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Hello Everyone

Christmas is only a month away and I am busy buying and wrapping presents, it is an exciting time of year I love the lights in the cities and towns and all the festive parties coming up to attend. Speaking of Christmas I have finished the series of winter scenes of Sonning Christmas cards and they will be available from 7th December from one of my stalls I hold. This year I will be at Queen Anne's School in Caversham, Berkshire on Saturday 3rd December 11am-3pm, drop by and say hello and enjoy the refreshments and of course my cards. Hopefully it will be a regular annual stall in December.

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and enjoy a lot of parties and you prosper in the New Year.

Until next week

Joanne

Hello Everyone

Last week I mentioned I am painting new scenes of Sonning in Berkshire for my new collection of christmas cards this year. On Thursday I began painting Sonning Bridge, I recently took the photograph because I accidentally deleted it when it was covered in thick frost, but it is ok that is what my imagination is for.

I mixed the colours for the sky, grass and water using white, cobalt blue and phthalo green, burnt umber and ultramarine blue remembered to erase the pencil lines first, otherwise they will not be able to be erased once the paint is down. I painted in the sky first and then I moved onto painting the grass and water from the bottom of the page up to the bridge. I worked on the trees behind the bridge and mixed various colours to paint in the tunnels, and then I mixed various shades of flesh colour, burnt umber, cadmium red and white to create the brick colour and painted in the bridge, I added greys and whites to make the bridge look more realistic.

I decided to paint the sky, grass and water of two more scenes, but halfway through I realised I had mixed the colours too dark and applied them too thickly, I basically wasted three hours and a lot of paint which was a painful realisation, and I decided to pack up for the day. They will be finished in 2 weeks and I cannot wait to share them with my customers. I will be back in the studio all weekend to draw out the two scenes for a second time and start painting them. My intention is to also work on the other two but I will see how much time I have left. You are the first to see this new painting above. Watch out for the next blog and painting reveal, I post Tuesdays at 10:00am when there are no technical issues like there was last week and I ended up posting the blog in later that day, and don't forget to subscribe for more stories.


Joanne

Hello Everyone

Last week I mentioned I am painting new scenes of Sonning in Berkshire for my new collection of christmas cards this year. On Thursday I began painting Sonning Bridge, I recently took the photograph because I accidentally deleted it when it was covered in thick frost, but it is ok that is what my imagination is for.

I mixed the colours for the sky, grass and water using white, cobalt blue and phthalo green, burnt umber and ultramarine blue remembered to erase the pencil lines first, otherwise they will not be able to be erased once the paint is down. I painted in the sky first and then I moved onto painting the grass and water from the bottom of the page up to the bridge. I worked on the trees behind the bridge and mixed various colours to paint in the tunnels, and then I mixed various shades of flesh colour, burnt umber, cadmium red and white to create the brick colour and painted in the bridge, I added greys and whites to make the bridge look more realistic.

I decided to paint the sky, grass and water of two more scenes, but halfway through I realised I had mixed the colours too dark and applied them too thickly, I basically wasted three hours and a lot of paint which was a painful realisation, and I decided to pack up for the day. They will be finished in 2 weeks and I cannot wait to share them with my customers. I will be back in the studio all weekend to draw out the two scenes for a second time and start painting them. My intention is to also work on the other two but I will see how much time I have left. You are the first to see this new painting above. Watch out for the next blog and painting reveal, I post Tuesdays at 10:00am when there are no technical issues like there was last week and I ended up posting the blog in later that day, and don’t forget to subscribe for more stories.

Joanne

Everyone

I am starting to think about christmas for this year and how I am going to spend it, then there are presents to buy and wrap, but before that I need christmas cards to send to friends and family. I looked back over the last two years photo collection of many scenes of Berkshire i have taken and I came across some winter scenes in Sonning. Two years ago I stopped in Sonning on a beautiful frosty winter morning on my way to work, and captured many stunning scenes of the village. Tree branches,lawns and buildings were thick with ice and everything glistened as the sun shone down . I have chosen them to be my new christmas card series for 2016. So far I have drawn out four scenes and today I began painting my first one which I am three quarters way through, the painting above is a sneak peak of the collection.

