Green is the colour of the week.

I've been in my element this week as all the classes so far have been green compositions. I could paint in greens and limes all day long, there's just something about the colours that delight me. It's my favourite colour - although you'll rarely find me actually wearing it.

Greens, I think, suit black canvases perfectly. While the black basepaint was out I thought it might be a good idea to get all the canvases prepped for next week's classes too. I like to do these in batches and it saves time for me in the long run.

Here's a snapshot of a small portion of yesterday's painting subject- my old favourite 'Mangrove Oasis'. It was the subject of the first 'big' class I ever taught. I was asked if I ever get tired of painting it - my answer is simple: It's green and it has trees and I could paint this sort of thing 7 days a week. But, interestingly, I do get tired of painting some class subjects. When that happens I simply remove them from the website. It's no good me feeling slightly 'anti' before a class, I have to love what I do or I'm not giving my students the best I possibly can. So - that may answer the mystery of why some subjects seem to come and go.

New Class Dates

Today is a catch-up day and I don't mind the rain when I'm stuck in the office all day long. With several supply orders being delivered today I know I'm not going to miss the delivery man too. Catch-up means website work and consequently I've just updated my class timetable page and added a few more dates and a few more painting's. Accounts are the next thing to be brought up to date, then the phone calls for other sundry bits and bobs. I quite like days like this - although I wouldn't want them too often......it reminds me of my full time office days too much.

Popular Pop'in

During yesterday's pop art class, students painted a mixture of subjects - both celebrity and family members. It was a first time for all students and all of them were just a little doubtful as to how well they would do. That's when you just HAVE to trust your teacher....... Relax, put yourself in my hands, leave the worrying to me. It's what you are paying me for. Pop art is such a cool way to make a unique and personalised gift for someone special. Many of those who have learned it have received requests to paint more....and more.....and more. So, bearing this in mind and being well aware of the 'C' word that will be upon us in a few months, I am adding more Pop Art Classes to my class timetable. Your Pop Art session can be spent in several ways. You can start the work on a particularly complex and large portrait, or you can complete a 'normal' one. If you can't finish a Pop Art in the one session it is very, very easy to continure working at home - and several students have done this with 100% success. On the other hand, I have some students who use their class to prep several canvases with the sole purpose of working on many of them at home - enough to keep them ticking over for a few weeks. It's a great way of taking full advantage of my equipment. I only take on a few students at a time in a Pop Art class, which means it's a very intimate and friendly session - probably the next best thing to a private lesson. If you'd like to give it a go - click here to see the details of my next session. And if you can't wait - there's always private.

Let the sun shine in.....

Recently influenced by the beautiful weather, I was determined to create a new painting class subject and sat browsing through some holiday photos for inspiration. I flung open the double doors of my studio and let the sun and heat stream in - I put my new CD on the player, turned up the volume. I made myself a lovely glass of cold pineapple juice. Out came the paints and off we went. It almost takes me as long to record each stage in my note book as it does to paint it. But - my notes are vital if I want to re-create it as exactly as I can. If any of you are familiar with Joyce Ortner, you'll know that's the way she works too. She even suggests keeping a 'recipe book' for al the colours that you mix, which is a great idea too. Anyways - I leave you with Cor Phew. You can see a larger version of this painting in my class subjects gallery.

Oooooo - my back

This morning, feeling energetic, I thought I'd shuffle a few bits around in my studio, making a bit more space than I had before. Too nice to go indoors I followed my shuffle up with a potter. I planted up a couple of hanging baskets with my craft fayre plants. I planted and caned up some sweet peas (I just LOVE the smell of sweet peas). Next, I potted up a very fragrant baby basil plant and found space in the greenhouse for my new hot chilli pepper plant too. At this point I wondered whether to wash my hands and go back indoors and make a start on another version of my 'Feathered Friends' painting (the original sold over the weekend and I no longer have one for display purposes). Looking at my fingers I decided while I had muck under the fingernails I might as well get all my gardening bits done and out the way. So......I do have an achey back from weeding and clearing, but I also have sown my beetroot, parsnips & carrots. My potatoes have been planted up too. I've found a nice spot for my 2 new clematis and camelia. All my forget-me-not plants are now either in pots or in the garden and everything has had a good feed and watering in. Now the potting shed is clear it must be time to get some more bits on the go! i didn't quite have the time to do the bird painting - but I did managed to paint a stack of canvas black which will come in handy for tomorrow's class and future projects.

