Don't say I didn't warn you.......

Earlier this week we had a Pop Art class. From that class, 1 lady wants to return soon to paint another of her grand children, another lady has been asked to paint another one for her daughter and wants to paint both her nieces also, another lady posted her pop art portrait on facebook. The comments being left by family and friends tell me she'd easily be able to pick up a few portrait commissions. One thing I tell Pop Art students.........as soon as you start showing people what you have made EVERYONE will want one. And it's true. And that means there's an opportunity for students to undertake commissions of their own. If you fancy having a go at this really fun a popular painting class, I have one this week on Thursday, and I do have a spare seat available. Guaranteed results. Drop me a line or give me a call on 01473 311938 if you'd like to come along. (Hey, not to mention I have cake............)

On yer bike.....

I'm mobile again. My bike, which was stolen from my drive last year has been sorely missed. I really used to enjoy my bike rides. I was lucky enough to receive a new bike for my birthday which is practically identical to the old one - apart from the colour. The new one is purple, the old one was green. I have a lock and chain for it and it's nice and secure. If this lovely weather continues you can be sure I'll be out there as often as I can clocking up the miles.

Portrait Painting

I'm pleased I don't have to drive down the narrow lanes of Ufford tonight - if they've had the same weather as Capel they'd be pretty much snowbound. We've had an absolute blizzard here today with 2 inches covering my patio in under an hour. At times it was coming down so thick you could barely see out the window. With weather like this it's ideal to set up in the cosy warm and get painting. My recent portrait project was next on the list and late this afternoon I decided to get cracking on some more details. There's still loads to do but the 3 base skin tone colours are in and I've started to work on some detailed areas. The eyes are in and I feel it makes the painting start to come to life.

Portrait Painting - with Valerie Stewart

Well, it's a long time to wait between now and next May for Valerie Stewart's portrait workshops..........so, with some time on my hands today I decided to have a little go, following her DVD instruction. Firstly, I selected a couple of photos - a celebrity and a family member. Next I prepped 2 canvas, mixing the base colour and giving a good coat on both canvas. As I settled at the table with my brushes, medium, palette, base colour, easel and kitchen towel, I was ready for stage one. I guess, the thing with portraits is........they are supposed to look like someone specific. With landscapes, we can be a lot more forgiving and add extra bushes, trees, fences - anything really..... The first few strokes were applied, following Valerie's guidance. I was a bit wary about making a mistake as I haven't ever made a detailed 'person' portrait in oils before. I'm happy to work with graphite and build up the shading, knowing an eraser will always take out bits I'm not happy with. Not quite sure how that will work with oils though. So, I'm almost at the end of stage one on the celebrity portrait and taking a break before switching to smaller brushes. All that you see so far has been created with a 1 inch brush. If you can guess who it is from this very basic layer, considering there's no eyes yet, I'd be really suprised.

Valerie Stewart Workshop in the UK - May 2010

The Valerie Stewart demo DVD at just £16 (including p&p) is proving to be a very popular item and a great introduction into oil painting portraits. Valerie and I are currently discussing a portrait workshop here in the UK - a first for both of us. We had hoped to organise a seminar for this year, but alas, our schedules are just too busy to slot this in with ample time for promotion and proper organisation. So, dates have been confirmed for 2010. The 4 day seminar will take place on 30th April, 1st, 2nd and 3rd May. We will complete 2 oil painting portraits of your choice. Further details will be released as soon as they are available and long distance students will have more than enough time to organise accommodation and travel/flights. This opportunity to paint along with Valerie will be extremely exciting and places will be limited to just 26 students. The workshops will take place in Capel St Mary and students will need to commit to the full 4 days. I'm thrilled this extremely popular and talented instructor is willing to teach here in the UK - this will be one memorable class, guaranteed.

Learn to paint Portraits in Oils - Step by Step

AyoubArt is proud to become a distributor for Valerie Stewart Studios. Both Valerie's 'Portrait Painting Technique DVD' and 6 DVD Portrait series are now available to buy direct from the UK. I've just added a new DVD to the Valerie Stewart collection: The one hour demo DVD, 'Painting The Face' (Revised Second Edition) is designed to teach you how the Valerie Stewart Portrait Painting Technique works. It will take you through each step of painting a portrait, from beginning to end. You will learn everything - from one colour under painting to the final touches necessary to paint a quality portrait. For your viewing convenience, you may skip this DVD to various sections of information. There are 8 chapters: 1) Colour mixing 2) One colour underpainting 3) Colour application 4) Painting the lips 5) Painting eyes 6) Painting Hair 7) Clothing. At just £16, which includes postage and packing to any European address - I have immediate availability on this item. The shopping cart can be found HERE - or, if you prefer, payment can be made by cheque - payable to Sue Warne and sent to Apollo House, 10 Windmill Hill, Capel St Mary, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP9 2JF.

Art Popping

During the week I've been working on some more Pop Art Portraits. I've had several celebrities in half finished states dotted around the house. Today I managed to complete a few of them. I'm always open to suggestions as to who you'd like to see portrayed in Pop Art. So if you have any ideas, do drop me a line on info@ayoubart.co.uk, I'd love to hear from you.

Here's one of my finished pieces - entitled 'Golden Years'

Lap work

Today I really wanted to have another day in my studio but unfortunately the very wet weather and a severe power cut put paid to that idea. But all was not lost...............I have several Pop Art projects on the go at the moment. With half finished celebrity faces laying all around the house, they are a great thing to pick up and work on in fits and starts. As these portraits are made using acrylics, I can work on my lap. So, although I wanted to work on a rather special oil painting project, instead I've completed 2 Pop Arts. Hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll be able to work in oils tomorrow, while the creative mood is still with me.

Incidentally..........................I am able to teach these Pop Art Portraits to beginners. If you're interested in painting your own idol's portrait this way please contact me on 01473 311938 for details. Alternatively you can view other student's work on my website HERE