Watch out for the next scene in the collection that I will give you the first glance of

Don't forget to subscribe for more news

Joanne

Windsor Castle is a second home to me because I have family who live in Eton Wick. In the summer of 1977 we spent the Queen’s Jubilee sitting on the grass outside Windsor Castle watching the procession go by. In my teens me and my cousin used to go clubbing in the town centre at night and walk round it during the day. I painted the castle for nostalgic reasons.

I drew out the Castle and buildings in a light pencil, i paintined in the sky using a mix of cobalt blue and titanium white and then i painted in the castle using a mix of yellow ochre and white. I mixed my own shades of green for the trees and grass, using blues, browns and yellow. I am really pleased with the finished painting and the white mount and frame set it off nicely giving it a fresh appearance.

Thank you for reading, watch out forvthe next flog on Tuesday at 10.00am.

Hello Everyone

Here is another painting of the collection of Dinton Pastures paintings on exhibition at National Animal Welfare Trust, wantage Road in Great Shefford on Saturday 22nd October and Sunday 23rd October 2016.

Dinton Pastures is a well known local park where families and individuals spend enjoyable days and weekends walking their dogs and playing in the park, I thiught it would be nice to paint local scenes of it.

I spent one morning walking round Dinton Pastures searcing for that special scene and nothing grabbed my attention. I followed the path back to the car park and as it curved round I walked a bit further then looked back. The sun shone through the trees onto the path because it was at an angle, the trees and path lit up. Before I started the painting I knew I wanted it to have that wow factor . After much experimentation the painting came together and I used a vast range of pastel shades of blues, greens, pinks , yellows flesh colour browns and white to bring to you a stunning and peaceful scene.

Watch out for the story on another painting which will be published on Tuesday at 10:00am

Hello Everyone

Thanks for stopping by and reading the latest blog of a new painting I completed this year which will be part of my exhibition which is taking place on Saturday 22nd October and Sunday 23 October 11am - 3pm in the barn at Trindledown Farm at National Animal Welfare Trust to raise funds for them, and it is officially being opened by Councillor Quentin Webb on 22nd October at 11.00am.

For two years I have wanted to paint a bluebell wood scene during the summer time but other paintings were on the top of the list. I visited numerous bluebell woods in and around Berkshire intending for each place to be the chosen scene to be painted later on in the year, because I sometimes paint out of season mainly to lift my spirits in the midst of a dreary English winter, but nothing captivated me. I drove to West Berkshire still in search of the perfect scene and got side tracked by the breathtaking landscapes before me which were full of rich yellows and greens. I took many pictures and felt a new wave of inspiration wash over me to just create something and I was thinking about creating a sunset scene. Back at home I looked over the pictures and decided to paint a rapeseed field in the sunset. I set up my easel and art materials and mixed the various shades of yellows, golds and mauve and began painting, half way through I wasn't feeling it, the paint applied was too thick, the wrong colour and dull, i threw it away and started again. Once again it didn't turn out right. I took it as a sign I should have opted to paint the bluebell wood scene , I took a deep breath and drew the outline of the woods, mixed various shades of greys, blues greens and browns for the trees, sky and grass, once the painting had been built up I mixed many shades of purple and mauve to paint in the bluebells which was my favourite part. I am really pleased how it turned out and the clean fresh white frames enhance the all the colours and set the painting off nicely.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the story behind Bluebell Summer Forest, watch out for next week's story.

Hello Everyone

We are back at Cliveden House for the story behind my painting of Spring Cottage. I walked down some steep wooden steps set off the side of the garden , which led me down to the gardens on the lower ground which was level with the Thames. I passed a cottage set back from the river which looked unoccupied i thought as i moved on, and asked the boat keeper where spring Cottage was situated. He pointed behind him and said "here, next door". I boarded the boat with camera at the ready, to snap at the cottage as soon as we moved off from our starting point. I couldn't see a thing on my screen because the sun reflected off of it ,so I just snapped away hoping to take at least a couple of decent pictures. After we finished our boat trip I made my way to the main house via the same route I had taken to get there, my legs were killing me when I reached the top. After a rest I replenished my fluids and ate in the cafe situated in the grounds at the front of the house, and day dreamed what it would feel like to be able to stay in one of Cliveden 's magnificent rooms for a few days and to swan around the swimming pool on a hot day, and to be waited on hand and foot.

