A friend of mine has started a sketching group in Hotham Park and as I am artist for the park I have joined in. There is no tuition just the pleasure of a bunch of people being together doing the same thing. Then there is the excellent coffee in the cafe when we’ve had enough,or…
I’ve started work on a new painting which is on an 80×80 cm Jute canvas. The gravel garden with its water features is a new addition to the landscaping in Hotham Park. The planting is dramatic with a huge leaved plant in one corner and many strappy reed like plants. The colour of the gravel…
August is that lazy time of year when summer hangs heavy, the trees are dark and dry grasses, ripening seed heads, bright berries, Buddleias and Ragwort create a lovely texturesd tapestry.
I really can’t make up my mind whether this is finished. It has got to the stage where the temptation is to continue titivating, adding a stroke here or a bit more just there. This can mess up a painting. On balance I think I will let it rest for a few weeks as things…
The trees in Hotham Park are turning green but the dry reeds in the wildlife pond are still a lovely soft creamy colour whilst the oaks above are already dressed for a party.
It’s been a while since I went sketching in the Park what with taking part in the art trail and dodgy weather but today I was able to spend several hours drawing in the hot sunshine. I’m glad I caught the spring greens before they all turn summer dark.
The circular rose garden in Hotham Park is a peaceful place to sit, surrounded by dark hedges and encircled by a brick path where well placed seats allow one to enjoy the buzzing of bees as they work the lavender. This painting is taken from a pastel sketch I did last autumn
Acrylic on 100 x 80 cm cotton canvas this painting from Hotham park is derived from the lovely path which runs its whole length and is such an enchanting green tunnel in spring and summer
The park is noisy with the shouting of children as its school holidays but they cannot hope to compete with the tree top congregation of crows and rooks.
I think one of the jobs artists do is to make people look at things they would otherwise pass by, to open their eyes to see things more clearly. The other day in the park I took quite a lot of photos of the bare trees. The branches look wonderful in the sun with all…
ritasspot, a blog about Hotham Park by it's Artist in Residence 