Sue's JANUARY News - For updates, special offers, class info and an insight into what's going on in my world
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Week 5: 28th January to 31st January
I think it's safe to show Lee's mountain scene. I think you'll agree his mountain doesn't look like a line of tents, which was his problem when he painted at home. This is all his own work, I do not touch a student's canvas (well very very very very very very rarely). When Lee left he swore he would be painting lots of mountains from now on. Lee is a really interesting guy to chat with......if I tell you he's received a shock from an electric eel whilst cleaning it's tank and has a scar from a rattle snake injury you can imagine the many stories he has under his belt.
Thanks to my own forum - 'Sue's Arty Party' , I will soon be getting my very own custom built easel. Good pal Davy was at a craft fair at the weekend; via the forum he kindly passed on the details of a chap who makes absolutely wonderful easels. Davy also sent me a brochure. As soon as I browsed the brochure a lust grew and within a couple of hours I decided that I just had to have one of these incredibly versatile work horses. I hope to take delivery some time in February (can I wait that long........?). For non-forum readers, if you're interested in investing in probably one of the best, if not THE best easels on the market do contact Ron of Phantasm Easels on Ron@phantasm-easels.freeserve.co.uk or telephone 01376 584124 for a brochure. Ron was giving me a list of professional artists who own his easel and I was able to check them all out online as we spoke - they seem to be everywhere. I'm looking forward to meeting Ron when he delivers my easel and sharing even more stories over a cuppa tea. We had a giggle when I asked him how long it took to set the easel up. '32 seconds', he replied...... 'Yeah, but how long will it take a woman....'? Ron assures me I'll be able to do it in under a minute. I'll be interested to see what Darrell will make of it when he comes over in April, he's quite an easel freak himself.
Today was a catch-up day. Although I despatch internet orders on a daily basis, your free DVD requests have been growing and growing and I've not despatched any for the last 5 days. This morning soon put paid to that - and I feel relieved that I am finally on top of that task. When I returned from the post office I was greeted with another 4 requests. They'll have to go out tomorrow now. So if you've applied for one.........don't worry, it's on it's way to you. On the application form for this free oil painting DVD is a comments box. I do read all comments, even if I don't answer them all. It seems more and more people really have the urge to learn to oil paint. If I can help you in any way to get started with this delightful hobby, or even become an instructor yourself, feel free to contact me. I can show you how you can save a huge amount of money in your product selection. One of the pluses with being an Alexander Qualified Instructor is the fact that I am not under contract with any art organisation to promote specific brushes and oil paints. Our philosophy is......if a brush works, use it! And the vast majority of brushes, painting knives, oil paints and mediums work more than adequately with this wet on wet technique.
Actually, finishing 'High Hopes', the new mountain scene, yesterday was quite deliberate. Today I had a private student who was determined to learn how to paint mountains. Although I have a couple of mountain scenes in my repertoire already I have to say I sometimes become a little bored painting the same thing and I need new challenges myself. When Lee arrived, High Hopes was on display and he didn't need much persuading to go for it. Now, I can't show an image of his painting just yet because I don't want to spoil someone's surprise.......all I'll say is this: Alan arrived home early, saw Lee's painting and thought it was mine. So, Babbs - I've updated - but not fully.
Today (almost) everything went on hold whilst I finished off some new painting projects. I don't seem to have many mountain scenes in my Painting Subjects collection so I needed to add to that - we now have 'High Hopes'. It's been a while since I painted a mountain and I really enjoyed finishing this composition off. We also have a sunset scene to add to the gallery, 'Fat Old Sun'. So far so good, both paintings are named after song titles - no guesses as to who produced these numbers! We'll be painting High Hopes in the Green Room on Saturday, 8th of March. Plus, as it's a portrait style painting we'll be able to include a few extra students too.
More details of the Darrell Crow Spring workshops have been added to the Painting Classes page. You can see images of the painting subjects HERE . We still have just a couple of i's to dot and t's to cross before we have the final prices worked out. We have extended time on the hire of the venue over all 4 days, which incurs a price increase. We'll be using several new higher quality brushes too. For students attending the Rose de Mystique Floral workshop, you'll be getting a little extra entertainment.......... With just over 12 weeks to go I can't believe how quickly the time has gone!