I explored the gardens near the front entrance and took many more pictures just incase I wanted to use different scenes later on. A band played on the band stand and a tea party was in full swing. All in all it had been a satisfying and beautiful day, and i returned home exhausted and completely inspired about the new scene I had discovered. The whole reason I chose Spring Cottage is because a few years earlier I read about the profumo affair that took place there in 1960's before I was born. I was fascinated by the turn of events that were played out in private at the cottage over a weekend and in front of the world at the same time because some how a journalist got hold of the story. After reading about the scandal I felt compelled to paint an iconic cottage, and I have to say I am pleased how the panting turned out. With every brush stroke I imagined how the lawn felt soft and luxurious under my feet, which I painted in pastel shades of yellow and white.

Once it was completed I moved onto painting in the river using pastel shades, of yellow ochre, greens, blues, browns and white, the swishing of the brush back and forth imitated the quiet rush of the water.

I hope you enjoyed this story and don't forget to subscribe to receive more stories behind each of my paintings.

Joanne

Hello Everyone

I wanted to share with you the story behind a painting I did of one of the cottages at Cliveden House in Taplow England, which is immensely popular among the tourist trade because it is quintessentially English and set off the path on the Thames.

I visited Cliveden House May bank holiday in 2014 as it was on my to do list for a year and It was one of those snap decisions to make the effort to go otherwise i would probably never have got round to it. It was a steaming hot day and the sight of Cliveden House alone took my breath away, it smacked of old English elegance and the fine English gentleman. As I neared the wall of the balcony at the back of the house the manicured lawns and topiary came into view, and they were spectacular and I was mesmerised by it. At this point I was unaware of the cottages situated on the ground level. I proceeded to explore the grounds and found a set of steps that led down to it. I soon found Ferry cottage which was occupied by a family who were sitting outside eating lunch. In that moment It struck me how a guest of the cottage would like to own a painting of Ferry cottage as a memento of their stay. I took several pictures at different angles and I chose the one with the path fully in the scene as it gave a sense of distance.

I free hand drew the cottage first then made two lines for the path. When I drew out the cottage, I crashed and burned on the first two attempts because I was so engrossed in the film I was listening to I drew massive rooftops which covered three quarters of the page, I ended up throwing the piece of paper away and starting on a fresh piece. I used acrylics and I painted in pastel shades of greens, reds, yellow and white which transformed into a beautiful and tranquil scene.

I hope you enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed creating it. Next week I will share another scene I painted which was opposite the cottage.

Hello Everyone

In the last blog I shared my story behind Ferry Cottage and today I am sharing the story behind Across The Water, which I stumbled across at the same time as discovering Ferry Cottage, because it was situated opposite Ferry Cottage on the other side of the Thames. It took my breath away. The house was set in manicured lawns which was shaded by attractive willow and other types of trees, and I knew it would make a stunning painting.

Let's start from the beginning. I searched around for another scene from a different angle or nearby to Cliveden. As I turned away from Ferry Cottage toward the Thames, poking through the trees was a magnificent white house set in manicured lawns, I was really taken in by it's beauty and elegance and I wondered who the lucky owner was, and tried to second guess what they did for a living. I inched toward the edge of the bank and tried to poke my camera through the trees, but I couldn't get a clear shot, I looked for a clearing in the trees and found one. As I teetered on the edge of the bank to point my camera through the gap my foot slipped and I heard earth crumble away under foot, and I nearly fell head first into the Thames.

Panicking I quickly snapped several pictures and hoped I got the shot I wanted. I just wanted to get off the edge of the bank and with one swift manoeuvre I leapt backwards onto the path , safe ground.

Feeling satisfied with my find I made my way up to the main house by following the path up through the gardens which was very steep but. the view from the top of the gardens down over the Thames was stunning and I took numerous pictures of the view.

I had completed what I set out to achieve that day, and after taking many more pictures of the main house and gardens I decided to call it a day.

Next week look out for more stories on different scenes I painted at Cliveden House

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