High Hopes

I've been working on a new painting subject, a mountain scene. It started off in Landscape Format, I've tried several different compositions, respositioning the mountain, changing it's shape and colours. Finally the project came together today and I'm quite happy with the finished result even if I did change to Portrait Format. I'm calling this one 'High Hopes', named after one of my favourite songs. After a few practices to increase my speed, now I can complete this in under 20 minutes it's ready to put into a class. To teach my paintings in a class of up to 15 students I need to be able to paint these subjects in under half an hour - that way I know we can finish in around 5 hours, have time for a mid-class break, without compromising on the standard of work or the quality of tuition. There's 2 things I won't compromise on: One is space and the other is quality. High Hopes will be the painting subject for my class on Saturday 16th February at the Green Room in Stowmarket (details below). If you'd like to attend this class, do call me to book your seat.

Blue Bells

Several of my students have been asking me to have a Blue Bell Wood as a painting class subject. Although I already have a Blue Bell Wood painting I thought I'd make another one. In this new AyoubArt design we give our tree's a much more rugged texture on the bark. We also pay attention to the varients in light and dark in the bushes and the foreground grass. Our Blue Bells too are carpeted in the background, yet much more defined in the foreground. We'll be painting Blue Bell Knoll (shown above) on Saturday 16th February at the Green Room in Stowmarket, IP14 1RA (Just off Aldi Car Park). The class will start at 10am and will run until approx 3 - 3.30pm. If you'd like to come along please call Sue Warne 01473 311938 or e-mail me on info@ayoubart.co.uk to reserve your space. The class costs just £45 per person and all equipment and materials are included plus refreshments. The Green Room is very close to a little Bakery who will make you a lovely fresh roll for your lunch - I make sure we have a break before they close so students can pop over, if they wish. New students will each receive a FREE 2 HOUR DVD on basic techniques of oil painting, worth £11.50. If you bring a friend along to class you can take a 15% discount EACH.

You're never too young to learn to oil paint

In this weekend's class we had a young girl of 12 years old. She kept the pace with the rest of class, even having time to pop over to the shops to get a bottle of coke in between demonstration stages. As the class progressed she became more and more intrigued by the effects of this wet on wet technique. By the time we reached our foreground 'chunky' trees she had decided she not only wanted to add some fungi growing from the bark of one tree, but also some ivy growing up the side of another. Matilda is with me again next month when we will be painting the countryside scene shown above. I wonder what she'll decide to add next time? Some rabbits? A deer? There's some spaces left on this class if you'd like to join us - just visit http://www.ayoubart.co.uk/ for details or contact Sue Warne on 01473 311938

Intermediate Painting Classes

Students who have taken a few AyoubArt Classes and are familiar with the wet on wet technique involved can progress beyond a basic landscape. Last week Peggy took stage one of her Tall Ship painting, The Cutty Sark. Peggy is in her 70's and undergoes her first cataract operation this week. When you see what she accomplished in her first advanced class you'll find it hard to believe.











Tomorrow, Mr Stevens tackles his first wildlife project - Leon. For now, you can see Barbara's version of Leon. Barbara is another student of mine and recently took part in a local Art Exhibition. She sold a total of 4 of her 6 paintings.

To qualify for one of these painting subjects you only need to have taken 4 AyoubArt Classes at only £45 each. A 15% discount is available EACH if you come in pairs. This applies to both my scheduled classes and the private classes.

Just for good measure, the third advanced painting subject I offer is a popular scene of Bamburgh Castle. You can see Lynn's version here. Both Leon and Bamburgh Castle can be completed in a single 5 hour private lesson for only £65. The Tall Ship will take two 5 hour private lessons.......... You'll be able to see the difference the second lesson makes in a few weeks time. We have the rigging, the nets, the rat lines, shadows in the sea and many other embellishments to add as yet. If we get time, we might ewven throw in a couple of seagulls too!

A Few Spaces Left........

Next Sunday I'll be hosting my first class of the year. We'll be painting this lovely atmospheric woodland scene called 'Ever Green' on a large 16 x 20 inch canvas. The class is being held in Capel St Mary Village Hall, The Street, Capel St Mary, Nr Ipswich/Colchester, IP9 2EQ. The Hall has disabled access and is roomy, warm, light and airy. Car Parking is available right outside. The main bus-stop is also right outside. The hall is situated adjacent to the Co-Op, a handly place just incase you fancy a sandwich or other snack. The classes are just £45 per person, but if you bring along a friend you can take a 15% discount EACH. All materials and equipment are provided for you plus light refreshments. I keep my class capacity to just 15 students to ensure each and every one of you receives personal attention.

I have just 3 spaces left on this class, so if you'd like to come along, just call me on 01473 311938 or e-mail info@ayoubart.co.uk and I'll book you in.

Having a play around

Today I've enjoyed playing around with the development of new painting designs for my wet on wet painting classes. I've been working on a mountain/lake scene and a moody river scene, both inspired by Bob Ross. I've also been experimenting with new colours and new tools. Next week I'll be introducing a new painting knife to the class. As you can see from the photos above and below, this knife really makes good work on tree highlights and lowlights.

Grandma knows best.