Guaranteed results - anyone can paint

There's going to be a very surprised Dad. Here you can see Jack, just putting the finishing touches to his Pop Art portrait of his father. Jack is just 11 years old and along with his mother they spent half the day having fun with their painting projects. Jack's mum decided to paint an Artic Lorry (long story - but a symbolic and hugely apt choice of painting subject - don't ask!) When I arrived and started to set up, both Jack & Mum were telling me how Dad was in total disbelief that either of them could paint Pop Art Portraits in just half a day. Mum assured him it was possible and even reminded him of my money back guarantee which I offer to any un-satisfied customers. 'She's never had to give a refund yet..........', Mum explained.

Tantalising Smells........

Just before today's Pop Art workshop I spied the egg bowl, looked at the kitchen clock and decided I had just enough time to throw the ingredients for a spicy fruit loaf into the breadmaker - which immediately took care of 2 eggs. Consequently, 3 hours into the class we were painting along to the heavenly smells of warm bread, fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spices. Unable to resist, the loaf was sliced while it was still hot, served with lashings of butter and a hot cup of tea. I'm trying really hard to resist as I know I can't stop at one slice. I'll be running another Pop Art workshop on Thursday 29th April - details can be found HERE. I can't promise more spicy fruit loaf though, but there's normally a bit of home baking served up to students.

Seeing as it's St Patrick's Day, I'll leave you with a Pop Art Portrait of one of my favourite Irish Celebs.

Family Heirloom

Yesterday, Anne, one of the students, brought along some beautiful framed art works. Anne calls these pieces 'painting with a needle' as they are very fine cross stitch compositions. We started with a beautiful spring posy of daffodils against a dark background on an upright panoramic portrait frame. So many shades of yellow in those daffodil heads. Many moons ago I used to fiddle with cross stitch myself and I really can appreciate how difficult it can be to select the correct colour thread when they are all so close in tones - and don't even get me started on the amount of time it can take to complete a square inch. Anne showed us all several completed cross stitch 'paintings', all so neat, flat, clean and fresh. But, the piece that has us all in awe was the beautiful full portrait of Santa, with angels, by a fully decorated Christmas Tree. Started some 6 years ago and finished recently in Canada, this work is an absolute family heirloom. Costing well over £100 to frame alone it was simply stunning, decorated with beads and gold thread. I knew Anne had a photo of this lovely work on her facebook profile and I am sure she won't mind me sharing it with you all. The photo doesn't do the work justice - but you get the idea.

New painting subjects - New dates

I've just updated the Class Timetable page and added several new class dates and images. You can find larger images of the Class Subjects by clicking HERE. You might be interested to see how 'Peaceful Evening' looks when painted in a lighter way too. If you'd like to attend any of the workshops, do drop me a line or give me a call on info@ayoubart.co.uk - 01473 311938 - 07950032557

Venetia - a 2 day painting project

I needed to refresh my memory on a little area on the 'Venetia' painting. I'm teaching the second stage of it later this week. I've actually ended up painting the whole thing again, partly to increase my speed and partly to double check the bit I wasn't 100% sure about. (You can see I don't leave anything to chance when it comes to a painting class!) What I'm left with is a completely different colour tone - which just illustrates how colour mixes can change a painting. Probably mood has a big influence too. A bold and fearless student will paint a completely different painting to a quiet and timid person. If you scroll down you'll see the much richer and deeper earlier version of the same composition.

Better late than never

At the weekend, my lady braved the elements to come along to make a Pop Art Portrait. Ronni was previously booked in before Christmas as she wanted to make a unique gift for her partner. However, flu kicked in and she couldn't go ahead with the lesson. Luckily though, her partner's birthday is next week. Ronni was a little nervous at first, with no artistic skills she was certain she wouldn't be able to make this. But, after I assured her she would be leaving with a painting to be proud of, she relaxed and quickly began to enjoy the lesson. She even commented a couple of times 'This is such good therapy'. If you'd like to try this really popular and trendy style of painting you will find all the details HERE

Another Bamburgh Castle......

