All you need is Love

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”
Rumi

Christmas is here once again, the season of joy and goodwill!

Sometimes however Life doesn’t go according to plan, and joy or goodwill seem to vanish into thin air. It’s very, very tempting to just crawl back under the duvet and stay there until the mince pies are all eaten, and the last of the tinsel has been put away.

Fortunately art is the perfect antidote to the stresses of Life. How nice it is to slip into the studio, light a few scented candles (it is Christmas, after all) and enjoy the quiet solitude of painting.

"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet."

Franz Kafka

Whilst I paint, I contemplate all the things that I have to be grateful for… good health, a wonderful family and a really great circle of friends.

Social media has made the world a very small place and gives us the opportunity to connect in ways that we never have before. Every day is full of joyful surprises… it could be the simple pleasure of seeing someone’s beautiful artwork,  learning something completely new, or the buzz of getting words of encouragement about your own work. It’s just comforting to know that there are like-minded people out there.

I finished my page of prickles for the Natural Sketchbook Exchange.

One of the things that I have really enjoyed being part of this year has been the Natural Sketchbook Exchange. Not only has it been a great way of keeping motivated and inspired, but I’ve also made some truly wonderful friends. Throughout the year, we’ve all had our trials and troubles, but we’ve also managed to support and encourage each other.

"Qui audet adipiscitur"
~She who dares, wins~

It was through Facebook that this conker commission came about. I admit that I was a little nervous about this because the recipient happens to be an RHS gold medallist (no pressure then), but I hope she’ll like this. I’m giving it the title “Qui audet adipiscitur”, or “She who dares, wins”.  

Finally, I gave in and succumbed to the Christmassy theme. This sprig of mistletoe was calling me, and perhaps a bit of joy and goodwill is what I need. And whilst I might have missed the boat for this year’s celebrations, I thought this would make a nice Christmas card for 2015.

See, I’m not late, I’m super organised!!

Happy Christmas Everyone!

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. 

It goes on.”

Robert Frost

Laburnum and The Bee

"For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life,

And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,

And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy."

Khalil Gibran

This week I have been working on Aislinn Adams’ sketchbook for the Nature Trails Sketchbook Exchange.  Her sketchbook is beautiful, already filling up with lovely artwork, but what caught my eye is right at the back, where Aislinn has included “The List of Rules for Life and Learning” written by artist and educator Sister Corita Kent.

Aislinn's Rules at the back of her sketchbook

Rule 4 : Consider everything an Experiment

I like this rule. Too often we make things difficult for ourselves by expecting everything to turn out perfectly. How many times do we find ourselves faced with a blank sheet of paper or canvas, only to find ourselves frozen with uncertainty and indecision? A friend once advised me to call every work of art ‘a study’. If it doesn’t work out, then that’s fine… it’s a study. If it does work, then that’s a bonus!

This sketchbook project has been great in that it has encouraged me to try out new things, and to experiment with ideas, plants and colours.

I decided that I would try to paint the gorgeous Laburnum anagyroides tree in my back garden. Every year it bursts into bloom; wonderfully scented cascades of yellow blossom, that delight both me and the fat bumble bees that visit. I have always wanted to paint it but never found the time.

I used floral oasis to position the stem so that the flower hangs in a realistic manner

 A piece of white card  helps isolate the flowers from the background. Colour charts are always useful.

As always I start with a single flower, just to work out what I am looking at. I paint it from different angles, and I also pull it apart, laying the pieces onto double sided sellotape to keep them flat. Yes, I know... that top one is upside-down, but look at Rule 6 below!

A note of caution- all parts of Laburnum anagyroides are poisonous. Three or four seedpods are enough to kill a child.

Rule 6: Nothing is a Mistake. There’s no Win & no Fail. There’s only Make.

As I was working on the flowers, I noticed a fat bumble bee that had followed me into the house and who was now bumping against a closed window in frustration, despite the open door nearby. Later that day I found the poor creature lying exhausted on the windowsill, scarcely moving. I popped her into a glass and decided to do a quick study.

Bees are great little subjects to paint and can be a wonderful addition to a botanical painting. 

 When I had finished, I decided to try out something that a friend had told me the week before. If you find a bee that looks like it’s dying, try putting a drop of honey beside it. A long tongue will suddenly appear, and the bee will start to drink the honey and recover. Well, my little bee suddenly came back to life, quivering with excitement as she lapped up the sweet honey. I was absolutely amazed, especially as after 15 minutes, she shot up into the air like a rocket! Next time you find a tired bee, try this!

A happy bee.... look at that long tongue!

Off she goes! Apparently a tummy-full of honey will keep a bee flying for 40 minutes.

Rule 9: Be Happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.

My final addition to the page was a few senna pods from Egypt, Senna alexandrina. I have had them in my desk for a while now waiting to be painted. They were fun to do, but perhaps not to drink in tea, even with honey!