This oil painting lark can certainly have an effect on your clothes. I've tried all sorts to get oil paint out, some things have been more effective than others. But, I happened to stumble upon a really good little product that I can offer to students. Grandma's Secret Spot Remover. It's a brilliant spot remover which can remove oil, grease, PAINT, make-up, grass, clay, inks, blood, sauce, coffee, rust stains, tar, fabric bleed, tumeric....in fact ANY kind of stain. It's environmentally safe, it's bio degradable and has no chlorine or phosphates. It's in a handy pocket/handbag sized container and ONE DROP will do the job. Now here's the thing.....a few months ago I had an accident with a tub of paint brushes. The tub tipped over and fell against a cream curtain. One of the brushes was filled with deep purple oil paint, which fell down pretty much the length of the fabric. With my spot remover to the rescue I applied a couple of drops to the oil patches and presto - gone! At just £5.50 (including postage and packing) if this little bottle helps you to save just one pair of trousers or top (or full length lined curtains!) then it will pay for itself. You can buy this from my website here: http://ayoubart.co.uk/21.html Just scroll down to the secure shopping basket.

All work and no play.......

I recently joined a Leisure Centre at the nearby Belstead Brook Hotel. It's my little peice of paradise - although I do share it with friends and family when I can. The Leisure Centre consists of a very well equiped gym with an excellent team of instructors - but best of all it has a tropical Spa. The Spa has the warmest ever swimming pool, complete with palm trees, a little island and even a coffee bar! I can take a guest along for just £10. The jacuzzi is hot and the jets pummel the stresses and strains away in seconds - and if that doesn't work you can always unwind in the Sauna or Steam Room.
................so, after the second painting day, Kathleen, my current student and Apollo Studio guest, accompanied me to the Spa for a well earned hour of pure indulgence.
We didn't need a lot of rocking that evening..........

No rest for the wicked........

AyoubArt was straight back to business on January 2nd. With a guest flying into Stanstead airport for a stay in the Apollo Studio - http://www.apollostudio.co.uk/ I had some shopping to do and an apartment to prepare.

The Apollo Studio is an on-site accommodation, self contained from just £35 per night. It's really handy for long distance students. This snug apartment has a wet room, fitted and equiped kitchen, relaxation area with TV/DVD/Stereo and bedroom. To date we've had guests from Norway, France, Spain, Portugal, US, Ireland and all over England, Scotland and Wales. Some guests have been from just up the road, simply wanting to make a long weekend of it.
Whether you chose to stay just the one night, a weekend or a week - the village has just about everything you could wish for, including some really nice woodland strolls. For just £10 a welcome pack can be ready for your arrival, containing essentials like milk, bread, butter, coffee, tea, sugar, eggs, juice, biscuits and marmalade. If you want to be really lavish, we can arrange for champagne and belgium chocolates to be chilling in your fridge - just incase you were celebrating something special.

Pop Art - Can you guess who it is yet?

Another painting subject was introduced in December.........POP ART. 2 students booked a private class so they could make their own portraits of their idols. The painting subjects were selected a week before the class as I have to be 110% sure that we can produce a good Pop Art image. The ladies had a ball making these images but were dubious that their finished results would remotely resemble the superstars. At the half way mark I simply took their canvases away from them, moved back several yards, held them up and waited for their gasps of delight, which duly followed. It is VERY hard to visualise your Pop Art when you are working at such close quarters - but put a few feet between 'you' and 'it' and all becomes clear. Can you guess who these stars, shown above, are?

Here's one of my own Pop Art commissions, sold just before Christmas

Wild Life Class

In Mid December AyoubArt saw the introduction of some intermediate classes. Sue Warne has launched her first wild life painting subject, thanks to one to one tuition from Darrell Crow, a master of wet on wet instruction and a prolific Bob Ross Instructor.
A couple of students booked a private lesson to paint 'Leon', a rather magnificent Lion portrait. The students are a husband and wife team who visit me quite regularly.


You can see the students' finished results above - quite a powerful (and large) oil painting, measuring in at 18 x 24 inches. Hard to believe this can be completed in just one class, isn't it AND you only need to do have taken just 4 AYOUBART classes to qualify for intermediate level.

December Exhibition

Just when I thought I'd finished exhibiting for 2007, by pure good luck, I discovered our local public house, The White Horse in Capel St Mary promotes local artists by showing paintings in their Restaurant. In late November I contacted the landlord to see if I might show a few of mine sometime. Here's where I had my second stroke of luck.........he just happened to have a vacancy for me which covered 3 weeks of December from 2nd to the 23rd, their busiest time of the year!

It was easy to select my entries as I'd just done exhibiting in October and November. This was one of the most homely exhibitions I have taken part in. Instead of paintings being displayed one after the other on peg boards in large open halls and galleries they were actually hung in a cosy carpeted dining room with an open fire. The lights were low and the room was filled with a cottage character enhanced by the exposed beams.

The owners of the White Horse didn't just display my paintings, they also promoted my local AyoubArt Oil Painting Classes - even selling some painting class gift vouchers too. How nice is that?

Just before my exhibition there ended several family members and students of mine met up there one evening to sample their 3 course Christmas Dinner. At the close of the exhibition they had made several painting sales for me, with 3 paintings going to one buyer!

But it doesn't stop there.........a third stroke of luck kicked in just yesterday. We decided to pop in for a Sunday carvery lunch. The landlady asked me if I still had my 'Sunbeams' painting as she had a buyer for it. Luckily, I do still have it so that's another painting sale that I really didn't expect. You can see a version of 'Sunbeams' here on the right.......it's not mine though, this was painted by 14 year old Annie during a Private Class with her cousin and grandmother.

Rosemary, Re-visited.......

I saw Rosemary sooner than I thought. Her excitement got the better of her and she booked for my Painting Class on 1st December, Sandy Walk, (seen here on the right). This time the venue was in The Green Room in Stowmarket. This pretty and relaxing venue is just a very short walk from the train station. Rosemary started her day at about 5am and was home safe and sound, with another oil painting, by 7.30pm. Now THAT's dedication.

I've gotton to know Rosemary quite well throught the classes, her visits and phone calls. I'm pleased to say, it's not going to be long before she meets up again to make painting number 3.