Moonrise, Misty River, Boots

When I first started painting last year, my medium of choice was acrylic. I loved the ability to use lots of paint and get texture with huge dollops of paint on the surfaces of my paintings. I gradually learnt to temper my enthusiasm and to moderate my painting techniques.
And then I decided to do watercolours. I have always loved watercolour work and decided to try my hand at it. The first results were the little pics of the archway, harbour and window box, plus the two just posted. The seascape of the moonlight (3rd pic) is possibly the very first watercolour I did. I then discovered oils and that certainly took up my time and effort just learning to deal with the medium.

My efforts with watercolour went by the wayside. Until this year when I scratched through my watercolour box and decided to try my hand again. The two pics at the top are the result. The boots are Margie Johnson's, as part of a still life, and the water one comes from a pic from a magazine.

Peony Posy, French Village

Whilst doing an early spring clean of my painting/ sewing/ beading room, I came across these two little watercolours that I had done at the same time as the Harbour, archway and window box, so I thought I'd put them up as well.

For my Son 18"x24"

It's my son, Howard's, birthday tomorrow and this is the 'gift' I will be taking to the family when I make my way over to Sweden in February next year. I really enjoyed painting my grandson and thanks to Margie Johnson for her guidance.

The Fisherman, Desert Trees, Seascape

Sunday morning and great to relax after a hectic weekend. Friday morning was a return to our social painting group at the Frank Joubert Art School in Newlands after a two week (school holiday) break. It really was nice to be back socialising, drinking tea and, yes, painting as well. I use this time as catch-up - I have too many unfinished paintings that don't seem to get done and Friday morning is a perfect opportunity to work with like minded people! I was looking through some of my paintings from a year ago (that's when I started) and I've gone from the 'not so good' to the 'improving daily' phase. I started with acrylics in Philip Glazer's classes (where I met some lovely people), but am now firmly 'dedicated' to oils. These are some of the first acrylics I did!

Window in France, Archway

Well I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this blogging thing. After spending all those years in advertising, working with a computer the whole day, this should be a doddle. But it's as though the whole computer/working/stress overload process was wiped from my brain cell overnight. Anything electronic and I phone my son who lives in Sweden, and the exasperation in his voice is quite clear. Anything computer challenging, and I refer to my sister (who in turn refers it to my son in Sweden if she can't do it!) The little watercolour pic I posted on my first attempt, was accompanied by another two. All three were done whilst sitting in front of the television watching cricket. Here are the other two.

Beadwork

Thought, as a signing off of my blogging efforts this evening, I would show a sample of a beaded necklace done in the most exciting orange, purple and green colours - or as my beading expert, Maree would say "bont colours". Each little triangle is individually beaded and then those triangles are strung together. All very time consuming, but the end result is so worth it. In days to come, and when I get used to this new venture (for me!) I will post more beading projects.

Harbour - pen and wash

This is one of three small watercolours that I decided to try. At this stage all my teaching was coming from books - not the ideal way to go, but a start at least. The darkness of the little drawing appealed to me.

Fire and Water (with Heather Selby)

This is one of the first paintings I was involved with. Heather Selby, a professional painter of note, guided me through the intricacies of using a palette knife. Her generosity with her time and her patience, made the process even more enjoyable.