Messing about with nastursiums in watercolour

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So disappointing  - my real nastursium seedlings are taking a hammering by greenfly so yesterday I finally gave in and sprayed them with bug spray. I hope they pull through as I love their tumultuous tumbling oranges, reds and yellows .

Watercolour nastursiums on the go...

Watercolour nastursiums on the go…

Meantime I started a loose nastursium watercolour as part of a demo I did at the Kestral Art Society in Pencoed, Bridgend last Thursday.

It remained unfinished as time ran out so I am going to continue with it here and see how it turns out.

TOP TIP:- For complex and larger drawings such as this do them onto very fine (90gsm) tracing paper and NOT onto your expensive watercolour paper. Transfer your image when all the correcting and rubbing out has been done on the tracing paper by using this pencil like carbon paper which can be rubbed out – It is called SARAL - http://www.cheapjoes.com/catalog/product/view/id/21762/

I stretched my Arches hot pressed 90pbs paper on quarter inch plyboard and when dry I used masking tap in  a belt and braces tactic to stop and pulling away at the sides as I worked very wet.

My last years' nastursiums were stunning

My last years’ nastursiums were stunning

Dimensions are about 11×15 inches so it’s a nice comfortable size for me I don’t like working very big.

Paints are Winsor and Newton: Cadmium Yellow, Scalet Lake, Cerulean, Sap Green, Pthalo Blue

Here are some nastursiums I painted last year as inspired by the photo above – still not completely finished but I quite like the half done look! Do You?

nasturium soup (2)

I did not mask out the flowers as I had decided to paint around them. I could have masked them out and done a wild wet into wet background though.

I am going to continue to build the flowers and the background equally and see how that looks…..

Haystackers at the ready! Game 16 Is Up!

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Welcome all you Haystackers to Game 16 

I use a new TWITTER hash tag for my regular animal art print giveaway game.

Want to win one? Search #haystackers now.

Find me on Twitter @eastwitching

This week the needle is a hidden in amongst my Animal Prints

So – are you set for this fortnight’s challenge?

Find this small black needle and win a print!
  • The 16th game starts today with the deadline for entries being
  • Saturday 25th May at midnight London (GMT) time
  • and the winner being announced Sunday 26th May.
  • Then on Monday 27th May the new game will start. 

HOW TO PLAY

OK – this week please start scrutinising images found H E R E

  1. Once you find the black needle that I have secreted…
  2. send me an email with your answer to eastwitching@hotmail.com or send me a convo in Etsy
  3. then come back here and write a comment saying what archival print you would like to win from my Etsy shop Eastwitching  !

So –  START SEARCHING HERE  

You have just under 2 weeks to submit your answer.
On draw day I will use the random number generator to select a winner. If it says 3 for example then the third person who left a comment will win etc…

Deadline to submit your entry is –  Saturday 25th May at GMT (London Time:) Midnight.

Have fun! – Alison

Making a song and dance

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This Spring I’ve got a lot to make a song and dance about. Why? you may ask. Well with 4 of my animal art prints currently featuring in 4 UK national glossy home and lifestyle mags I’m doing a happy dance.

So to celebrate I thought I’d bring in the rats – their exuberant Morris Dancing seems to express how I feel in animal art form – which is what I am all about.

Take it away rats!

Take it away rats!

So if you want to know where my art can be found here’s the scoop!

Mag 1

Mag 2

Thanks to all the mags – some of whom contacted me and some who I contacted myself.

And the Winner is….

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Sami! Entry Number 9  in date order.

Congratulations to Sami as she was number 9 – the number generated by the Random Number Generator – see photo below.

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Here is the image in which  I hid the needle. Can you see it now? It is on the door.

mdddd copy

Please all come back later today to play a new game.

You will have 2 weeks to scrutinize it for the needle.

Good luck! – Alison

Painting Cherries in Watercolour – step-by-step demo

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In a virtual frame but not quite finished yet.....

In a virtual frame but not quite finished yet…..

Always a satisfying subject to paint cherries are. I love their beautiful red, claret colour and the  spindly curvy stems. They make a beautiful composition no matter how you place them in readiness to paint.

Brushes at the ready but I only used a 3 and a 6 round really.

Brushes at the ready but I only used a 3 and a 6 round really.

 

Here is a group of 5 cherries with stems. I just used Arches hot pressed 90lbs paper and a Size 6 and a szie 3 round brush plus Cadmium Yellow Pale, Alizarin Crimson, Rose Madder Genuine, Olive Green and French Ultramarine to paint this simple study.

cherries demo

It is not finished yet as I have work to do on the shadow sides and to create more shine on the sunstruck parts of the cherries…watch this space for the final final result:)

I lifted the white "shiners" out with a clean dampish brush.

I lifted the white “shiners” out with a clean dampish brush.

 

I was satisfied with this painting because it went well with the washes looking natural and the forms shaping up nicely. I relished in plunging the deep red/clarets into the wet washes to get the darkest part of the fruits shown.

cherries f

 

 

Playing about with pastel – an adobe building on Canyon Road, Sante Fe

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"Adobe Bloom"

“Adobe Bloom”

Years ago in 2005 I went on a 3 month trip of the USA. Trip of a lifetime it was and I took so many photos on days spent wandering the 4 corner states.

This is one of them.

A pinkish peach adobe dwelling calling to me on Canyon Road, Sante Fe

A pinkish peach adobe dwelling calling to me on Canyon Road, Sante Fe

 

Heading back from a long hike to Bear Canyon the sun was setting and just casting flecks of light on this dwelling. An old adobe building – peachy cream in the sun framed by cool and dark vegetation. I had to paint it.

I am using Art Spectrum Colourfix sand paper and Unison Pastels.

My fave pastels of all UNISON

My fave pastels of all UNISON

Please see the photos below and click on them to bring the image up big:)

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Here is the final result in a virtual frame (sorry its a bit out of proportion!)

Overall I feel the painting is a bit clunky, lacks coherence and wasn’t planned very well. I rushed it as I was so excited to play with luscious colour. I will no doubt have another more measured, thoughtful go at it when I am calmer! I just had to go at it like a bull at a gate to get it out of my system.

"Adobe Bloom"

“Adobe Bloom”

 

 

 

Haystackers at the ready! Game 15 Is Up!

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Welcome all you Haystackers to Game 15! 

I use a new TWITTER hash tag for my regular animal art print giveaway game.

Want to win one? Search #haystackers now.

Find me on Twitter @eastwitching

This week the needle is a hidden in amongst my original April artwork sale HERE. 

So – are you set for this fortnight’s challenge?

Find this small black needle and win a print!
  • The 15th game starts today with the deadline for entries being
  • Saturday 11th May at midnight London (GMT) time
  • and the winner being announced Sunday 12th May.
  • Then on Monday 13th May the new game will start. 

HOW TO PLAY

OK – this week please start scrutinising images found H E R E

  1. Once you find the black needle that I have secreted…
  2. send me an email with your answer to eastwitching@hotmail.com
  3. then come back here and write a comment saying what archival print you would like to win from my Etsy shop Eastwitching or from my original April art sale !

So –  START SEARCHING HERE  

You have just under 2 weeks to submit your answer.
On draw day I will use the random number generator to select a winner. If it says 3 for example then the third person who left a comment will win etc…

Deadline to submit your entry is –  Saturday 11th May at GMT (London Time:) Midnight.

Have fun! – Alison