voluntary work there. She's happy to take some of my paintings back with her to be used in fund raising events and I'm pleased of the extra storage space it's given me. You can imagine, I get several copies of the same image due to the amount of classes I now hold.   I had 3 special guests at last Sunday's class. Neil popped along with his missus to deliver his September painting project to me. He wanted to see how one of my classes ran and both of them were a great help in setting up and clearing away. Students were lucky to have the 2 of us on hand to give painting advice. The third special guest was Zig. Neil's other half is a cat fanatic and was looking forward to meeting Ziggy. So, after a quick dash home, we fetched him to the class and he amused himself for a goo couple of hours in the hall before crashing out. The day was rounded off very nicely with a Chinese meal.....and talk switched from Bob Ross, wet on wet, oil painting and beginners classes to 'Bottom' and 'Black Adder'. PS. Well done Neil for encouraging 4 of the students to come along to your September 16th Class 'Moonglow Wave'
Week 33: 13th August to 19th August   I managed to find some time this sunny afternoon to fill a few patches in the front flower beds. After cutting some shrubs back several bald spots appeared. Not being very plant-minded my method of plant selection is really quite simple - if it's a pretty colour I will have it. I do quickly glance over the plant labels to try and make sure I give things the best chance, but I am very much lured by colour. I am a softie for blues and purples and peaches. I found a lovely miniature rose in peaches and reds and a rather nice bright blue ground covering alpine. Let's hope these plants like their location and grow profusely.
 Woo Hoo !!!! Just received a phone call from my eldest daughter asking me if I had been watching the Anglian News this evening. Apparently the weather broadcast was filmed in Capel St Mary and the presenter mentioned the Painting Classes that occur in the Village Hall. How's that for the ultimate in Free Advertising?
 Speaking of art supplies, just to let you newbies know there are many things available to buy from classes that do not feature on my website. I sell large bottle of gessos, cleaning equipment, Bob Ross items, mediums and many other brushes. Many of these items would incur a riduculous amount to post, due to either size or weight (or both), which is why they're not available to buy from me online. You can pretty much walk away from a class with everything you will ever need to start oil painting at home - including the free 2 hour tuitional Water DVD!
 The hamper I purchased yesterday actually came in a set of 3, giving me 2 spare ones. I've been busy labelling all my products and arranging them in the other 2 hampers for display at this weekend's class. I've also re-taken some photos of the products for the art supplies pages. When I created some of these earlier web pages I didn't have such a good camera. The work on a website is never really done and there's several pages that need a little spring clean. To give you an example of a new shot - here's the Basic Oil Paint Starter Set image (still only £37.50 delivered to any European address). I first laid the paints in a line, I then laid them split into 2 lines, I then fanned them around with some greenery in the background and I eventually settled for this sun-dial effect. After cropping and editing the image and then uploading, this little exercise was a good 20 minutes........
 Today I've been playing dolls houses again. That's my new adjective for titivating in the Apollo Studio . New guests, from Yorkshire, have requested a welcome package; I pretty much had all the bits in stock, apart from the fresh produce. I set off to the shops to get the extras, along with our own shopping. I decided to buy a hamper to make the welcome pack more presentable. I also purchased a fold away coffee table and some other bits and bobs. As I was browsing in the supermarket I spotted several little extras that would make a welcome treat. Anyone who arrives at the Apollo Studio always has a little personnal touch waiting for them and the new guests are no exception. After my titivating session was over I decided to take a snap of the hamper so you can get an idea of what's included. It's always fun getting the studio ready........my adult dolls house.
 I've just had the most delightful morning in the company of little Liam. He arrived with his mum after a 90 minute car journey. He proudly brought along some pictures he made at home, I've featured one of them on the Your Gallery page. After he made friends with Ziggy (the baby sabre toothed tiger) our first exercise was to go through the pot of brushes and tools to see which ones he was familiar with. Our second exercise was to see if he was able to reach the top of the canvas! Liam made a really pretty version of 'Sunbeams' and had very good liner brush control. Kids have no fear when painting and literally just 'go for it'. Liam had several rest breaks, during which he went into the garden and came back with a variety of bugs to show me. During our lunch break he wanted to play 'guess the name of my friend'. He'd give a letter as a clue to the first name (not easy as F was for Phillip). The first name was easy to guess as he gave a little too much away. The name started with a 'ber' and had an 'eee' and a 'ner' in it. He was amazed when I guessed, first time, his best friend was called Ben. The next name was a little harder. This one started with a 'jer'. I reeled off several names, all wrong, so Liam gave me an extra very helpful clue and told me 'he's blonde'. Today's class has given me great amusement and I enjoyed changing my tactic to reach this youngster (6 and a half). The only question Liam asked me through the course of the lesson was 'Did you get your pizza from Asda?' So refreshing - I'm looking forward to painting with him again real soon.