Week 4: 21st January to 27th January
Today's ladies painted 'Make A Wish'. Both ladies opted for the blue version, although this particular painting can be made in several colours. I believe I designed this painting before my Alexander Certification. As we worked through the varying stages I could see potential to add a few extra embelishments, new things I had learned either from the course or from subsequent experimentation. The new version has subtle sweeping clouds, the background trees have finer details, the main tree has it's highlights added with......yes, you guessed it.......the new knife. Sally & Josie are quite a giggle and the laughs start the minute they walk through the door. They come armed with goodies and we indulged in huge sticky cookies and chocolates. Snacks like this help you to paint better, they do......really they do!
I was thrilled to hear some of today's students telling each other about their previous paintings. Michelle, a young mum, painted a waterfall scene with me last year - she says she could have sold it 3 times over. She won't part with it because it's her first one. Rosemary too could have sold her first painting and won't part with it for the same reason. Wendy has a commission from a neighbour from her first painting, Jim's painting is hanging in his wife's workplace. Joan has sold two of her class paintings. Newbie Pamela, I hope will tell a similar tale next time we meet. All of today's students made lovely, yet very different versions of Amber Amblings. When you're sharing a class with several other students you get to see how very individual and unique all the paintings can be. Of course, there are similarities throughout but there are also huge differences too. Today we used the new knife in class for the first time this year with brilliant results. Wendy managed to achieve a really soft and warm rounded trunk with her knife work, quite different from everyone elses, including mine. After class, after most of the kit had been cleared away, Alan and I sat for a while assessing the room layout. We took a few moments to relax and unwind with a cuppa and a biscuit. It was a productive rest actually as we had a play around with the furniture and completely re-arranged the whole set-up. We can now fit an extra student in if we paint landscape and we can fit an extra 2 students in if we paint portrait AND we'll not be compromising on your existing space to work!
Katie put her day off to good use and booked up to paint the Intermediate subject, Bamburgh Castle, a week later than originally planned. Katie had opted for the red version but I know she would have much preferred to make a purple version (she's slowly but surely converting me to purple). To do this whole painting in tones of purple, in my opinion, would have been difficult. I think it would have been flat and cold..........but, if you look at the effect of purple with peach, as in Peach Down, the effects are stunning. So I gave Katie a purple option with the understanding that it would benefit a peach glow along the horizon. Here you can see Katie's finished painting and I think you'll agree the colour scheme works well. We added all sorts of subtle little embelishments which are in neither of the originals. We had highlights under our clouds, little sun rays darting from them, we had a blended water line along the rock edge, a setting sun with some reflective light on the water. For an extra £5, Katie opted for a large size canvas measuring almost 3 foot long by 1 foot high. It's good to work with different shapes and sizes, depending on the composition. As a rule I wouldn't normally have the horizon line halfway down a canvas, but with these elongated rectangular sizes you can get away with it quite well.
There's going to be a new addition to the family - sort of. And I'm going to be a nan - sort of. At the end of next month my daughter, Soha, will be taking delivery of Peçia. She's been speaking with the breeder and has received several photos of this dear little fella at several stages. He's now just 3 months old. She so nearly didn't get him as he was temporarily spoken for - luckily for her the promised deposit never materialised. Tonight she has confirmation that the kitten is hers. We're both over the moon and already she's found some funky cat beds and scratching poles. Pedigree cats have unusual names, quite long ones..........and she's decided, although he'll have his official pedigree name, she's actually going to call him 'PEÇIA SPURS BRAND GALLAGHER AYOUB OF LEBANON' - don't ask!!
I collect brooches. Not just any brooches, ones with an arty theme. The recent brooch I've been wearing at classes, a pretty palette with brushes in delicate capodimonte, has been attacting some attention from the ladies. This morning a new brooch arrived in the post. This one is far from delicate but it is a stunner when it catches the light. A combination of Austrian Swarovski crystal and coloured enamel it's a dazzler, that's for sure.
The bells.......the bells.......! Yes, they did go into my new painting design, but I knew they would all along as a new bluebell scene has been specifically requested. I'm calling this one Blue Bell Knoll in keeping with the song title theme, this particular track being a Cocteau Twins number.
