Memories of Charleston Garden in spring

I enjoyed sitting in the early spring sunshine making my sketch of the house and garden, and imagining the people that had spent their time doing the same! So I chose to work this up into a painting first. It was quite a different angle for me, with a foreground of bedding!

Charleston Farmhouse and garden

I imagined Vanessa Bell sitting on the steps
she is in fact, about 1inch high!

Charleston at Chalk...sketches

The artists at Chalk Gallery have all visited Charleston. We had a tour of the house which was a fascinating way to learn about the life of the Bloomsbury Group.

Chalk artists are very diverse in the way we work, but we are going to use this tour and time sketching as a starting point for an exhibition, starting in three weeks time, showing how we have been inspired by Charleston.

Here are my sketches from the day...

The front of the house from the other side of the pond

A plan for a painting and possible characters

sketch from the garden, with characters added afterwards

A weekend in Majorca

I had a weekend in Majorca with my sisters, and it wouldn't be complete without having a bit of fun with my paints...

Sangria Sunday

Later that day...

I got some lovely comments from other holiday makers that were enjoying themselves around us, too!

Elected as an Associate Member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art

I am so pleased to announce that at the weekend I took some of my paintings and sketchbook up to London, and I was accepted as a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art.

"The Society of Graphic Fine Art is the only national society in the UK dedicated exclusively to drawing. Founded in 1919, the Society promotes fine drawing skills in both traditional and contemporary media.

Today there are more than 100 elected members of the Society across the UK. We're professional artists from all areas of the art world who work in all drawing and printmaking media. "

See more on their website www.sgfa.org.uk

All done with the Brighton Flea Market

Finally finished this lovely bright (on) building...spent a lot of time with my nose to the paper, trying to draw some tiny bargains inside!!
Here are a couple of close ups on some of the details. The chaps sitting down outside actually measure about 3.5cm tall (in my picture!!) so you get an idea of the scale.

Shops with a story in Lewes High Street

I just want to share a painting from a while ago (pre- blog). These two pretty shops were once part of the same emporium, which in fact used to be a public baths (for getting clean rather than swimming)
By looking at local history books, and also by reading the Diary of a Lewes Lady, covering the day to day life in Lewes of a well-to-do and rather snobby Alice Dudeney, I was able to form a picture of the premises, pre-21st century. The family that ran it were called Dusart, and they sold all manner of things as well as cutting and setting hair.
The buildings had been rebuilt early in the 20th century following a terrible fire, which actually changed the way that fires were fought in Lewes.
I titled this painting Dusarts, Lewes, and pictured Mr Dusart, as I imagine him, at the upstairs window, setting Mrs Dudeney's hair. As a boy, young Mr Dusart saved the lives of his mother and younger sibling by escaping the fire by jumping out of an upstairs window, straight through the glass of the bath house below. His mother and the baby jumped through after him. They all thought young Mr. Dusart had died...but he amazed them all by surviving his heroic act and went on to carry on the family business for many years.
Amazing what you can find out in the reference section! I would love to find out the stories of all the buildings...what could they tell us!!

Fun family portrait, barbecueing at home.

As well as painting character-full shops and pubs, I take on regular commissions for house and family portraits. Sometimes these can be as small as a single person for a special birthday, or larger and include all family, friends, pets, hobbies, cars...etc!
I completed this one a few weeks ago, but wasn't able to post it up here, as I didn't want to spoil the surprise. This was a fun one to paint, especially as it was cold and snowy outside when I was working on it, and it was nice to dream of the summer to come...
Family, friends, and even the rabbit have been included, a special surprise for the Birthday Girl.

Here is another house portrait. This time a London home, with the couple and their cats, relaxing after a day in the City.
I have just recently finished another. Can't show the painting yet, but here is a taster...

You never know what you might need to make a house portrait personal!!