Small is beautiful - Paintings for the Orchid Festival

Cymbalaria muralis - Ivy Leafed Toadflax

 In the spirit of getting ready for my stand at the Orchid Festival, I have been doing a painting a day.  Obviously they aren't large, but there's one that I think is really ditsy.   It may look like a miniature, but it's a life size view of the plant,  Cymbalaria muralis, common name Ivy Leafed Toadflax.  I have a real soft spot for this plant, it grows where other plants won't grow and seeds itself by burying the seedheads in crevices - which I think is amazing!   In this way, it scrambles over bare walls and along their bases, making a very decorative effect.  I think it's the bees knees, and so do the Bumbles, they can always be found buzzing around this plant on a summer's day.

The tiny brushes  and magnifyer had an outing for this one and despite it's size it took quite a long time to paint.  You'd think a small painting would be quick, but there's less room to move around and more chance of spoiling it.
It's the smallest painting I'm taking to the Festival, and I hope it enables those who see it to realise what a very specal plant it is.

Welsh Orchid Festival at National Botanic Garden of Wales 6th and 7th September

Having a deadline is a mixed blessing.

On the one hand there is a sense of purpose, and the comfort of knowing what you have to do.  No shilly shallying, no procrastinating on what to paint, the decision is more or less made.  Or maybe
But the deadline is fast approaching and there's a feeling of not having enough paintings, or frames or....  time! eek    where did it go?

And of course I have to take time out for other things, like designing and ordering my new business cards.   I'm always amazed at just how much time can be swallowed up by having to work on the computer.  Even when I know what I'm doing, and have everything worked out beforehand, a day can be gone.

So... (drum roll)   at long last, here's my new business card.   

Small Things

Faff :-  

Britishinformal

verb

verb: faff; 3rd person present: faffs; past tense: faffed; past participle: faffed; gerund or present participle: faffing

1.

spend time in ineffectual activity.

From oxforddictionaries.com


Having recently spent three months painting like a madwoman, I suddenly found that I couldn't paint at all!   For 2 weeks I mostly slept, catching up on sleep after all the late nights, or should I say early mornings?   Then of course, I thought I'd get right back into painting, especially as I have a deadline to meet.   But it didn't work like that, somehow I've found it really difficult to get started again.  So I've spent time catching up on other things, which have taken a backseat for the last two and a half years.

Having spent a whole week faffing about with paint and paper, I decided that painting small things might be a better idea.

So first thing to be painted was the top few inches of a willow branch with silky catkins.   I just love the silky aments, which remind me of cat's paws.

Willow Catkins - Salix

Miltoniopsis Flower

Then, out came the small pieces of paper, about 3inches by 4 inches.   And after three attempts I have something I don't feel like throwing away - at last! and about time.  A Miltoniopsis flower, which has waited too long for me to get painting and is now beginning to fade to purply hues.

I'm liking  painting the small things,  it may become a regular exercise, just to keep things interesting.

SBA Graduation!

Receiving the Diploma from Course Director Simon

The 9th of May was the day of Graduation from the Society of Botanical Artists DLDC Diploma course, Course 9.  The ceremony was held at the Art Worker's Guild in Bloomsbury, London -  A beautiful old building, and a lovely setting for a gathering of Botanical Artists.

After a long day at the SBA Exhibition, Westminster Central Hall, London, manning the Student Desk and talking to prospective students, it was time for a mad dash through London in a taxi. I even got to say "Follow that Cab" ! 

 Simon Williams, the new Course Director, Master of Ceremonies, did a grand job and kept things fairly  informal.  An international occasion, students had travelled from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Italy and America to name just a few.  Sadly some students were unable to travel to the ceremony, but their names were read out and we celebrated their achievements too.  Refreshments were served and we had the chance to catch up, make new friends and chat to the tutors.

So there we are.  Two and a half years gone in a flash, or so it seems, and the future is filled with botanical possibilities.

Sketching in the Field - Kit

My Travel Kit

 The weather's warming up, and with glimpses of the sun between showers, spring is starting to make itself felt. Plants waking up, new leaves appearing, new shoots peeping above the soil. My Fritillaries are in bloom, it's the first time I have grown them in the garden and I'm feeling ridiculously pleased.

 All this promises plenty to paint in the coming year, and the added excitement of field sketching.

Last year, as part of the SBA Botanical Painting Diploma, I had to take to the field - literally - and record all the plants in a chosen area, then paint them as field studies. Finally, a selection were composed as a finished piece. This brought some interesting problems. A local marsh produced lovely plants that I'd never seen growing locally before, so it was an exciting expedition. But deciding what to take, and how to carry it, wasn't without problems.

 I decided on a minimalist approach. I already had a lovely mini watercolour box from Daler Rowney, with a tiny Sable brush, but knew more would be needed. I wanted Sable, but didn't want to carry expensive brushes, only to find I'd mislaid or dropped them in the field, with no hope of ever finding them again.