Blogspot is becoming a popular website for folk to showcase their art work and I'd recommend it to anyone. It's so easy to work with and within minutes you can have yourself a pretty little website of your own. Even better - IT'S FREE! If you've been keeping tabs on my FORUM you have already seen the latest two to join up with blospot are Katie & Des and Keith . Do give them a look.....
Another quick class update: There's only 2 spaces on the 'Round The Bend' class in Capel St Mary on 3rd February. We'll start at 12.30pm and finish around 5.30pm. CLICK HERE to see an image of that painting subject, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge for you. If you'd like to attend this class please e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk or call me on 01473 311938.
Week 3: 14th January to 20th January
My first oil painting class of 2008 went just lovely. What a great mix of students. New faces, old faces, young faces and Warren! Warren and his lovely wife took advantage of the Apollo Studio last night - and more. A brief chat upon their arrival turned into all of us sharing a Chinese Takeaway together and chatting non stop till quite late. To cut a long story short, Warren has revitalised a project of Alan's which has been on the back burner for nigh on 20 years - his booky wook. But enough of his business and moving swiftly back to mine........ Our most adventurous student during the 'Evergreen' class was Matilda, just 12 years old. She wanted to put mushrooms growing from her trees and ivy climbing up some trunks - no problem. Her mum called by several times to check on her progress and was suitably impressed. Lee, another regular student, brought me several paintings to cast my eye over for critique - one of which was an Egyptian head that would knock your socks off. This wet on wet technique, once mastered, can be adapted to all sorts of projects. It's as big as your own imagination. Thanks guys for being open minded and good humoured, you make my job a very pleasurable experience. PS: Have you noticed all of this year's new painting subjects so far are being given song titles as names? I'm sure I can wiggle a Floyd number in there somewhere..........
Today's students were set to paint Bamburgh Castle...........but when they arrived a I offered them a choice. They opted for one of my new subjects, 'Golden Brown' which I'll be painting in Capel St Mary on Sunday March 2nd. We'll save Bamburgh Castle for another day...... When I have 2 students as a private lesson, they can't actually see each other's work so it's always quite a suprise for them at the end of a class to see the difference. Des's landscape is on the left, Katie's on the right. The colour differences between the two isn't really as strong as shown here, although Katie's is the deeper of the two. (I blame my rushed camera abilities!) You can see this new painting on my Class Subjects page. Would you believe it if I told you that the most time consuming part of this painting is the little bit of background that you can see in the window of light?
Today I succeeded in finishing not one, but two new Painting Subjects. One will be for the February 16th Class in the Green Room and the other will be for the March 2nd Class in Capel St Mary. Both subjects had been under development and I knew when I took brush to canvas today that the hard work, the composition and the colour schemes were done and I could relax into painting these to increase my speed and to see if there was time for any little extras to be added. The Green Room subject is shown here on the left, about 75% complete. At this stage of the painting I was wondering whether to add a sprinkling of bluebells. I quite like it as it is and the particular blue I need for these flowers is packed away in the trailer. So, do you think I carried on with bushes and grass - or do you think I went out in the rain for my blue and added some bluebells? You'll see soon enough when I add both new paintings to the CLASSES page.
In my studio I have jars upon jars of all sorts of brushes. Like Darrell, I'm quite a collector. Whilst getting bits prepared in advance for Sunday's Class, I thought I'd bring the whole lot in, go through them and see what I really need. (I find it quite hard to throw any of my brushes away!) Easier said than done........I upturned the whole lot into a large cardboard box and spent a good hour and a half sorting them out and deciding what to keep. Quite a therapeutic task. Some of my (non-clas) liner brushes were well past their sell by date, but many were actually rescued with some TLC. My studio work table is now completely clear of jars and just holds my own personall brush caddy and easel. This weekend's private student, Katie, will be very pleased with my work today as I've sorted out a nice little box of various brushes for her to put to good use. (This is an old shot of my studio...........we're not that lucky with the weather yet!)
Just to let you know, there's only 3 spaces on the 'Round The Bend' class in Capel St Mary on 3rd February. CLICK HERE to see an image of that painting subject, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge for you. If you'd like to attend this class please e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk or call me on 01473 311938.
