My latest watercolour painting This old post box in the village of Little Henny in Essex is one of many paintings I've been working on lately.
The original is for sale and prints will be available shortly.
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My Latest Watercolour Painting "I like this place, and willingly could waste my time in it." - William Shakespeare
Other new watercolour paintings can be seen in the gallery, New Paintings. My Latest Watercolour Painting "We just wanted to let you know that we're both thrilled with the painting we commissioned. We stared at it for ages last night - the more we look at it, the more we love it. Really pleased with the shape - it fits in perfectly where we wanted to hang it and even the colours fit well in the room.
Thank you!" M & T Summers My Latest Watercolour Painting I have had this image in my mind (and on my list of paintings to try) for a very long time.
Lots of Ziggy Stardust paintings are being posted as pictorial tributes to David Bowie but I like the vulnerability shown in this picture of him. Did I do it justice? Probably not - mark two is on the drawing board drying as I type. The thing about repeating paintings is that although they are often technically better they lack some indefinable quality of the first attempt. To quote Neil Young "If you do something over and over you get better technically, but spiritually, father from the source". Something like that. My Latest Watercolour Painting The art theme on Twitter this month is #stilldecember in which people post any still life painting in any medium throughout December.
As with #portraitnovember still life is not a subject matter I normally paint. However the reference photo, by Kim Humphreys, caught my attention. I took photographs at each stage, see slide show below. I hope seeing the process I used helps you with your own work. Other new watercolour paintings in the gallery, New Paintings. My latest Watercolour Painting SOLD The second painting of my Jeff Lynne (of ELO) obsession.
More portrait paintings in the Portrait gallery and New Paintings. My Latest Watercolour Painting Never before has so little taken so long to paint! I'm exhausted. Another new subject matter for me and a new style. It's all about the journey, why make it easy! The paper is also new to me (Saunders Waterford 140lb Hot Pressed, which has a slightly yellow tinge to it).
More portrait paintings in the galleries, Other Painting Subjects and New Paintings. My Latest Watercolour PaintingThe original hedgehog painting has now sold. It is available as a Limited Edition print by clicking the link.  I was brought up on a diet of Beatrix Potter books, perhaps that's where my love of hedgehogs comes from.
I haven't seen one shuffling about in the garden for years, despite the piles of wood and other debris lying around. So, I did a bit of research (Googled it). Numbers are in decline, which is a shame, and it's not yet understood why. Other examples of my wildlife paintings can be seen in the Animals and Birds gallery and also in the gallery of New Paintings. My Latest Watercolour Painting Other portrait paintings in watercolour can be found in the gallery Other Painting Subjects.
Stairway to Heaven For further examples of my paintings go to galleries:- New Paintings, Other Painting Subjects and Landscapes. I wasn't sure which gallery to put this in so I've put it in three!
The inspiration for this painting came from a painting holiday I, and four other artists, went on to Limoux, in the Aude department of France, in 2013. During our stay we visited the Abbaye de Saint Hilaire. My Latest Watercolour Painting Other examples of my flowers and fruit paintings can be seen in the gallery.
My Latest Watercolour Painting(s) I thought I'd reached the end of my recent bird series/obsession until I remembered my desire to paint another robin. This will not be the last of them, I have in mind to paint a robin pulling a worm from the ground.
Other examples of my bird paintings can be seen in the Animals and Birds gallery and also in the gallery of New Paintings. Sunburst Other examples of my bird paintings can be seen in the Animals and Birds gallery and also in the gallery of New Paintings.
Discovered More of my landscape paintings can be seen in the gallery, Landscape Paintings and in the gallery of New Paintings.
Spring More criminal birds!
Following my 'trip down memory lane' with my painting of a Blue Tit on a milk bottle I have been looking at, in order to paint, more of our native British birds. Other examples of my paintings are available in the gallery Animals and Birds and also in the gallery of New Paintings. Journey to Saint Hillaire, Aude, France More of my landscape paintings can be seen in the gallery, Landscape Paintings and in the gallery of New Paintings.
This piece is from a painting holiday I, and four other artists, went on to Limoux, in the Aude department of France, in 2013. One damp, gloomy day we took a trip to Saint Hilaire, in the Cathar region, to visit the Abbey there. The inspiration for this painting came from that journey - which was spectacular. I was relieved not to be driving (thank you, Dora). The steep hills were covered with vineyards and surrounded by pine trees with the occasional breathtaking view toward the Pyrenees. In fact I was drawn to the Pyrenees from the moment I spotted its peeks through the clouds as the plane came in to land: Like a child seeing the sea for the first time I was continually on the lookout for them during our stay. Caffè Florian, Venice  Years ago, when I'd only been painting for a little while, I read a book called "Pouring Light" by Jean Gastorf, a member of the American Watercolor Society. I was amazed at the wonderful effects she had created by pouring the watercolour on to wet paper.
