A gift for a friend

Thanks to a couple of students (who were armed with camera's on Saturday) I can share a snap taken from a recent class. On the left you can see Hazel. On the right, with her back to us, is her friend Pauline. Pauline decided to book the seascape painting workshop as a total surprise for her friend, who was a first time painter. An unusual birthday gift, yet a gift that will last forever in memory and on canvas.

Pauline paints frequently and recently took part in the Needham Market exhibition. She managed to sell over half of her paintings. Fingers crossed she'll have more sales in another exhibition in May. If you'd like to surprise a friend or loved one with a painting class (or a private lesson) AyoubArt Gift Vouchers can be purchased by clicking HERE

Easy Access

One of my students made her way to me via public transport from London today. There's a direct train from Liverpool Street Station, leaving at around 8am, arriving just after 9am in Ipswich. It only takes me 10 minutes (at that time of day, traffic permitting) to get to the station so I was able to pick her up and we enjoyed a hot drink and shortbread before the class started. It was Rebeka's first time ever at oil painting and she was amazed at the results she achieved. I'm eagerly waiting to see what her friends and family think of her work. 'They'll never believe I made this all by myself', she kept saying. So I took photos for her on her phone camera, which she eagerly sent to her fiends. Rebeka reeled off all the other paintings she wanted to make, so I think she'll be taking that train journey a few times. I was able to secure her painting and protect it so she could take it home with her. She was guarding it with her life when I dropped her back at the station!

Point me at the sky......

...is the title of this new waterfall painting. It seems that waterfalls in purples and greens are very popular with the students. I've been experimenting with several versions of this painting, before finally being content with this particular one. The waterfalls have been near, far, left, right - we've had cascades, rocks, reflections..........all sorts. I think this particular composition allows for the most light and will be very easy for a beginner to accomplish in just one class. We'll be painting this in Capel St Mary Village Hall on Sunday the 6th of April. The class will start at 12.30pm and will finish around 5.30pm. The cost is just £45 per person and that includes all the equipment and materials (plus refreshments) you will need to make this 16 x 20 inch oil painting. Do call on 01473 311938 or e-mail info@ayoubart.co.uk of you would like to book your place. A £20 deposit will be required and the balance is payable at the class.

Little People

Today I've been fiddling around with some more landscape scenes that will be suitable for complete beginners to paint in my AyoubArt Oil Painting Classes. For one of the projects I wanted to create a nice warm snow scene in brown, cream and ochre tones......... I also wanted to give it that little something extra. What a difference it makes to the painting to have these little silhouette figures. I'm calling this one 'Remember a day'. A gift voucher for a private lesson to paint this romantic scene would make the ideal Valentine's gift, don't you think? It'd last a lifetime too.

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.