More space

Over the next few weeks there will be some design changes to the studio / classroom. The downstairs office is being emptied which will give a lot more room for a gallery, a few more desks and storage for art supplies. Already the door has been removed and the difference in the light is great. I think that dark door had quite an overpowering effect. It'll take a little while to get completely straight but I do love a re-vamp.

Experiment for yourselves - and save some money

Many of you know already but for those of you who don't. In all my trials and tests on oils paints I have found pretty much most popular brands are suitable for the wet on wet technique. In today's class I quite happily proved this by using a total of not 1, not 2 but 5 different brands of paint. As I'm not tied into using any specific brands I'm free to use exactly what I want. One thing I will not do is compromise on standard and if it doesn't pass the test it finds itself left on a shelf somewhere in the dark and cobwebby recesses of my studio. With all these brands of paint squirted onto the palette side by side they all looked the same in consistency. You'd never know...... It's far better to pay attention to the actual quality of your painting surface, your base medium and the brushes you use. I really hope, as a tutor, I open up the many options available to students who want to set themselves up at home. Can anyone remember the test I done about 5 years ago? I painted 2 versions of the same painting side by side using identical brushes. Painting number 1 was made with student quality paint. Painting number 2 was made with professional artist paint. To give you a paint price comparison a 37ml tube of cad red student quality paint is £1.99, a 37ml tube of cad red professional artist quality paint is £10.39. 7 colours were used for the painting subject. When the painting was completed and dried I used to take them both along to art classes, explain what I had done, and ask the students to pick out which was the 'dear' one. And not many could. In one class I had another art instructor who studied both paintings, laughed and said 'Ha, it's obvious' and picked the wrong one. So, have fun, experiment, if you like a colour but it's not your usual brand - try it, the chances are in your favour it will probably work for you and mix in with your other paints just fine.

Please stay nice......

I do hope this brilliant weather stays like this for the Bank Holiday weekend. It's been nice to have the kitchen door wide open. At the moment I spend a lot of my time sitting in my dining room as I have a lovely little portrait working area that's been set up for quite a while. It's non-invasive and doesn't hardly disrupt the dining room at all and it's been brilliant painting with all this fresh air and country sounds around me. For the past few days I've had another little portrait sitting in the side lines and I've been messing around with him for 5 - 10 minutes at a time. Probably not the sort of character anyone would want to mess with, but I thought he might make a good subject. He's not quite finished yet but now his features have been refined he really does look quite sinister in the semi-darkness of the dining room. Right, I'm off for a game of Quid Pro Quo.......with a nice bottle of Chianti and some fava beans

Here's looking at you

Last week I set to work on a portrait commission. I have another avid fan who also wants a painting of Peter Andre. She is set to move home in May and didn't want the painting before the move. I've practically finished the portrait and although it has a huge amount of similarities as the last one, obviously, it also has some difference too. Which is just what you want really. Here's a close up of Mr Andre's eyes and I'm pleased some people have guessed the character from this shot alone.

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.

Bare walls

Well, my dining room walls are looking a little bare. It's the place I like to hang my most recent work. Partly so I can view projects with a critical eye.......often - and also so visitors and students can view the work and give me their feedback. 2 oil portrait commissions and a Pop Art commission are now with their new owners and I'm anxious to fill the gaps on the wall. I've already made a start on the next oil portrait and it sits on my easel ready for the next stage. I'm sure I've said it before, but one of the nice things about these oil portraits is you can start and stop whenever you like, spending as much or as little time as you choose. I'll make a new web page soon for these oil portrait commissions as I hope to take on more of them. I'm really pleased to say both I and my customers so far are more than happy with their paintings. Of course, the hugest thanks goes to Valerie Stewart for adding another string to my bow.

Oil painting equipment

Although I have a variety of supplies on my website, I have quite a few other bits and bobs that are not listed. Often I will have bottles of thinners, cleaning buckets, beater racks, brush holders - all items which are either impossible or uneconomical to post. I have quite a selection of brushes that are suitable for watercolour and acrylics too. Not quite enough stock to put on the website, but plenty good enough to pop into a pot and take along to classes and art group demo's. There's some end of line tuitional DVD's available for various subjects and media. I also now have a range of quite superb oil paint in medium sized tubes at a very competitive rate. I've been trialing this paint for a little while now and it's really passed every test I've put it through, with a superb range of colours too. Most of these extra's are taken along to classes (subject to boot space) and are available for students to purchase at low cost as no postage and packing is involved. The recent addition to the product table are a selection of canvases, from standard rectangle, panoramic and mini size. So.......if you know you're coming along to a class soon and there's something specific you'd like, feel free to drop me a line on info@ayoubart.co.uk so I can be sure to include it in my goody box.

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.