The Art of It

I wanted to experiment with a new technique of putting colour into a thick white base using a palette knife. The foreground was difficult because acrylics dry so fast and I ended up going back to a brush. The mountains were painted with a palette knife. I am beginning to get the feeling that perhaps I should try using oils.

Wow but European skin tones are difficult! I think I need to work on the closest arm as the colour is not right yet.

I have been experimenting with some new colour combinations. Phthalo Blue with its vivid freshness - makes lovely greens!

Here is a portrait with a difference. It could be a great picture for a kid's bedroom.

Africa is crying. Doesn't this little face tug at your heartstrings?

My first ever entry into a photographic competition (Sunday Argus) and I am a runner up! My word what a surprise! Here is the picture I entered. The big problem is that the competition organisers will only take photo's that are 1 MB or more and I have a baby camera that does not take photos that size. I don't know if they will accept any more entries from me. I will be e mailing them to ask. When the competition started the weekly prize was a weekend away, which I was after, but they seem to have stopped that and now give away a dinner for two at the Blowfish Restaurant. Perhaps they should give a camera as a prize instead of the dinner for two! Funnily enough only last week I finished a painting of the very same photograph! Here is a photograph of the painting.

I truly prefer a more photorealistic style of painting where the artist expresses herself through composition, colour, expression, and the interplay of light and shadow. This latest painting is an example of what currently seems to be my "style".

This post has been a long time in getting ready. I have recently become totally involved in a few new sites. After searching for ages for art blogs and finding nothing I have hit the jack pot! There is just so much really good stuff out there. Try Sixty Minute Artist , or Art and Perception , or A Painting Journey / the Painters Keys or Art News !!! I have been totally hooked in and am learning just so much! I painted this Hex River Valley scene and absolutely hate it. One of these days I will paint over it, but in the meantime I painted two little miniatures of the original using just three colours. The first one was Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine and white. The other was Cadmium red, Phthalo blue and white. I am really sick of this view now but have learned so much by doing this exercise. It's amazing how going back to the first painting it now looks all wrong. I just didn't see it as I should have. I suppose that this is part of learning process. A lot of patience ...

Kalk Bay is a suburb of Cape Town, which started out as a fishing village on the False Bay coast. It has a protected harbour from which local fishermen launch their wooden boats. From around midday the boats start returning and offloading their catch – you can buy your supper straight from the boat. The narrow main street is full of quaint shops and galleries selling antiques artworks and bric-a brac. There are several good restaurants in and near to the harbour. Up on the mountainside above are walks and the well known Kalk Bay caves. A photograph taken in the harbour inspired this painting.

I had a huge amount of fun with this painting. I mixed a thick paste of cold glue (wood glue), Polyfilla and a tiny bit of water. I then plastered this across the top of my board sweeping down where I would be painting clouds. I created a relief for the land mass and slightly raised the waves coming onto the beach. I then went wild with colour and this was the result.

I have just had two pictures framed. Compare these with the unframed versions. Art Class and My smallest painting yet I am delighted with the results.

This is my first painting on block-mounted canvas and is the largest I have painted so far. I had the desire to produce something really bold and modern. I hope that this tightly cropped portrait of a striking young woman achieves that. I am contemplating adding earrings.

Namibia is a land of amazing contrasts, from the arid Namib Desert to the raging seas of the Skeleton Coast, from the great escarpment separating the coastal region from the central plateau to the bushveld in the north. It provides endle ss material for photographers and artists. Take a look at this site to get some idea of the scenic diversity of this remarkable country.

People talk about artists having a particular style and some artists have a knack for painting saleable pictures. I have been experimenting with various mediums and styles, from photorealistic to more abstract work. I am realising that I have distinct preferences and my personal favourite works tend towards the more photorealistic style. I also prefer those pictures where colour is used sparingly or the picture is almost monochromatic. Now I ask myself, what do my readers and those people out there who might be potential customers want? Is it necessary to produce work that follows trends and fashions i n order for it to sell or should artists follow their own instincts? It is rewarding to produce paintings, which I personally like but even more exciting to find that there are others who derive pleasure from my work and may even wish to buy one or two pieces. My personal favourites are not always the pictures that appeal most to others who see my work. Their comments ...

While trying to sort piles of paintings I found this one that I never posted! I am definitely in my blue phase!

A painting based on one of our photographs taken of the walkway on the bird watching trail along the banks of the lagoon in the village of Wilderness on the Garden Route.

This painting is based on a photograph of the Knysna lagoon taken from a vantage point near the Heads. There was a lot more activity on the lagoon in the photograph. I prefer the simplicity of a solitary boat, which is reminiscent of a less frantic era, before the tourist boom.