If you've ever had a desire to learn to paint - look no further.  In Sue's capable hands she will guide you step by step through some delightful painting projects.  Completed from start to finish in half a day too - Money Back Guarantee to first time students if not satisfied!  

SUE'S NEWS - 2011
The page to watch for important upates......and general chitty chat

aaliyahsmlNovember 30th:  I just had time to make a couple of batches of cakes before my ex-work colleague, Debbi, arrived to collect her portrait gift.  It was the first time I'd met the cutest of cute subject too - 6 month old Aaliyah.  It didn't feel like the first time, as I pretty much had become familiar with every inch of her face over the past few months.  

I managed to burn a batch of flapjacks as I got so distracted playing and watching the babe.  Sorry Ben, you won't be getting those in your packed lunch  :(   
VS10November 30th:  I've just spent a day catching up with student and dear friend Marilyn.  Marilyn called by to pay some money towards her Valerie Stewart portrait seminar next year and we decided to make a coffee morning of it.  It was great to be able to just chat about this and that over a casual coffee or two rather than wait for the next painting lesson.

Marilyn has been painting with me since my early days.  I'm really pleased to hear, after taking 2 portrait courses with me she's received 2 commissions which she will work on after the New Year.  What a great compliment to her standard of work.

Anyway, it makes for a timely reminder to let you know there are still vacancies on the Valerie Stewart Portrait 4 day seminar next year, it's not to late to book your place.  You can find all the details you need HERE or you can just drop me a line on info@ayoubart.co.uk or give me a call on 079500 32557
November 28th:  Thanks to those who have rang or emailed to let me know my home page has been down over the weekend.  Good to know many of you are keeping an eye on things.  All fixed now - obviously :) 
November 26th:  I really should be finishing off work-in-progress portraits, but I haven't.  Instead I have started a new one.  The painting subject has a very powerful presence and I knew I wanted to paint him the minute Ben and I watched Iron Man 2.  So today, I have indulged myself.  However, upon printing the reference photo off, I sat for a while to 'read' it.  I realised then and there that this was not going to be easy.  In fact, I very nearly scrapped the idea and got on with other portrait work.  

Ben urged me to 'do it'.  And so I made a start.  For the first hour of painting I could have quite happily thrown down the brushes and kicked the canvas.  I seemed to be doing a lot of hard work and getting no where.  The problem, for me was there were soooooo many darks.  And the ultra darks were taking several layers to get to the depth that I wanted.  Not easy.  2 hours into the project and I still felt I had gotton no where.  So ...... I popped a photo on facebook and the character was instantly recognised, which gave me the spurt I needed to carry on and complete the basic underpainting stage.  Encouraged all the way by Ben (who knocked out a lovely landscape in under 2 hours), and some tunes I stuck with it. 

Here's the stage I'm at so far. 
November 24th:  Its been a day of portraits so far.  With 2 now completed and one more to do, I'm just taking a little break before washing the brushes out.

This little angel is a present for an ex-work colleague of mine, so it's OK if I show it.  The other portrait is a commission present and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

She's adorable, isn't she.  I get to meet her next week when he and her mum come and collect the painting. 
November 23rd:  Well, it's been all action here at Apollo House these past few days.   Just the other week I was telling a friend that I am totally where I want to be with my life, my relationship, my future, my family and my business right now.   And there is only one more thing that would be the ultimate cherry on the cake.  And it was said as a joke at the time.  But guess what, it might not be such a joke after all.

My sphynx cats, both un-neutered, not related - but they have never seemed to 'get it on' together.  So that ultimate cherry  of mine would be for a pregnancy.

Well ................ she came into season late last week and they have been 'getting it on' at every opportunity ever since.  I daren't get my hopes up as it doesn't necessarily mean she's pregnant, but frantic googling into the ways and means of sphynx's looks promising.

Several friends and students who have met my cats have asked to be put on the waiting list if ever such an event does occur and I am confident I can find the most excellent homes if the occassion arises.

We'll know soon enough one way or the other.

Here's a  photo Ben took of the pair of them having a little rest between 'sessions'.  Quite the romantic pair, aren't they? 
November 20th:  Speaking of music, you know what I am like by now.  Gotta have those tunes to paint to.  The most played stereo is the one in the dining room, and quite frankly it's a pain in the backside as it very temperamental when it comes to playing home made CD's.  Mind you, it's over 15 years old, so it's done well.

But .......... I am no longer suffering the 'will it, won't it play' syndrome, thanks to a timely anniversary present.  Yesterday morning a delivery arrived and I am now the well chuffed owner of a great little unit that not only plays ALL CD's - it also takes our iPods, iPhones and plays MP3's.  With quadraphonic sound wired up we're well away in there.  Am I spoilt or what ? 
November 20th:  It's been a week of catching up with general stuff, family, house & business.  And a good week at that.  I'm still behind with some email replys, so bear with me for a couple of days.