 After much searching online, I found a set of four Sable Nail Art brushes at a price that made me think they probably weren't real sable, but they had such good reviews, I sent for them anyway. The brushes were a nice surprise. They handle really well, pointed Filberts, they're useful as wash brushes and detail brushes. They are pocket brushes, the handles doubling up as a cover to protect the hair in transit. One alteration was needed, a small hole drilled in the end of the handle/cover, to allow moisture to evaporate.

Tiny Daler Rowney Sable brush and Nail Art Brushes

 A small folding plastic palette, propelling pencil, dividers, plastic 6" rule, wodge of putty eraser, a remarkably cheap 130gsm A4 sketch book, packet of tissues, a plastic cup, and two bottles of water completed my kit. I should have taken my official sketchbook, but it was becoming unwieldy to carry and impossible to use without a table. Two bottles of water, because I was working in 90f and no shade. I should have had a large straw hat, but couldn't find one. All this went into a canvas satchel, but rattled round in the bottom, so I'm currently searching for a watercolour sketch bag to keep everything together. The satchel was a real find. Light to carry, but large enough to hold the inflated plastic bags holding a wet cotton pad and any collected specimens. I just need replace the London Olympics picture from the front flap with one of my own, that should be fun.

As one door closes, another opens.

At last, after Twenty Seven months, I've completed my SBA Distance Learning Diploma Course.  I don't know where the time went!  It seems only yesterday I received the box with my course materials.    

The paintings have been packed and sent, along with the sketchbook and now begins the nail-biting wait for the judging. 
Since sending off my work, I've had more time to think.   About what has made it easier to complete this course, and what has made it difficult.
Good brushes.  It's important to find brushes that suit your way of painting and which have the right spring and water holding capacity, with a really fine point.    I found that for me, my Da Vinci brushes with long fine points were the biz.
Good paper.   One of the most difficult aspects of the course for me was the variability of the paper provided.   I was used to the paper, as I bought some to practise with before starting the course and was very happy with it.   But the pad I was sent was a disappointment.   I bought a replacement one which was much better, but not perfect.  I am going to try contacting the manufacturer to find out why it is so variable.  It's almost impossible to do delicate watercolour work on paper that has patches which behave like blotting paper!
Good Paint.  Top quality artist's watercolours are essential to being able to render realistic images and cannot be skimped on.  But it's important not to get seduced by the often romantic blurb of the manufacturers.  I made a point of trying watercolours from all the major manufacturers and all of them are excellent.  Some brands have more colour choice.  One brand has a bewildering selection amounting to hundreds of different colours.    Those new to watercolour often think more colours are better, but when learning about mixing and about the different properties of paints it's better to stick to a limited selection.  In this respect, some companies are very helpful and put together sets which are useful for beginners and reasonably priced when compared with buying the tubes or pans separately.  However, it's best to be aware of which colours you are likely to need, as some manufacturers have a tendency to produce sets with colours chosen for Landscape artists.  Manufacturers also give different names to colours, but a quick look at the pigment number will tell you whether they are likely to be the same, eg. PY153 (Pigment Yellow 153) is named Indian Yellow by some manufacturers and New Gamboge by others, but essentially they are the same colour - a wonderful warm, transparent, egg yolk yellow in mass tone and a cooler yellow when used in a light wash.
The important thing is to get to know your colours really well, know what pigments they contain as well as their names, play with them, mix them, make notes and keep those colour swatches and mixes safe, you never know when you'll need a particular shade for a painting, and having it to hand makes life much simpler.

Spoilers!

Well after much thought and preparation, I got stuck into my first Diploma piece.    Fruit or Vegetable/s.   I'd had a hankering to paint this piece since last year, when I tackled the first Fruit and Vegetable Assignment, but as it was the middle of winter there was no chance of attempting it.   So I planned it for the Autumn, knowing that it would make a good subject for my Diploma piece.  

It made for a hectic autumn, completing the Working with Photographs assignment, and preparing,composing and completing the last Assignment - Mixed Flowers, whilst working on the preparation for the Diploma Piece, as I knew there would be no material available at the end of the year and after Christmas.   I did manage to get quite a bit recorded in my sketchbook, and also took plenty of Photographs, but it's never enough.  And of course it was coming to the very end of the fruiting season, which in Wales is very short anyway.   I do love a challenge.

So how come I mainly painted leaves for this assignment?   There was fruit, and at one point I almost cried because the fruit are so fiddly to paint and Long Red Marconi Peppers started to look really attractive with the possibility of nice big juicy washes.  But as my dear son pointed out, I'd then be complaining it was too much red!  He was right, so I mentally gave myself a kick and carried on.   But those leaves!   Curled, holed, crispy and half-eaten, they were all so much fun to paint and against all my expectations, the unusual lack of snow and severe weather meant that I still had viable material in the garden!  I've put it out of sight now, as I started picking holes in it, even before it was finished.    Best to start work on the next one and take another look in a couple of weeks time.  Hopefully I won't be so critical of it then (fat chance!)