New Year, New Career, New Paintings!

The week before Christmas was the end of my career in IT. After more than 10 years working as an IT consultant, developing code, analysing systems and managing a team, I've taken the plunge and traded it all in for the chance to make a lifetime's dream a reality - to become an artist, full time!

It's going to be a major challenge, and will take a lot of hard work, new skills and struggles, but I'm ready for it!

In my first few weeks I've been researching, planning, stocking up my shop and starting to make the most of my time to develop my art and find my direction. I've also been working to a couple of exhibition deadlines - more on that to follow.

For now, here are a couple of my latest paintings, with some photos of the stages and how they were built up:

Pears for Breakfast

Planning - I started by arranging a still life, choosing complimentary colours and some of my favourite objects (you might recognise the central vase from some of my other paintings). The colours were also based around some beautiful yellow tulips and lovely conference pears. In the background of the still life set up I propped up one of my framed monoprints, and a book on botanical art. Once I was happy with the arrangement I made a quick sketch in pencil and watercolour, which allowed me to see anything that I needed to adjust, and got me started thinking about the structure of the painting.

First steps - I wanted the tulips to be the main focus of the painting, so without making an preparitory drawing on the paper, I started building up the tulips with loose bright yellows. I tried to keep each mark fresh, and used watersoluble coloured pencils, wax crayon and oil pastels throughout the painting, in addition to the watercolour.

Next - After completing most of the tulips and leaves I started to paint in the vase and some of the background - the little blue arches, and a bit of the cream book cover. I then tackled the other main features of the arrangement - the blue and white tea-pot, the lovely pears, the start of the mustard coloured vase, and the beginnings of the willow pattern plate:

Adding the background - The next step was to start tying the seperate areas together, and building up the background. I've used some spots of grey oil pastel to link up the middle section to the bottom left of the painting. I've added more of the monoprint and book cover behind the tulips:

Adding structure - Now that the painting is coming together I've added in a few lines to try and improve the composition and lead the eye around the painting. To echo the plate and bowl in the foreground I've added another curved edge on the left, a possible table edge. I've also added a couple of diagonal lines to draw the eye in to the composition.

Final stages - I've used some more of the deep blue from the central vase on the table edge, to balance the strong colour across the painting. For the remaining background areas I've used more subtle greys and cream, so that they don't distract from the main subject too much. There was a lovely red squiggle pattern in my framed monoprint in the background, which I've extended out from the monoprint to the far left top corner, as if the squiggles are floating from the tulips. I've used masking fluid to suggest the pattern of the green and gold tin which the tea-pot is standing on. I've also linked the apple into the painting by the addition of the rusty red sliver on the right of the pears.

The finished painting - Pears for Breakfast

Watercolour Mixed Media  - 48cm x 36cm

 

David Hockney

I'm a huge fan of David Hockney and I've been wanting to paint his portrait for some time, it was great to have the time to do it!

I took quite a few (bad) photos of this as I went - I find it really helps to see your progress on screen, it's the same as looking at it from a distance really. I'll save you from a detailed description this time, the main stages were:

1. Pencil drawing directly on the watercolour paper, in an attempt to keep the energy of the drawing, rather than tracing from a separate drawing.
2. Watercolour for most of the painting but I've used some watersoluble coloured pencil to build up the darkness and depth of parts of the face.
3. When I'd almost completed the portrait i decided to add a simple background.

 

Finished!

 

 

If you like my work...

Check out my full stocked online Gallery & shop - www.francescawhetnall.etsy.com

I now have a Facebook page, where you can keep up to date with my latest work, exhibitions and discounts if you 'Like' my page: http://www.facebook.com/FrancescaWhetnall

You can also find me :

on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CeccaArt 

on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/franny_b

on CafePress - http://www.cafepress.com/whetnallart

And at my website - http://francescawhetnall.co.uk/

Pride in Bournemouth - Lions Under the Hammer

After a summer spent brightening up Bournemouth all 50 lions will be going under the hammer this evening to raise funds for the Born Free Foundation and Julia’s House Hospice. Decorated by artists from across Bournemouth and Dorset the Beautiful Lions have been gathered together for the last time on the south terrace of the The Bournemouth Pavilion. They’ll be on display until 3pm today so head along for your last chance to see them before the auction.

The Gala auction is set to be an exciting event, with actor Martin Clunes, children’s TV presenter Chris Jarvis together with wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna. The auction is being led by celebrity auctioneer James Lewis.

Tickets for the auction are available from the BIC Pavilion from just £5.

