May..speeding by

 This month feels like it has been passing by in a flash. Getting older and being busy....two things that make time feel like it's passing by at a quickening pace?!

 We've been out and about enjoying what dry weather there has been. Gouther crag in the Lakes was a great day out, our first visit, hopefully we'll get back again soon. It's always interesting to go somewhere new...fun times John's first E1 of the year so we left feeling good.

Gouther 

Gillean on Hernia, Gouther Crag

Spring has definitely sprung in the Lakes!

Leaving Gouther

Earlier this month we had a good reason for doing some early spring cleaning ...art@ancrum a long w/k of art and craft exhibits here in Ancrum. I had a really good response and a busy time of it chatting to visitors and friends.
It was really good to hang new paintings and see what I have been producing.Working away in what for me is a pretty solitary fashion it's often difficult to keep a positive outlook on what I'm producing.
 Showing your work publicly is so important. For me and I suppose like many visual artists it is a way of punctuating a creative period and also a way of moving on from a body of work. And of course feedback is essential ...good or bad!

After the w/k I found it really difficult to start painting again.So I did what I usually do and switched media.

 Watercolour is a really beautiful media. It has a magic all of it's own which only reveals it's secrets once you work with it for a while. Good quality paper, brushes and paint are essential if luminosity and freshness are important to you. I like to use it freely and love the accidental washes and all that they entail...bleeding, merging colours that take your images on unexpected pathways. I also love the control of glazing and dry brush techniques. All round it's a media that truly lets you work in the moment.

 

 


So having broken the ice I felt ready to get the wax pot on again and start a couple of small paintings. These are based on those studies I did last month after our visit to the snowy Cuillins.

work in progress

work in progress

Meanwhile   the country side is certainly looking a good deal greener.You can't but help notice the ferns unfurling and the bluebells appearing almost overnight. New growth is so fresh and tender with an intensity of colour that  soon fades as the weeks pass by. Catch it  while you can.

Sometimes it gets messy

Back into the studio with plans to get on with more new oil paintings and more mono printing........ this time on some lovely Japanese light weight papers and yesterday my new roller arrived ...so very excited to get on with the work !

Roller love