The finished spread

"Life is a succession of moments, to live each one is to succeed" 

Sister Corita Kent

Wings

Sometimes inspiration is hard to find, and other times it literally lands on your doorstep.

Such was the case a few weeks ago, when I found a little female chaffinch lying outside my back door. I think she must have crashed into the windowpane for there were no visible signs of injury, but she was definitely lifeless.  I looked at her little wings and thought “I want to paint them.”

“I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.” 

Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing:

This would be the perfect subject to paint in Ida Mitrani’s sketchbook for the Nature Trails 2014- a natural sketchbook exchange, in which she has made some exquisite drawings of Birds of Paradise. You can read about that here.

Ida's beautiful Bird of Paradise

Of course, artists have been painting dead birds for many centuries. I have always loved Albrecht Durer’s painting of the “Wing of a BlueRoller”, and Edward Burne Jones’ study of a wing is sensitively observed.

Albrecht Durer's Wing of a Blue Roller, 1512   wikipaintings

Although my little bird was not as bright and colourful as Durer’s, each wing is a fascinating and incredible thing to behold, so light and yet so powerful. I put the wings into a ziplock bag and placed them into the freezer first to kill off any feather mites. If you are tempted to paint or draw a dead animal, I would recommend reading the good advice about how to handle it safely given by Tim Wootton in his blog. 

Having carefully pinned out my wing onto foamcore, the studies could at last begin. I used my Earth colour chart to work out which colours would work best, and decided that Van Dyke brown (Talens) was the nearest match. I also used Talens permanent blue violet and winsor and newton’s cerulean, cobalt violet, burnt sienna, indanthrene and new gamboge.

My colour chart and a tiny sketch of a chaffinch (1.5 x 1.5cm) 

I finished by painting a few of the feathers from the rump of the bird which are a delicate shade of olive green. They were fun to paint, although I had to hold my breath as the slightly puff would gently lift them off the page.

I think there is so much to be gained by doing studies like this. Through careful observation comes greater understanding and a deeper appreciation for the wonders of the natural world.  I think my fellow Nature Trailers are doing a great job discovering the world around them- please visit our group blog and see what they have been up to. 

The finished spread!

Nature Trails 2014 - A Natural Sketchbook Exchange

 Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

A few months ago, a small group of artist friends got together and decided to organise a sketchbook exchange. The idea was simple- we would each buy the same sketchbook, draw or paint in it, and then post it on to the next person. Each sketchbook would travel from artist to artist until at last it returns to it’s owner, filled with sketches and drawings. The criteria was simply that the sketches were to be based on nature.

We decided to use Stillman and Birn zeta sketchbook , undoubtedly the best sketchbook on the market. The paper is really good quality- heavy enough to withstand washes (270gsm) and wonderfully smooth and white.  The pages lie flat so that you can do double spreads with ease- there’s nothing worse than trying to draw whilst trying to keep an uncooperative sketchbook open!  The project almost fell at the first hurdle when we discovered that the sketchbooks were sold out! Luckily Stillman and Birn came to the rescue and on hearing of our plight, flew a special delivery of sketchbooks to their UK supplier.  

 “Nature Trails 2014- A natural sketchbook exchange” has begun!

"Draw everywhere and all the time. An artist is a sketchbook with a person attached." 

Irwin Greenberg

My sketchbook arrived, sleek, clean and full of promise. I had so many other things to do at the time, but those beautiful white pages kept tempting me. Ever since this project was conceived, I have had the phrase “Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow” in my head and I really wanted to include that somewhere in my sketchbook.

I decided that I’d also like to do something on the cover of my book in gold leaf. I lost several hours looking at vintage book covers online… so inspiring! I really loved these ones, although they were perhaps a little too ambitious for me.

Beautiful vintage book covers.

In the end, I decided to do a simple golden acorn on the cover.

For the title page I took a previous sketch of an acorn and leaf and modified it.

A sketch from last September

An envelope from Egypt, printed to look like papyrus fitted perfectly as an endpaper. I’ll be writing my address onto that too, just in case the book goes astray. Fingers crossed, none of the sketchbooks will be lost!

The double spread was a bit daunting, perhaps because that first sketch will set the tone for the book. I decided to let nature be my muse and headed out on a beautiful crisp winter morning to a nearby woods. I wasn’t quite sure what I would find, but once you start to look, you begin to notice all the subtle colours of winter, and the tiny signs of new life that are appearing all around.

"If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere. "

Vincent van Gogh

 I’m going to try and use this project to learn more about the natural world around me. I’m delighted to say that the paper also lived up to my expectations … it didn’t buckle and took the paint very well.

Beech tree buds are quite beautiful up close 

But most of all, I’m feeling very excited to be involved with such a creative and supportive group of people. Their enthusiasm and encouragement is contagious!  It’s wonderful to start the year on such a positive note. Great things lie ahead.