Gallery Event - Derbyshire Arts Trail Fixture - 28th/29th May !
Arts trail weekend is coming up!
Everyone on the arts trails and artisan fairs are talking about Creative Melbourne Gallery in the heart of South Derbyshire!
Five of us are returning for a second year for 2023 Derbyshire Open Arts!
If you haven't yet visited this might prompt you
CREATIVE MELBOURNE GALLERY is Venue1 on the Derbyshire Open Arts trail
And you are invited!
www.derbyshireopenarts.co.uk
Some of the artists taking part in the art trail weekend this year
Deer Encounters - Two New Stag Paintings
Every encounter with a bird or animal is magical, but imagine coming face to face with a majestic deer in the wild! What a breathtaking, exhilarating, special experience it is! A connection with a wild animal, however necessarily fleeting, is one of life’s great moments.
Wild animal encounters - a special privilege!
The two new pieces on my website evoke these feelings and are painted in gorgeous uplifting colours which seem to change according to the light. These are both oil paintings, in my usual expressive style. Check them out here
A new Kingfisher painting in acrylics!
I love Kingfishers and they are a favourite painting subject of mine. This one is big at about 30” square, and very brightly coloured with shocking pink and teal blues. Im exploring acrylic painting right now, using brushes, fingertips and paint pens to add details and textures and pushing the colour to create work with a high visual impact. Shocking pink and orange work really well against the bright teal and orange of the bird, I find these colours truly heartwarming!
A Woodland Fox Acrylic Painting Finds a Home
Foxy Finds a Home
My super vibrant Fox painting found the perfect home this week with a collector in Tyneside.
I received a lovely email from her new owner:
Hi Sue,
Just a note to say Foxy found her way to her new home safe and sound and I absolutely love her! Such beautiful colours and vibrancy - she will make me smile for many years to come
Many thanks again, and no doubt we'll be in contact at some point in the future when I purchase my 4th original.
Many thanks again, your work, talent and efforts are truly appreciated.
Tom
Its wonderful when a piece finds its rightful home!
A new Bluebell Woods painting for Sale
Experience the Magic of Bluebell Woods
Here is my latest woodland painting, capturing the delight of a visit to see Bluebells in the Spring
Now for sale on my website
Original Oil Painting of a Tawny Owl For Sale
Original Tawny Owl Painting
‘Alight in the Dark’ is my most recent Owl painting in my Night Owl series.
Add a touch of nature to your home or office decor with a stunning oil painting of a tawny owl. With vibrant, glowing colors and a detailed rendering of the majestic creature, as he emerges from the velvety darkness.
This piece measures 60 x 60 cm or 24 x 24 “ and is available for sale on my website here until the end of the month.
Highland cow Painting with Flowers
This new Highland cow painting with flowers has been on and off my easel for several weeks. She is finally finished - there are a lot of colourful layers in this piece and some quite textured areas. I have named her Dunbar, for that interesting and artistic town, and she is now for sale on my website here.
Highland Cow with Flowers
This new Highland cow painting with flowers has been on and off my easel for several weeks. She is finally finished - there are a lot of colourful layers in this piece and some quite textured areas. I have named her Dunbar, for that interesting and artistic town, and she is now for sale on my website here.
A Painting of Doves
Mourning Doves
This week I am working on this painting of doves. I enjoy finding out a little about the wildlife I paint. These are also known as the American Mourning Dove, or the Turtle Dove, and apparently are very common in America. I think they have the loveliest little faces.
Bird Artist - Keeping it Colourful!
Birds Eating Berries
This week I am wearing my bird artist hat, and working on a couple of originals. This piece features two Blue Tits, a perennial favourite. These sweet birds are eating berries and surrounded by a glorious burst of spring colour. I have some minor adjustments to make on this piece before it is ready. There is also a piece with Jays nearing completion, and there will be at least two more in this set.
This is the time of year when more Spring colours emerge on my palette. Lemon Yellow, Pinks, Lilacs and Peach. There is also a particular green that I shall never tire of using for spring foliage, mixed with a little pink - perfect!
Painting Cows and Sheep
Cows and Sheep Workshop
I had a wonderful day with this enthusiastic and fun group of artists on Saturday! Many had never really painted since school, and everyone had great fun creating these beautiful original art pieces! More pics to follow!
If you would like to see one of my own Highland Cows with Flowers, click here.
Owl in Flight, a new expressive wildlife oil painting
Barn Owl in Flight
This new oil painting is a work in progress on my easel this week, Once this layer of paint is dry, I will be able to add the finishing touches. check back later in the week if you want to see the completed painting.
