A quiz while we paint

Neville, a regular student of mine, often poses a thought provoking question during painting workshops, (remember several weeks ago, whilst painting the stars into the Northern Lights painting, he wondered who sang the original version of 'Swinging on a Star'?). Neville keeps us entertained with his quizzes and today none of us had the answer to his question. Our little church is painted in using a sable brush. 'Where does sable come from?', asked Neville. He had us foxed until we could get home and google it............. Would any readers have been able to answer him on the spot? Incidentally, we'll be painting the Northern Lights again on Saturday 25th April from 10am till 3pm at the Green Room in Stowmarket. If you'd like to attend this class, do give me a call on 01473 311938 or drop me a line on info@ayoubart.co.uk

Versions of 'The Country Church'

The 'Country Church' painting subject is evolving in many lovely ways. Students are making this particular painting subject their very own work. For instance.....a couple of weeks ago one lady painted in a character laying with his back against the tree, knees bent, relaxing, possibly even asleep. Another lady decided she didn't want to put in the foreground tree - instead she went for pretty highlighted bushes and soft grass. It seems once we get to that foreground area - that's when the composition is really open to change. We've had paths, fences and one clever chap even painted in a path leading to a jetty projecting into the water. We've had spires, lightning poles, windows, doors, extensions added to the little background church too. I'm absolutely delighted that students are having so much fun with their paintings and it shows me their confidence levels and their imagination. Well done.

An Unusual Lesson

I conducted a rather unusual lesson the other week..........my students had supplied me with a swatch of curtain material and a photo of their new settee. They wanted nothing more than to paint their own contemporary or abstract artwork to hang in their soon-to-be decorated lounge. I'd explained that this would not be a follow my lead/step by step workshop. Instead, I would give them a wide selection of brushes, a few pointers, illustrate some special effects and be on hand if they needed any assistance. The palette had already been selected, so pretty much anything they made would have gone with the decor. We started off by putting masking tape over some areas and blocking of sections of canvas and blending various tones. As the day progressed some rather pretty effects materialised. Here's one lady's almost completed piece and she's absolutely delighted with it - a pretty oriental cherry blossom theme that will compliment her home beautifully. She may be back to paint some more on different sized canvas to hang on opposite and adjacent walls. I bet that will look really nice, and will make for quite a talking point too.

A suprise at the WI

The ladies of the Stowmarket WI had a little suprise at last night's oil painting demonstration - so did Alan and I - and so did a lady called Colleen. As my sister and mother live close to the venue and as neither of them had ever seen me give a 'talk' I asked them along as guests. The WI welcomed them into their group and they were already sat down and settled before Alan and I even arrived. I recognised several familiar faces within the audience and was delighted to re-unite with a workmate, Colleen, from my office days, going back a good 10 years or more. Colleen knows me only as a Credit Manager, totally unaware of my artist alter ego. So, Colleen's suprise was to see the new me enjoying a very, very different career. Our suprise was the fact that it was the Stowmarket WI's 25th Anniversary. Instead of the usual tea and cakes we had champagne and celebration cake (much to the delight of Alan who somehow managed to find himself with 2 glasses of champers.) But I think the best suprise of all was the one I gave the ladies, and hopefully my family too. During the talk I referred to several of my paintings which were on display. I explained how they had come about, the inspiration behind some of them, the simple technique behind others. I was explaining how we would make falling snow and asked the audience if they would like to see a painting with this effect. 'Yes', they enthused......and as I pulled out a painting from behind the table there was a loud 'Ahhhhhhhh'. 'What do you think of this?', I asked. 'Lovely, beautiful....' and several other very positive comments were passed. 'Well', I said, 'This painting isn't mine. This painting is from one of my students. This painting is from someone who defied me to get a decent picture out of her, determined to be my first failure and she's sitting right among you all - my mum!'. I hope the audience reaction confirmed to mum just how far she'd travelled and how well she had done on her art journey.

