Local Exhibition

There's a local exhibition coming up in a few weeks time. If you are in the area you might like to pop in and have a look. The Friends of St Mary's Church, Capel St Mary are holding their Art Exhibition and Sale from 22nd to 24th October inside the church. With over 40 artists taking part there should be more than 250 paintings to look at and buy. On Friday 22nd at 7.30pm there will be a preview evening. Tickets are £6, the cost to include light refreshments and a glass of wine. Saturday times are 10am - 5pm : Sunday times are 1pm - 5pm. Admittance is free and non-alchoholic refreshments will be available. For further information ring Joan Broyden on 01473 310596.

My first........

Just to draw your attention to the August 8th painting subject in Capel St Mary - an old 'un but a good 'un. Mangrove Oasis. This painting was the subject of my first ever 'big' class many years ago. Boy, was I nervous that day. It's been painted several times since and each time I introduce little changes to it. I've just updated the class gallery to show a more recent version of the painting, which was made recently in a private lesson - in fact, I made two again, a mini and a maxi version. If you'd like to come along and learn to paint this vivid scene with me in August do drop me a line or give me a call on 01473 311938. If I have your deposit for the class before the end of July I'll give you a complimentary small canvas so you too can paint a mini and maxi version at the same time.

September Painting Subject

With almost a full day in my studio, I've managed to finish off a new class painting subject, I've restored 4 old canvases, half finished another class painting subject and had a big tidy up. The completed subject is called 'Picnic Spot' and we'll be painting this on Sunday September 14th at Capel St Mary Village Hall. The class will start at 12.30pm and will finish around 5.30pm. If you'd like to come along and give this painting a go, do drop me a line at info@ayoubart.co.uk or call me on 01473 311938. At the moment, the Apollo Studio self-catering accommodation is available. You can find details of this cosy little home from home here: http://www.ayoubart.co.uk/38.html

Serenity

I've had some projects on the back burner and today I've managed to complete a couple of them. Next month I'll be introducing some panoramic canvases to my beginner's oil painting workshops. Here's the AyoubArt project for Capel St Mary on 6th July - a gentle seascape called 'Serenity'. This is for absolute beginners and is an ideal painting subject to hang in your own home or give as a gift. It's hard to see in the small image, but the sky has some twinkling stars, theres some gentle water movement and a couple of gulls checking out the lonesome yacht.

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.

A Few Spaces Left........

Next Sunday I'll be hosting my first class of the year. We'll be painting this lovely atmospheric woodland scene called 'Ever Green' on a large 16 x 20 inch canvas. The class is being held in Capel St Mary Village Hall, The Street, Capel St Mary, Nr Ipswich/Colchester, IP9 2EQ. The Hall has disabled access and is roomy, warm, light and airy. Car Parking is available right outside. The main bus-stop is also right outside. The hall is situated adjacent to the Co-Op, a handly place just incase you fancy a sandwich or other snack. The classes are just £45 per person, but if you bring along a friend you can take a 15% discount EACH. All materials and equipment are provided for you plus light refreshments. I keep my class capacity to just 15 students to ensure each and every one of you receives personal attention.

I have just 3 spaces left on this class, so if you'd like to come along, just call me on 01473 311938 or e-mail info@ayoubart.co.uk and I'll book you in.

December Exhibition

Just when I thought I'd finished exhibiting for 2007, by pure good luck, I discovered our local public house, The White Horse in Capel St Mary promotes local artists by showing paintings in their Restaurant. In late November I contacted the landlord to see if I might show a few of mine sometime. Here's where I had my second stroke of luck.........he just happened to have a vacancy for me which covered 3 weeks of December from 2nd to the 23rd, their busiest time of the year!

It was easy to select my entries as I'd just done exhibiting in October and November. This was one of the most homely exhibitions I have taken part in. Instead of paintings being displayed one after the other on peg boards in large open halls and galleries they were actually hung in a cosy carpeted dining room with an open fire. The lights were low and the room was filled with a cottage character enhanced by the exposed beams.

The owners of the White Horse didn't just display my paintings, they also promoted my local AyoubArt Oil Painting Classes - even selling some painting class gift vouchers too. How nice is that?

Just before my exhibition there ended several family members and students of mine met up there one evening to sample their 3 course Christmas Dinner. At the close of the exhibition they had made several painting sales for me, with 3 paintings going to one buyer!

But it doesn't stop there.........a third stroke of luck kicked in just yesterday. We decided to pop in for a Sunday carvery lunch. The landlady asked me if I still had my 'Sunbeams' painting as she had a buyer for it. Luckily, I do still have it so that's another painting sale that I really didn't expect. You can see a version of 'Sunbeams' here on the right.......it's not mine though, this was painted by 14 year old Annie during a Private Class with her cousin and grandmother.