Watermarks

Waterways Project: November Catch Up

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsay) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:45:00 +0000

Gray Day
Ink and watercolor

This is my favorite time to sketch out doors. The bright light...the warm breezes...Just kidding. But I do like the linear quality of the trees and the filtered light. (No bugs helps too!) If you'd like to see a few more from the November sketchbook, I've posted them here on my blog.

Bright Day
ink and watercolor

Bring out Your Inner Artist and Shine!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Wimperis) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:03:00 +0000

As an artist you are probably very similar to me, bold and brash on the outside but full of self doubt and shy of "exposing" your work. I grew up with a wildly enthusiastic mother who's glass was always half full, well to be honest, overflowing! As a result I have a sunny disposition but inside I actually think that anyone who says that my work is "good" is just being nice!
Whats all this got to do with anything?
I started blogging in January 2006 and seriously posting my work up about six months later. It was very much a case of learning on the job and as a result I made many mistakes, more about them in a minute.
The very first thing that I realised was that having and maintaining an Internet "presence" is quite a lot of work but it pays off. I was able to supplement my income as an illustrator quite quickly. Plus selling paintings was slowly chipping away at that self doubt voice.
Being English as well I was, and still am, a bit embarrassed by the "look at me" aspect of self promotion. I rush to tell people who I know that I do it because it helps to sell my work. Actually by far the best thing to come out of it is getting to know so many other artists, even if it is cybernetics!
Being an artist is a terribly solitary occupation, you wander lonely as a cloud, seeking inspiration, wanting to chew the fat with other artists by joining groups but also jealously guarding your solitude at the same time. Blogging enables you to have those conversations, to see other peoples work and to network. We don't have water coolers, coffee breaks or office parties you see.
Having and maintaining a web identity also gives you the chance to sell your work, and therefor make a living. Some people use E-bay, others Etsy, some favor Folksy and some Imagekind. Some systems are better that others and the best advice is to go and try them out, see which you like, browse and search for things, see who is selling and what they are selling, get your pricing right and don't forget to factor in post and the time it takes to pack everything up. Putting a nice note, or a little card in with purchases makes a lot of difference. Think what you would like from a shop or gallery and go one step further. The other thing to bear in mind is getting people to come to your virtual gallery.
Social networking sites are becoming very popular for that, I don't Twitter so I cant talk about that but I have recently started a "fan page" on Facebook. This lets people who are friends of friends of friends see your work as well as catching a few total strangers along the way. It is possible to link up very easily with your blogs and so the fan page, as well as the fans, can see what you are up to. Easily is the word, you have to make it easy for people to find and see your work, stick links on your emails, put your website on your car, and network like mad on your blogs. (I am bad about that, too lazy, must try harder!)
I used to toy with the idea of being anonymous and enigmatic, like Banksey, but it doesn't fit with my personality, I think it is a rare person indeed who can maintain an identity on blogs that is not their own, it seems to bring out personalities and show them for what they are.
So in a nutshell:
Blog, it makes you work hard and gets you seen.
Sell, via which ever site you feel happy with.
Network, on Facebook, Flicker, Twitter etc.
Throw away your inhibitions and stop waiting for the world to knock on your studio door, get out there and strut your stuff, after all you put your heart and soul into it so why not let it shine.
Sarah's Etsy shop. Sarah's Facebook fan page
Katherine's Making-A-Mark fan page on facebook
Vivien's Etsy shop
Jeanette's Etsy shop
Gesah's Etsy shop.

( I have only put this here because I dont like blog posts without pictures and because I like this painting and because it has just sold in the gallery, Beside The Wave, that sells my work in the flesh, as opposed to on the internet, so I am happy!)

Now I know that I haven't put all of us on here as links, so fellow watery ones, please add your networking, selling sites. After all Christmas is coming, someone out there might well be on the lookout for something extra special...