Valerie Stewart Workshop in the UK - May 2010

The Valerie Stewart demo DVD at just £16 (including p&p) is proving to be a very popular item and a great introduction into oil painting portraits. Valerie and I are currently discussing a portrait workshop here in the UK - a first for both of us. We had hoped to organise a seminar for this year, but alas, our schedules are just too busy to slot this in with ample time for promotion and proper organisation. So, dates have been confirmed for 2010. The 4 day seminar will take place on 30th April, 1st, 2nd and 3rd May. We will complete 2 oil painting portraits of your choice. Further details will be released as soon as they are available and long distance students will have more than enough time to organise accommodation and travel/flights. This opportunity to paint along with Valerie will be extremely exciting and places will be limited to just 26 students. The workshops will take place in Capel St Mary and students will need to commit to the full 4 days. I'm thrilled this extremely popular and talented instructor is willing to teach here in the UK - this will be one memorable class, guaranteed.

New Oil painting Tool & cleaning bar

My tube-squeezer tool, for extracting the last little drop of oil paint from the tubes, really attracts students' attention. I'm often being asked where they can be purchased. Unfortunately, the tool I own comes from overseas and costs around £35 to be delivered to the UK. But, I can now supply a very similar piece of equipment to you. This tube squeezer will soon pay for itself, that's for certain. It's the same size as the one I use in classes, measuring 4 inches wide (not including the key) and 5 inches deep. I've also added a brush cleaner to my supplies page. This soap bar is made specifically for cleaning your softer and smaller brushes. It lasts an absolute age and really does condition and clean your script liners, flats, fans, rounds - just about every brush, with the exception of your large 1 inch and 2.5 inch landscape brushes. You can find both items HERE.

All stocked up.......

I've just updated some of my online shopping baskets. I had a few brushes that were temporarily out of stock but am pleased to say we're firing on all cylinders again. The soft floral brushes, in particular, are hugely popular tools at such an affordable price, enabling students to buy in 2's or 3's. I'm pleased to say the grey graphite paper, (which I'm lead to believe just can't be found in art stores at the moment), is back in stock also at just £2.25 a sheet (includes delivery). We've stocked up on the wipe out tools, which are being used more and more for putting in signatures with precision and also for scratching in delicate little details to the foliage areas. And of course, there's the infamous 'Grandma's Spot Remover', a brilliant little bottle of heaven-knows-what that's guaranteed to remove all manner of stains from your clothes - so if you have some oil paint spots on your favourite pair of jeans - this little beauty at just £5.50 will rescue them for you.

The Good Life?

This morning I had some running around to do, delivering art supplies to some more local customers. My last stop was Peggy, and I enjoyed having a leisurely cup of tea with her and her husband John. I took them along a selection of my free range eggs as I know Peggy used to keep chickens when she was younger. I enjoyed swapping gardening tips with John too. I'm getting quite a reputation, not to mention a few nicknames. From Sue 'Have A Cake' Warne to Felicity (as in The Good Life), to name but a couple. This year I hope to grow my own vegetables and this afternoon I shall start propogating my first batches of seeds. Lucky I chatted to John about this, as he has a few of his own beans andseeds to give me - much more personal this way as opposed to buying the seeds over the counter. He did advise me not to bother with the rhubard seeds though - much better to buy a crown apparently. I'll give them a go anyway, but I understand it could well be a couple of years before we enjoy a rhubarb crumble of our own. Hopefully we'll have better and quicker luck with the fruit. With 2 new trees to add to the garden we'll look forward to some Cox's eating apples and some cooking apples.

Some rather beautiful pieces of artwork

For those readers who are also members of the SAA (Society for All Artists),you will have no doubt received your latest magazine. Featured on the front cover is a rather stunning piece by fellow Artist, Peter Williams. Peter is a highly respected Suffolk Artist who specialises in Western Art. We met just over a year ago as we were doing the change over for an exhibition in the White Horse at Capel St Mary. As my show was coming to an end, Peter's was just beginning. We had time to have a drink and a chat at the bar together too. Peter has been working hard on his own website and his varied work is displayed there so well. If you fancy feasting your eyes on some fine watercolours (and other media) then do click on his link HERE. My favourite piece by Peter is 'Still Life'. You can find it by clicking on the left hand menu tab 'Galleries' then select 'Open Editions' from the drop down menu. I can remember having a tasty Sunday lunch at the White Horse, right opposite the original of this pretty painting and I simply fell in love with it. It's certainly a 'Still Life' with a difference. Do give him a look, you will be in for a treat.