I have just received this photo from a customer of mine. He had been eager to paint the Bamburgh Castle project and the only thing stopping him was waiting for the panoramic / letterbox canvases to arrive.

Jim used water mixable oils instead of the traditional oils that I use.

By following my step by step tuition on the DVD, this is what he produced. I think it's wonderful. As this is only my second DVD, feedback and results like this really do give us great encouragement to carry on.

Thanks Jim xx

If you'd like a copy of this DVD you can find it by clicking on the words 'Another Bamburgh Castle' at the top of this entry and you'll be taken straight to the shopping cart. It's just £11.75 delivered to your door. If you wanted to paint this in one of my classes it would cost £45 for a standard class and £65 for a private class.

Pop Art Classes coming soon

As promised, I've added a few more classes to the Class Timetable page (CLICK HERE). As the groups will be smaller, I'll be able to manage to hold a Pop Art Portrait Class. These have really been popular and students have been painting both celebrities and family members alike. The choice of painting subject is entirely up to you. The feedback from students on their portraits has been incredible and I know many of my students are keeping busy making commissions for family and friends. It's addictive and because it's done in acylics it drys quickly - plus, when you paint for yourself at home, you can choose to either set aside a day to complete one or spend just 15 minutes a day working on your pop art until it's finished. Either way, it's a very rewarding painting project to do and you'll never be lost for gift ideas once you know how to do this properly. I'll leave you with this snap of one of my students having fun with their Pop Art Portrait - LOL

More dates

Just a quicky to let you know the class schedule has been updated with more dates and painting subjects. Private Classes are available inbetween these dates subject to availability. Please call me on 01473 311938 or drop me a line on info@ayoubart.co.uk if you'd like to book tuition or have any enquiries.

Same composition, different method

Sometimes in a class, depending on the type of painting we are doing, I can offer students a variety of colour schemes. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. I just thought I'd show you 'Serengeti Solitude'. I'm sure you're thinking it's exactly the same as the painting below, only a different colour and a different sized canvas. In part you'd be correct in your assumption, but the two paintings are made in entirely different ways. Which one do you prefer? I think my preference would be the blue.... Aren't those acacia trees just something? They remind me of the Cedar, the emblem on the Lebanese National Flag.

Student input

When today's ladies (Sally & Josie) arrived, they commented on how lovely the countryside looked, all frosted up. I showed them the painting I made yesterday, also insipred by this current cold weather. They both gave me a bit of inspirational art advice actually. They reckoned the addition of some glitter would make the painting look frosty - and I have to agree with them. We've added glitter to our paintings before, about a year ago, giving some stars a little extra embellishment. I'm pleased they remembered this as I had completely forgotton. I shall have to finish this painting off, let it dry out and get the fine glitter dust out. Josie went on to say what a pretty Christmas card it would make too. Imagine a similar scene on a really small canvas, spots of glitter catching the light...........

Pop Art Portrait - Kings Of Leon

I forgot to take a photo of one of the Pop Art paintings I made for my eldest daughter's Christmas present. I managed to rectify this today by popping over to her house and seeing the painting hung in situ. With a spotlight by the side of it, hung on a plain wall, it really looks fab. Apparently everyone who has seen it has passed a favourable comment on it and one friend wants to book a Pop Art class with me so she can paint it for herself. For those of you who are wondering who this fab four are - it's the King's Of Leon. A few months ago my daughter was singing the band's praises to me. I told her I didn't know what all the fuss was about as I could take them or leave them (preferably leave them). Her reply was 'Mum, not liking the Kings of Leon is the ONLY un-cool thing about you. Well, things have changed since then and their latest CD is permanently in my car, with another copy of the same CD in the dining room (thanks to a generous Santa). They are now my baking background music and it's one of my most played CD's. Hopefully, that now makes me a cool mum........ I've put a larger version of this painting in my gallery HERE so you can view a more detailed image. It is gallery wrapped (which means it's painted right around the canvas edges) and measures 20 x 8 inches. This 4 person Pop Art portrait is for sale for £85 (includes postage and packing to UK mainland), should anyone want one.......or, for a £65 private class fee you could paint your own - or any other celebrity you care to name.