East Sussex ploughing match

I have had a bit of artists block lately and have struggled for motivation and inspiration to paint, I'm not too concerned as I know it will soon pass so having lost momentum with the "On White Horses" painting (for the time being) I decided it was time to seek out some new inspiration.

At the weekend I set out with my hubby to the East Sussex ploughing match and dog show which is held at a different location every year, this year the host farm was in a stunning location with a backdrop of the beautiful South Downs, the sun was shining and there was plenty to see and do so we both had a great time and I got lots of inspiring photographs to base new paintings on so hopefully it won't be long before I'm back at the easel.

As a bonus I bumped into an old friend who tours the country with her ploughing horses showing them at work, we got chatting and I mentioned that I have always wanted to ride but never had the chance well she said "get up on Charlie and see how it feels".......never one to pass up an opportunity I clambered elegantly (in the style of an arthritic 51 yr old woman) onto the bare back of "Charlie" her 18 hands high Shire horse! for me it was a magical moment and I felt like a kid who's dreams had all come true....... Thank you Mandy and of course Charlie.......what a brilliant day!

On white horses

Anyone old enough to remember a childrens TV series about a stable yard with a lightning tree and white horses? for some reason as I've been "painting?" this picture the title tune has been plagueing my subconcious but I cant for the life of me remember the name of the series? anyway have started calling this one "On white horses" as that is the first line of the title song going round in my head :-).......having said that I only ever decide on a title for paintings that I feel are going to reach fruition so some part of me must be feeling more positive about this now (probably due to some kindly positive feedback from you lovely folks)

Acrylic paint is starting to yield to my demands and I have found some rather unconventional methods of getting it to blend and behave itself (still don't "like " it yet though)

?progress??

Not sure if I'm making progress with this painting or not, but I am finding some ways of controlling this dreaded medium at last, although I still hate the way the paint dries in an instant and find that the water spray method of keeping the painting workable (as described by the supplier) is no good for realism as it splats water globules onto areas that you were happy with and spoils the work already done!
Today was seriously lacking in light so this pic is not the best!.......hope to get a better one tomorrow

Please dont laugh!.... update

Please don't laugh!

I have never been able to use acrylic paint for some reason, and me being me can't just leave it at that so every now and again I have a go to see if the curse has lifted, I can't explain why but its something that has niggled me for ever.

Well this time, inspired by reading an article extolling the wonderful "oil like" qualities of interactive acrylics I bought a few and set about yet another "having a go" session.......well I am too stubborn for "learning" in the conventional sense so just set about slapping the paint on a canvas :-( one whole day later came the realisation that as usual I had simply created a mess!

I had chosen a busy composition including people and horses (neither on my list of can do's) and I had decided to go straight in freehand.....no preparation whatsoever (DOH)

It had come down to two choices, throw it away and forget about it or start over and do things properly (ish)

I am proud to say that I re-prepared the canvas and gridded the composition up to start afresh and today I am floundering around trying to get the paint to do what I intended with varying degrees of success..can't say I'm exactly enjoying this one but I am determined to see it through and hopefully continue to learn by my stupid mistakes as I go along....promise no laughing if I post my progress?

Here goes (no the riders werent really this ugly!..... I am working on it LOL)

commission "Pippa"

At last I have a completed commission that I can show, this is Pippa the Jack Russell demonstrating what her owner describes as "Wabbit ears" :-)

I'm not realy sure if its permissable to assign a title to a commissioned painting but if it is i would like to call this one "Wabbit ears"..............such an endearing expression!

For once I had an excellent reference photograph to work from which was a joy, my thanks to Heidi Page for allowing the use of her photograph.

The portrait is 30 x 30 cm in pastel on pastelmat card..............now back to the drawing board