Art was always my favourite subject at school.  Painting and sketching was something I tried to do as often as I could in my free-time. In my teenage years I had ambitions of entering Art College and following a career that involved being creative in some way. Invariably, in my life, things rarely stay the same for long.........  At the age of 16, due to family work circumstances I found myself up-routed and living in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.  Below left is the beautiful Khor Fakkan.  This is where we would drive at weekends for a family and friends day at the beach.  Relaxing in the sun, cooling off in the sea we'd always enjoy a stunning sunset on the drive home.  Below right is a Bahraini sunset, dropping just behind a dhow.  We, along with other ex-pats, would hire a dhow for a day.  We'd enjoy picnics, fishing and sunbathing on deck and we'd sail back into.......well, another beautiful sunset!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Invariably, in my life, things rarely stay the same for long......... I married at the age of 18 to a Christian Lebanese who introduced me to the Arab culture, cuisine and a very enjoyable and humourous lifestyle.  My art ambitions were put on hold for several years whilst I enjoyed life and work abroad. Living in Sharjah, Dubai, Bahrain and Lebanon was an amazing experience. They are all gorgeous locations and I made silent promises to myself all those years ago to capture some of the wonderful sunsets I had witnessed.  Shown below left is a view of the Roman Temple in the village of Niha, Lebanon.  Niha is the home of the Ayoub name, given by my first husband.  The Ayoub family own and farm land in the Bekaa Valley and are lucky enough to have a natural spring in their peach orchards.  A more detailed shot of the famous temple is shown below right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful landscapes are all around. I make a point of photographing wonderful scenery hoping to re-produce them in my own way at a later stage.

 

From waterfalls and sunsets in India, isolated bays in Turkey, valleys in Andalusia, Spain, mountains and lochs in Scotland and woodland views here on my own back doorstep in Constable Country in rural Suffolk.  On the right you can see the beautiful Lycian rock tombs of Dalyan, Turkey.  Scene's from Bogart's African Queen movie were filmed not far from here.  Below left is a sunset over Dona Paula Bay in India.  Simply breathtaking....................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For pure pleasure, I painted with watercolours and acrylics and sketched with graphite and charcoal. They are portable mediums, making them really easy to use wherever I might be.  Invariably, in my life, things rarely stay the same for long.........  By sheer coincidence, I saw an advertisement: A Bob Ross qualified instructor was giving an oil painting class here in the village. I enrolled for the class and have never looked back. The technique shown was amazing and one that I have tried to adapt to suit my own needs. That was in September 2003 and I have been painting as often as I can ever since. 

 

 

 

 

 

In May 2004 I entered 4 paintings in a local exhibition, my first and very daunting experience in the Art World. At this venue I accomplished my first sale, Peach Dawn, shown below, and for quite a substantial amount too! Motivated and excited by this I have taken part in several more exhibitions, each year being busier than the previous. I have featured in 'Suffolk' magazine. I have painted several commissions also. In Autumn 2004, I felt it was time to have my own website with an on-line gallery for interested folk to simply browse from the comforts of their armchair.  Invariably, in my life, things rarely stay the same for long......... 

 

 

 

By 2005 I added affordable tried and tested art supplies to my website, with a view to helping other hobbyists with their start up costs.  At this time I was asked by a neighbour if I would teach her daughter, Micheala, to make an oil painting.  This was hugely rewarding for Micheala, her family.......and also for me.  I really liked the buzz throughout the lesson.  So I offered to teach family, friends, work colleagues.  I began to teach up to 4 people from my home and both they (and I) were thrilled with the results.   It wasn't long before I needed a bigger teaching space.  I took the plunge, booked a hall and in October 2005 I began to host my own Beginner's Oil Painting Classes, starting with just one a month.  Invariably, in my life, things rarely stay the same for long........   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2006, I was approached by an American organisation to become their exclusive European Distributor for oil painting instructional DVD's.  I was thrilled that my reputation and internet presence was spreading the globe.  My own beginner's classes were proving so popular, with demand for more classes and more venues.  Thanks to the internet, my students were coming from far and wide to attend classes.  With folk flying in from Norway, Portugal, Spain, Lebanon, France...........the classes brought many like minded people together and new friends were being made.  Great!  Fitting in more classes and keeping on top of internet orders with a full time job however proved to be quite a juggling act.  It didn't take me long to realise it was impossible to do both.  A decision had to be made, and fast!   Bravely I decided the full time job would have to go to allow me to fully commit myself to AyoubArt.  I've never looked back. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2007, I became a practicing Alexander Certified Instructor.  In October 2007 I conducted the first ever Alexander class in the UK.  Bill Alexander was an inspirational and energetic chap who demonstrated the wet on wet technique to the masses, enabling folk to have the belief that they could really paint beautiful landscape oil paintings.  You might not know his name, but you'll be sure to recognise one of his students - none other than Bob Ross himself. 

 

 

Invariably in my life, things rarely stay the same for long.  As 2008 drew to a close it saw AyoubArt in the process of film making.  After lots of student feedback it seems it was the time to make my own tuitional step by step oil painting DVD's.  With years of experience as a tuitional DVD distributor, I've always listened to customer and student feedback.  With their guidance as to what they would really like to see and how they would like it illustrated the clock ticked away to see whether our first release will be in time for Christmas.  We didn't quite make the deadline - but it was released in January 2009.  It's been sold worldwide and really helps students who'd like to paint with me.  Armed with a couple of brushes and their remote control, they too can now paint with me from their own home.

 

From an occassional hobby back in 2003, who would have thought that all my teenage ambitions would finally be realised. The road to the successfull business that AyoubArt is today has been an exciting journey.  It's brought many wonderful people in my life. I continue to learn new things all the time, passing these tips and hints onto my students so they too can improve their skills.  I now teach acrylic Pop Art portraits due to popular demand.  I've studied portraiture in oils for 12 months and have added this as as an option for students too. There's good days, there's better days and there's MAD days. Already I am wondering what the next step will be and welcome any changes this passion brings me..............as, invariably in my life, things rarely stay the same for long!

 

Sue Warne ACI

Alexander Certified Instructor