I managed to take pictures of some of the Lions before they were removed for the auction:

Middle-Earth Safari by Elanor McBay

Leatherbound by Lisa Berkshire

Fireworks by Carol Childs

Mist of Bournemouth by Dhaval Husmucial

Frankenlion by Domini Deane

Hylas and the Nymphs by Claire Pound

Temba by Natalie Guy

Ford Robot by Stuart Palmer

See more of my Lion photos on Flickr - Pride in Bournemouth

A bit about the Charities:

Julia’s House

Julia's House is dedicated to children with life-limiting conditions. The majority of the children they care for are unlikely to live beyond the age of 18.
The Julia's House Community Team consists of 80 Nurses and Carers who travel the county. The children's hospice provides life-changing support for families both in their own homes and in the hospice itself. In 2009 they provided 22,592 hours of care, an increase of 81% on the previous year’s total.

Receiving only 3% of their funding from the Government, Julia's House relies on the Dorset community to help raise the remainder of their required income.

The Born Free Foundation

The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity, devoted to conservation and animal welfare. They work to prevent the suffering of wild animals and protect threatened species in the wild. Working with local communities to help people and wildlife live together without conflict, Born Free believes wildlife belongs in the wild and works to phase out zoos. Born Free protects species including elephants, lions, gorillas, polar bears, tigers, wolves and many more in their natural habitat.

Life Drawing Weekend in Bournemouth

Our next Bournemouth Creative Break is Friday 30th September to Sunday 2nd October 2011, and features an entire weekend of LIFE DRAWING.

The human figure has been the subject of drawings since prehistoric times. Though it may seem an advanced subject to the novice, life drawing is in fact suitable for everyone, even if all you can draw is a stick figure! For beginners, progress can be surprisingly fast.

Life drawing is the process of drawing the human figure from observation of a live, nude model, and is often said to be one of the best disciplines to acquire in order to improve one's drawing skills.

The weekend's courses will be run by acclaimed local artist Trish Jubb. Trish specialises in life drawing tuition and runs courses and workshops locally. She also exhibits her work and takes commissions.





This is your opportunity to:

• Spend a relaxing weekend with like-minded art enthusiasts (equally suitable for experienced artists, those keen to revive their drawing skills as well as those new to life drawing)
• Work with two experienced models (one on the Saturday and another on the Sunday)
• Enjoy the freedom and space to pursue your own style and work at your own pace.

The Arlington Hotel will be used exclusively for this painting and drawing weekend.

The price of the weekend is only £199 per person (if you book before the 31st of August). This incredible price includes welcome drinks on the first evening, dinner, bed and breakfast at the Arlington Hotel for two nights, lunch on Saturday and Sunday as well as life drawing workshops on Saturday and Sunday.

Bournemouth Creative Breaks has been inspired by Bournemouth’s traditional identity as the place for rest and recuperation.

• No experience necessary
• No equipment required (we will provide all the basic materials)
• No partner needed – come alone or bring your friends. There’s no supplement for single bedrooms!

To book your place for this weekend: Call the Arlington Hotel on ☎01202 - 552879 or use the Book Online facility.

The programme for the weekend:

Friday 30 September 2011

Make your way to the Arlington Hotel in Bournemouth. Settle in to the hotel and perhaps take a short stroll to the sea before the planned events commence. The weekend proper starts at 6.00pm with a glass of wine and an opportunity to meet the workshop tutor Trish Jubb, Bournemouth Creative Breaks organiser Laura Cousins and the other participants. Then over dinner you’ll have the chance to get to know each other better and discuss your expectations for the weekend. Trish’s work will be on display in the hotel and after dinner join Trish and Laura in the hotel bar for an introduction to Trish’s particular style and approach with some simple creative activities.

Saturday 1st October 2011

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast (and perhaps a quick walk along the seafront or through the gardens). Saturday’s workshops will be from 10.00am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 4.30pm. These workshops will be group working sessions with a nude male model with the opportunity for one-to-one guidance from Trish Jubb. There will be comfort and refreshment breaks. A light lunch of sandwiches and fruit will be provided. At the end of the afternoon you will have time to have a rest, or go for a walk. Meet up with everyone back at the hotel for dinner at 7.00pm.

Sunday 2nd October 2011

After breakfast Sunday’s workshop will be from 10.00am to 1.00pm. The workshop will be a group working session with a nude female model. Afterwards there will be a hot lunch in the dining room. Over coffee or tea there will be a closing session with an opportunity to review the work of the weekend, to discuss any outstanding questions and to share feedback. The weekend’s scheduled events will finish at around 3.30pm-4.00pm.

