Random Splatter and a Stick

Poppies

I pass through Birr on my way to work at our co-op gallery,  Sunset Arts, in Grand Bend. Earlier this summer, just outside of the general store, there was a large bed of poppies. I returned the next day to enjoy them and to take some photos for reference as sketching them from the busy road or the parking lot didn't hold much appeal. I sketched poppies from memory when I got home and have been working on this painting ever since, using my sketches and reference photos. It is a watercolour but I used watercolour with very little water added to the paint from the tube to do the random spatter and I scraped some on here and there with a stick. I left a band at the bottom free of spatter to give allow for depth.

Landon Library: watercolour, pen and ink

I've been walking through Wortley Village with my friend Cheryl Radford, sketching and taking photographs and looking for inspiration. Along with my friends, Len Hughes and Amelia Husnik, Cheryl and I will be having a show of Wortley based art in November of 2013. It may seem a long way off , but time has a way of flying past so quickly these days, that it seemed like a good idea to start looking for ideas.The piece above was done in the studio and is based on one of the photos I took. I drew the scene and then washed it with several layers of watercolour and finished it with pen and ink.

The second sketch was done on location, around 5:30, sitting on the steps at the front door of one of the churches in Wortley Village. It's a sketch of a house on Elmwood Ave. The view of the house was partially obstructed by trees, but I enjoyed sketching it anyway. This time I used watersoluble ink and water.

This painting is of a house on Princess Ave here in the Woodfield area of London. I have been looking at this house for a couple of years now, wishing I had the time to sketch or paint it. I finally got the opportunity to do so this summer. This painting will be in The Gallery Painting Group's show in October at the Byron Memorial Library. The information about the show follows.