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

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?

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…..

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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 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.

“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

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

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

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”

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

Congratulations to Hazel as she was number 5 – the number generated by the Random Number Generator – see photo below.

Here is the set of images in whose body I hid the needle. Can you see it now? It is somewhere on the owl.

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

Following on from my start of a pastel beach scene yesterday I couldn’t wait to get at it again this morning:)

Here is the earlier post if you want to see it all - http://eastwitching.com/2013/04/27/on-the-beach-pastel-step-by-step/

Here are the next steps I took above.

At this point I feel I should stop. You can go on and on with a painting. Here if I continue I am just fussing. I am quite happy with the effect overall. The fave bit for me is the whites in the sky and the foamy bits in the sea!

Below is the image scanned in using my 1200dpi scanner and edged in a dark brown like that of the rock to tie it all in.

Stark, high-key yet poetic – this is the image for me!

Do you like it? It’s all soft sand and blowy sky with that rock and some seaweed as accents. A place where you can step out of the world for a while and merge with the sea and sky with sand under your feet.

I am using my Unison pastels and Canson cream pastel paper.

Please click on each image to bring it up nice and big.

Building colour strength and forms

I have more work to go and to be honest am just feeling my way with this as pastel is not my medium usually…watch this space…but this is where I am with it now. I am hopeful and full of expectation – thinking about it in my head as to how I will proceed to give it more richness and depth with the odd kick of light and reflection where it needs it:)

This is where I will stop painting for now…