FLUTTERBY

Yes, I did call them flutterby when I was a likkle girl.  I was looking through other blogs when I noticed that Laura Moore (check out her new website and blog, brilliant) was doing a butterfly at her art society, so I decided to semi join it for one night only!  Here is my try  ................ having a nightmare, my laptop is down, this pc is like going back to dial up.  I have downloaded some paintings from my camera and now cannot find them.  Will continue this post at a later date (I am not happy)

Got there in the end.

I have not been able to check out all your blogs and now have lots of delicious art to look at.  I love this blogging.

CHOCOHOLIC

Yes, I'm a chocoholic! So what did I decide to paint today  ...................  ?

Copied from a brochure where you join a chocolate club. How dangerous would that be? I couldn't paint from real chocolates, they would have been eaten in no time.  The shadow hasn't worked on the left of the white chocolate so must add that.  Good news is we had some chocolates, it being Sunday, after our dinner, they were our absolute favourite little chocolate squares from Friars in Keswick (The Lake District).

What are your favourite chocolates?

I HATE PAINTING FLOWERS!

Yes, it's true, I don't like painting flowers BUT I have been inspired by my blogging friends results, so I did the holly before Christmas and now I have done a poinsettia (can't be bothered getting a dictionary to check the spelling).  I first did a wet in wet mixed colour background and then painted the negative shapes, so it sorta looks ok.  I used a red picture but decided to change the colour.

Feel like a proper artist describing my process!!!  Don't think I'll be doing many flowers, but enjoyed the challenge nevertheless.  Thanks for the inspiration ..................

OLD WELLIES

Just thrown these wellies away, they were so uncomfortable, and I now have a spanking new pair of flowery ones.  I have painted these ancient ones for posterity.

****!!!!! WHAT IS HAPPENING!  Tried to download my pic from my computer and have been blocked by google. Yesterday I felt really sorry for Laura Moore,(check her blog it's excellent) now it is me who is incensed and I am downloading  a file to picasa as I speak, before I can download just one photo onto my blog.  Is anyone else in this situation?  Laura was complaining about it on facebook. Flipping heck (thats not what I'm saying in my head). Life should get simpler not harder.

Quite frankly, I've lost interest in the wellies now.  Sulk, sulk

Added this today Monday, downloaded Chrome and can now download pics from computer, thanks Sharon!

Have been trying to set up a page on Facebook.  Am I worn out mentally.  And I havent finished yet.  Taking a welcome break and back to my blog.  I saw Sharon Whitley had painted her walking boots, they look really worn out, do look at them ...... here are mine

I now have a more comfy pair, pity about my feet, which are not made for walking!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I can't begin to tell you how inspirational I've found starting  my 2 blogs Painting & Nonsense (where I hope to make you smile)  and My Watercolour Blog which is more serious. I've met some lovely people and you have given me the joy of painting back.  I thank you.

I wish my arty blog friends a Wonderful 2013.

If you have your health you have wealth
If you have friends you are rich
If you have arty bloggy friends you have inspiration a-plenty
(Polly: 31.12.12 A.D.)

My New Year Arty Resolutions

1. Paint more often
2. Paint different subjects and media
3. Experiment more
4. Don't use ultramarine in every painting
5. Enjoy the battle, be brave and have fun throughout each battle

Have you any arty resolutions?

LAKE DISTRICT

We've just come back from spending Christmas in the Lake District.  Typical Lake District weather!  Even so it was still very beautiful.  I never tire of the views. 

This is a view of the lake at Grasmere looking towards the village.   It's no wonder Wordsworth loved it so, and William Heaton Cooper painted it so often.   Every day and every hour the light is changing, never mind the changing seasons.  It is one of my favourite places.

ROBIN OR SOMETHING RESEMBLING ONE

Here is the watercolour of a robin, done without a photo. Yes, I know that's brave!  You may guess it's a robin, but thought I had better tell you so that you weren't wondering if it was or not.  Busy week.  Art Club do, Art Class get together, day out with my lovely Sister and that's for starters.  So this will probably ..... not definitely ..... be my Christmas blog to you.

Friends are gifts you give yourself.

 Have a wondrous Christmas wherever you are.  Luv from Polly

FEELING CHRISTMASSY AT LAST

Went to my art class yesterday and forgot to take my photographs so this one is sorta made up.   I had a few conversations and helped wash the tea things, so this is all I got done!  Well I tell a lie as I have a robin too (he is terrible really I needed the photo) but want to splatter some snow on him.

Next week about 40 from the club are going to the pub next door to our club room, followed by a sorta normal club with mince pies etc. We usually have Jacobs table and quizzes! Are any other art clubs having ' a bit of a do' ?

HAZEL SOAN WORKSHOP

My hubs brought some lovely apples home, which reminded me of a painting I did on one of Hazel Soan's wonderful workshops.  She used all different reds for these apples. How exciting was that, when normally you add a little red here or there. It was painted on Khadi paper.  We wet each apple first and then added either transparent washes or opaque, and looked at the effect of adding a tiny amount of yellow, to give the apple a glow e.g. Cad Yellow which pushes into the red wash, or Indian Yellow,  which gives a very soft hint of gold.  Her control of the paint is so easy for her. This exercise is on her DVD The Essence of Watercolour.

 I know on her courses and holidays she usually uses a limited palette, but here she introduced me to Scarlet Lake, Quinacridone Red, Quinacridone Gold, Perylene Green and Indanthrene Blue. Yummy, as she would say!  The course was about colour, and instead of painting boring squares of this and that, we experimented (yes that is Hazel too) with these lovely hues. She explained lifting, staining, opaques etc in a  very exciting way. And did you know that opaques are easy to spot in your palette as their colour is really bright, yet the transparent ones are so dark that you can hardly tell what colour they are.

 We painted Masai, grapes, landscape, her favourite elephants etc. I now have my main palette and one with my special colours.  A very inspirational weekend.