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

Bank Holiday weekend Art Demo

At Stowupland Village Hall there will be several stalls open over the Bank Holiday weekend. I have a stall there and I will be giving a live demonstration of the wet on wet technique.....and I hope to have a portrait painting project on the side too (space permitting). I shall have art supplies on display for sale and I shall be selling off some of my paintings, unframed, at bargain prices. I need to make room in my studio once again and this week alone I've sorted out several boxes of paintings that need homes. I'm sharing the stall with another artist, Pauline, and her work will also be available to purchase. Pauline will be manning the stall on all 3 days. I will only be demo-ing on the Saturday (1st May). If you 'd like to pop along and give us a look, say hello, we are in Church Road, Stowupland, Nr Stowmarket, IP14 4BQ.

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.

A new product

Here's a natty little piece of equipment you might like to add to your art supplies. It's the Alexander Brush Cleaning Screen. It measures just over 4 inches wide and is less than an inch high. This means you don't need much thinners in your pot to get coverage - which is great if you use an expensive variety. Available direct from the UK it's only £5.30 delivered to your door. I used mine for the first time yesterday and it does a great job, even cleaned my delicate liner brush and other soft brushes too. Because of it's size I only need a little cleaner pot. CLICK HERE to be taken to the shopping cart if you'd like one. Remember, price includes postage and packing to any European address.

A new painting subject

A little while ago I received a message from a student of mine. Katie wanted to book a class and asked if it were possible to paint something from the Sue's Gallery selection rather than the Class Subject choices. And from that request we now have a rather pretty - and different - painting subject that is suitable to be taught in a class. I'm putting this new painting ' Feathered Friends ' as the Capel class subject for June, it will probably be the painting subject for July at Heartlands once I sort out some new dates. See HERE for details and if you CLICK HERE you'l find a larger image of the new painting subject.

The sun has got his hat on....

Taking maximum advantage of the recent sunny weather, I decided to prep 3 boxes of canvases. All have been given 2 coats of flesh toned gesso and are ready for any of the June students who wish me to supply their portrait canvas for them. My patio had every sunny inch taken up with lines of canvas drying out. I'll be sending out an announcement to the Valerie Stewart students later this week incase you'd like to order your canvases in advance. Valerie also wants to extend an invitation to anyone who is interested in dropping by when we have the portrait seminar. Drop-ins will be on the 5th & 6th June, afternoons only. It'll give you an idea of what we've been doing and how we are getting along. It might even tempt you to sign up for a 2011 portrait seminar. I still have availablity for this 4 day oil painting portraiture workshop, details can be found HERE.If you are unable to attend the seminar but wish to learn Valerie's technique you might be interested in her DVD's. A single portrait demo DVD is a bargain at just £16; the intensive 6 DVD set is just £145. Details of the DVDs can be found HERE. As I was in a portrait frame of mind I decided to finish off this fella (yes, it IS a fella). I might just keep this guy for myself....... Regular readers will know I've learned to create these portraits simply by following Valerie's DVD tuition. This is my 7th ever oil portrait and the second portrait that I have completed without having to refer to the DVD's. You can find a larger version of this painting by clicking HERE.

A gift for a friend

Thanks to a couple of students (who were armed with camera's on Saturday) I can share a snap taken from a recent class. On the left you can see Hazel. On the right, with her back to us, is her friend Pauline. Pauline decided to book the seascape painting workshop as a total surprise for her friend, who was a first time painter. An unusual birthday gift, yet a gift that will last forever in memory and on canvas.

Pauline paints frequently and recently took part in the Needham Market exhibition. She managed to sell over half of her paintings. Fingers crossed she'll have more sales in another exhibition in May. If you'd like to surprise a friend or loved one with a painting class (or a private lesson) AyoubArt Gift Vouchers can be purchased by clicking HERE