Artyfarty !

While in London, ages ago it seems now, but in fact it was in early spring, I went and treated myself to a whole new set of student quality acrylic paints, suitable brushes, thinners, drying retarders and a whole set of assorted palette knives.

 Good beginners stuff so I wouldn't get all precious about it all and what I turned out eventually.

So my aim was to have a little fun both with colour and texture and see what happened.....


Well, I had a few sessions and some fun paintings appeared. I am not what you 'd call a graphic artist at all but just like to mess around with paints.

In fact I often feel I'd really like to paint with my hands and fingers and not use brushes/knives at all ! just like children do at nursery ?


Anyway, one day I'd been encouraging my husband, Philip, to have some fun too. He used to do a lot of artworks, but about 30 years ago !!

We thought it would be better for him just 'to go for it' and so use the pallette knives (a first for him in fact) - as it is a lot harder to ffaff about with these than it is with brushes.


As Philip is a perfectionist in almost everything he does I did not want him to get stressed and so pallette knives it was (me thinking well he can't with these can he ?).

Little did I know ! and really I should have known better and just trust him to do a wonderful painting which is what he did in the end.

I fished out all the kit, cleared the tables in the awning of the caravan (it was far too hot to sit outside in the sun) and off we went. He on his table, me on mine.



It was great fun, and I photographed the various stages involved with his painting. I did not think of doing mine !

His style of working is totally different from mine and I noticed that on the whole he only used the tip of the pallette knife to as to be more accurate !! he will never be an impressionist as he likes actuality in paintings and they have to look 'real'.


His finished painting took about three afternoons of work, and I sometimes think that if left to himself he would have carried on refining it over and over. I must admit that I encouraged him no to do this.

His finished painting is quite beautiful, totally his own work and interpretation of a tiny photograph out of a magazine.


 Now we just need to be somewhere long enough for him to start another one.




Most of our journeys have a purpose (orienteering competitions) and there is in fact very little leisure time.

 

You'd be amazed how long it takes to just live an ordinary life in a caravan as you have to walk everything everywhere !!


We have sort of decided to bring along a printer when we next travel as we have so many photographs that we'd like to work from.



 We are both avid photographers these days, well, especially me as I have a tiny pocket camera with an amazing Swiss lens.

Brilliant, as I can pop it in my bag and whisk it out whenever anything vaguely interesting catches my eye.

This seems to happen an awful lot.....




Eventually when we decide to travel less we shall dedicate one bedroom totally to being a studio, and I shall invest in a great quantity of oil paints and really good brushes and canvases etc.

 The work we do now is just practice really and the more we do the better we'll get?

The main thing though is to just enjoy the whole process and think of it as fun, otherwise why do it at all ?

That's how I think about it at least, not so sure about Philip, although as you can see he's smiling !




Philip's final piece.