Winter

A wild and blustery snow painting in oils that depicts the weather up on the mountains of Glenshee, painted earlier. Low temperatures this weekend and thoughts are now of the festive season that approaches so very soon!

I have been in my studio in the afternoons quietly working on a couple of new paintings. I decided to paint quite small and try out some new colours and also to vary my brush and palette knife paintings to combine the techniques to create a softer painting.  I think they are almost finished! I have until the 14th December to have that quiet time in the afternoon to paint and then it will be the start of the holidays and there will be much to do and walks to go on as Richard will be soon on holiday. I do hope the weather will stay fine!

Wishing you a quiet time too before the festive holidays begin, Happy Painting! Caroline

Autumn news

I had a very happy and productive summer and early autumn!  Two opportunities to exhibit my paintings.  The first in a popular Art Venue set in the heart of Deeside and was delighted to sell three of my paintings there. I was a steward for two mornings and actually got to meet the buyers of my work, a lovely family from that area! They had reserved the paintings and heard I was in on the morning they came to purchase the works. It was really fine to meet them and have a nice chat about my paintings and to hear how much they enjoyed the works.

The second exhibition was set in my local library in Elgin that has a lovely very large exhibition space with nice lighting.  I shared the space with a fellow artist.  I was delighted to read the comment book and read the feedback on how peaceful and beautiful they felt my exhibition to be. I was focusing on mostly moorland and seascapes that were simple atmospheric subjects to create a feeling of silence and peace. I was very pleased to have sold two paintings there.

I am now busy tutoring my art classes and catching up on my paperwork. 

The season is turning once again. The golden days of autumn are now looking drab and cold in the mists and rains. Some cold frosty mornings too. A quiet and reflective time of the year and soon it will be time to write Christmas cards!

Wishing you my painting friends a peaceful autumn that finds you painting the days away!
Caroline

Back to the palette knife paintings.

Greetings to you all!  It is a very wet and quite cold summer here so far.  As I write the rain is still falling and will do so until the end of the week.  I haven't minded too much, have got on with things and am kept busy with my art classes and also returning to palette knife painting.

I am having a big studio and general clear out, lots of reorganizing and time to throw out things that are not used!  It will take a good long time to do as I also found I have too much stuff in general all over the house that simply are not used.  Also old paperwork that has to go too! Why do I hoard so much!!

I finally accepted that the way forward now is with the palette knife work and am managing to do one once a week at the moment. Lots to keep me busy with new canvases to work on and some exhibitions due this year too.

I got a frame for one of the paintings I did in May which is a coastal scene.  I am very pleased with it and it is reasonably priced too.

It is very quiet here in blogging land these days but I do hope to hear from some of my old friends if they are still around.

Wishing you lots of happy painting days.

Caroline

Easter Weekend

It has been a very busy month and finally things are a bit quieter.  I can now think about my paintings that I am getting ready for my joint art exhibition in October this year.  I did have a few ideas a while ago about the paintings I wanted to add to my original art exhibition that was held almost three years ago!  I had a bit of a break away from painting in my original style due to having a painful shoulder.  However I once again find myself able to return to my smoother painting style by working for small periods of time.  I had an Indian Head massage from my physio lady yesterday! it really is amazing as it is quite healing and it does help me to relax more.  So I am hoping my improved shoulder will remain well especially with this new treatment!

The oil painting you see here is titled' The dark hour' and it is a peaceful painting about evening starting to fall. I wanted to create a more meditative piece than my more usual stormy seascapes. I had discovered that by using a transparent blue on the shale dark foreground that it created a shimmer which is nice.  However even though I thought I had finished the painting, I discovered a couple of marks in the sky that now need to be addressed!!

It was a very warm day today and I had a lovely walk by the lake and saw two frogs sitting on the path! I was a bit surprised to see them out of the water as it was a warm afternoon!

I don't quite understand why blogger decided to ask me to update my details and my photo, so now you see me looking very blurry! however many photos I try to put in, they each look blurry, so I have to accept this situation! A bit frustrating really as I can't understand why blogger couldn't keep the original photo!

I hope you all have a peaceful Easter and that you find some time to get out your paints and enjoy time in the sunshine!

Best wishes to you all
Caroline in Scotland!

Spring is Here

Spring is finally here! Though last night there was quite a storm blowing outside! However the daffodils survived which is always good news!

I do try and paint a painting each week, though last week this did not happen! However it is always possible when busy to spend a little time in my art room and at least be among the paints and paintings!

I have been painting some abstract work, which is enjoyable, yet I am always happy to return to my usual more rustic storm paintings by the coast!  The painting you see here is very small just 8 x 8 inches yet at times I quite like to work so small. The other paintings are on a bigger canvas but not too big! More on that later as I try to finish my painting of the week!

I wish you all a very happy Spring time and may you all feel renewed!

Homes found

Dear painting friends,

Once again two months have flown by without me visiting my blog.  Interesting how we get distracted by other things.  However I have been carrying on with my palette knife painting. Not always easy to do, as I sometimes wish to paint in another way that I used to do in the past.  However the palette knife is my new friend! it is easy on my shoulder that is prone to muscle tension and pain, it is a new venture into new territories and it has a big element of surprise to it! I can start with a plan of action, yet once the painting starts something else very unexpected starts to happen, all that I have learnt over the years does indeed come to mind as I work.  I need to make sense of the scene I am painting from my memory. I have recently painted some very abstract works, yet after a few hours I would revisit the works and try to tidy them up and introduce elements to the work that would make more sense to the view and make them abstract landscapes.

I was so happy over the festive season to discover these two small palette knife paintings had sold from a couple of galleries I show with. So pleased to know they have found new homes and are loved!

I do have some events to attend with my paintings this year, so I must find time to carry on with the paintings.

I will end here, the sun is finally shining here, after such a snowy night. Love to see the blue sky and gentle Constable like clouds simply....floating by!

Happy painting my friends1

Caroline

palette knife painting

I cannot believe it has been seven months since I last posted here on my blog! All I can say is that I have been quietly painting and tutoring art. I also feel I am making a small move forward with my neck and shoulder complaint, with physio, massage and gentle exercises. I am learning on a daily basis about patience! But in a good way, learning to notice the beauty of nature around me and that I don't have to create a painting all the time for my life to have meaning! It is a big part of my life, but as we get older we discover there is more beauty in the quiet moments, often simply strolling in nature and drinking that early cup of tea looking out at the garden as the early days of winter start to come in and change everything. Some flowering shrubs are still holding on, in the damp cold weather. It is mostly overcast with heavy cloud these days but for a moment a tiny patch of blue sky will appear and make me smile.  All is not lost, soon the sun will break through again and bring a little light and joy to our winter days.

I made another decision regarding my painting. I have moved towards palette knife painting again, this time I am going to make it my artistic statement.  I love the surprise that it gives, even when having a plan when I start out, it soon changes when I start to work! The happy accident is a joy! At first I thought I would give myself a year to practice the palette knife work but then decided that would not be long enough! So slowly new works are emerging and I am enjoying my painting time greatly.

I wish you all the joy of the quiet days of winter. May you be fruitful in your painting time and enjoy your walks in the forests and countryside.