Sketching and drawing the water garden at Giverny

makingamarkcomments@googlemail.com (Katherine Tyrrell) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:56:00 +0000

I've finally got to Giverny in terms of blogging my trip round France

This is the sketch I did while sat on the seat at the end of the pool in the water garden. I never know what to call the water in the water garden. It's too small to be a lake, too big to be a pond (and besides it's artificially created!). I've decided I'm calling it 'a pool' but there must be a French word which says it better!

I'm also more and more convinced that the vegetation around still water is really important to capturing 'the essence' of the place.

The Water Garden, Giverny
11.5" x 17", coloured pencil in sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

The sketch was done using coloured pencils across a double page spread of my Daler Rowney sketchbook - while hordes of chattering tourists led by tour guides making inane comments came past about six inches in front of me! It's not conducive to good sketching. I think I've got to investigate the arrangements for visiting the garden when it's not open to the public.

Back home, armed with my photos and video, I know that the colours should be deeper than the sketch and not as deep as in the photos!

This is the drawing I'm working on at the moment. The left hand side is more finished than the right.

(Work in Progress) The Water Garden at Giverny
9" x 12", coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

You can read my blog posts here:

Making A Mark - The garden behind the paintings - Giverny
Travels with a Sketchbook - The Water Garden at Giverny

See my photos of the water garden here - Monet's water garden, Giverny

Plus this site provides information about visiting Giverny - Giverny - a great garden

....and one day soon You Tube might allow me to upload my 3 seconds short of 10 minute video of a complete circuit of the pool - with an emphasis on the reflections in the water!

[UPDATE: ....and here it is A walk around Giverny - #1 The Water Garden]

The River

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Wimperis) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +0000

I have just finished painting another few nocturnes. I realised as I was painting this one that it must be one of my favorite painting sites, tucked away from prying eyes with a commanding view. I paint here often and so I thought I would show a couple of other paintings of the River in other guises. By night as a winding ribbon of moonlight, with a troubled sky affording only glimpses of the wintry landscape. The old oaks are so thick going down to the water that even when they have lost most of their leaves they present a solid mass folding themselves down the gentle sloping fields towards the river.

In high summer under a blue sky she presents quite a different face, bright greens and yellows and air filled with bird song and insect noise.

Then in early spring, just waking up after a long winter, the tide far out leaving a few channels in the estuary mud and a soft purplish haze of budding leaves on the trees.

The other thing that I have been doing is making a "fan" page for my work on face-book. It is a test really to see how effective it is and although it is only two days old I have already got two commissions from it. I will report back on its effectiveness as a marketing tool later. So far I am pleased with it and it seems quite easy to use as far as putting images on goes. If it is worth doing I will let you know and in the meantime have a visit and become a fan, please!

It is on facebook and it is called Sarah Wimperis Paintings.

More from Brittany

noreply@blogger.com (Laureline) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:10:00 +0000

The subtitle to this post should be The End, because I've come to the last of my Breton sketches. To see them all, check my blog. For now, you will have to scroll through recent posts, but I'm in the process of making a separate Brittany sketchbook there, as well.

Oh, how I miss that time and place already.

I have one more, VERY exciting watery trip upcoming next month! See you here, with sketches, in midDecember!

Sketching in a slump?

noreply@blogger.com (Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:00 +0000

When in Hawaii a few weeks ago, I was inspired and did a lot of sketches, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Here are three of the sketches and the rest can be seen in my Hawaii posts on Africantapestry.

...across the lagoon...

...colourful canoes...

..koi...

Arriving back in Montlouis, I just suddenly had the creative door slammed into my face, fell right into a slump and I'm there ever since. It is as though nothing works - not a pen, not a pencil or a brush or even motivation. And it can't be said that I haven't tried, but everything ends up begin scratched out/over with frustration. And tears of course.

...La Loire...

This morning I grabbed my sketchbook and a pen and took off to the Loire. It was cold and windy, but I was determined to get soem sketches. Which I did. At home I couldn't resit the urge and added watercolour. I had the discipline to not start scratching it out again. So. Here they are. Overwashed. But still. sketches. Maybe now the spell will be broken. After all. Halloween is over.
the rest can be seen on Africantapestry.

