It's about time......literallly :)

The classes I am doing from my home studio are finishing quicker than the larger venue classes used to. The most obvious and logical reason is because the number of students are smaller. But, as I was telling yesterday's students, there's a number of small factors that also chip away at the time. One of the major changes is that it is rare a student ever needs to clean a brush, both during and after a class. I take on that task, easily spending half hour or more in my outside studio washing and conditioning all our brushes. Another factor.....The way I demo in my studio set up means students no longer have to leave their chairs to see my step by step demo. Imagine having to do that about 10 plus times a lesson.....just say it takes a minute to walk to the front of the class and back to your chair - that's already shaved over 10 minutes of the class time.This means, from the time you start your painting lesson with me it's all about painting. And that's just the way I like it. I think the student's are in agreement too :)

Little Venice - literally !

I saved the leftover paint from class on Friday, scraped it up and set it out on a clean palette. I'd prepared a tiny canvas earlier in the week as I'd planned to make a mini version after the class. Alas, other events cropped up and by the time I had some free time, it was a bit too late to make a start. But today, I finished my tasks earlier than anticipated - so I was able to dedicate the afternoon to fussing over 'Little Venice'. This tidler will be framed and will also be entered into exhibition later this year.

Art Group Demonstration

The 'Peaceful Evening' painting went down really well with today's group and it filled the second half of my demonstration. The art group start at 9.30am and finish around 1pm. Normally my demo will take about an hour. Today, I aimed for a 2 hour demo and was hoping that I could find enough things to paint and talk about for all that time. I was pleasantly surprised to find I managed a 2 hour spot with ease - in fact, I bet I could do 3 hours at a push (not that anyone would want to sit and watch me paint for that long). As always, I take my mobile art shop, which contains all things oily and wet on wet and also a range of equipment for other media. This always go down well at Art Groups as there's something for everyone. There's something to suit every pocket too, from brushes at just £1 to DVD sets at over £100. The group would like me to return and given them a bespoke oil painting class. Of course, not only am I more than happy to do this, I'm also willing to give a discount. If any readers are members of similar groups in the area - do feel free to drop me a line or give me a call if you'd like a similar service. I'm told I'm great entertainment..........and I might even turn up wearing 'those' boots, which would be a giggle if nothing else!!!