Thank you Ed for looking at my site and for l
 
Picture
Sorry about this but I have returned to dark and strange.  This is day 2 of a painting that I am doing of a Punch puppet.  I still have a lot of work to do on it as you can see, today I have started to add the colours to the lower part of the doll.  I dont know why I always start at the bottom, it's a really daft place to start because I then have to do the rest of it upside down because I cant lean on the canvas.  The weird part of this painting is that the doll will have real eyes, I have added the first layer of colour to them.  Colours I have used so far are raw umber and titanium white for the under painting, permanent alzarin crimson, sap green, cobalt blue hue and white. 

 
This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Picture
 This is the new name for this painting "Life's a Bitch", the reason I have called it that is because I think that the bear's face is saying that, this has been his role all his life, holding eggs and getting covered in yolk.  At the moment I have computer rage because everything that I am going on to, or trying to go on to, at the moment will not work properly.  That includes this site, see that title with all those slashes in, I didn't put them there and I also can't seem to get rid of them.  On my Twitter, I can't load up any pics on to Twitpic and haven't been able to for almost a week.  All this is making me a tad tetchy so I will be brief.  Bye for now and, hopefully, will have something else to load up tomorrow.

 
Picture
Day 3 of this painting has involved taking the bear back to a darker colour and adding lots of white to the areas where there should be white.  The bear will need to have lighter colour added to it tomorrow when it has dried off.  I have also added some burnt bits to the toast finger that is in the egg.  Colours used are titanium white, burnt and raw umber, yellow ochre and a little bit of black.

I also went along to a workshop today that was being held by the Coventry and Warwickshire Society of Artists, that was really good and I even won a prize in the raffle.  I am eating those at the moment, Thornton's chocolates.  We also had a critique session which was really interesting and really nice to see other people's work too.

 
 
Picture
I'm getting there this time.  I think you can see where it's going, the egg cup still has not got much colour added to it yet.  The main body of the egg cup should look like it had brown fur on it but in a pottery sort of way.  The egg cup part of it should be a little bit paler than it is and from this point, when this layer is dry, I will start to add layers of thin white paint.  The toast is starting to take shape and look a little like toast but I still have some more work to do on it.  I'm really looking forward to putting the yolky drips on it, that's the bit that I will like.  Colours used are titanium white, burnt and raw umber a little alzarin crimson and cadium yellow deep hue.

 
Picture
The conch is resting, facing the wall in disgrace.  That meant that I had to start another or I would have had to do my domestic chores instead.  this is a boiled egg in an eggcup with a toast finger in it, or rather, that will be what it is when I have finished.  This was started today at about 2pm.  3 colours have been used to start it, raw umber, titanium white and a small amout of cadium yellow.  The only reason I used the cadium yellow was so that I didn't forget that yolk was at the top of the egg.  I also intend to run the yolk all over the place as that is what I have done with the real thing.  The top of the egg does appear much bigger and that is because it is supposed to be nearer to the viewer, just thought I'd tell you that.  It has got to dry off now before I can do anymore layers and I also have to make everyone's dinner so bye for now, speak again tomorrow.

 
This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Picture
Well I spent most of the day on this, it wasn't right so ended taking it back to how it was.  Now the paint is really thick on it so I dont think I will be able to do anything with it tomorrow as it is likely that it will still be wet.  Still the same colours on it, this photo is a little bit brighter than what the actual painting is too.  I might be putting anything else on here until Monday as I am in Torquay for the weekend.

By the way, the exhibition at The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry is doing very well.  I have two paintings in that one so, if you are in the area, go and have a look there are some really nice paintings and sculptures in there.

 
This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Picture
I have done a little more work to this painting but it has started to get a little muddy so I will have to stop now and let it dry off.  I have started to add some detail to the main body of the shell, it has a lot of ridges on it and I am doing those.  The muddy bit is up in the right hand corner of the shell.  This shell travelled all the way back from Antigua with me about 17 years ago, that was at a time when you were allowed to have luggage on a plane and I secreted in my suitcase.  I didn't buy it, I found it on the beach.  Ever since then it has lived on the bathroom windowsill and I am amazed at how it's lasted.

 
Picture
Whoops I nearly forgot to update the diary, think I've just about got in today.  I updated my facebook page earlier, went off and did something else and then completely forgot that to update this one.  What I have been doing with this is trying to create the 3d effect with the shell and I have been only working on the top at the moment.  The main body of the shell has had nothing done to it.  I couldn't seem to get the open part of the shell to appear to be sitting above the rest of it but it looks like it's getting there now.  I was making the mistake of working on the inside when all I needed to do was to add more definition to the outside, once that was done Eureka!  Tomorrow I will start to work on the main body of the shell and will be, hopefully, giving that the same treatment.  Colours used are just raw umber and white this time. 

By the way tomorrow is the Private View of the Consortium Exhibition at The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry, West Midland, UK.  My husband and I are going along to that then going out for a meal at Cosmo, a brilliant restaurant in Coventry. 

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
 
Picture
Well I have returned to the shell painting that I started last week, I think.  This is day 2 of it.  What I have been trying to do is to build up depth in the shell.  It's still not quite there but, I think, it's heading in the right direction.  It better had be because I ruined another brush working on this one.  Colours that I have used are burnt umber, raw umber and lots of titanium white and then blended them all in all over the shell in a half circle motion.  (I also used fingers just a little bit).  The inside of the shell needs to have some much darker shade on it but I cant do that until this is dry, if I had it would have got very muddy.  Also the part of the shell that wraps around and goes inside also needs to have a lot more depth but, once again, I cant do that until it all dries.

I wont be able to put anything on here tomorrow because I am off for a day's drag racing a Santa Pod, yeah cant wait!  So will see you all on Monday, hope you have a lovely Sunday too.