...puddles at La Loire...

Dawn finished at last

noreply@blogger.com (vivien) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Dawn, 40 inch canvas, oil. Vivien Blackburn

Finally finished. It proved a nightmare to photograph - the subtle colour changes just aren't picked up well enough. They show a little better in the details below.

I wanted to catch that early morning light as the darkness is chased away by the amber colours of dawn. The sea is calm and the rocks only half seen. The glow catches the top of the far cliffs and the tops of some of the wet rocks.

The horizon doesn't really slope - it's the photographer who had a bit of a list to port.

Below is a morning light painting I did plein air - one of the several sources that this developed from. The tide here is a little further out and daylight further advanced.

if you click on the above image you can see further work on Cornwall.

Brittany sketches

noreply@blogger.com (Laureline) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:05:00 +0000

I spent more than three glorious weeks in Brittany and became completely enamored of its tranquil beauty and its intimate scale. It is less dramatic than I'd imagined, less rugged than coastal Scotland and Ireland, less vertiginous than some of the places in Cornwall I remember, more temperate (there are palm trees and camellias and fig trees in the Golfe du Morbihan!), more feminine somehow, more French than I'd expected. May I please have another lifetime? I'd live in Quimper or on the Morbihan coast, I'd rear my children, I'd dine on the freshest oysters imaginable, and I'd paint every spare moment I could steal or borrow.
I'd originally planned to take acrylic paints and gessoboards to make rock and water studies on location. Due to my mother's precarious health, I had to travel as lightly as possible, knowing I might have to return home at any moment. Thus, these sketches, from which later paintings will ensue:
I have more of these sketches and will post them here soon. I am in the process of sharing all my sketches from Brittany on my blog Laurelines, so please drop by and have a look!

The remains of the day

jeanettejobson@gmail.com (Jeanette) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:00:00 +0000

On Saturday I gave a workshop on gyotaku for a local art association. I initially wondered how I would fill the time, but its funny how I always think that prior to workshops, then at the time wish that there was extra time to do all the things that I had planned. And this time it was no different.

This was my first time using squid to print with and, despite the little tentacles clinging to everything and being a bit 'ewwwwww' to me, they did produce some interesting shapes and textures. I didn't have a lot of time to play with them during the class but will as soon as I have some time.

The demonstration that I did at the workshop was a capelin, enhanced with watercolour. I started some demo work on a print over aa background but ran out of time, so its in limbo right now, waiting to push ahead or be relegated to the never never drawer.

One of the workshop participants brought in a large salted cod to print. Salt fish is a Newfoundland tradition and goes back to times when salt was the preserving agent to keep fish and meat edible over the winter once dried. Its still very common here, but is an acquired taste, not one that I've ever really become fond of.

However, because of the large size and complex texture of the flattened fish, I suggested using some coloured tissue paper to print on and it worked well. Unfortunately, the mustardy yellow of the tissue doesn't show well in this photo, but the fish shape is classic Newfoundland tradition still seen in rural Newfoundland.

Finally, the true remains of the day. The little capelin that did yeoman service during the day will have a last run at prints tomorrow, then off to the compost along with some left over squid bodies and tentacles.

More details and images from the workshop are posted on my blog Illustrated Life.

Fair Isle's Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsay) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:23:00 +0000

Dave Wheeler
Yoal hauled up above the sea foam

I subscribe to Nature Conservancy's weekly pod casts and this story about an American family's move to Scotland's Fair Isle captured my imagination. This remote, storm buffeted island is remarkable for not only its beauty but the tenacity of it's inhabitants as you will hear about in the pod cast.

After visiting the Fair Isle Web Site, I found not only a couple of live web cams but the most extraordinary photographs by Dave Wheeler His photography takes my breath away and I had a very hard time deciding which sea scapes to choose to illustrate this post.Many thanks for his kind permission. You can see more of his work on Fair Island here.

