Garden work

I'm not enjoying the cold snaps we've been having. Like fellow painter Liz, my runner beans have been ruined by frost and not one has survived. Luckily I've got a few more in pots behind glass and I'll get those planted out maybe in a few weeks. I've a couple of hanging baskets planted up that are in the greenhouse for the time being, and a few outside tomatoes that are still indoors until I'm pretty certain they too won't get taken by the cold nights. Yet, my strawberry planter is looking lovely with a few fruits and plenty of blossoms. Our 3 grape vines are really springing into life now. This year I really must make Warak Aynab - a Lebanese dish of stuffed vine leaves, delicious. My peas are slow to grow but at least they are alive still as are my pots of sweet peas. Whilst on the subject of gardening, I was recently given the most delightful Burgundy Ice rose bush. It's been sat in a pot on my patio for over a week. Today I found the ideal spot for it, slap bang in the middle of my front lawn. The label says it thrives in most soils and needs an open sunny position - well, that's just what it's got. (It also says it will bloom throughout the Summer - so fingers crossed).

Beautiful colour scheme

I'd like to show you a really delightful colour combination. Judy purchased my Golden Lake and Bamburgh Castle DVD's and she's been having fun painting them both in a variety of colours. It's great to see what other people make of these compositions and I love to see the results when students put in their own personalities. This beautiful bright blue and mauve, I think, work really well together. Judy writes: 'I have loved and thoroughly enjoyed painting the Golden Lake, but best of all the Bamburgh Castle, I've used other colours as well and they all look good. Had 4 framed and got good comments from the art dealer.' Judy is hoping to make some painting sales to help finance her 15 year old Grandson gain a world title in Tae-Kwondo in Portugal later this year. He already holds the British title. I'm sure you'll join me in wishing Judy all the best with her painting sales, they look beautifiul as they are, they look even more fabulous with their frames.

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.

Revive your brushes

As I was setting up for today's class, I found 3 x 1 inch landscape brushes that hadn't been properly cleaned. The bristles had gone a little hard, too hard to apply medium with, that's for sure. I decided to use those brushes anyway and very easily rejuventated them to their former glory within minutes. Out came the brush cleaning bar and within seconds they were clean, soft, supple and fragrant. Although I don't recommend using the soap bar with your large (1 inch and 2.5 inch) landscape brushes, it is possible to clean them if you are very, very careful. The secret is NOT to have your brushes in contact with water for a length of time. Just dip your brush into luke warm water, wiggle it over the cleaning bar and work up a lather into the bristles with your fingers. This will loosen any residue medium and paint. Quickly dip your brush into clean lukewarm water to rinse and remove all traces of water immediately, using an old towel or kitchen roll. After this, tightly bind your bristles with clean kitchen roll, which will ensure all traces of water are absorbed away. If you stick to this method your landscape brushes will survive the cleaning process. I showed today's students just what the cleaning bar was capable of as I handed them a very old, stiff 1 inch wide filbert brush. They could barely bend the bristles over. Within minutes, after working it over the cleaning soap bar a couple of times it was as soft as new. At just £3.50 a bar, delivered to your door, if it saves just one brush it would have paid for itself. If you'd like some, you can find the shopping basket for it HERE

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.

Money Saving Art Supplies

As I pulled off the dual carriageway this morning, heading towards Stowmarket, I was delighted to see the Tesco's roundabout filled with pretty yellow daffodils. In the brilliant sunshine they were a treat and a sure sign that Spring is only just around the corner. The warm sun stayed with us for the best part of the day, and it allowed my students to take their paintings into the courtyard at The Green Room so their black acrylic base coats could dry off rapidly. I had a huge amount of questions at the end of class regarding wet-on-wet oil painting supplies. I'm lucky in that I am not tied in with any particular Company and can pass on details of the many various brands that I personally recommend for this particular technique - all tried and tested and guaranteed to do the job and give brilliant value for money. I was delighted with one particular comment I received from Rob; 'You've saved me £15 already on the thinners alone!'. It's no secret in saying it's my mission to get as many people oil painting as possible - plus - I can show you how you can set yourself up without having to spend a small fortune. In this current economic crisis, the £15 that Rob has saved will easily buy him a couple of brushes, a tube or two of paint and a canvas.

Temptation

I chose to lay in this morning and didn't manage to get my walk in before today's workshop, nor did I have time to do it before it got dark after the class. So, out of interest, I decided to wear my pedometer for today's class. As we stopped for lunch I took a raeding and was amazed to see my steps converted to 1.4 miles! At the end of the class I had notched up another 1.4 miles. Considering I didn't leave the house, that's quite a lot of mileage. But, I may well have undone any good. Sally & Josie always bring goodies with them and today was no exception. They broke the seal on a rather sumptious box of Thornton's chocolates which I managed to resist all day long. But.......they left some remaining chocolates behind and the temptation was too much. Coffee, my favourite flavour, sat there staring at me so I popped it in my mouth without a second thought. Naughty - but nice.

Underwater Inspiration

Here's Jazarah. He's the bright orange starfish I bought for my daughter's marine aquarium. I was asked to name him, his name means 'carrot' in Arabic. He actually looks like 6 little carrots. Here you can see him moving up the front of her tank (I say him, but it could be a she for all we know). The top of him is a vivid orange, almost luminous, hence the name. We also picked up a sea anenome in a brilliant bright white with pink tips on the tentacles, a burgundy feather duster tubeworm and a hermit crab with bright blue legs. These keep her fish and dancing shrimps company. An expensive hobby, but..........whenever I go to visit her we both sit in front of the tank for ages watching all the creatures. One of the first items she brought for her tank was several kilos of live rock. In a few months, this rock has produced all manner of organisms. The harder you study it the more you see. I have an old hand held magnifying glass in my office and I'll be giving that to her next time I visit. It'll help us get a much closer look at what's occurring.

Looking at Soha's aquarium has got me all inspired. Quite a few months ago I worked on an oil painting of a couple of 'Nemo' fish, just for fun really. I think I might like to re-design the painting and change the composition a little. It's amazing how we can look back on our work and think of what we would like to change - especially when we have learned new techniques since the original painting.