A new type of painting class?

This morning's demo was a lively event. I demo'ed this particular Art Group a couple of years ago and I've been a member ever since. Now, the first time I gave a talk I was fine, I didn't really know a soul. This time though was a little different as I'm really familiar now with all the other members. And this time.........I was a little nervous. I really wanted to give my friends a good talk, a good show, something a little different. The way to present a very different and new slant on the wet on wet technique came to me in an inspired early morning flash. I woke up at around 5.30am with a great little idea - and I put that idea into practice for the first half of the demo. I was thrilled at the end of the talk to be asked back AGAIN! So, with our diaries at the ready we've scheduled in a painting workshop. Once again, my supplies were popular as there's equipment and DVD's on offer to suit watercolour, acrylic, pastels and other. My main painting was raffled off, to raise funds for the group and it's gone to a really good home too. One lady was telling me that her nephew would love to learn to oil paint and would more than likely be interested in painting exactly the way I did during the first half......... 'It would suit him perfectly'. Now I'm wondering if I just might have struck upon a new-style oil painting class.......I'm not giving too much away at the moment, but I'll run the ideas by some of my regulars and see if they would be up for it. Isn't it great how one thing often leads to another.

The Yin and The Yan

My weekend students had the will-power to paint facing each other and resisting the temptation to peek at each other's work. As I was trotting from one to the other I could see the 2 very different versions of 'Fat Old Sun'. I guess you could describe them as the Yin and the Yan as they were completely opposite. Sam's version was powerful and strong in colour. Stacey's version was gentle and softly blended, a very pastel version indeed. It just goes to show, you can have the same brushes, the same paints and be shown the same technique, but your personality and mood will expose itself in your painting style

Money Saving Art Supplies

As I pulled off the dual carriageway this morning, heading towards Stowmarket, I was delighted to see the Tesco's roundabout filled with pretty yellow daffodils. In the brilliant sunshine they were a treat and a sure sign that Spring is only just around the corner. The warm sun stayed with us for the best part of the day, and it allowed my students to take their paintings into the courtyard at The Green Room so their black acrylic base coats could dry off rapidly. I had a huge amount of questions at the end of class regarding wet-on-wet oil painting supplies. I'm lucky in that I am not tied in with any particular Company and can pass on details of the many various brands that I personally recommend for this particular technique - all tried and tested and guaranteed to do the job and give brilliant value for money. I was delighted with one particular comment I received from Rob; 'You've saved me £15 already on the thinners alone!'. It's no secret in saying it's my mission to get as many people oil painting as possible - plus - I can show you how you can set yourself up without having to spend a small fortune. In this current economic crisis, the £15 that Rob has saved will easily buy him a couple of brushes, a tube or two of paint and a canvas.

News Travels Fast

News travels quick......thankfully. Yesterday I received an e-mail from the secretary of another Art Group located just a couple of miles from Holland-On-Sea. I'd been recommended as a guest speaker/demonstrator. Within seconds we'd arranged a demo evening. So, big thanks to John for the mention. I'll be seeing you again sooner than we thought. These Art Group demo's are quite interesting as I always ask if anyone has ever heard of Bob Ross. Of course, a few hands go up. When I ask if anyone has ever heard of Bill Alexander, the show of hands is even less. I enjoy letting people know how Bob's painting adventure started and where he learned his craft. Now, thanks to my website, I'm lucky enough to have some really lovely readers. One regular reader sent me quite a birthday package last year. Among the much treasured goodies was the Bill Alexander biography, signed by Bill himself. At these talks and demos I display this book right beside my framed certificate. I leave the page wide open showing a classic shot of Bill Alexander with his better known student.......Bob Ross.