Trees art contest from Refelections art gallery.

2 of mine in here - enjoy.

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Morning Light is my latest oil painting.  Simply because I like lighthouses and dark shilouettes against dramatic skies.  I have to thank my friends on the about.com forum for their advice in a couple of tweaks to improve the composition which has made this a painting I feel happy with.


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On my last blog I was threatening to give up on "In the Shade of the Banyans" as I was still struggling with it - on my 3rd attempt.  Well I got a few hours painting and I feel I've finally cracked it.  I find this tropical tree fascinating as it spreads it branches wide.  It makes a great place to shelter from the heat of the midday tropical sun.  These particular trees are on beautiful island of Gasparilla off the Florida Gulf coast.  They line up along each side of the Street - appropriate...
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Have a few works in progress at the moment.
Morning Light - first layer of oils in place.  Now need to break up all that darkness at the front and a bit of hghlighting on the buildings to try and make them look less flat.  Maybe a bit of light under the birds wings?????
Branton Lakes - inital sketch - which doesn't show the sunlight bouncing off the water - intending to do this in watercolour so hopefully I'll catch the glow with the white of the watercolour paper.
Banyan Street - this is my 3rd...
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When I'm in the Gallery, I take along some drawing to keep me occupied between visitors.   Yesterday I started work on some Red Gerbera Daisies that I photographed from some flowers give to me a few weeks ago.  Here's the inital sketch with pencil and then getting some colours in with colored pencil.  Next decisions:  watercolours, pastels or oils and size of work.

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Found some 20 x 16 canvases yesterday at the bargain price of £2.49.  16 x 12 canvases at £1.49.  Just needed to check in the store that they are OK (some on the shelves were damaged).  Picked out some good ones and on closer inspection to other canvases bought they're OK quality wise. Then this morning was offered 60% of business cards ( well they don't go off).  So am feeling quite the bargain hunter. 

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Some work yesterday getting the painting onto the canvas. 

The lighthouse has got fatter but I think that works better with the landscape format ( original intention was portrait but I decided I didn't like that ).  I also think the colour scheme is changing I like that yellow sky so think the initial idea of orange is going to be leaning towards the yellow end of the spectrum.

Just need to figure out how I'm going to paint those rocks and then we're ready to get the oil paints out.

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Here's my sketch for my next oil painting morning light.  The idea is a yellow, orange, red sky with the sun rising behind the lighthouse.  You can see I've made several alterations to the initial idea - that's why I like to sketch things out.  I'll start with a yellow wash all over the canvas, then will work the outlines and some tonal values in acrylic before working with the oils.

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Joined another art group on face book so that makes 3 now.
International Visual Artists Challenge
Tadeusz Sediel Art
Reflextions Art Gallery

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Spent yesterday in Eccles Commmunity Gallery getting the Aug / Sep exhibition hung.  Swinton Camera Club are holding their annual exhibition in the Gallery and there are some excellent photos on show.  Me - I've replaced last months flora art cards with castles, abbeys, lighthouses and windmill art cards ( which reminds me - I've some printing to do).

This morning I visited Clevelands school Bolton to make some decisions on Bolton Art Circles show to be held there in November.  We're planning ...
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Catching the Moonlight is my lastest painitng on my journey into oils.  I started this with an acrylic underpainting and to get my composition and colour ideas together.  Once the acrylic was dry oils have been used to complete the work and give it that richness of colour that I'm finding are one of oils best features.  There have been a few dodgy moments i.e. when the cats collars started to drip down their backs - but nothing that couldn't be rescued.

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I've painted Olympic Sports 2012 as my entry for the Eccles Community Gallery " Summer of Sport" exhibition.  The black and blue represent day and night on this globe of ours.  The silver bronze and gold interlinked rings represent the Olympic Sports of 2012 uniting the world in what I think has been a fantastic event.
The frame is silver and I painted the the mount bronze and gold to fit the theme of the painting.

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Exhibition time is here again - off to Walmsley Parish Church Hall this Saturday.  If you're from Bolton and you've seen it in the local newspaper - please ignore the details printed and use this link.

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Took my pencils and sketch pad along to the Gallery yesterday as I was doing a 4 hour stint.  It's been awhile since I did some drawing.  Below is where I got up to with some lillies.  As its easy to carry paper and pencils I think I'll take them along again over the next few weeks.  Sold a few of my artcards and met some really nice people including the group of artists from the Link Resources Centre who were all very proud to show me their contributions to this months exhibiiton. 


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I'm having a go at an oil paiting with an acrylic underpainting - so this is where I'm at waiting for the acrylic underpainting to dry.  The oils on top willl create a more blended effect in the paint.   I'm prettty happy with the composition.  If you're thinking familiar - then you'll realise it's worked from the same idea as CATching the Sunset. 

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I quite often have stained hands from painting.  However, this time it's from gardening.  I managed to get my plant feed all over my hands yesterday and it's staying.  Lovely blue - if it was on a painting as a body of water.

My 2nd blue is garden related - my hydrangea which has flowered for the first time this year - I can feel a painting coming on.



My last blue is in the background of my olympic themed painting - to be entered for the Eccles Community Gallery "Summer of Sport" theme.  I'm ma...
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Decided to have a lie in this morning - forgetting that I'd ordered some more card supplies.  Woken by hammering at the door - I hate that kind of wake up call but the delivery guy gets a laugh seeing me with hair askew in PJ's.

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