Tuesday 29 November 2011

Exhibition Review!





Here are some photographs from this weekend and my joint art exhibition.  As you can see we were able to use Palazzo Aragona Cutò (built in 1712), which was the perfect location, we also had perfect sunny weather too!
We had two large rooms at the top of a double staircase, complete with high painted ceilings and tall shuttered windows.
Venus and Mars on the ceiling
 
                                                           
We are a little group that paint and chat together one morning a week, out of this friendship came the idea of organising our own art exhibition.  Each of us had about ten paintings and a wall/panel to display them on.

This is my part of the exhibition, a mixture of coloured pencil pieces and some larger oil paintings.




We had a lot of people come and visit us and there was even  a queue outside the door on Saturday morning before we opened!  
I met so many people who enjoy art and made a whole load of new contacts, the whole exhibition was a very positive experience...



.........and there was even a little time after lunch on Sunday to sketch the view from the window.





Thursday 24 November 2011

Done!



'Stripes' 40x60cms, oil

This is the finished painting, varnished and ready for tomorrow.  I'm pleased with how this turned out, although it started out as only an experiment and is based on a reference came from Wet Canvas's image library.  I changed the background and colours just leaving the shape of the leaves. Unfortunately I don't remember who originally posted the photograph.

Myself and some artist friends will be exhibiting over the weekend at this beautiful 17th century villa.




The photo is actually of the rear of the villa, and is from where I sit in the station car park to sketch while waiting for my daughter's train.  The front faces onto a busy road and I would risk getting run over, but  the back entrance is lovely anyway!








I really like the frame on this painting of local fishing boats, strange how artwork looks so different in it's frame?  I think I will post this to my mum for Christmas after the exhibition (She doesn't have a computer
or ever look at my blog, so it's still a secret!)

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Vanity

Mirror, mirror on the wall
who is fairest of them all?

'Vanity' for Illustration Friday

Sunday 20 November 2011

Hidden Coves




Here are some more pages for the Sketchbook Project complete with wrinkled pages (the paper doesn't like watercolour).
The first is part of a nature reserve on the coast with plenty of hidden coves and caves, perfect for the smugglers of olden days.  My  title is 'Encyclopedia of Secret Places'  and this area has plenty of  secret history!







A closer look at one of the coves, I love the sound of waves as they rattle the pebbles on the beach.

Thursday 17 November 2011

Muses






This is my latest coloured pencil piece.  It's the 'sister' of the Silent Keeper, one of my entries to the UKCPS exhibition this year.  I thought that they would look good together at the upcoming local exhibition where my work will be displayed, well they would if my Silent Keeper would like to return home.  At the moment it's travelling backwards and forwards between the UK and Italy and I'm not friends with DHL carriers anymore!
(It's a long story...sigh..)

At the foot of a staircase, two statues  Endymion and Aglaia from Greek mythology.
I just loved the double shadow in the late evening sun and it was my first sight of the  privately owned 17th century Villa Valguarnera.
I  had to stand and memorise the scene, although I did have a camera,  I wanted to capture how I felt when I first walked up the long drive and through the gate.

Sunday 13 November 2011

Strong and Silent





'Silent' for Illustration Friday.
This one is obviously the strong and silent type!  We have a beautiful park right in the middle of the city, I love to take my sandwiches there and hear the traffic and city noise fade away.  There are many statues  among the trees and flowers (the park dates from the 17th century), an ideal spot to while away an hour or two!

Thursday 10 November 2011

Something Blue






Something blue for Everyday Matters.  I thought about this for a while...what could I choose to sketch that's blue....  the sky, the sea?  Yes the ideas weren't coming thick and fast, but then I looked up and spied my little sketching bag.  The one I grab on my way out...just in case!
This little bag is only 8" wide and 10" long but holds everything I might want to use while out sketching.  It has several pockets and zips all the way round making it easy to get into and I got it free from a travel company, which makes it even nicer.

I unpacked the bag to show you what I carry around with me



Two small sketchbooks, various pens and pencils, a waterbrush, my small set of Maimeri watercolours and it's extra little mixing palette, paper towels, a homemade viewfinder and a water container.  Plus I can get in insect repellant and a small camera comfortably.  A very useful little bag indeed!

Monday 7 November 2011

Stripes





'Stripes' for Illustration Friday.
The best stripes are found in nature, animals, fish and plants all have some wonderful patterns and colours.
This is part of a bigger painting that I'm working on but still a long way to go.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Best of the Bunch





The little local art group that I joined a couple of years ago is holding an exhibition at the end of this month, so I have been hard at work preparing some new work for my corner of the room  Although I haven't got precise measurements I think I will be able to hang about six largish paintings and perhaps some smaller coloured pencil pieces.
This is the first time I've had the chance to exhibit more than a couple of piece of work so it's very exciting...any advice welcome!
These grapes are one of the better bunches grown last year, painted in oil from sketches and photographs.