I've already begun to casually mention in several dinner time conversations how much I'd like to take a work camp vacation on Fair Isle. I'd probably have to commit to nightly back rubs to sweeten the deal.

Last Canoe Trip of the Season :>(

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsay) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Last month, Craig and I had a chance to, once again, canoe the lovely Kishwaukee River. This class "A" river was a bit low on this day. The water was warm which was very convenient as we had to float the boat over a few sand bars.

As you can see from the videos, the weather was clear and warm in the early afternoon, then later, we broke out the ponchos for my first rainy canoe trip. I'm embarrassed to say, that the first mate grumbled a bit when directed by El Capitain to go back and pack the ponchos even though the sun was shining. The ponchos were perfect and we both remained dry and cheerful.

This week, we have had freezing temps and I'm afraid that this was our last trip of the season. I will miss Dry Sherry, her silver hull shining only from metallic luster (not leaking water) as we bed her down for the winter.

Dawn: in progress, not yet finished

noreply@blogger.com (vivien) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:04:00 +0000

A quick update on Dawn. This is the stage it's currently at - with the previous 2 stages below.

The beach is a crescent, with the village at the lower end, facing north, so the sun would rise on the right side of it (as seen from the village) and set on the left, behind the lifeboat station and harbour - so it was always beautiful.

The middle one wasn't quite so grey, it was the warm artificial light that bleached the blue out of it. The bottom one wasn't quite so blue - so difficult to get the balance right in the photos. The clouds are a little bit paler but otherwise this latest image is pretty close to the original.

It's nearly there. It's a balancing act of keeping enough light in it that it isn't too overwhelming and dark on a wall - but keeping that early dawn, rocks lost in darkness and not seen too clearly feeling.

plein air sketches of dawn from a nearby viewpoints:

here

and here

and here

c&c welcome :>)

first stage - dawn

noreply@blogger.com (vivien) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:51:00 +0000

Dawn - work in progress, first stage

This is the roughed in start on the 40 inch canvas - sorry it's not a good photo - there is more dark sky that my arms weren't long enough to fit in the photo. It was wet and I wasn't going to wrestle with it anymore

I'd decided to work on it in the living room as husband was safely out for the day and wouldn't know

Dropped the oil paint loaded palette on carpet, hitting curtain on way down

got paint from wrist to armpit wrangling canvas and trying to catch palette

cleaned carpet

washed curtain

had shower to remove woad painted ancient briton look

decided NOT to work in living room again

More about it and the missing sky segment here

Digital experiment

noreply@blogger.com (vivien) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Sennen Sunrise, digital experiment from plein air sketches. Vivien Blackburn

I want to work on a series of large canvasses from the plein air sketches of Cornwall that I've shown here and on my blog (links below).

As I can't get on with them today I had a quick 'play' with photoshop to come up with some ideas that take images forward - and I quite like this one. I do like doing paintings of night/dusk/early dawn. I think I'll have to have a go on a fairly large canvas and try to get this light :>)

It might be a challenge to try a large watercolour too.

links to relevant sketches:

sketches done plein air

other digital experiments here

more

oh for more time to paint .....

On the Danube...

paintpastel@ghelms.com (Gesa Helms) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:09:00 +0000

... not painting, not even sketching, but at least travelling.

I spent a few days in Vienna for work, ended up walking through some fabulous neighbourhoods on the way to and from the conference venue, gave general sightseeing a bit of a miss - I really think, the Habsburg dynasty should NOT have held back quite as much as they did on their architecture - I am sure they could have built some FAR more impressive monumental buildings, boulevards and other assortments than they did, but I managed to do a little boat trip.

It wasn't the trip down the Danube to nearby Bratislava (a mere 90 mins downwards on the river), but a trip down the Danube Canal and up the Danube.

It was a sunny day, plenty of birds, plenty of cargo boats passing us by and a lot of Strauss music coming from the speakers of the boat's sound system.