Next week I am taking a couple of days off to complete some portraits and work on a couple of commissions.  I'll look forward to some studio time, me time and my music.
November 12th:  I have to share with you the most sweetest little photo I think I have ever taken in a painting class.  A couple of very young students arrived with their mum to take part in the Northern Lights painting subject.  Little Chloe and Annie.  Their cover up T-shirts nearly hung round their ankles and they stood to reach the tops of their easels.

But - true to form, these two kids just wired in and followed the step by step guidance and made really beautiful and quite details paintings.  In a very confident and carefree manner too.  And .......they were quick !

But at one point, Ben gave little Chloe a few tips to help her perfect her painting.  And from the comparison you can see just how tiny she is against him.  And, I think it's obvious what a dedicated and caring teacher his is too.

With two of us at the helm, we were able to demonstrate to the class alternatives to the composition.  Having said that, not a single student opted to put a sports car in the foreground, complete with full beam and brake lights.  Men !!  LOL

And yes, for those of you eagle eyed chocolate spotters - that IS a tin of Quality Street sat on the next table.  It's one of the rules of my painting classes - you gotta have chocolate.  Helps you to mull over important composition decisions.  Well, that's my excuse anyway.
November 11th:  With a busy painting weekend fast approaching I am so looking forward to having fun with my special American clients again.  Sadly, a couple of the regulars are now back in the states, but they'll still be some very familiar faces and a few new ones too.

I've been keeping in touch with my American buddies Cassie & Sue via Facebook and Skype.  

Sue's been showing me her latest art work, I've been showing her mine - which is great when you are just a webcam conversation away and can simply hold the paintings up to the camera.  What would we do without the internet, computers & mobiles ? 

Cassie has helped to promote this weekend's classes from the USA, by facebooking her contacts who are still based in Suffolk & Norfolk.  She's now settling into her new house - which has her much awaited studio room.  Hopefully we'll make the time next year to take her up on her invite to visit so I can check it out for myself.

Right - busy busy - car to get loaded, canvases to prep .......  have a great one readers, whatever you are doing  xx
November 10th:  I managed to fit in a last minute booking for a landscape private lesson today.  With a stint at the office job first thing in the morning, followed by a portrait class, a quick turnaround in the studio meant I could teach a late afternoon landscape class afterwards.  Ben popped into the studio when he arrived home from work to see our progress and take our tea/coffee orders.  The student admired a couple of Ben's own paintings and he's picked up a couple of lessons to teach next year.  Which makes me think I need to clear more space in the gallery room so Ben's painting subjects can be promoted too.  Obviously, as Ben works, his compositions can easily be taught at the weekends.  I'll work on the class timetable sometime next week and get fix some dates for 2012.
November 9th:  With a portrait class this morning and a landscape class this afternoon I have had a great time teaching both.  It seems you guys are especially loving the portrait lessons at the moment, which means my wall of fame is getting rather full with various works in progress.  The gallery room is pretty full now and unless I want to hang paintings right down to the floor, I'm just going to have to settle for rotating a few to keep it interesting.  I'm trying hard to sign myself off classes for a week, between now and Christmas, so I can finish off some of the private portraits I've been working on.  But that is proving difficult ..... all for the right reasons.   What I can say is, if you'd like to book a lesson, of any sort, between now and Christmas you need to contact me pretty sharpish.  It's not too late to start and finish a portrait between now and Christmas, and have it dry, incase you wanted to give a unique gift.  But, leave it a couple of weeks and there will be no availability to schedule in the 3 lessons required.  It's good to be busy doing the things I enjoy.  I'm counting my blessings, once again.  
Peesha1November 8th:  Pesky cats!  Love 'em really.  But not when I have the studio door open, 2 full palettes on the go......... needless to say Crinkle was having her hairy (well hair-less) moment tearing around the house at full pelt.  Ran into the studio,  jumped on the work top and ran full length of the tables SKIDDING right through  huge blobs of cad yellow and cad orange and ended up with her face in the bowl of linseed oil.  Good job the baby wipes were to hand.

