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Off the back of the Turner lesson (October 2023), I did this charcoal transcription of Turner’s ‘Peace – Burial at Sea, exh. 1842’. I was quite pleased with how this came out. I did try, three or four times, to also make a painting, but that just didn’t work out, so I gave up on that. I think it was a mix of things: using the wrong paper to begin with, which was thin and buckled with wet media; drawing at a very small scale what was an 87 × 87cm painting (it was hard to translate the expressiveness to a 20cmx20cm drawing on an A4 sheet 😆), and just trying to figure out how the heck Turner layered things and achieved the particular effects with paint. Much harder than it looks! Original painting here: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-peace-burial-at-sea-n00528

Off the back of the Turner lesson (October 2023), I did this charcoal transcription of Turner’s ‘Peace – Burial at Sea, exh. 1842’. I was quite pleased with how this came out. I did try, three or four times, to also make a painting, but that just didn’t work out, so I gave up on that. I think it was a mix of things: using the wrong paper to begin with, which was thin and buckled with wet media; drawing at a very small scale what was an 87 × 87cm painting (it was hard to translate the expressiveness to a 20cmx20cm drawing on an A4 sheet 😆), and just trying to figure out how the heck Turner layered things and achieved the particular effects with paint. Much harder than it looks! Original painting here: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-peace-burial-at-sea-n00528

by | 7th November 2024

Off the back of the Turner lesson (October 2023), I did this charcoal transcription of Turner's 'Peace – Burial at Sea, exh. 1842'. I was quite pleased with how this came out. I did try, three or four times, to also make a painting, but that just...
After Sketching, Work on Canvas After the sketching which I did in Ickworth Park, (in my previous photo) I tried to paint without referring to the sketch. I think perhaps I worked on this one too much. I did a first throwing down of the paint, then reviewed it, then went back. I’m pretty happy how it came out, but there’s definitely much room for improvement. All comments gratefully received. juli

After Sketching, Work on Canvas After the sketching which I did in Ickworth Park, (in my previous photo) I tried to paint without referring to the sketch. I think perhaps I worked on this one too much. I did a first throwing down of the paint, then reviewed it, then went back. I’m pretty happy how it came out, but there’s definitely much room for improvement. All comments gratefully received. juli

by | 1st November 2024

After Sketching, Work on Canvas After the sketching which I did in Ickworth Park, (in my previous photo) I tried to paint without referring to the sketch. I think perhaps I worked on this one too much. I did a first throwing down of the paint, then reviewed it, then...
I am enjoying your course so much. Having spent so much time learning the traditional watercolour method, it is so liberating to experiment with different mediums. I have found it really difficult to ignore the figurative in the landscape, so I have made many attempts at this exercise and have learned a lot along the way. Thankyou.

I am enjoying your course so much. Having spent so much time learning the traditional watercolour method, it is so liberating to experiment with different mediums. I have found it really difficult to ignore the figurative in the landscape, so I have made many attempts at this exercise and have learned a lot along the way. Thankyou.

by | 28th October 2024

I am enjoying your course so much. Having spent so much time learning the traditional watercolour method, it is so liberating to experiment with different mediums. I have found it really difficult to ignore the figurative in the landscape, so I have made many attempts...
pastel sketch: a woodland pool near my house. A warm, mostly sunny, and windy day…this was in the later part of the afternoon. although i love vistas, I really relate most to the woods and forests I am surrounded with. Also, i can just walk out the door to sketch!

pastel sketch: a woodland pool near my house. A warm, mostly sunny, and windy day…this was in the later part of the afternoon. although i love vistas, I really relate most to the woods and forests I am surrounded with. Also, i can just walk out the door to sketch!

by | 23rd October 2024

pastel sketch: a woodland pool near my house. A warm, mostly sunny, and windy day…this was in the later part of the afternoon. although i love vistas, I really relate most to the woods and forests I am surrounded with. Also, i can just walk out the door to...
Following the September session, I went out to a place I hadn’t been before to draw in the landscape. By coincidence I found a handy bench. It was quite a walk so I only had a sketchbook and a few pens with me. But, I found the active sitting and quietly observing the landscape very helpful. This is a place I will return to, with some more materials. Meanwhile, this is the sketch I produced.

Following the September session, I went out to a place I hadn’t been before to draw in the landscape. By coincidence I found a handy bench. It was quite a walk so I only had a sketchbook and a few pens with me. But, I found the active sitting and quietly observing the landscape very helpful. This is a place I will return to, with some more materials. Meanwhile, this is the sketch I produced.

by | 18th October 2024

Following the September session, I went out to a place I hadn't been before to draw in the landscape. By coincidence I found a handy bench. It was quite a walk so I only had a sketchbook and a few pens with me. But, I found the active sitting and quietly...
I have just watched the session on analysing your work. Some of the points were familiar to me but some were very new. Interesting session!. I then did the assignment using a painting that I was midway through working on. In particular I found it interesting to look at the tonal balance, and also to look at how the painting worked as a whole, unity versus variety. My favourite way of distancing myself from a painting is to take a photograph. I tried the idea of turning it upside down and looking at it in different lights. This painting was created from a very quick sketch while I was in Devon. We heard owls calling, and rushed out of where we were staying to see if we could see them, which of course we couldn’t. It was a lovely moonlit night. It felt magical and I wanted to capture it. I used acrylic paint and pen on canvas. All feedback welcome.