In less than 24 hours half the spaces on the Tall Ships classes have gone! Please don't deliberate if you are considering taking part in this 2 day course as it may just be too late. Verbal and e-mail reservations will be held for 7 days which gives plenty of time for the deposit to be sent. I'll bring the accomodation posting to the top of Sue's Arty Party Forum so you can get the relevant contact numbers. The prices may be out-dated though.  Today I've been catching up on paperwork but managed to have a painting session in my studio this afternoon. I need another 'New England' painting to display in the reception area of one of my venues. I thoroughly enjoy painting this scene and really love the unusual way it's composed. I love every single stage of this project, especially the foam as that's when the painting really comes to life. Now, what do I do with all these paintings, I hear you ask? Well, they get donated to charitable causes. Very soon a couple of paintings will be going to Colchester General Hospital and LEPRA, a local Charity. They will be used in fund raising events.
Congratulations and good luck to daughter Stef, who starts her new job today. I've lost my little weekday helper but all for a good reason. I'll just have to cope on my own during tomorrow's 'Sunbeams' class. I've booked a new weekday class at East Bergholt for Wednesday September 12th. Details can be found on my Class Timetable .  With just over 10 weeks before his arrival, here's the news you've been waiting for....the Darrell Crow Tall Ships Painting Workshops will be held on 25th and 26th October in Capel St Mary Village Hall, Suffolk. The price of these classes are £55 per day - £110 in total. We will be painting the Clipper, shown here on the left. A larger image is available on the Class Subjects page. The class will start at 1.00pm on Thursday 25th October and will end at around 5.45pm. The second class will start at 9.30am on Friday 26th October and end at around 3.00pm. A £40 deposit will be required from each student who wants to take part in the Tall Ships workshop. Darrell will be hosting a floral workshop on 27th October and a landscape workshop on 28th October. Images will be posted as soon as I have them. The landscape/floral workshops remain at £45 each and a deposit of £20 per student will be required for each of these classes to secure your place.
 Darrell has been working hard on subtitles for his DVD's. His first project is the Basic Landscape Series. Most of these have now have English subtitles and any orders placed from today will receive the subtitled versions where available so you'll have the option to play with sound or with text. Ideal for the hard of hearing.
I've just had word from Darrell Crow: There will be a price increase on DVD's applicable from 1st September, now's the time to get your orders in. The Basic Landscape Series (18 hours of tuition plus bonus DVD) is just £61 and the Basic Floral Series (24 hours of tuition plus bonus DVD's) is just £75. Both prices include postage and packing to any European address. There's currently a discount of £10 if you buy the two together. Week 32: 6th August to 12th August Often I will show students how their class paintings can be developed into something else. At several stages during the workshops we stop and assess what we have. I ask students to consider various aspects re-painted on to different sized canvases. I sometimes advise of alternative colours that can be used. When showing my recent seascape 'New England' (based on the Darrell Crow DVD 'New England Mid Summer Dream') I have mentioned how lovely this picture would be in blues, pinks or greens. Today I had a little fool around in my studio and I've painted a variation with a tropical theme. It shows how you can adapt what you have learned in an oil painting for beginners workshop into your own image. By changing the colours to turquoise blue and navy, with the addition of a couple of palm trees, we have a scene typical of a little bay I stayed at in India. I'm calling this one Dona Paula Bay. You'll see a snap of the real location on my About Me page. If you'd like to see a larger image of this painting, it's featured on my Class Subjects page. The New England Mid Summer Dream DVD is available at just £11.50 HERE . How you want to adapt it is entirely up to you (and the colour scheme you're aiming for). Quite a versatile little number, I'm sure you'll agree.
 It's been a couple of years since I painted a castle. Partly prompted by our recent Scottish visitor and partly from students' talk of peaceful holiday destinations I decided today was the day for another structural scene. First thing this morning I settled myself into my studio with a cuppa and a curly wurly (!). Some 6 hours later we have this oil painting, Scottish Morning, which will be an ideal piece for my solo exhibition in October. You can see a larger version of this painting in my gallery .