I learnt "Pouring" is a watercolour technique. It requires meticulous planning! You must have identified all the different tones within the picture before starting. I tried to do it and failed, mainly because of my lack of experience at that time but also my lack of knowledge in the materials used in watercolour. This painting is my second attempt. For those who are interested, I made some step-by-step notes and took photographs whilst I worked. I also made a short, one minute video showing the pouring process. A Chance Encounter When one comes across deer whilst out walking, it often creates a feeling of calm and stillness within us not usually felt in our busy everyday lives.
My previous two deer paintings, Golden Light and Passing Storm had been bold and dramatic. In this painting I changed my palette of colours to cool neutrals hoping to recreate that sense of peace and quiet. This painting is framed in oak and is currently available to view in my studio/gallery. Other paintings of Animals and Birds are available in my online gallery. Payment for originals or prints can be made online via PayPal whether you have a PayPal account or not. Golden Light. Another painting from my latest series (or should that be obsession?).
One of the most difficult things to know about painting is when to stop. Renoir said "When I've painted a woman's bottom so that I want to touch it, then it's finished". I'm not sure I want to touch the bottoms in my painting! I would like to be there though. Is that enough? The original sold immediately. Other paintings of Animals and Birds are available in the gallery. Payment for originals or prints can be made via PayPal. Passing Storm. At the beginning of the year, having said I wasn't going to put myself under any pressure, I proceeded to set myself the target of completing 100 washes - and turn them into paintings. It's not looking promising so far! However, this painting started out as one of those washes.
I have an obsession with deer at the moment so this will not be the last of them. The trouble is, I have such a long list of painting I would like to do but not nearly enough time to do them all. Still, I've made a start. Deer are wonderful creatures and there seems to be an abundance of them in this area. The original painting is now sold. You can still order a print of this or other paintings of Animals and Birds in the gallery. Payment is made via PayPal. Here are three of my latest paintings. The middle one, Close, and Dandelion Seeds can be found in the gallery along with other recent paintings. I'm hanging on to the one on the left, for now anyway.  My latest Watercolour PaintingPaintings of other birds and animals (and fish) can be found in the gallery.  My latest watercolour painting Blue tits pecking the silver foil tops of milk bottles to reach the milk underneath has become part of British folklore. It began when milk was delivered to British doorstops in bottles that had no tops at the beginning of the 20th Centuary. Birds had easy access to the fat rich cream that settled at the top of the bottle. In those days two species of British garden birds learnt to siphon up the cream from the tops of the open bottles; blue tits and robins. After the First World War dairies began to seal the bottles with aluminium foil bottle tops to keep the milk fresher meaning this new food source had been cut off from the birds. However, by the 1950s the entire UK blue tit population had learnt how to pierce the bottle tops to reach the cream, whereas the robins never did. Occasionally an individual robin learnt how to pierce the milk bottle seal but the skill never spread to the whole population as it did with blue tits. The same opportunistic instincts could provide a lifeline for the much-loved Horse Chestnut tree, along with the knuckle-bruising game of conkers. Horse Chestnut trees are at risk by the caterpillars of the Leaf Miner. These moths mine into the leaves, causing them to brown and drop prematurely and many are dying. A biologist from the University of Hull, Darren Evans, has found that blue tits have started to hoover up these invasive pests, which provide abundant and easy pickings for the blue tit during the breeding season. I was inspired to paint this picture by a memory of growing up in the 70's. We would often go to get the milk in only to find a blue tit had already syphoned off the cream, the best bit! With the introduction of semi-skimmed and skimmed milk, and the decrease of doorstop deliveries, this has practically died out now.
Other paintings of Birds and Animals can be viewed in the Gallery. Brambles. Clicking on this image will take you to this painting on my website. Click to see my gallery of Fruit & Flower Paintings or more of my New Paintings.
Or click "more" to see the painting in three steps... |
Eleanor Mann
Putting a "Spotlight on Watercolour"I am a watercolour artist and tutor. Welcome to my painting blog.
I'll share my new paintings and news with you here - before they're published on the main site. I'll provide information about watercolour painting techniques and explain my techniques in more detail than is possible on my site. I'll also post some step-by-step demonstrations and a host of other things. If you would like to subscribe to receive notification that I've posted something that may interest you (don't worry, you won't be inundated) there is a form below. Thanks for visiting. Please read the Privacy Policy
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