I have just watched the session on analysing your work. Some of the points were familiar to me but some were very new. Interesting session!. I then did the assignment using a painting that I was midway through working on. In particular I found it interesting to look at the tonal balance, and also to look at how the painting worked as a whole, unity versus variety. My favourite way of distancing myself from a painting is to take a photograph. I tried the idea of turning it upside down and looking at it in different lights. This painting was created from a very quick sketch while I was in Devon. We heard owls calling, and rushed out of where we were staying to see if we could see them, which of course we couldn’t. It was a lovely moonlit night. It felt magical and I wanted to capture it. I used acrylic paint and pen on canvas. All feedback welcome.

by | 30th September 2024

I have just watched the session on analysing your work. Some of the points were familiar to me but some were very new. Interesting session!. I then did the assignment using a painting that I was midway through working on. In particular I found it interesting to look...
This wasn’t an assignment. I made it from a photo I took through the shade in front of one of our ranchsliders. I liked the effect of how the shade flattened, softened, and greyed things down. In the photo, the tree on the left was closer to the two on the right. I didn’t quite judge that right in the drawing. I made the drawing with charcoal and coloured pencil.

This wasn’t an assignment. I made it from a photo I took through the shade in front of one of our ranchsliders. I liked the effect of how the shade flattened, softened, and greyed things down. In the photo, the tree on the left was closer to the two on the right. I didn’t quite judge that right in the drawing. I made the drawing with charcoal and coloured pencil.

by | 15th September 2024

This wasn't an assignment. I made it from a photo I took through the shade in front of one of our ranchsliders. I liked the effect of how the shade flattened, softened, and greyed things down. In the photo, the tree on the left was closer to the two on the right....
I’ve finally completed my first assignment (‘September 2023 – Drawing in the landscape’)! I went to Titirangi Beach, which is a small, calm beach near where I live in West Auckland, New Zealand. I did the sketches on two separate days. On the first day, I went in the late afternoon. It was raining on and off, and it got very cold, so I only managed to do three. I went back another day (again in the late afternoon) and managed to do two more. I really enjoyed using multiple media on each image, which isn’t something I’d normally do. Across the five sketches, I used different combinations of watercolour, white gouache, water-soluble pencil, compressed charcoal, Golden High Flow acrylics, Derwent XL sticks, and brush pens (black and grey). I’d never used gouache, Golden High Flows, or the Derwent XL sticks before. I loved using the Derwent sticks—and brushing water onto some of the media (Derwent sticks, charcoal, and brush pens). All in all, a lot of fun! Note: The reference image, which I think I took with a slight fisheye setting on my phone, makes everything look further away than it was.

I’ve finally completed my first assignment (‘September 2023 – Drawing in the landscape’)! I went to Titirangi Beach, which is a small, calm beach near where I live in West Auckland, New Zealand. I did the sketches on two separate days. On the first day, I went in the late afternoon. It was raining on and off, and it got very cold, so I only managed to do three. I went back another day (again in the late afternoon) and managed to do two more. I really enjoyed using multiple media on each image, which isn’t something I’d normally do. Across the five sketches, I used different combinations of watercolour, white gouache, water-soluble pencil, compressed charcoal, Golden High Flow acrylics, Derwent XL sticks, and brush pens (black and grey). I’d never used gouache, Golden High Flows, or the Derwent XL sticks before. I loved using the Derwent sticks—and brushing water onto some of the media (Derwent sticks, charcoal, and brush pens). All in all, a lot of fun! Note: The reference image, which I think I took with a slight fisheye setting on my phone, makes everything look further away than it was.

by | 12th September 2024

I've finally completed my first assignment ('September 2023 – Drawing in the landscape')! I went to Titirangi Beach, which is a small, calm beach near where I live in West Auckland, New Zealand. I did the sketches on two separate days. On the...
First oil painting in a few months, I must admit. A view i visit often. I painted it plein air, let it sit facing backwards for a few days, and painted over it completely today at home. There were some trees in the foreground, in real life, that I just could not seem to render, so I gave up. I painted very quickly and tried to quit when I could see i was fiddling…

First oil painting in a few months, I must admit. A view i visit often. I painted it plein air, let it sit facing backwards for a few days, and painted over it completely today at home. There were some trees in the foreground, in real life, that I just could not seem to render, so I gave up. I painted very quickly and tried to quit when I could see i was fiddling…

by | 10th September 2024

First oil painting in a few months, I must admit. A view i visit often. I painted it plein air, let it sit facing backwards for a few days, and painted over it completely today at home. There were some trees in the foreground, in real life, that I just could not seem...