Just when I think I'm done in the Apollo Studio , I see something that would be just perfect for it. Today I spotted a really rich coloured rug which would really make the lounge area in there quite snug. The shop assistant loaded it into my car for me, showing that good customer service is alive and well. In the same store I saw some beautiful soft towels the exact same colour of the mosaic tiles in the wet room, in the sale too - so I had to have them! I managed a quick body swerve avoiding the bed linen and curtain area and headed straight for the till before too much damage was done. As the store is close to a garden centre, I thought I'd pop in there for a browse (I'm counting the days till Spring and can't wait to get some colour in the garden). I picked up some pots of colourful primroses. I've got a little collection of these now as a student, earlier this month, brought me a few pots. Driving home in the brilliant sunshine, feeling all 'Home and Garden-ey' I thought I'd spend a bit of time outside. I had a few strange looks from neighbours -surely I'm not the only one to mow the lawn in January? I'll end today by fussing around in the Studio and arranging the new bits, playing 'doll's house' again, which I really enjoy.
Today's student is a very keen painter. He is a regular viewer of Bob Ross on The Joy of Painting, tuning in most mornings. He has a very thoughtful grand-daughter too, who brought him a Private Lesson Gift Voucher for Christmas. Today he cashed it in and we painted 'LEON'. Now LEON, the Lion portrait, is really an intermediate class, (ie, you need to have taken 4 AyoubArt Classes to qualify) but I know Mr Stevens paints a lot and as it was just me & him I made an exception. In the first 15 minutes, Mr Stevens told me he had already learnt a lot - and that's before either of us put brush to canvas. Not only did Mr Stevens use new techniques and new brushes, he also discovered how he could save himself quite a bit of money by using quality items (minus the brand name). Over our lunch we had quite a chat about our previous careers and found considerable common ground. Funny how someone walks in your door as a relative stranger and leaves like an old friend. That's one of the nicest things about this job. I'm looking forward to this Sunday's Class, my first of the year as I'll have 6 more newcomers to meet and 5 familiar faces, which means I have just 4 spaces left if anyone is interested. Tel 01473 311038 if you'd like to come along. It'll be your last chance to take a class with me this month as both other classes are now full. We'll be painting 'Ever Green' (shown on the left) at Capel Village Hall and we'll kick off at 12.30pm.
We'll kick off the week with a nice little DVD sale - special offer for 2 days only. You can purchase Horseridge Mountain, a mountain/stream landscape and New England Mid Summer Dream, a gentle tonal seascape for just £13 including postage and packing. This will give you a saving of £10. In Horseridge Mountain you'll learn clouds, mountains, rivers, waterfalls, trees, bushes, grass and rocks - just about everything you need to complete almost any landscape. New England Mid Summer Dream is a wonderful warm tonal seascape with several lovely effects and a very different approach to laying colour on the canvas. I've played with this particular seascape in monochrome, greens, blues and pinks. The shopping basket for this Special Offer is HERE - just scroll right down to the bottom.
Week 2: 7th January to 13th January
We've had a film that we've been meaning to watch since well before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean -At World's End. We finally got around to viewing it last night. Having just painted the best part of a Tall Ship earlier that day with Peggy it's enlightening how it can affect one's viewing. Instead of admiring the dark smouldering looks of Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom I found I was often drawn to the rigging, the sails and ropes & pulleys of the various Tall Ships! I'm sure I wouldn't have paid attention to such detail if I had watched this a few weeks ago. It's got me very excited about the Pirate's Ahoy DVD, which should be with us soon. I can't wait to try this galleon for myself. Another DVD customer, Keith, recently sent me his finished Cutty Sark, seen here. You can see the huge difference in Keith's ship with all the trimmings and Peggy's undressed ship. Nice job Keith, do send me more as you finish them.
Just before Christmas a newbie, joined my Arty Party forum . He writes 'I am Marjan from Afghanistan, some times I paint by oil colors, but I can't do it well because I never had a teacher. I want you to give me some information about the tools that is needed for oil paintings.' In a later e-mail from Marjan he told me he didn't know how to use certain brushes and hopefully, now he has received the Darrell Crow Free DVD he will have an idea how to create special effects. You can imagine my complete suprise when Marjan sent me a photo of some of his work, seen here. Absolutely beautiful Marjan, well done and I think you could probably teach us a thing or two.....