Actually, I've been re-painting the seascape subject below that we're teaching on Sunday.  You see, the major portion was created by Ben, in my kitchen, while I was teaching a class in the studio.  So I need to figure out how he done it .......... and although he says it's 'all up here', whilst tapping his head, that's all very well but I need to get it down on paper, so I know exactly what brushes and colours to pack for the class.  Between us this painting actually took a total of 6 hours, so I also have the task of making it teachable in 5 hours.  I've cracked it ......  and have a couple of shortcuts that won't compromise the end result. 
November 7th:  With the weekend over in the blink of an eye, it's time to focus on the week ahead.  First up, I've just received new stocks of the Valerie Stewart portrait brushes, thanks to my neighbour Karen for signing for the package.  I was down to my last set of red brushes, so their arrival was timely.  Second up is changing the design on my gift vouchers.  I've had the same design since the business started so I think it's time for a change.  If you're thinking about a unique gift idea for Christmas, you might be interested in purchasing one of these.  They are in variables and can be used against classes or products.  

It's a busy 7 day working week ahead, ending in a 2 day seminar on the American Air Force Base.  It'll be great fun as the ladies (and guys) are so laid back and eager to learn.  I'll not be on my own as Ben will be on hand to help.  We'll be painting Northern Lights on Saturday and ............ the hostess has picked the tropical beach, one of our joint venture paintings as the Sunday subject.  With 2 of us to teach and help, students can be assured of ample 1 to 1 attention.  Plus, we struck up a deal and he's offered to do the brush cleaning.   Huge thanks to Anita for organising this event at such short notice.  Places are filling fast so do get in touch with me direct or via AyoubArt on facebook.  
November 6th:  I had my own project to crack on with today.  I have to get stage 2 of a portrait finished.  I am using it as a demo piece whilst teaching a private student.  My student is on target, but I am a little behind.  Plus I have extra details in my subject that the student doesn't have.  My student's subject is a side on profile, whereas my subject is a full face - plus an arm and hand.  We will be working on stage 3 together next week.

Enjoying the cosy studio, coffee breaks, a good sing along, a bit of banter, laughs, pizza, kisses and cuddles (should I be saying that?), what better way to spend a Sunday? 

I'm looking forward to completing this next week, pulling out the finer details and making some all important refinements.  
November 6th:  At a loose end this weekend, and having to keep an eye on the pennies, we've enjoyed a fabulous FREE day messing around in the studio.  Ben makes a special 'painting' CD while I set things up.  He knows just the right sort of music to put together - always.
  (Note to Tom, be relieved to know none of the compilations involve Pink Floyd !)
  
Ben has a passion for seascapes and I've shown him a few of Joyce Ortner's techniques to make much more detailed skys.  Combine that with one of Joyce Ortner's seascapes in the flesh, looking down on us at the dining table, it's brilliant to see just how her subtle little brush strokes, pulling and pushing the paint around, can enhance a composition.  

Last night over dinner, Ben's eyes were firmly fixed on Joyce's artwork.  'I bloody love that painting', he said.  And for a while, we both enjoyed her beautiful seascape, with good wine and even better tunes.  Her seascape positively glows in the dimmed evening light.  It's a painting I truly treasure.  I think she sub consciously had an effect on Ben's technique today.  He took several hours putting this sky together, mixing and blending and softening - and it shows.  He paints with no fears, lots of planning and a natural flair.  I think he's gonna keep me on my toes, painting wise.  Which ain't a bad thing at all.  
November 2nd:  A very ecstatic, elated, happy and euphoric Sue is writing to you today.  Well, to be honest I've been on cloud 9 for a little while now.  Today especially I count all my blessings and I just don't have enough fingers and toes for the job.  

Those that know me, friends, family and regular students, will know of my on-going horrendous situation, being the victim of major fraud which could have cost me my home.  I've had so much support from far and wide, even overseas.  Practical and informed advice has been offered freely from so many sources.

Today is the day it's all paid off.  There is justice in this world.

There's also love.  Lots of it.  My family have been an absolute backbone for the last 7 months.  They've jollied me along, making sure I get out and about and we've shared a lot of laughs along the way.  They have welcomed my new partner, Ben, with open arms too.  And that's important, very important.

Ben has been my saviour through this.   He's my soul mate and I have to say, at the age of 52 and against all odds, I have finally found the love of my life.  Every single day he brings me laughter, love and kindness.  (He's an amazing cook too).  Most of all, he makes painting fun again.  He makes me want to paint when I feel I've lost my mojo.  And that's important too as it's my career.

So humour me for a little bit and excuse this extremely soppy diary entry - but today is just one of those Carlsberg days, with ribbons and bells on, probably.


Huge, huge thanks, hugs, kisses to everyone who has kicked my backside into touch.  But special thanks to Jasvinder, my brilliant solicitor, my boss and friend Mark - who made that 'all important call' and to Keith in Spain for giving me the best bit of advice I have ever received.

Watch out world.............I'm back with a vengeance.

And if all that isn't excitement enough,  we've just taken delivery of a rather neat little sports car.

Sue, lovin' life in Capel. xxxx
 
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