Children's Film Tackles Divorce

A Dorset filmmaker is producing an animated film to help children embroiled in divorce.

Dean Evans of Retro Films directed the short film and draws parallels with experiencing creative blocks and the stung feeling of abandon that children often experience during separation from parents.

Disenchanted tells the story of a creative young boy who stops uses his imagination in the event of his parent’s divorce.

The original screenplay written by Dean Evans and Sarah Peace, has already garnered the attention of industry organisations that have come on board such as Open Society and Christchurch’s Regent Cinema, where the film will be premiered on July 2, 2011.

Further screenings will take place at the Forest Arts Centre and The Arts University College in the following summer months.

The film will use a combination of live action sequences and traditional stop motion photography to bring to life mythical characters from the story, who haunt the young lead.

10-year-old Adam Robert Nightingale from Weymouth was spotted during a TV presenting gig and has been cast in the lead role. He said, “The story is amazing and I can really relate to my character, Sam.” Adam will be supported in the role by Elizabeth Platt and former CBBC presenter, Michael Absalom, who plays his estranged father.

The National Child Development agency have surveyed the implications of family break up and revealed that divorce is still highly damaging to children, despite it being more acceptable.

Director Dean Evans said; “This film will colourfully narrate a poignant issue that is in the spirit of our time by addressing an issue many can associate with.”

Dorset's Green Fortnight Returns

Bournemouth and Poole’s Big Green Fortnight returns to Dorset this weekend। Following last year’s success, the festival is set to more diverse with a wider range of events and activates on offer.

Organizers of the festival are keen to showcase how living within our means brings better health, encourages closer communities and is fun and cost effective. This is certainly a positive shift from materialism and the increased spending that often comes with the summer.

Bournemouth Arts is most excited about the Big Green Film Festival, which will showcase a selection of exciting films and animations being screened at various locations during the fortnight. Key screenings are from the Arts University College and Broadstone Film who are all presenting films centered on a ‘green’ theme.

A cycle powered cinema will show ‘In Transition’ which will be followed by a discussion and talk where audiences will experience the practicality of running a film projector by pedaling! This particular event runs once only on the 26th May. Admission is free but registration is required. Contact Amy Gallacher for booking on 01202 633398, or by email on
a.gallacher@poole.gov.uk.

Other highlights of the Film Festival include screenings at the Lighthouse, showing:

· Wall-e (Saturday 21st May)

· Home (Saturday 21st May)

· Our Daily Bread (Saturday 21st May)

· The Pipe (Tuesday 31st May)

Other activities include a Talk by Geoff Jones from Dorset Humanists on Eco Living and building an Eco home. Other highlights include a Fashion Show (Eco Fashion Experience), The Green Unity Fair, Fun 5k Walk/Run, Exercise days for holiday makers and endless runs of activities for children.

The Big Green Fortnight runs from Friday 20th May - Sunday 5th June 2011. Visit http://www.bournemouth2026.org.uk/bgf/ for further information.

Building Sand Castles with your Inner Child

Photograph of a sandcastle on the beach at Boscombe by Tim Norris. Read Tim's Blog here.

The time-worn phrase "get in touch with your inner child" doesn't always have very pleasant connotations - you hear it most often associated with the therapeutic technique developed by Penny Parks for dealing with past abuse or other childhood trauma. Which is a shame, really, because getting in touch with your inner child is something that could well be said to be at the root of what Bournemouth Creative Breaks is all about.

It's often argued that to be creative, one must approach new tasks or situations with the attitudes one observes in young children - curiosity, eagerness to learn, and a willingness to make what an adult would brand as 'mistakes', when trying to build, design, investigate or create things.

Think, for example, of building a sand castle. Bournemouth, with its acres and acres of fine golden sand, is of course the most wonderful place to build sandcastles (NOTE TO SELF: Sand Castle Workshop Weekend for a future Bournemouth Creative Break ..? Yess!)

So, imagine if, as a child, you'd been put off the natural urge to discover and create, to learn about your medium, if you'd stopped when your first tower had collapsed under the weight of the shells and seaweed you'd decorated it with. You might banish the simple joy of working with sand and water, and found objects, that so captivates children and adults alike all year round on the beaches near here.

Yes, it's sad to see a sandcastle vanish underneath the waves of the encroaching tide. But surely there's a greater sadness, if you're permanently discouraged from trying to create another castle the next day before lunch. Children aren't precious about sand castles - in fact, it's normally the done thing for a young child to destroy a sandcastle, in my experience! - and if grownups could somehow retain - or, regain - that sense of freedom, then creativity would surely flow out like .. well, water across a beach.

