A PAINTING CHALLENGE!

"Downstream" Laura Watmough

A client approached me this summer and asked if I could turn my 36x48 oil painting' Downstream' into a triptych - a painting that was in three separate canvases.

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The tricky part was that I didn't have reference for either side of my canvas and the painting was a few years old- could I even paint with the same kind of brushstrokes and colors?? Could I make the addition look like part of the original scene? would it be believable?

So off I go and get 2 12x48 canvases. After a consult with hubby Ed about how water flows, out comes the paintbrushes!!!

I matched the colors with the same brand as I had previously used. I also changed brushes too-fairly rigid synthetic flats. Then the fun begins.....

I was very inspired and the more I painted the more I remembered painting the large original panel. It was almost like muscle memory !
'Downstream' is now finished, framed and ready for pick up. It's been a great summer. ;0)

6 HOUR PAINTINGS THIS SUMMER!!!

There were 4 hugely successful workshops this summer- "6 hour paintings" that developed the painting skills and brushstroke development in the students...and these were FUN!!

Because these paintings were practice we all had the same photograph to paint. The first time you saw what you were painting was when you came to class! Floral, still life, animal, scenery....who knew??? Laura would critique and if necessary paint on the canvas so each student progressed at a faster speed. It might be hard to believe but there was very little talking !!!

First 3 hours was doing a monochromatic drawing, blocking in with color,adjusting color values.
Second lesson was completing the color/value and proceeding with only necessary detail.
Paintings were kept at the HT so that there were fresh eyes when the second part started.

Come join the fun!!!
Stay tuned for the dates of the next 6 hour workshops this fall!!!

CHEETAH- GUY COMBES #2

This July HT hosted the wonderful Guy Combes, international Wild Life Artist!
We all had a great time learning fur techniques and being amazed at what Guy can do with a brush! Each day ( 10:00-4:00, Mon- Thurs) was an adventure- fur!!! and more fur!!!

Day1 Guy and a very excited class!

Guy's color mixing and DOLLY PARTONS proved to be a challenge! We learned about ACID GREENS and creating a realistic background, how important keeping up on Facebook can be, and how to make swords with our round brushes. I expect to see many cheetahs in various stages as classes resume this September. Remember you can bring the unfinished workshop paintings into class!

Our lunch breaks were memorable!Thanks to the generosity of the participants we had TONS of healthy food- everything from quinoa to bacon and dates! Our volunteers always make a happening like this something special! Thanks to all of you!!!