Take a look for yourself:

Considering water

jeanettejobson@gmail.com (Jeanette) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:40:00 +0000

I find something hynotic about the rush of ocean waves over rocks and there is no shortage of either in my neck of the woods.

This watercolour is of the surf at Pouch Cove. There is no beach there, just jagged rocks that reach out under the sea and appear with the ebb and flow of tides and waves. There is nothing smooth in this cove. History and 'stories' say that it was one of the original settlements in Newfoundland. All the summer fishers from England were to return with their bounty at the end of the summer. It was against the law to stay here. Some rebellious souls decided to chance their luck and chose Pouch Cove because of its inaccessible harbour, making it seem an unlikely place to look should the authorities come searching for the rebels.

I have found that I have learned a lot from my time spent simply watching the movement of waves against the shore and over rocks. When I initially started recording water, it seemed like a daunting task to know where to begin. Watching the repetitive motion and knowing how water reacts and moves over different surfaces; how it reflects the light, the colours of the sea that changes around rocks, the foam that changes colour depending on the weather - there are so many things to see in the water that you don't really consider until you begin to paint.

I still have much to learn about water and how to draw and paint it well. Each image that I create brings me one step closer to satisfaction.

Creative Burn Out Recovery Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Lindsay) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Riverside
Watercolor and ink

I've been quiet here for awhile because I've been burned out not only creatively but burned out web-wise too. Some thoughtful friends have suggested I do a few gentle posts from time to time to let you all know I'm still alive and kicking.....and tell you how I'm recovering.

I'm cooking more and here's my latest cook book:
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone The author is a sympathetic omnivore with some really interesting flavor combinations.

I'm getting out doors as much as possible and preferably in a quiet, natural setting.

Visiting with family and good friends.

Not making art if I don't want to and being gentle with myself about not wanting to.

I'm doing my yoga and yoga breathing when things start to feel overwhelming.

Spending time doing nothing.

I'm living as much as possible in the REAL world. This means I won't be visiting blogs for awhile but it's been heavenly to not be feeling obligated to spend so much time on line. I was starting to feel numbed after hours on line. I also found myself obsessively checking my site stats.This is such a HUGE time waster and was strictly about vanity; a sort of adult version of the high school popularity contest. I turned blogging into a J-O-B with all the heavily weighted baggage that denotes.

I highly recommend the web restricted diet if you are feeling burned out. I'd be interested to hear how others cope with creative and web burn out.

Waterways Project: Swithland Reservoir, still day, overcast and about to drizzle

noreply@blogger.com (vivien) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:20:00 +0000

Swithland Reservoir, still, overcast day, about to drizzle, watercolour and coloured pencil, Vivien Blackburn

I visited Swithland Reservoir on a day that was sunny when I left home, but grey and overcast by the time I'd been there a couple of minutes, turning to a light misty rain, dulling colours and contrast.

It's interesting to catch different lights. The foliage in summer is heavy and solid - I don't find that as interesting as spring, summer and autumn, where the structure of the trees shows and colour is more varied. It made for an interesting abstract shape across the centre of the image though, with lots of lost edges and mystery.

It's certainly somewhere to revisit once the autumn colours are advanced.

Watercolours plus polychromos pencils, about 10x9 inches unless I crop it a little - or decide to show the messy edges (they are a bit messy, not just ragged).

Victoria Park Lake people #4

makingamarkcomments@googlemail.com (Katherine Tyrrell) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:26:00 +0000

Victoria Park Lake People #4
pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils in Moleskine sketchbook
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I sometimes sketch the people on the terrace by the cafe next to the West Lake in Victoria Park when I stop there for my cup of tea on my morning walk. My aim is to develop a series of sketches in different seasons although I think I need to aim to do rather more sketches first. I get distracted by the trees and the birds............

The people who gather on this spot are interesting. They often seem to be under the misapprehension that if they you sit outside near a fountain you can't be overheard! While sketching I find I hear snatches of conversations into the sketches without even trying - I often think I ought to try and incorporate some of the words into a sketch.

