I have spent the weekend at the Hotham Park Country Fair showing my work as Artist in Residence for the Park and demonstrating painting and pastels in a gazebo. There were a couple of showers on the first day which made things even more interesting but Sunday was a glorious shower free day. There were…
Tomorrow and on Sunday as Artist in Residence for Hotham Park I will have a stall at this annual event. The idea is to display my work and give interesting painting and pastel demonstrations for passers by, so wish me luck with that as I will be in a gazebo with an open front and…
After the heat of last week today’s meeting of the Hotham sketchers group was a damp affair. I sat in the little Mediterranean garden and tried my hand at watercolour again until the rain spots began. I worked on it again with pen over coffee in the cafe and yet again with gouache when Igot…
Since Christmas I have had a sort of painter’s block, if there is such a thing, and I have found it difficult to pick up my brushes but I saw this bare Hazel in the spring sunshine and was inspired to put it it on canvas. I started it months ago and its only now…
‘Have you got a muffin in each eye’ is what my dad would say when someone couldn’t find or see something and although that is a quaint way of putting it a lot of folk act just as though its true. Keeping their eyes open is one of the things I try to teach my…
Today I met with the fortnightly Hotham Park sketchers group. The sun looked lovely but as I sat in the shade drawing thisI got chilly in the wind. The Park looks wonderful but in need of a good shower as we have not had rain for a long time.
The annual art trail is fast approaching and this year so I ambush mounting and framing some of the plein-aire pastel sketches I have done in Hotham Park. I like pastel for sketching although it is a bit messy. I always make sure to have a damp cloth in my bag to wipe my hands….
In a far corner of Hotham Park there is a delightful little secret (almost) garden which has been restored since I first visited it some years ago. This is what it looks like now.
Yesterday I started a new painting of a bare hazel tree which had lovely greens and yellows and complex twisting shapes. I decided to wing it and began to draw straight onto the natural linen canvas with an oil stick and thinners. This is the work after two sessions. using alkyd paints which dry overnight…
In the previous post of this sketch I threatened to have another go so tried to do more work in my studio. The good thing about a blog like this that one can share failure as well as success. Persoanally rate this a flop though I have learned a few things along the way. I…
ritasspot, a blog about Hotham Park by it's Artist in Residence 