Hello First name / there

 

After the driest of dry summers, the garden has been revelling in the frequent rain and our once-parched rain butts were filled to the brim.

 

It is fascinating how our brains pick up the slightest change without a seemly conscious thought. I usually love the sound of rain when I am tucked up warmly inside. There's something nurturing and soothing about the cadence of raindrops. But when it changes to a whooshing noise, that changes really fast.

 

The biggest of our water butts had, after many years of faithful water collection and storage, finally sprung a leak. The join near the bottom of the barrel had split and 200l of stored water was pouring out along with the continuous stream that was filling it up from the slope of the roof. Now the garden was being flooded.  We managed to collect the water in a very large plastic wood storage caddy and replace the water butt, but not before a bit of deluge ended up just running away.

 

Sometimes we can have too much of a good thing. I remember when I was first learning to paint; there was so much to think about, at times it felt overwhelming. Breaking things down, focusing and dealing with each aspect separately can make painting (and most other things) feel more manageable.

A conversation with Karen Stamper early this month led to the start of a project I have been considering for a long time now.  I love helping other artists to loosen up their watercolour painting. Seeing those ‘Aha’ moments as they happen, and watching the progress of their work through a 2 day workshop is just wonderful.

 

For some time, I've also wanted to be able to create watercolour courses for artists who are not in my local area and can't get to my face to face workshops. Karen, who has a fabulously successful online course (you should do it if you can),  gave me a nudge, some solid advice and a link to some great resources. And so…. Watercolour Flow will be launched as a 2-week online course in January 2023.  If you want to know more about it, just click here and add your name to the mailing list. I'll be running the first version as a beta course at a reduced rate for anyone who is on the wait list.

 

ARTIST TIP: Loose watercolours use hard and soft edges to create a sense of depth. The trick is in knowing just how soft, and just where to place the sharper marks to tell your story. 
Image: Detail from a painting inspired by the Johnson River Gorge in Queensland, Australia. 

I treated myself to a colour workshop with Juliet Docherty, aka the Colour Tutor. What a fabulous day I had. The morning was spent revisiting the colour wheel with added information from Juliet's vast knowledge of colour theory. And then the fun really began.

 

I could have spent days creating colour swatches in paint and collage to discover new possibilities for my paintings. We used acrylic paint for the day's colour explorations so the colours were punchy and the edges were sharp. Now to replicate the exercises in watercolour where the pigments tend to wander unbidden at times. I can foresee hours of fun in my studio over the next few weeks (and beyond). 

ARTIST TIP:  Another workshop tip. It's worth going back over the basics in a workshop. Even if you think you know the theory, it can always bear revisiting - and you're quite likely to gain a deeper insight, or new ideas on including the theory into your process.

Image: One of Juliet's workshop demonstration palettes

For those of you close enough to visit in person, this month I am holding an Open Studio for a cause that is close to my heart. I've always been a huge tree-lover. Much of my childhood was spent climbing trees and building tree houses. I am enchanted by woodlands and rainforests. TreeSisters is a natural choice for me.  We need to be tackling climate change and planting trees is one way we can all make a difference.  

Come and join us for mince pies and mulled wine next weekend, and browse the collection of small paintings for sale. Details on the image. I'd love to see you.

In case you missed them, here are a few of my recent Instagram posts. Click on the image to head over to the post.

 

I've recently discovered the Letters Live Youtube channel. Some of these are gems!

2023is going to be busy. It's looking exciting already. 
Thank you, as always, for your support.

 

Until next time,