paintings prints and stuff

South Stack, near Holyhead, A3 pastel plein air  This is at the framers at the moment,  in preparation for an exhibition, along with lots of other work from the week painting in Wales.  It will be going in a lime washed frame. Vivid memories of a lovely day sketching on the cliff with friends somewhere near, doing their own views - that's a steep drop down via the path and then another steep cliff edge.  One friend was working down there, another much higher up looking way down at the lighthouse (just out of sight on the right).  What did we do before we had mobile phones?  so easy to coordinate coffee breaks and moving on when we spread out and aren't near each other. I used a sheet of Sennelier sanded paper for this and the Rembrandt and Inscribe pastels I'd thrown in at the last moment.  Oh dear, I did NOT like the Sennelier paper - luckily I'd swapped a sheet with a friend as she didn't like it and I got to try it without having to buy a pack.  I am al

Ogwen Valley, Low cloud on the mountains, A3 mixed media After the charcoal sketch done in the morning my friends walked up to a higher lake, I painted quietly on my own.  So peaceful with the clouds drifting by, the steep hills cut with tumbling waterfalls and the single track road winding up and down throught the rocks.  I love the drama of the contours of the land and the rocks, barely covered by soil. We really didn't only have rainy days!  though the mixed weather meant beautiful skies and challenges. Big black Welsh cattle with their huge hooves lumbered by, followed by calves scrambling uncertainly down those steep hillsides.  I'd always assumed that this was the old, original road (main road is across the valley) but a lovely friendly lady told me it was built by a lord of the manor so that his guests had a scenic carriage ride when they came to stay. Just as I finished this, the friends phoned to say they were back down the mountain and we joined up for c

snow ...... I've neglected my blog - I'll try to post slightly more often.  The warmer weather is here - so of course I get interested in snow.  It started because of a trip to the Cotswolds to see a Kurt Jackson exhibition in April - there was incredibly late snow on the hilltops looking wonderful.  That led to one painting and made me revisit sketches I did of a very early snowfall one November and work further from those.  November Low Sun, EarlySnowfall approx 15 inches square, pastel This is from the sketches done when we had and unusual very early snowfall in November, when there were still hints of autumn colour.   As I looked at the field a flock of birds took off,  The light in the sky was glorious and the patterns of the ploughed field - everything just added up to one of those perfect moments.   Dusk, November, Early Snowfall tiny one, approximately 5 inches square, coloured pencil The birds have flown and the light is fading in this one.

Plein air sketch by Vivien Blackburn in Sketching 365 My friend, Katherine Tyrrell, spent time last year writing this excellent book, now published.  It's packed full of tips, advice and techniques.  Not only suitable for beginners but for those with experience wishing to try other media or develop their work. There are 55 artists - all good - to show examples of a wide range of approaches.  Several are friends and others known to me as people I admire. My plein air sketch of Sennen Cove, from the terrace of Rose Cottage, sharing a page with Felicity House  I had proof read it online but nothing is quite like holding the actual book in my hands, flipping back and forth and seeing images by friends and artists I admire. It's not one of those 'do as I do' books, producing clones,  but one that sets out to make you think of alternatives, observation, composition, materials to use, tone, marks, pattern and much more - all the kind of things I tell my studen

Sketch in acrylic ink, tinted graphite and a touch of coloured pencil I currently have all my classes looking at trees at the moment - considering the individuality of them, looking at various artists past and contemporary.  Contemporary includes some friends and also artists I don't know but admire , these include Bridget Hunter. Glen Heath, David Parfitt, David Prentice, David Tress, Kurt Jackson, Shirley Trevena, Cheryl Culver and lots more. I don't have time to add links, sorry,  but google them if you are interested?  Past includes Mondrian, Klimt, Van Gogh, Monet etc etc etc  I really like Mondrian's trees and Klimt too. There was a page in a sketchbook where I had experimented with tinted graphite, doing a moody image of rain approaching across the bay.  It was just a tester and was quite boring.  I decided to work over it, keeping it as background and working in grey and white acrylic ink (plus a little more tinted graphite and a touch of coloured pencil).  

St Ives.  An illustrational one as a workout for a commission. I need to do a large one of this beach for my daughter - a very overdue Christmas present! Keeping track of those buildings and trying to distort it a little to make it wrap around was not the simplest!  The big version won't be identical as it will evolve a life of its own though it will be similar - but she wants the family on the beach 'recognisable and flattering of all of them', while showing all the buildings etc .....!!!  No pressure then. This is small, in the S&B Delta sketchbook, A5.  On this latest trip to Cornwall I used watercolours, pencil, coloured pencils, oil paint, ink, conte, gouache and more on various pages.   It works with them all :>)

Bosworlas farm from the valley.  Watercolour and mixed media. Just a quick post to prove that I have been working!   Life has been a bit hectic. The Cornish farmhouse where we stayed one year, on the edge of the moor, above a rushing stream that tumbles down to the sea a little further down at Porth Nanven, below, one of my favourite places.  This painting of the farm  is currently on show at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery on New Walk. Porth Nanven, the Brisons and Cot Valley Now to finish a painting I need done  urgently ......

