The Wednesday group rock the Rhodos...

Just look at what some of the Wednesday group produced for our Rhododendron project.  Some fabulous work, I think you'll agree!
Well done Molly, Helen and Maureen.  Margaret produced a work of similar fine quality but didn't have her painting to show!

Rhododendrons by the Wednesday group

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Tuesday group Hellebore paintings...Wow!

I'm so proud of my Tuesday Group students.  Look at these paintings!  Fantastic work Ann, Susan, Jane, Pauline, Margaret and Heather.

Tuesday group hellebore paintings May 2013

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Hellebores R Us!

Going on to look at white hellebores with the weekly class groups now.  These lovely nodding creamy coloured flowers are still showing up well in the garden and I continue to find them fascinating with their busy pale yellow stamens set off by dark crimson blotches inside the flower.  It's remarkable how non gardening people don't know about Hellebores, I suppose because they are not available to buy as cut flowers from florist shops.  So if you don't have a perennial border in your garden then it's quite possible to remain blissfully ignorant of their existence.

We did some sketching with different media, watercolour crayons, fineliner pens and watercolour washes from real examples last Wednesday just to have a good look at the flower and its structure.

I singled out one hellebore and cropped a photo so as to do a close in flower portrait.

I liked the shadowy interior of the flower and the contrasting white petal edges.  I thought this would look good with a dark background to make the flower look sunlit, which is my favourite effect to try and capture.

Here's my version, a small painting done as a study but, I hope, with plenty of impact.

White hellebore. Watercolour by Ann Mortimer

Classes up and running...

Just finished the first classes of the year in the studio and so nice to be back again.

This week we've been working on a little garden scene full of colour and vibrancy.  From a photo taken a year or two ago in my friend Margaret's garden, it combines striking colour combinations and light and shadow effects.  It's been fun to paint so far.

Here's my watercolour version of it.

Three Flowerpots

Back in the studio and painting...

I'm so glad to back in the studio and getting down to painting again.  I've been getting over the hip replacement op. I had in January.  All is going well, I'm almost back to normal and every day I have thought about painting but just not able to go and do it.  So I have been making plans and also amusing myself uploading images on to my facebook page.  But the last week or so I've been at the computer or at my painting table doing stuff.

People who are coming on the holidays this year at Alison House in Cromford will have received a newsletter from me and an update.  I am really looking forward to the first holiday in June, not least because perhaps we will have warmer, kinder weather by then!  Also my daughter Sophie will be arriving here from Seattle, USA early June and obviously I can't wait to see her again.

Patchings Festival (6-9 June) has been on my mind too.  Lots to think about for that...pictures to frame, workshops to advertise, demos to plan.

I've been putting my mind to the projects we will be doing in my weekly classes.  In order to prepare properly I have to paint the subject myself or at least have done a lot of planning, sketching and trying out.
I've been looking at White Hellebores as it doesn't seem possible to have them there in the garden and not to paint them.  Here's what I came up with.

White Hellebores

Every time I paint a flower that I'm very familiar with, I see things slightly differently and doing this has made me revisit and  revise what I already knew about these hellebores.  I'm looking forward to having a go with the classes in April.  It might not be exactly this composition, but not far off.

Fifty shades of blue...

Check out my other blog to read about mixing shades of blue for a bluebell wood painting.  Keeping blues clean and gentle yet vibrant when they are laid next to yellows and greens is challenging!  It's all in the mixing...

Here's the link...
www.annswatercolourstudio.blogspot.co.uk

Spring Classes 2013

Please look in the right hand side panel of this blog to see news of this Spring's classes in my studio in West Bridgford.

The Tuesday class is full, but there is still space in the Wednesday class starting 3 April.

I will be posting news of this year's studio workshops soon.

A Happy New Year to you!

Here's wishing everyone who reads this blog a Very Happy New Year with good health, happiness and prosperity throughout 2013.  May you be inspired in your painting and satisfied with your achievements.

Leisure painter article step by step Slipper Orchid Reference Photo

To those people who have found their way to this blog via the February Leisure painter article

Welcome!

I hope you will follow this blog and my other one on Watercolour techniques....(find the link in the right hand column.)  Why not become a member?  You can fix it so that you get email notification of new blog posts I think.

If you want to have a go at this step by step, it's always helpful to have a photo, so I have posted the photo reference that I used.  It's a photo I took in an orchid nursery.  Please feel free to download it for reference purposes.  You can enlarge it on the screen by clicking on it.

The book has other projects.  I think my favourite is the pansy style orchid that features on the front cover.
I will be uploading photos of the other projects later on.

