Making Art Fun

As I mentioned, I run an Art Forum. My members are all beginners or amateurs and we try to further our art by encouraging and supporting each other. To challenge ourselves and push ourselves outside of our usual comfort zones, we run a couple of projects. The first one, that has been running some time now, is a Monthly Painting Project in which one of our members, who is an excellent photographer and art critic, posts a photograph and we all try to paint it. It forces us to try subjects we would never dream of trying ourselves and everyone is learning a great deal through the process.

Another project is currently being done for the first time. We have chosen a famous painting, divided it into squares, and distributed the squares amongst the members. As each member completes their square so it is added to a grid so that the complete painting gradually takes shape. We are also learning a lot about each others styles by trying to guess who painted each square. Maybe it's a bit silly, but it is certainly good fun ... but the best bit of all is that we're practicing and learning as we go along.

The picture shown is linked back to the Art Forum so new squares should appear as and when they are added. Check back from time to time and watch it complete. Which is MY square? I'm not telling just yet ... you'll have to guess.

Pen and Wash

As a beginner I have not yet settled into any style or favoured medium. What I have discovered is that I enjoy drawing more than painting. Perhaps I should say, I always feel happier with what I've drawn than what I've painted. I often feel I have ruined a good drawing by splashing paint all over it. LOL.
A friend in my Art Forum recently posted a wonderful Pen & Wash painting of a farm yard scene and I was instantly struck by the combination of pen and paint. I just had to have-a-go. This effort was fairly quick ... 30-40 minutes tops ... but it was just a trial. I learned a lot from doing it, in particular that I need to use the pen much more. I tended to just draw the outlines relying on the paint for the detail but I think I need to do enough with the pen for the drawing to stand in it's own right, just allowing some washed in paint to provide the colours.
Still, I'm quite happy with the overall effect and shall try something a little more involved first chance I get.

Fuchsia's - the end of the season

I love to grow Fuchsia's and have about 60 different varieties. A drop in the ocean, but with 2 or 3 plants of each variety, as much as I have space and time for. We will soon be getting our first frosts and so it is time to lift them all up, put them into pots, and take them into the comparative safety of my greenhouse.

Regrettably, the process of lifting them will set them back and most of them will lose their flowers and foliage. To avoid large amounts of dead and rotting leaves in the greenhouse it is best to defoliate the plants first, and this is an excellent opportunity to prune them back into a nice shape. It is a hard job taking a plant full of flowers and reducing it to little more than a woody framework but it is essential for its survival.

Because what gets pruned off is going to be thrown away, this also makes it an excellent time to take some cuttings. In my experience cuttings don't take quite so easily this time of year, but since there is no shortage of cuttings material, there is nothing to lose in trying some. For anyone not familiar with how to take Fuchsia cuttings I have some instructions, with photo's, on my web site.

How to take Fuchsia cuttings

Also see:-

How to over-winter Fuchsia's

How to keep your Fuchsia's bushy

Pencil Drawing

Dipping my toe into the world of watercolours caused me to have to sketch out, very lightly, the rough outline of what I was going to paint. Over time I began to wonder how a picture might look if I did it all in pencil. When I finally decided to have-a-go I was extremely surprised and very pleased. In many ways I feel more at home with a pencil than I do a brush, and certainly get more satisfaction from the drawing.

Soon after the loss (through old age) of my beloved dog 'Tess' I decided to attempt my first-ever drawing of an animal. Tess's coat was what they call 'Brindle' and I found it very difficult to depict the varying light and dark shades without making her look strippey. Still, I was very pleased with the end result and her picture now hangs proudly in our hall for everyone to see. What was particularly comforting was that the long periods I spent working on her drawing, so soon after her loss, provided a warm and meaningful 'farewell'.

Watercolours for Beginners

LOL ... I had to chuckle to myself when I looked back at my first 3/4 posts. The whole point behind building my website some years ago was to try and encourage people to have a go at watercolours. That is still the major emphasis behind my website, it is the sole reason why I created my Art Forum, and was the main purpose for starting this blog. Yet my first few posts seem to be about anything but watercolours.

I believe that everyone has the ability to draw and paint. What don't have is the knowledge of "How". If a person starts with very simple scenes and grasps a few basics, then progressively more difficult images can be accomplished as experience grows. This is why I make such a big thing on my site about "having-a-go".

Regrettably, many people who do have-a-go, start off with something much too hard, make a hash of it and therefore conclude that they can't paint. This is what I did in my teens and I wrote-off any artistic tendencies I may have as a result. When I tried again, more sensibly, in my fifties, I was absolutely astounded. Oh, don't get me wrong ... my pictures aren't brilliant ... but that's not the point. They are MY pictures and I had great fun making them.

In my Art Forum we run a Monthly Painting Project in which we all, regardless of experience, paint the same subject. We then look at them all together, not to determine which is best and which is worse but to appreciate each others approach, style and accomplishment and learn from what others have done. Interestingly, 'the others' learn from us also. In another post I will show you some of the projects we have undertaken. They may not be 'great art' but we're all proud of them.

So, if you've ever thought you wouldn't mind trying your hand at drawing or painting then visit my website. Better still, join my forum. Guaranteed, the question "I'd like to draw but don't know where to start" will be greeted by warm and friendly help, suggestions and encouragement. Go on ... do it ... "have-a-go".

Rugby Forecast again

It is not overly difficult to look at rankings, weigh the odds, consider trends and performance, and predict who is most likely to win or lose a game of Rugby. Of course, predicting the actual score is a different matter altogether and is something I have not attempted to do. However, to determine whether or not Bonus points will be obtained it has obviously been necessary to try and determine how closely matched any two teams are. This means attempting to calculate at least the points difference. One of the forecasted results showed such a small points difference that my calculations indicated the most likely explanation to be a DRAW. This was the game between Canada and Japan which finished up at 12 points each .... a draw!!!

If only I'd have had some money on that one. :-)

Sony DSC-H9 Digital Camera

I have decided to have a new digital camera courtesy of my upcoming birthday. Since a friend showed me the results he had obtained with his Olympus SP550UZ I felt sure that would be the camera I would choose. I had already decided I wanted more than a simple point-and-shoot compact but I didn't want to go to the extreme's of getting a SLR. One of the new breed of 'Bridge' camera's, like the SP550UZ fitted my requirements very nicely. Another good friend suggested I should consider the Sony DSC-H9. Thanks to his good advice and able assistance I have now trawled through dozens of camera reviews and I have to admit that the Sony comes out on top in most regards. Of course, like all camera's, the reviewers will always find something to complain about, but on balance, for the type of amateur photography I will be doing, the specification seems to be pretty good. I have to wait another 4 weeks until I can actually get my hands on it but rest assurred I will be very keen to snap some photo's and publish the results here. If you have any comments or advice regarding the H9 then please don't hesitate to drop me a line or add a comment to this post.