This was a task I did in readiness for next term with one of my art classes. It is after Rob Adams, whose pen and ink is excellent  I didn't have blue tonal paper, but created my own with watercolour mixture of ultramarine and cerulean blue.  I drew the stones in ink, and dipping pen, and after finishing off the ink I used white acrylic ink for the highlights. The over all effect is quite good.  I will use this technique again but perhaps play around with the colour backgrounds and vary my mark making a bit more. Below are some steps taken to achieve this painting.

This week has been a great deal of stress trying to get tasks done for classes in September.  I have painted and sketched a few tasks now but this one completed today was really interesting one, inspired from an article about a Russian Artist ( Ksenija Koloskova ) , her technique and colours are very moody and creative.  I tried my best to do a similar result. However, using plain mixed media paper was not the best choice neither was the scale, I should try a larger paper next time. I like how the style of the painting matches the grittiness of the scene, ancient ruins that reflect the brutality of Rome. Below are some images of the steps I took.

This was a result of using pastel pencil on pastelmat paper, this was a demonstration done in an art class last month.  Having spent a term in this class working in pencil and watercolour on pastel mat, and being inspiried by Jason Morgan a Welsh pastel and oil painting artist.  I was suprised how great the paper takes layers of pastel.  This was very engaging to do with the use of watercolour washes as the first layer and then added pastel pencil strokes to build up the tones and the final stages of the white wiskers were added at the end, I particulary like the eyes. I hope to attempt this method on my Spaniel again.

This experience of painting Copper in oil paint was very rewarding and satisfying. It started as a rough sketch in oil paint and then built up layer by layer, learning to mix the colours and gain a likeness at each stage. Here was where I began to just put paint on, even with a blue ground  I used loose stokes and blocked in colours and shape. This was a differnt approach as I usually skeytch out an image first but this time I just painted straight onto the canvas board. I painted another colour here (light grey) before adding layers of burnt umber and ultramarine blue as a dark background. I kept adding more detail and altering the composition of ears, eye and fur structure.

This sketch outlines how I enjoy using pen and ink.  To be able to render a familiar place in an art medium rather than a photograph is empowering. It makes me feel happy in doing the drawing but also the result is pleasing aesthetically as well.   This particular image shows various mark making techniques which when combined give a real effective artwork. This being a view of Treherbert as well as a view from which I often take my dog for his walk, is joyful.

 This image was a task I demonstrated in an art class a few years ago, but it was given away as a gift to a student who has since passed away.  I found a free images site and used this photo to both challenge myself but also the students.  I love the way the wolf looks down in the snow. I loved the process of using acrylic on an A3 sheet of paper, and began building up the layers of paint.  This one was very detailed around the head and the fur was extra tricky as I had to use a small long brush (rigger). I would love to do this again some day.  Acrylic was very forgiving and despite the fact it took a few sessions I was so pleased with the outcome.

This is one of my first oil paintings of my favourite location, on the beach in Tenby.  I just loved the feeling of this scene and tried to capture the colours and the time of day, it was early evening.  I discovered so much with this scene, applying oil paint, mixing and using medium to the paint. Then knowing how long to wait between layers.  The process enabled me to understand and really study the scene in a way that was not rushed but was done with great consideration. 

This was a memory of a great day around Caerphilly Castle,  I decided to paint an oil painting from a photo I took. The process took many hours as I am still new to oil painting. I did this a while ago now, but I never tire of such scenes.   The process Being able to use oil paint was so much longer than other mediums such as acrylic,  using mixing solvents in a well ventilated room were all lessons to learn.