 I can see the Free Darrell Crow water DVD is having an effect on students......some of them mentioned that you have to make the water noises when putting in the waterfall. Today I introduced a new brush to the class. I've been using this brush for a little while in private lessons and will soon add this neat flat brush to my art supplies page. It can be used in exactly the same way as a knife and it gets into tighter spots. It's great for pulling colour horizontally into water also. Here you can see Des halfway through his waterfall scene. He sits beside his wife, Katie, and they make such very different versions of the same image. Katie really has been bitten by the painting bug and made 2 more paintings of her own last week.
 2 more DVD's have been added to the Darrell Crow series 2 collection. (Janet from London, you'll be pleased at this announcement). New England Mid Summer Dream is now available to purchase as an individual item. This really is a beautiful seascape and is put together in a very unusual way. Until now, this pretty DVD project has only been available when purchasing the Basic Floral DVD set. I'm so pleased this can be brought as a seperate item. The second DVD to be added is the Christmas Candles project. Now's the time to get this if you'd like to get working on a seasonal painting to warm your home. Both DVD's are £11.50 each to buy and the shooping baskets for these items are set up HERE . We have a new floral project just about ready to launch. I'm just waiting for the nod from Darrell before I release this, so watch this space. Availability to Europe will be immediate.
 I'm going to really miss Alan, our recent Scottish guest. He's been a great sport and very enthusiastic with his painting. He already has 2 projects he wants to tackle when he gets home. One project is of a scene he spotted in the local pub, on a beer mat, of all places! It depicts a lovely warm African sunset. We'll both be having a go at this one and we'll compare our results and methods. Alan's paintings are safely stored away and as soon as they are dry I'll post them onto him. I couldn't resist a snap of his monochrome, which I've just moved from the dining room. There's definately a touch of Scotch Mist hanging around the foliage bushes on this painting.
We set off this morning on a lovely country drive to our East Bergholt class in beautiful sunshine. The class was held in the Congregational Church Hall just a few yards from John Constable's early studio. As we drove past his studio I was thinking about the irony of a bunch of beginners and first time oil painters turning out our own little landscapes so close to his birthplace some 170 years after his departure. Several students took their lunch break in the sunshine outside. Myself and Alan let ourselves onto the Church for a look around as I wanted to show him the unusual turquoise colour in the stained glass windows. I'd invited some folk from the village to drop by at any stage to view the progress and it was really nice for my students to receive such positive feedback on their hard work from today's visitors. I really love this rustic little venue and I hope that I can get enough interest to make this a regular monthly class. I shall book a September date very soon and announce it on the painting classes page.
 Just before today's class Alan (guest Alan) and I were having a chat about painting different types of trees. He mentioned birch trees in particular.............so 15 minutes into today's class I decided to fetch us all a smaller canvas and we ended up actually painting 2 pictures at the same time. It was very easy to do as today's subject was the monochrome 'Moonbeams'. We simply painted a small, negative version and it gave me the ideal opportunity to show Alan a little trick which makes simple birch trees. So today we got 2 for the price of 1. When people tell me they can't paint trees, by the time they have finished 'Sunbeams' or 'Moonbeams' they are quite expert at it.
 One of today's students, Bob, admitted to being a bit nervous about the class. He claimed he had no artistic skills and I'd be very lucky if I could 'get anything out of him'. I always smile when I hear this (and trust me, I hear this a lot!!) Current guest, Alan, quickly fetched his oil paintings to show Bob and the impressive masterpieces didn't really put Bob's nerves at ease. So, we started off the class with a cuppa and biscuits in the garden and a light chat about art and technique. By the time we sat down in front of our easels Bob was raring to go. The class was filled with good humour and it was lovely for students to see how different each and every painting was. A very proud Bob did say that friends and family might not believe he made his paintings all by himself, so, as promised, here's a snap of Bob working on his larger canvas. His sister-in-law, Pauline, will be giving her 2 paintings as unique gifts for overseas family. She kindly let Ziggy curl up and fall asleep on her lap while she was painting. Ziggy is really liking these classes and would rather sleep where the painting action is than on any of our beds or chairs.
 Yesterday evening we could see no sign of our guest, Alan, as we sat outside enjoying a glass of wine. We assumed he'd walked to the village pub for a meal. There was still no sound of him by the time I went to bed. The mystery was solved when we met on the patio this morning. He'd gone for a quick 40 winks after yesterday's class and didn't wake again till gone 2 in the morning! I did warn Alan he may be more than a little tired after a painting class. Here's a snap of Alan's second ever oil painting. This chap is a very quick learner indeed and really has got an eye for highlights.