For those of you in a tight spot in sourcing your graphite paper: I can send a single sheet from my own stock for £2.50 (includes p&p) sized 18 x 24 inches. If you'd like a sheet, drop me a line on info@ayoubart.co.uk
Today I had my first Tall Ship student. We set to work on the Cutty Sark. In our first 5 hour sitting we managed to get quite a bit done, all of the basics in fact. In the second sitting we will complete the rat lines and braces (technical, aren't I?). We'll put in the life rafts and the back line of the ship. We have the netting to put in up the sides of the masts and all sorts of other little bits and bobs. With some shadows in the sea and some more water movement the painting will be complete.
Not bad going really. Here's what we managed to achieve in the first sitting. You might be interested to know my student, Peggy, is in her 70's and will be having a cataract operation next week............... We'll finish this off after her operation.
It's getting a little bit Floydish in the house again. (Thanks you guys for letting me know about the Dark Side of the Moon prog this coming Friday.) Alan's brought home a couple of DVD classic gems, given to him by a pal, which means we'll be watching Floyd perform in Venice this evening, one of our favourite shows. Plus, a great Floyd tribute band are performing nearby in a few weeks, so we've booked tickets for that too. There's nothing like a bit of Floyd to take you away for an hour or two. Our TV is linked to the stereo with surround sound and our screen pretty much dominates the lounge so you can imagine it's very atmospheric. We do enjoy a good gig, whether on TV or the real thing.
I'm currently working on sourcing some graphite paper and some drying additive. Finding the right product at the right price is important and thanks to George, one of my oldest customers based in London, I think between us we might just have the ideal drier. George is hot on the case with the graphite paper too. Now, it all hinges on getting these wholesale........... Watch this space.
Many of you would have just received my January newsletter. It will always appear as if I am sending this newsletter to myself as the address at the top of the e-mail will read as info@ayoubart.co.uk Your addresses are actually listed in the bcc section of the e-mail, which means no-one else can see your e-mail address, it is completely hidden. If you haven't received my newsletter and would like to subscribe, just drop me a line to the e-mail address above and I'll add you to my database, plus I'll forward to you the last 2 newsletters to keep you up to date with events.
This is just a really quick and brief announcement for now - more details will follow shortly. We have the Darrell Crow Spring Workshop Dates. Darrell will be teaching a 2 day Tall Ship 'Flying Cloud' Workshop on Friday 18th & Saturday 19th April. He will be teaching a Wildlife Workshop on Sunday 20th April - this will be the first public showing of a new lion design. He will end with a Floral Workshop 'Rose De Mystique' on Monday 21st April. Times, prices and everything else will follow as soon as our calculations have been worked out. Isn't it exciting!!!!
A reminder to my new students...... At my oil painting classes you'll find a product table. Here you'll be able to purchase just about anything and everything you need for your home oil painting projects, from easels and DVD's to brushes and paints. Many of the items are featured on my website HERE All of the items are cheaper than my website prices as there is no packaging and postage involved. You'll also see many things that are not featured on my website too, things that are just too large, too heavy or just plain uneconomical to post. I've just added the dinkiest little beginner's kit for just £7.50 to the product table. It contains 12 oil paints, a canvas board, a mini painting knife and 4 brushes. Ideal if you just want to dip your toes in the water.
Has anyone seen the sequel to Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty? If so, can you remember the scene where Evan is sitting in front of a fish tank in Congressman Long's office? The fish are attracted to him and follow him as he moves up and down the settee. Well, my fishtank is next to my stereo. I frequently play relaxing meditation CD's during my private lessons. Now I don't have quite the same sized tank or the same exotic fish as in the film.........but, when I go to change a disc, all the little guppies swim to one end as if they're watching me. It's quite spooky and quite funny too.
I thought you might like to see this painting. It was sent to me over the weekend by Veronica, a Tall Ships DVD customer of mine. She thought she'd tackle the 'Flying Cloud'. Now, I have the advantage of viewing a much larger version of this painting, and in it I can see little sailors all over the place, up masts, on deck, sometimes singular, sometimes in twos. They made me smile as it reminded me of the Tall Ships class held here last October. Darrell, being the joker he is, decided to pop a German sailor in the crow's nest on one of his Clipper's masts. A few seconds later, he decided to put a second German sailor in the same crow's nest pointing a finger and telling the first sailor off........! I'll have to get that painting out and take a close up shot to show you sometime. I think you'll agree, Veronica has made a marvellous job and I can't wait to see her others.
