Painting Daily - well we'll see how that goes!

I'm not making any promises but at the moment I am making a painting every day - the secret seems to be to work small! The longer days of approaching spring also help as I feel more energetic and able to be creative rather than slouch on the sofa in front of mind numbing TV. Mind you, I shouldn't be dismissive of TV - at the moment there are more art programmes on than I can ever remember. I'm loving the Portrait Artist of the Year on Sky Arts as well as The Great Pottery Throwdown and The Big Painting Challenge on the BBC. Mind you, they all generate a certain amount of shouting at the screen when the judges make their opinions known!

This little fellow took me about half an hour with a coffee break to allow for drying time before I could add final details. He's mostly watercolour with tiny touches of opaque gouache.

I've been making the most of the pack of watercolour postcards I found under a heap of stuff in my workroom. The quality is great and because they are so small it's not a daunting thing to do when time is limited. I'm getting quite a varied collection now!

Talk to you soon - Linda x

A Day Sewing

Making the most of a day at home today to spend time in my workroom.

I've had this stretchy jersey with a waffle weave for a few weeks and only got round to doing something with it this morning.

It was difficult to decide which was the right side of the fabric so I compromised and used what I thought was the reverse for the lower sleeves.

And the bias strip neck band. I think this will be a favourite as it's so comfy. Only have to turn the hems and it'll be ready to go.

If you'd like to see what else I've been sewing lately please check my website blog 

Bye for now,

Linda x

Tulips for Ineke

On Wednesday we said our goodbyes to Ineke. It was standing room only in the lovely old church adorned appropriately with huge bunches of tulips.

They seemed the only thing I could paint today!

Ineke will be very much missed by all who knew her.

Linda x

Another watercolour postcard

When time is in short supply a postcard sized painting makes perfect sense. 

Just finished this one in no more than 15 minutes!

Today has been quite springlike and the lure of the studio is irresistible even when it's dark outside.

Bye for now - Linda x

Snowdrop Painting in Watercolour

I know it's a cliche and I know I post similar photos this time every year but, don't the first signs of spring raise the spirits?

Our aconites are cheerful little things hiding down amongst last year's fallen leaves.

And the snowdrops are looking at their best. They're really beginning to spread at last.

They made a perfect subject for a quick watercolour sketch this afternoon.

I was in a hurry to start before the sun dropped too low in the sky for me to work by natural light and the only paper I could lay my hands on in haste was a block of postcards. I can't remember where they came from and I don't think I've ever used them before but they were lovely to work with - just the weight and texture I favour. What is it about watercolour? No matter how much I try to get to grips with other paints I always come back to watercolour!

Bye for now - Linda x

Hello Again!

This week Laura was doing a bit of a spring clean on our websites and she was about to delete this old blog when she noticed the stats. It seems that despite the fact it hasn't been updated in ten months, lots of people are finding it of interest. So much so that several thousand visitors view it each week and it's had almost a million hits since it started. WHAT!!! I'm incredulous at the numbers but happy that so many people continue to find it worth checking out. So much so that I've decided to resurrect it and will do my best to post here regularly from now on.

If you've been following my other blog over at www.lindakemshall.com or if you are a subscriber to our video workshops on DMTV, you'll know that I'm working into one of Laura's handmade, printed sketchbooks right now. I've been using all my favourite birds, moths and butterflies as inspiration and really enjoying finding homes for them amongst the existing colour and pattern Laura created on each page.

Rather than presenting a difficult challenge I'm surprised how easy it is to create interesting pages full of layered techniques.

My stencilled crows look perfectly at home on the printed circles Laura made don't they? I've added a few branches for them to perch on and suddenly the circles look just like oversized berries!

Thanks for reading today - I'll be back soon - Linda x

I've moved!

I now have a new website and blog. Please visit

www.lindakemshall.com 

to see portfolios of work and a studio blog with news about what I'm working on.

Thanks so much for following me so far, I look forward to chatting to you in my new home.

Love Linda
x