The Cheviot Hills, in Northumbria, Derwent tinted charcoal pencils with a little of their watercolour pencil.  S&B  Delta sketchbook Another one from the hills, higher up than the previous one, Late afternoon with the light about to go and passing drizzly showers.  But beautiful.   I love the high hills with the dramatic, steep slopes carved by glaciers, sheep and the occasional tough breed of cattle.  Fast streams, waterfalls, isolated farms, single track road .....  I love it! I scribble a little watercolour pencil to get the underlying clear green and the basis for the sky and then worked in Derwent tinted chyarcoal - it's perfect for the colour, mood and texture of this landscape.   I really like them. Again in the lovely S&B Delta sketchbook/ And there's more ....

Up in the hills of the Northumbria National Park, above Alwinton, Watercolour/mixed media in A4 S&B Delta sketchbook I absolutely loved it up in the hills of the National Park. As the single track road rose higher, the land grew wilder, bleaker and more dramatic.  The land folded, carved by glaciers and drystone walls zigzagged, showing the contours of the land. I painted a couple higher up as the sun was going down - I'll show those later. This one is a mix of watercolour, conte pencil,. coloured pencil, tinted charcoal pencil and a bit of white ink.   I wanted to get the different textures quickly and mixing media was the best way for me to achieve this. Below are a couple of photos from higher in the hills. I would definitely like to revisit this area.  The landscape and history are wonderful.

Heading back to Netherton across the moor, Simonside hills in the distance, last light, sun setting behind the hills.   Derwent XL Graphite sticks in an S&B Delta A4 sketchbook I had a few days in Northumbria sketching with a friend.  Both of us were suffering with racking coughs but managed to get lots done.  This one is from a drive back across the moors in the evening in the last light.   Done in Derwents XL graphite blocks and a little of their ti nted watersoluble graphite pencils as well.   They were perfect for the wild landscape and time of day.   There is just a touch of W&N watercolour for the reds in the sky , but everything else is done with the coloured graphite sticks ( very chunky and lush) and the graphitint pencils. I took my S&B Delta sketchbook and almost filled it : >) using a wide variety of media - watercolour, XL graphite and charcoal, willow charcoal, ballpoint pen, gouache, conte pencil, ink and a mix of any and all!  A gorgeous book

Spring at Hartshill Hayes, watercolour and mixed media in Stillman & Birn A4 Beta Hardback sketchbook The family went off walking through the bluebell woods. which are looking absolutely gorgeous at the moment,   I sat at the top of the steep hill sketching.   Spring - a month late - is finally here and we had a few beautiful days.  It was warm and a bank holiday, bringing out lots of walkers, picknickers and those just wanting to sit in the sunshine - I left them out as it's the landscape that interests me. I used watercolour, coloured pencil, conte pencil, Derwent sienna drawing pencil, white Daler Rowney acrylic ink, touch of gouache .......and the kitchen sink! I have a few bottles of the FW acrylic ink and really like it but hadn't bought the white.   I asked one of my students how opaq.ue it is - I think he has the full set - and he said very .  So I ordered one - and it is :>)/   Just what I needed.  Even white gouache often isn't quite opaque enou

Dusk, winter, Grey ink and XL tinted charcoal in the S&B Zeta sketchbook An experiment across 2 pages of the new Zeta sketchbook with Grey ink and bamboo pen and Derwent's new XL tinted charcoal blocks.  Their new willow charcoal sticks are very nice too, really velvety unlike some that can be irritatingly scratchy. The charcoal is luscious and so are the tinted graphite blocks - well worth trying if you like to work larger and more freely. The Zeta sketchbook has very very smooth paper for those who use pen a lot and don't like texture.  It's also extremely heavy weight and can take a lot of pushing around, lifting out, washes etc The S&B sketchbooks are now available in the UK via Amazon and soon through Jackson's for anyone interested, I know a few people asked me for information. It's fun trying out new products :>) Now the weather is improving at long last I may manage to get out a little more to sketch. For those near the Cotswol

A sketch of dusk across the fields, done with the new chunky XL tinted charcoal sticks from Derwent. I've only got a few testers i earth colours and look forward to having the full set. They are really lush to use and I know I'm going to find them a very useful medium. Charcoal has always been one of my favourites when drawing. More work in these to follow :) I had liked the tinted charcoal pencils and these combine with them beautifully but allow broader marks and big washes of colour/tone, ideal for working this size (A4) or on a much larger scale. Using the edges it's possible to get quite fine marks but the pencils can add even finer detail as required. Being able to put down large marks keeps the spontaneity in drawings. Have you tried them yet?