I have been asked on more than one occassion to work out a special offer deal for my self catering Apollo Studio accomodation. I wanted to offer a reduction to people who may wish to combine a few painting sessions with a mini break in the Suffolk / Essex area. After giving the matter some thought I have decided that a free night's accomodation can be given to anyone staying for 4 nights. In other words, 5 nights for the price of 4. Before I even had time to get this offer posted on the website, I've already had a booking over the phone, so the timing was perfect.
Week 31: 30th July to 5th August  On this still and balmy evening, I've just spent over half an hour outside taking the stones out of our very own grown greengages. A contented (and crusty) kitten has sat at my side, our guest has gone for an evening stroll in the countryside, Alan is labouring away at our pond construction........and I just realised I no longer have the 'Oh No it's Monday tomorrow' feeling. I feel quite blessed and content and plan to enjoy every minute of this very rewarding career change for as long as it lasts.
 Today's student, Alan, has made a wonderful job of his first ever oil painting. We settled for 'Lakeland Walk' and he really made a fine job of it. Alan comes from Scotland and I'm sure he'll be able to use what he's learned today to paint lovely loch scenes. Tomorrow we tackle the new waterfall scene, which is already proving to be a popular painting subject.
Ziggy seems to be enjoying the painting classes. He's receiving lots of fuss and attention from students. He took quiet residence behind Kate's canvas yesterday and was watching her brush-strokes closely from behind. It tired him eventually and he fell asleep wrapped up in the tablecloth on the chair opposite her. He's not trouble, even if he did end up with a suspicious daub of liquid white on his forehead. Later in the evening, he joined us at the bottom of the garden for the obligatory bonfire with this week's studio guest. He had his first experience of tree climbing (the kitten, not the guest) and peered out at us from a height whilst half concealed by the willow tree. Unfortunately on his descent he managed to get candle wax on his fur and he's having a devil of a job cleaning it out.
Today's waterfall scene was a great success. Barbara has a strange way of giving her paintings a distinct Oriental feel to them. 'It's completely unintentional', she tells me, as she trys hard to re-produce my demo. Invariably different people apply paint with different pressures; no 2 people will mix their colours the same; different results are achieved by holding the brushes at different angles too. All of this means no 2 paintings will be identical, however hard one trys. Barbara has a good eye for colour and especially areas where highlights would work. Her painting has weeping willows dipping into the stream and she's made a fantastic job of her cascades and water mist. At the end of the class we sat outsid with tea and propped her painting a few feet away from us to completely assess it. We were quiet for some considerable time, getting quite lost in all the little nooks and crannies she had developed. I must remember to take a snap when she returns with this to be framed for exhibition. I've just popped a larger version of this painting on the Class Subjects page (as requested by some Forum members).
 Tomorrow morning I have a private student who wants to paint a waterfall in brown tones. Now, I have a couple of waterfall scenes ideal for beginners - all I need to do is change the colours. I could use either of them. Instead I thought I'd have a little experiment and create something new and unique. I set up in my studio this evening with a blank canvas in front of me. I just picked a brush, dipped it in some paint and 20 minutes later we have this. I still have some fiddling to do but on the whole I am thrilled that this has come together so quickly. Compared to a fortnight ago, everything I touched seemed to go wrong. Funny how that happens, isn't it? I'm glad my painting vibes are positive as I have 6 consecutive painting classes ahead of me!
 It didn't take me long to decide my plan of action today. I had to stay around the house as I was expecting a large delivery. The sun was shining, the garden could do with a tidy up and the hedge needed a trim, so I decided to have a day in the fresh air with the sun on my back. I can soon find jobs that will keep me outside pottering about. A very sleepy Ziggy woke from his afternoon nap and decided to join me. I just didn't know where he was going to pop up next........
 I have a very limited special offer. I have 2 sets of the Valerie Stewart portrait DVD's with me (which guarantees a speedy delivery). I have these on offer for £80, which was the sale price offered last month. If anyone is interested in them, please e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk and I will either send you a paypal invoice or you can post me a cheque. This price includes postage to any European address.
|
|||
 |
||||
 |
Copyright © 2003-2008 Susan Warne. Arts Council / Wet on Wet Classes /Apollo Studio Accomodation / Darrell Crow Studios
|
 |
||
