Getting Stuck In With A Brush (And A Cat)

Here’s the final, hour-long pose from life drawing the other night. I’m usually very tired by this point and I often find it hard to concentrate, so I switched from conte crayons to my home made walnut ink and a large-ish brush and got stuck in. It gave me a bit more energy and IContinue reading “Getting Stuck In With A Brush (And A Cat)”

Turner Was A Cheapskate (And He Loved Cats)

The artist JMW Turner was a cheapskate. It’s true. He often used cheap paints and sometimes they were so cheap that buyers returned the work months later because they had faded so much! He loved the juicy red called cochineal, made from South American beetles. But despite knowing that the colour just wouldn’t last, heContinue reading “Turner Was A Cheapskate (And He Loved Cats)”

Sparta Puss And van Gogh’s Bedroom

I recently painted van Gogh’s Bedroom In Arles and here’s a one minute timelapse film of it. Sparta Puss “helped”. I painted it during a Zoom tutorial with the painter Ed Sumner who started the Cheese and Wine Painting Club on Facebook at the start of lockdown in March 2020 to give people something toContinue reading “Sparta Puss And van Gogh’s Bedroom”

The Cat Looks Bonkers

I’m really cracking on with this big painting now. I hope that a couple more good spurts of activity should get it finished. I concentrated on getting some of the finer features in their place and doing a bit of work on the three animals. The cat looks bonkers. Nothing new there. A Chance ToContinue reading “The Cat Looks Bonkers”

And The Cat “Helped”

And the cat “helped”. I went back to the two head drawings I did over the past couple of days and did a bit more work into them with black gouache. These are random heads and I’m going to keep building with gouache, colour is next, and see where it takes me. I’ve always lovedContinue reading “And The Cat “Helped””

Carrying On With The Cat On #Caturday

I started this little canvas weeks ago, using up some leftover paints that I didn’t want to waste – they’re expensive. I sketched in a very rough shape of Sparta Puss on the chair and after a couple of layers using the paint as a thin wash, which I didn’t particularly like, I started addingContinue reading “Carrying On With The Cat On #Caturday”

Sparta Puss And Scraps

I’ve been gradually working on a small painting of Sparta Puss, using up scraps of leftover Liquitex acrylic paints scraped from my palette at the end of Ed Sumner’s weekly Cheese and Wine Painting Club on Facebook. It’s based on a photograph of her curled up on a blanket crocheted many years ago by myContinue reading “Sparta Puss And Scraps”

Caturday’s Scribble

Had a busy day today, doing some essential shopping for a relative and getting my one hour government sanctioned lockdown brisk walk and now I just want to slob out on the settee watching mindless telly with Sparta Puss at my side. But I didn’t do any art! So I grabbed a new sketchbook (DalerContinue reading “Caturday’s Scribble”

Finding Ideas And The Hafod Tip

I love watching the late great Bob Ross on the TV. I don’t particularly like his paintings but I love to listen to him and his observations. One of the things he says a lot is that painting isn’t difficult, what’s hard is deciding what to paint, coming up with ideas. That’s so true. I’veContinue reading “Finding Ideas And The Hafod Tip”

Sparta Puss And The Magpie

Today I finished off the copy I made of Monet’s painting “The Magpie”, started with Ed Sumner’s Cheese and Wine Painting Club on Facebook. So many shades of white! I used Liquitex heavy body acrylic paints, Daler Rowney brushes for acrylics and a primed canvas from Wilkinsons. Oh, and a couple of palette knives. InContinue reading “Sparta Puss And The Magpie”