My Sneaky Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Wimperis) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:42:00 +0000

I told you that I had a sneaky plan...this is the result.
I wanted to be able to make a painting of the lake and her reflections, in Trebah Gardens by the light of a silvery moon.
In order to do this I had quite a bit of planning to do, I needed a canoe, a clearing night and of course a full moon. A way to get into the gardens, which I wont divulge, and a bit of nerve. Well I did it, I was extremely careful not to cause any rumpus or damage. I did my memorising trick and made some sketches, got wet, and cold, a bit scared but I got this!

I think it is an accurate depiction of what it was like and having done a few night pictures now I am becoming a fan, there is nothing like not being able to see every detail to sharpen up ones senses.

I think also it has taught me a few lessons, about how to "look" and really observe and absorb what I am trying to paint. The biggest thing is not to make any assumptions, about colour, form, anything. Look as if you have never seen such a thing before and try to catch that, to describe that new thing as well as you can. This is what I shall try to hold true to as long as I paint.

Plus, I have decided, made my choice. For me it is watercolour that holds my heart.

Night Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Wimperis) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Helford Regatta. Watercolour. 40cm x 40cm or 16 inches x 16 inches.

Helford Fireworks. Oil. 15cm x 15cm or 6 inches x 6 inches

Here we go again, with the old oil or water question, actually its not much of a conundrum for me this time, the watercolour has won. I have been trying to paint water at night, with the aid of fireworks!

This time of year, down here by the sea, there are a lot of carnivals and regattas. When all the games and sailing competitions are over, after a lot of fine Cornish ale, the evening is usually rounded off with a fantastic firework display. I needed to do some night painting and this provided just the right challenge. With night painting I find that the best thing to do is to fill your senses, pack it in, think, think and feel. Then rush home, or into somewhere that you can see, and scrawl a lot of notes.

The paintings are essentially memories. I found doing these that watercolour won hands down, it provided the exuberance that I felt watching the display, it showed the colours in the water the best, it gave me the accidental marks that I was looking for. I am however slightly seduced by the bit of pink smoke by the trees in the little oil...

I am working on a few more night pictures, there is a full moon coming up in a couple of days and I have plans, quite sneaky ones which, hopefully, I will achieve without being eaten by guard dogs, arrested by police for trespass or falling over and breaking my neck...

or meeting any ghosts!

Koi paintings, begun at last, in progress.

noreply@blogger.com (Laureline) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:08:00 +0000

I've learned something very valuable from this year's taking on all sorts of art and illustration projects: don't do this next year! Next year, I'm going to focus on painting and have only a couple of illustration projects going. And I'm going to be very selective about the nature of those projects, too!

What with the aforesaid overloading and the various health problems my family and I have experienced in our own personal annus horribilis, I've painted little and posted here less.

Here is a look at what I've just begun, though, and finally... my koi series. As I mentioned in another post, I don't like to post WIP, but sometimes that's all one can do, or risk being thought of as dead, dormant, or indifferent. I am none of those.

This is acrylic on gessoboard, 12" x 24".
Here's a shot of the current work-in-progress with some completed ones. I love the colors and freedom of movement of this subject compared to my other watery paintings. And I am so enjoying playing with levels of transparency and gestures. Of course, I have no idea where this painting will go, but I hope to keep the looseness and airiness of this early stage.

Oil or Water?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Wimperis) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:16:00 +0000

