All that glitters must surely be from Essex

All that glitters must surely be from Essex
Oil and glitter on canvas

Sunday 15 September 2013

Like buses!

This past week has certainly been eventful!

Last weekend was Open Studios at Cuckoo Farm and it was a great weekend.  Lots of people arrived to see the artists, work and studio spaces we make a mess of...well not all of us, but I certainly struggle to keep it ordered!
It was great to meet people and discuss the why's and wherefores of my work.  Which, to me keeps you thinking about the work and why you're doing it.  It was a really successful weekend for me as not only did I sell a painting ("Gunfleet" pictured below) but also 2 prints AND I managed to really stuck in with my newest piece.

So from the terracotta under-painting, I began to paint in the sky using dark blues, with a hint of white to add small areas of light and depth.


By painting over the terracotta but leaving some of it showing through it really did create the richness I was looking for (thanks Constable!), but also keep a key colour showing through.  This painting is about showing the layers of a landscape, it's a Roman wall so i don't want to just paint it as it looks now but also convey it's past.
So I continued to add a range of blue's until I was happy with the result and the balance on the canvas.  by using a blender brush I was able to soften some of the strokes to create a dramatic sky.










So, a successful weekend, but it didn't end there....a few days later I sold another of my pieces (All that glitters must surely be from Essex) with Saatchi Online.  So like buses, I wait months for a sale and then 2 come along at once!!  I hope that this can continue - just a taste of what life as a professional artists is like.  Painting, sales, packaging.....I love it!  And can only hope that whoever has bought All that glitters, wherever they are in the world, they enjoy welcoming the painting into their home as much as I enjoyed making it!
So here is where I left my newest piece, keep coming back to see the rest of it's progress.