Enjoy!  Tell me how you get on by putting a comment after this post.

New book...Ready to Paint Orchids in watercolour

Just received some complementary copies of my new book from Search Press.  I'm excited about this!
The book has my original drawings produced as tracings so that you can have a head start with your painting.

I'm pleased with the cover...the pansy style orchids which are called Miltonias look so pretty, even though I say it myself!

It's available on Amazon to order. I will soon have signed copies for sale.

Welcome SFP visitors!

Just in case any SFP members have read the newsletter this month and the piece about blogs, etc. that I wrote....welcome!

This is my blog.  Or these are my blogs as I thought I would have two, one for day to day messages and one for sharing techniques.

Both are navigated with the help of the blog archive which you will find in the right hand column if you scroll down.  Click on a month and you will find the stuff I uploaded that month.  Enjoy!

Sunny Pink Hollyhock and plans for Spring

I enjoyed painting this hollyhock with the cast shadows and the lovely deep pink centres the other day.  It didn't take long as it is small format at 26 cm x 17 cm.  I just wanted to capture those shadows!

Latest news is that I am having my operation in early January and so with any luck should be recovered by late March 2013 ready to start some classes again.  I will let you know as soon as I have some definite dates.

Tuesday group....beginners? Far from it!

These are the Tuesday group's painting of Larkwood Lake finished last week.

This is such a good project as it includes so many techniques... water and reflections, trees, distance, depth and most important, planning a painting.

The Tuesday group rose magnificently to the challenge. So well done Helen, Christine, Jane, Tricia, Ann and Susan.

My new book...Ready to Paint Orchids in Watercolour

My new book...available on Amazon for pre order

There was sudden excitement the day before yesterday when a post suddenly popped up on the facebook Search Press page announcing that the book I've been working on had arrived in the Search Press offices.  It's a sign of the times that everyone else hears about it (through social media) before me!
But yesterday, 24 hours later, I received my copy of the book.  I'm pleased with it.
It's a very practical book in which I show you how to paint some well known orchid varieties with step by step instructions.  There are even tracings included with the book.  These are my drawings that you can transfer straight on to your watercolour paper which lets you get down to painting without delay. Perfect!

Wednesday group show of work

Had to share this with you.  My Wednesday group of painters have been working on their own projects with  some guidance from me.  Look what they came up with!  I'm proud!

Wednesday Group's beautiful paintings

The Wednesday group have outdone themselves with their paintings of the Clematis Hagley Hybrid subject.

They have all captured the light effect and dealt expertly with the cast shadow.  Brilliant!  Well done  Anne, Sue, Maureen,Margaret, Molly and Linda.

Autumn Hawthorn berries with Centre of England Arts

Yesterday I taught a workshop at the new Centre of England Arts in Meriden near Birmingham created and managed by Julie Hyde.
http://www.coea.co.uk/
I had a lovely day with the group and I promised to post the photos we used and my finished painting to refer to so they could finish their paintings and/or have another go at it

And here's a similar painting with a lighter background

There you are.  You can make the images bigger by clicking on them.

Enjoy!

Tuesday group's Japanese Anemones

Here's what the Tuesday group have been up to.  We studied Japanese Anemones  since they were out in the garden and Susan, Helen, Ann, Tricia, Christine and Jane made a wonderful job of capturing the particular character of these flowers.  Some of them aren't quite finished, but even so they create a great little exhibition of paintings.  I'm proud!  Well done everyone!

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Introductory Beginners Taster Day workshops... two new dates

Because I had to cancel the beginners workshop on 13 October, I'm offering two more dates for those who would like to come to a day's workshop in my West Bridgford garden studio trying out watercolour techniques and covering the basics of this fascinating medium.

You will go away with some work that you will be proud of and which will make you astonished at your own skill!  You'll work hard but it will be fun!

Saturday 3 November 2012 10am til 5pm

Saturday 10 November 2012 10am til 5pm

Hawthorn catching the sun

I've uploaded a watercolour I finished yesterday from a photo I took last year of hawthorn berries.  They're adorning the hedges again with their bright jewel colours...love this time of year!

Pink speckled orchids, Wednesday group paintings

The Wednesday group have done some fantastic paintings of the pink speckled orchid subject.

The Wednesday group's finished paintings

The special wow factor of this subject was the backlighting effect and they have all succeeded I think in producing vibrant paintings that have light shining through them. They have all produced nice clean, loose washes in their backgrounds which set off the orchid spray beautifully.   Well done Margaret, Anne, Molly, Maureen and Linda!  (Sue was on holiday.)

Click on the image for a larger view.