WARNING: This is a very personal blog post. In it, grief and art come together. Yesterday I was shocked and stunned: I found out that Ray Dorge, my former life partner of 25 years, had died. Even though Ray and I separated 10 years ago (by my instigation), we kept in touch with the odd email.
One of my 2018 New Year Resolutions is to PAINT MORE. I want to get in the studio and do something! I spend a lot of time on my computer – responding to email queries and enquiries, and writing blogs but also, for the last six months or so, sitting for hours editing and preparing
Sometimes, if you’re working with a small set of pastels, you won’t have a large assortment of almost whites i.e. very light colours – light blues, greens, pinks, yellows, mauves, or oranges. So if you’re painting a white object, what should you do when you have such a limited palette? One good thing is you probably
Last month I participated in HowToPastel’s 31-paintings-in-31-days Challenge. Somehow I only missed one day despite the fact that I was travelling two of the four weeks. And what’s more, I only travelled with carry-on luggage! So how could I fit everything plus art supplies? The answer was a small box of pastels and small pieces
If you’re anything like me, you have a lot of plans to get into the studio to paint. But somehow, doing the work doesn’t come easy! It’s a priority right? Well you wouldn’t think so most days. I blog weekly, I’m active in my HTP Facebook group (where we are all posting out 31-in-31 images), I
I’m writing this sitting in Frankfurt airport as I travel home from my 7-day Croatia workshop. Teaching this workshop got me thinking a lot about negative space – both its power as a visual device and as a tool to aid in the creation of a painting. My demo and lesson on the last day
You know that saying, dance like no one’s watching? Well I think you could also say, paint like no one’s watching! I’m in Croatia to teach a 7-day workshop (very excited about that!). And it’s time to write a blog for you. I was going to pastel some landscape or townscape. A good plan until
A couple days ago I was on Salt Spring Island visiting my parents and one of the things I really wanted to do while there was to work en plein air. It’s been awhile since I’ve painted on location and as I’m preparing for my workshop in Croatia, this was on the to-do list. It
Regularly in the HowToPastel Facebook group, we have a Friday Challenge. The challenge could be to paint a specific subject or create a painting in particular way. Inspired by the interviews with Jen Evenhus and Tony Allain, recently the challenge was to create a 10-minute painting. Yup you heard me. A 10-minute painting. Since it
Visiting my Mum and Dad last weekend, I was struck by the light and colour of summer flowers in a vase on the living room table. The thing that really got my attention though was the way the red coaster was visible beside the vase but disappeared behind it even though the vase was transparent.
Your information will never be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Privacy Policy