New Barn Owl paintings for Sale
New Barn Owl paintings for Sale
This painting ‘ Midnight Haunt’ is the first of my new Barn Owl paintings for sale. There is a Tawny Owl also, nearing completion. As you may know, I love owls and really enjoy painting them. This new series explores owls in a nighttime setting and Im rather enjoying the mystery and beauty of these lovely birds.As it happens, I’m also painting them late into the evening as I am in the middle of a studio move and time is precious, as ever.
Here is the link to ‘Midnight Haunt’ the original painting
If you are looking for an owl painting for your home, keep an eye on my website for upcoming new releases. You are also welcome to sign up to my art collectors newsletter for monthly updates.
Colourful and fun new Highland cow art sold last week
Bright new piece ‘Our Cow Molly’
Straight off the easel, this very colourful new Highland Cow art piece was purchased last week by a lovely couple who were visiting the Midlands from Devon. So this little lady is heading to the sunny south as soon as she is dry enough to go.
I am available for bespoke oil painting commissions, so if you would like your own happy cow painting in lovely colours, get in touch and we can discuss a painting.
A huge stag oil painting is currently in progress on the easel
Stag Oil Painting
I had to take a selfie with this big stag oil painting to show the size of him. i have several hours of work still to go, but im hoping to get him finished in the next few days before the studio move!
Barn Owl Paintings
I am working on Barn Owl paintings this week, one of my favourite birds to paint. Check my ‘Originals’ page to see this gentleman when he is finished!
So far, I have been building up the layers quite slowly, next step is the darker feathers and a little more shading and detail.
Work in progress
A selection of new original pieces of art arrive at Creative Fine Art this week!
A selection of new original pieces of art arrive at Creative Fine Art this week!
Rob from Creative Fine Art collected eight original pieces of art this week, here is a sneak preview. This Highlad Cow with Flowers is now available framed from Creative Fine Art, and will be going out to galleries soon. Two of my pieces were sold last week, one in Worthing at Room With a View, and one in Yorkshire, at the Acorn Gallery, Pocklington.
Highland Cow Painting Course.
Enjoying the day
This was the first time we had a workshop at this venue, which is the village hall just near my home. It was a lovely day, we had half the group who had a little experience with different painting media but who were new to acrylics, and half the group were total beginners. It was a bigger group than normal as we had a few reschedulings from another date. A very positive and jovial group of lovely ladies! Here are some photos from the day, and the lineup of moo-g shots at the end of the day.
We went step by step through the painting, with mini demonstrations throughout the day and guidance and encouragement given at every stage. Everyone went home with their own beautiful and unique work of art. Friends were made, laughs were had, techniques were learned and the cake was eaten! Everyone was marked safe from the terrors of the ‘exploding jar of black paint’!
Beautiful new paintings
The next Highland Cow Workshop is on March 4th at Sharpes Museum- places are still available, there will be a max of eight places at this one.
Sharpes Pottery Museum is a lovely cosy venue with a wealth of history and heritage. We are in the Glazing Room, a nice comfortable space. The cafe will be providing a lovely buffet lunch for us and as always there will be homemade cake! Book your workshop here
step by step tuition
New cow painting for sale
Beautiful new cow painting for sale - textured painting in glowing colours is now available.
My latest cow painting for sale is Talisker, in rich glowing shades of chocolate, gold and warm orangey-reds. I painted this big guy using thickly applied paint over thinner underlayers, creating a lot of texture and movement, The layered colours absolutely glow! This is one of the many beautiful things about oil painting, you can glaze on top on under layers and create dazzling effects. Because of the thickness of the paint, and the type of colour used, this piece is taking weeks to dry!
Update: this piece is now available from Creative Fine Art, Marlborough.
Of course, I named him Talisker because of his beautiful whisky colours!
The first of two new paintings of Barn Owls in progress this week.
I enjoy creating paintings of Barn Owls so much, I decided to make a couple more, they are such beautiful birds, and quite haunting too!
New Barn Owl Paintings
I enjoy creating paintings of Barn Owls so much, I decided to make a couple more, they are such beautiful birds, and quite haunting too!
I am creating this piece on a textured ground, as I love painting over a ‘bumpy’ surface, the textured effect of the finished painting. This piece will have the effect of the owl emerging from the dark, the second piece is similar, with the addition of a starry sky.
Which paint do I use?
I have had a few requests recently asking which paints I use in my workshops. So far, all of my workshop days have been using acrylic paints, because they dry really fast and this allows artists to easily take away their paintings at the end of the day. I have used several different brands of acrylic paint, and these Daler Rowney System 3 are the ones that I have found striking the right balance between quality and affordability. The colours are nice and bright, and there is a good choice. They seem to stay usable in the palette for longer than some of the others, too. I use the big tubs because we get through such a lot of paint, but these are also available in smaller tubes. I’ll share links to the places that I buy mine here here,
