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Saturday, October 22, 2016

Painting in Texas with Nancy Medina

I entered the hotel breakfast room, and there she was, petite, sweet Nancy Medina! For seven years I have hoped to meet her in person one day and to paint with her. The visit was made possible by my very kind children, who lives in Katy, Texas. Of course we had a lovely meeting and then went off to the course venue, the quaint New Braunfells Art Society building.
 
From the moment Nancy steps in front of a class, her professionalism shines through. Everything around her is pristine and organised. She speaks clearly, gently repeating terms as she goes into her presentation. We get used to her special terms and way of expression. I can start painting now, and I still hear her voice: "Make it darker, make it darker!"
 
The first thing you learn is to divide the palette into transparent and opaque colours. Watching Nancy work, you gain respect for those background layers, the colours which will eventually shine through everything, bringing light and depth into a painting. What follows is an album of our painting workshop.
 
Blogger friends, social media friends and now meeting up in real life

All surfaces (and the floor) was filled with fresh flowers and lovely displays

This is the palette that Nancy starts out  with every morning.
 Look at the delightful opaques on the right which she pre-mixes!
They are used at the closing stages of the painting.

A display of  Nancy Medina DVD's for sale
Out of a blurry background of transparent colour, the daisies are born
Wonderful things happening before our eyes!
So appealing!

Nancy arranging flowers under the spotlight.


In a surprisingly short time, a completed masterpiece by Nancy Medina!


OK, Girl, it's your turn now!!!


NEXT TIME: PAINTING IN TEXAS (it sounds like: Walking in Memphis!)

And to end with: Here is a live-stream lesson with Nancy Medina that you can watch just now!
 

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Hibiscus Flowers, Then and Now

In the 1990's I lectured a course "Flowers in Watercolour". I loved it and tried to make a painting a day. After we moved to the West Coast , a new interest developed, this unique area where I lived.  200 posts of paintings and stories that cover our stretch of coast.
 
And then one day...a person moves on or in my case: moves back! I am back with my first love of 25 years ago, namely flowers. In this post I look back at some of my hibiscus paintings. I will show a recent one first, and then visit the archives!

 
Fleeting Moments Hibiscus 2016
500mm x 400mm
Oil on canvas
 


HIBISCUS IN A SILVER TEAPOT
700mm x 600mm
Acrylic on canvas board

This painting was made in the 80's and I now wish that I have kept it for myself.




Watercolour Hibiscus 1998
400 mm x 500mm
 
I have just noticed that I have always painted the pink hibiscus, which is my favourite. In future I will look out for some of the other colours. Here is a medley of photos from my collection:







This year, I have been thoroughly spoiled by my children in Texas, who invited me to spend three months in that lovely hot climate! In my next blog I will tell about the great opportunity that came my way: flower painting with Nancy Medina, my friend on the blogs and social media for a long time.