Winter fields. watercolour and mixed media in A4 Stillman and Birn Beta hardback sketchbook details: The snow has gone and I wanted to catch that cool winter light, with the faintest hint of the sap rising and the colour starting to appear in the twigs at the tips of the branches.  Soon they will develop that luminious, almost apricot glow they get in early spring. Done with watercolour, tinted charcoal and a little pastel pencil - Winsor and Newton paints and Derwent pencils.   Derwent have some lovely chunky tinted charcoal blocks out, that I haven't been able to talk about before their launch.   I used them here and in in some of the branches in the last sketches of the hedges, alongside the tinted charcoal pencils.  They are absolutely gorgeous!   More work in them will follow : >) I am absolutely loving the S&B hardback Beta sketchbook.   The paper is incredibly robust and takes any medium I've thrown at it brilliantly .... and keeps colour br

Winter snow and frozen puddles, watercolour and mixed media I just treated myself to a wickedly expensive brush and I'm busy test driving it.   It holds so much water!  that's something to adapt to.  It's a size 18 filbert that comes to a nice point. There is also a little Tombow pen drawing in there in a cool grey and a little of the ochre tinted charcoal from Derwent in the hedges. I did a couple of others that I'll show another day. What is your favourite watercolour brush?

Hedge silhoutted against the snow, late afternoon.  Charcoal and pastel This one started with a sketch in Derwent's tinted charcoal pencils (lovely subtle colours).  See the original sketch below. On the other side of the road was this wonderful early sunset that I'd done an iPastel sketch of on the iPad.  I thought it would be interesting to see how it worked with what was actuall a pale grey sky on the opposite side of the road, where the hedge was- so on the ipad I borrowed the sky from the ipad work and combined it with the sketch - this may well turn into a larger painting where I can play with those tangled twigs and branches :>) .  It was done in an A4 Stillman and Birn, hardback Beta book with lovely lovely heavy paper, that takes anything I throw at it.  I would love to get my hands on some A2/A1 sheets of this paper. The tinted charcoal pencils are gorgeous to use, with subtle natural colours and were perfect for the hedge and undergrowth.  I used a littl

Painting from memory; a fabulous late afternoon with fresh snowfall, low sun throwing apricot through and bouncing off the dark clouds and the snow. I stopped on the way home to look at the gorgeous light on the landscape.  The furrows and tyre tracks in the ploughed field made a beautiful pattern on the hillside, with smooth snow n the adjacent field. The low sun threw apricot light on the snow and shone through the dark clouds. It didn't last long.   By the time I'd driven for maybe 5 minutes it was gone, the sky was all dark clouds or grey.  So this is from memories.  I did take some photos but didn't get them out when doing this and the previous one, I started it off in the Pen and Ink app The image was then imported into Sketch Club and I painted it on a layer below with some final touches on a layer above the 'pen' sketch. I like this ability to use layers - it replicated using a watercolour wash over a pen sketch and then using a little gou

Travelling home in the late afternoon the light was beautiful. The pattern of ridges and tyre marks in a ploughed field made sweeping patterns, defining the form of the land. The low sun reflected apricot colours on clouds and snow. And then a flock of birds took off from the field, making a beautiful moment even more special. I have to do some paintings from this, but for now I've just had time to do some sketches on the iPad. This is a test post from the iPad so I'm hoping it works ok.

sunset study with the Pastels app on ipod The ipastels app on the ipad is good to use, a definite keeper.  If you like using pastels this is defintitely worth trying out. I've downloaded several .....  umm  quite a lot.... of apps to try out, those that I don't like will be deleted eventually. As I've downloaded this I can't tell if it was a freebie or a bought one, sorry but it doesn't show any more once it's purchased - but the prices for any I bought were very low, all under £3. It's very simple to use with all the options clearly laid out and quick to access. You can work on different layers, preserving the layers beneath while you experiment.   I haven't used this yet but have worked in a similar way in Photoshop and know how handy it is. The image above was done on a single layer. You can vary the stroke width and pressure, meaning colours mix very naturally, thin veils of colour can be laid down and subtle transitions made, the sm

Evening Light, Winsor and Newton Gouache and Derwent Artbars in the A4 Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook. Further experimenting with gouache, Derwent Artbars and Stillman and Birn sketchbooks. This was a demo to students about the benefits of working on a dark background when painting moody scenes.   I scribbled various deep colours with the Artbars and then washed them into a streaky deep background.   Then with gouache I worked over it - thin glazes and thicker paint - then worked back in with the Artbars in places.  Leaving parts of that dark background as tree trunk, far trees, some of the field, scratching through to the darkness below for fine lines and marks.  The pale flowers in the foreground were done with white gouache, flicked from a bristle brush to keep the marks random and free.  The combination of media worked well with lots of  variation in marks possible.