As my friend Lorrie Whittington said in her blog Illusio Creative:

It’s all about perception isn’t it? Drawing and painting is still seen as the purview of the serious (or even amateur) artist, or children. Rarely do people continue to paint once having left school for the simple pleasure of it alone. 

Does that sound like you?

It's not always easy as an adult to begin to think of one's self as an artist, a 'creative', someone who can and will "do" art of some kind or another. The idea behind what we're trying to achieve here at Bournemouth Creative Breaks is to provide the materials, some (very!) gentle guidance and the atmosphere in which you feel safe and comfortable enough to try something a little bit different from, say, building a sand castle. We've got music-making, art and writing workshops going on all weekend in the hotel where you'll be staying. Plus, the beach is five minutes away. Bring a bucket and spade.

Welcome to Bournemouth Arts Blog!

The aim of this blog is to bring together information about the Arts in and around Bournemouth. It will be updated by a team of people who have an interest and enthusiasm for the creative life of this beautiful coastal town.

To kick off, here is just a small selection of some of the creative communities, events and organisations that are thriving in Bournemouth today.

The Lions are coming to Bournemouth!

Pride in Bournemouth is an exciting public art event being staged throughout the summer of 2011. You may have spotted some of the Lions popping up across Bournemouth already. Sponsored by local businesses, artists are decorating life-size lion sculptures, which are being placed in locations all over Bournemouth. The event hopes to encourage exploration of Bournemouth and to raise money for Julia’s House and the Born Free Foundation.

See one artist's work in progress as she creates her Tolkien inspired Lion in the public lounge of the Hotel Miramar - Silmiramarillion - a blog by Elanor McBay

Find out more about the event here - The Lions are coming to Bournemouth!

Silmiramarillion - a work in progress by Elanor McBay

Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum

This architecturally beautiful house turned museum holds a fascinating collection of art and sculpture assembled by the husband and wife Victorian collectors Annie and Merton Russell-Cotes. The collection is of international status and reflects the Victorian fascination with world cultures. One of the other most interesting features of the collection is the quantity of beautiful paintings both depicting women and by women.
The Museum also has regular exhibitions. The current exhibition Food for Thought investigates some of the sensory pleasures and pains of our relationship with food. It features some fascinating archive footage on loan from the Imperial War Museum alongside a selection of art from the collection and some contemporary art and inspiring sculpture.
You can still catch Food for Thought until the 30th of April.

'Repose' by Geza Vastagh.

Find out more at the Gallery's own website - Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum


Moscow Ballet - La Classique, Coppelia

World-renowned soloists Nadejda Ivanova, Ekaterina Shalyapina, Andrey Lyapin, and Alexander Sedov lead this Moscow Ballet Production of Coppelia under the direction of Elik Melikov.  Coppelia is regarded as one of the jewels of classical ballet and represents one of its true comedies.

The ballet is showing at the Pavillion theatre on the 18th of March only.
To find out more see - BIC Event Details

Westbourne Orchestral Society

Will be performing a programme of British music locally on the 19th and 26th March.
The programme includes music by Britten, Mendelssohn and Holst.

See their webpage for further information and online ticket sales.

Fancy knitting a cauliflower or crocheting a couple or carrots?

Blooming Marvellous project members are busy knitting and crocheting for a community knitted project that began in October 2010 and will come together to create a knitted and crocheted 3D garden exhibition in Bournemouth Central Library for 4 weeks in May 2011.

This project received funding from Bournemouth Libraries, Bournemouth Arts Development and the National Lottery/Arts Council. The exhibition will travel to other libraries in Bournemouth - plans so far are Charminster, Kinson and we hope to have West Howe, Strouden and Westbourne libraries involved too.

The exhibition will run from 3rd May - 4th June 2011 at Bournemouth Library.

Find out more at the Blooming Marvelous Blog


Colourscapes

Is an exhibition of new works by Bournemouth based artist Clive Hagon. He describes the series as a selection of genre defining holistic paintings. The exhibition runs from 26th March until the 21st of April at the Moontree Gallery in Boscombe.

Brilliance!

Is a showcase of illuminated artworks at sites around Poole quay and town. A spectacular display of light installations across the Town Centre and Poole Quay will culminate in an illuminated Light on Time parade on 26 March.

19 sites and more than 20 artists are involved in the event which can be viewed on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 26th March between 6.30 and 8.30pm

For more details see Brilliance! Lights up Poole