Rain, Frenchman's Creek. Watercolour

Oil or water, obviously they don't mix, I know that! However what drives the decision to use which media, especially when depicting water in all her many guises?
I love watercolour, I am in love with watercolour. I think it is a difficult medium, it takes an almost sneaky type of control on the side of the artist. On the one hand you need to have some experience of what it will do, which colours will cause which reactions. Who will sit happily with who, who will repel and rebel. On the other hand you need to be able to let it go its own way, invite the "accidents" encourage the unexpected. Sometimes the place or mood that I am trying to capture seems to dictate the medium.
The picture above is watercolour. It was a damp, misty day but muggy and steaming too, then it began to rain. There was a cleaning property to the air brought on by the rain and the water in the river seemed to clear showing beautiful patterns of copper and yellow colour. I couldn't imagine catching that feeling in oils. It needed the transparent quality of watercolour.
But...
I also love oils. I love the buttery feeling of the colours, the freedom that the addition of light right at the end of the painting gives you. I can paint and paint and then flick in some light and it is literally like switching on a light switch. All of a sudden the picture is transformed and brought to life. Magic! The picture below is oils. The day was sunny but very still. I was sitting above the small beach at the mouth of the river, where the river widens and meets the sea. Often here are loud and powerful waves but on that day, not a breath of wind. The water seemed almost oily, slightly thick but clear. As the sea slowly sucked out the tide the sand became silver and the pebbles shiny and bright. All I could think of was painting it in oils. Dabbling in all the rich greens and blues that were under the water, speckling on all the yellows and ochres and almost blacks that were the shore.

Ebb Tide, Oil.

Maybe I should stop worrying about being a watercolourist or an oil painter and just be ambidextrous.
I suppose they are a bit like cats and dogs.
Some people are dog people, they just like dogs (that's oils I think, don't you? Quite predictable, loyal but capable of doing tricks and performing very obediently. A dream companion in the right hands, a nightmare in the wrong hands!)
Some people are cat people. So this by rights must be watercolours: Haughty, independent. Make you feel great when they are purring and curled up on your lap but off like a shot for sardines from the house down the road. Startlingly beautiful, wild, free and proud. Or mangy, hissing and untouchable.
And some people are both. I think I must be, the nutty dog woman and the mad cat lady all rolled into one. I suppose one just has to "go with the flow" Try to listen to your emotions, find the feeling that comes from what you are wanting to paint and then reach for your cat or your dog!

I made it to the sea!

paintpastel@ghelms.com (Gesa Helms) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:56:00 +0000

... I've been very silent here for the past two months... all the while sitting in sunny, hot and very lovely Berlin and all the water features I got to see were the occasional heavy thundery downpours. But they usually caught me by surprise and so weren't captured on (wet) paper.

But finally: in week six while in Germany I've made it to the sea - the Baltic Sea - and if you have been following my visit on my own blog, it wasn't just any old place on the Baltic Sea but CALIFORNIA. Well - not strictly true - it's Kalifornien, the German spelling, complete with a camping site called CALIFORNIA.

While my friend Ate was busy filming her final project for her art school degree (on the confusions between Kalifornien and California) I did spend a bit of time sketching among the assisting with sound, interviewing, generally keeping our camping van clean and proper and a lot of swimming in the sea.

This is what the Baltic Sea Kalifornien looks like:

And here some of my sketches at night, and one morning just as the seafog was going to lift.

Kalifornien Nocturne No 1,
35x25cm, soft pastel on board

After the fog,
35x25cm, soft pastel on board

North Norfolk Salt Marsh Harbours

noreply@blogger.com (vivien) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 07:39:00 +0000

Boat in the harbour, Brancaster Staithe. photograph: Vivien Blackburn

The North Norfolk coast is totally unlike the Cornish coast - unlike the wild seas, steeper beaches and coves, clean sand and rugged cliffs of the south western tip of England, the coast here is softer, gentler, muddier from the silt washed down from rich farmland. I have to admit I love the wildness of Cornwall more but this area has its own charm.

Photographs of Thornham creek and Brancaster Staithe, North Norfolk

There is a short section of cliff at Hunstanton but most of the coast is salt marsh. Inland are low hills that dip down to flat land, fields that were once marsh but have been drained, marsh and dunes.

The cottage I sketched recently on my blog was being thatched with reed from this area - just a little further along the coast at Cley.

The harbours have creeks that thread to the sea through channels - the sea only reachable at high tide.

You may recognise some of these places in sketches and paintings on my sketchbook site and main website