Week 1: 1st January to 6th January
One of our larger building projects has moved forward a step. Alan is constructing quite a large raised pond to the side of our patio. Just a couple of days ago the pond liner arrived and it's now been fitted. The next step will be to brick the edges. We'll be putting smooth, wide bricks around the perimeter of the pond so it can double as a seating area. Today is a beautiful sunny day, (even if it is chilly), I am anticipating Summer evenings on the patio, with the gentle trickle of water in the background, hopefully sharing the ambience with more students and guests.
After painting such a warm, calm and idealistic seascape it really puts you in holiday mode. Kathleen is a quick painter and we managed to finish this painting with time to spare. So, it only seemed fitting to treat ourselves with a trip to the Spa. The Spa boasts tropical temperatures and there's palm trees and sun loungers all around so it does feel like an escape to the med. But the excursion wasn't all about indulging ourselves, we also called into a nearby art store to buy some of the art equipment that I don't keep in stock........and it was a good excuse to sit down in their coffee shop and have a quick cafe latte and scone.
I was sent an amusing e-mail from another artist today, entitled 'What Chef's do when they're bored.......' It contained about 20 images of all sorts of weird and wonderful things made with vegetables. I just had to pop this image on Sue's news. As soon as I saw it I thought of one of my students, who's a bit partial to adding lamb to his painting menu. It's amazing what you can do with some cauliflower florets, a few olives and some cloves........
In a quick conversation this morning with this week's private student, I asked if she was a swimmer. Kathleen isn't a swimmer at all, but when I explained about having time to join me after class at the Leisure Centre, she decided to definately pack her cossie. It'll be a nice way to relax after a class, bubbling away in the powerful Spa jets and being warmed to the bones in the Sauna and Steam Room. (Helps you to sleep like a log too!!) We might need a good warming up as it's forecast snow for tomorrow.
Several of you are aware of the various wet on wet groups that have been formed on Yahoo. We have the Darrell Crow group, the Bob Ross group, the Joyce Ortner group and more recently a couple of groups dedicated to Bill Alexander. The groups are run by students and/or instructors in the USA. An interesting debate on the merits of the Bob Ross Certification and the Bill Alexander Certification took place last week. One US instructor sums the differences up quite expertly.
He writes QUOTE; 'The Alexander Art Instructor Certification program is vastly improved over the Bob Ross system. First, the cost is only $495.00. Second, you do not travel anywhere, you do it at home at your own pace, but within six months. Bob Ross the cost for each certification field of interest is $1,000., plus travel costs, food and lodging for three weeks for each certification at the location of the certification training. I have heard of some Bob Ross certified artists spending $20,000 to $30,000+ for total certification in all the fields (landscape, wildlife, floral, and portrait). There is only one certification with Alexander Art.
In addition, while most who attend the Bob Ross certification are good painters, there is a disturbing percentage who actually cannot paint even after the certification program. Therefore the Bob Ross program is, in (the writer's) opinion, largely a revenue generating center. The Alexander Art Certification program allows one to use any products, even for certification. One can instruct any method of wet-on-wet oil painting, one can instruct using any products one choose. One can instruct any painting one wants. Not so with Bob Ross, their instructors MUST use all Bob Ross products and Bob Ross paintings from the Bob Ross books when instructing an advertised Bob Ross Class. If they use any other products in an advertised Bob Ross Class, they can lose their certification.
In addition, as part of the Alexander Art certification, the candidate must conduct two training sessions. This actually trains the candidate to be an instructor. The Bob Ross program is concentrated on painting paintings and nothing else, that (I) know of from a friend who went through the Bob Ross certification.
Now.............there's some food for thought for the people who have been asking me about the course.
You'll see I've moved Sue's News 2007 to the bottom of the menu bar on the left. It'll sit there for a while before being removed, depending on how the page hits go. There's still readers who often browse through the previous months, but when those numbers die down I'll take down the 2007 diary.
