Happy, peaceful, healthy and creative New Year to one and all.
The ‘Apple Exercise’ is a positive way to begin the new year for anyone wishing to express themselves and explore their creativity.
Throughout my many years of painting and teaching, I have heard over and over the frustration of those who would like to explore their creativity, but always seem to find that life gets in the way……..
The new year is a good time to re-think and re-look at the way we live our lives. A good time to make new and positive habits.
In principle this exercise is very simple and effective. If followed three positive changes will occur:-
A new positive habit will be formed which will benefit all areas of our lives.
Fifteen minutes of PLAY every day for one month will hone observational and technical skills.
Participants will begin to ‘see differently’
There are three simple rules:-
Pick the same 15 minutes every day – a time that works for you.
Set up a small table, such as a card table, which doesn’t have to be moved or shared.
Turn off mobiles and any other potential distractions……
Here are just a few of the things you can use to explore and PLAY with. If you don’t have artists paint, use house paint or anything else you can get your hands on.
If you are scared to mark a new piece of paper, then use newspaper, old magazines, wrapping paper or inexpensive wall-paper lining.
Playing – using magazine paper, felt tip pen and some paint……
Allow yourself to doodle until you begin to relax. Artists, writers, dancers, musicians all need to stretch and warm up. PLAYING is the best way to do this.
Remember that the apple is simply a ‘jumping off point’ – it doesn’t have to be copied perfectly.
This image helps us to remember the importance of Negative Space....the space that surrounds the subject we are painting. By putting colour around the apple shape…the apple is revealed.
Given the fast pace of our lives today, and the fact that so many of us are plugged into technology of one kind or another, our collective senses are being deadened.
Along with this comes a feeling of loss. A loss that in many ways we are unable to identify.
As we constantly try to fill the ever widening holes within us, with more and more frenetic activity and stuff, our frustration levels grow.
Feeding our senses through the creative process in all its many forms can produce almost miraculous changes, which can lead to a sense of well-being and fulfilment.
Warning – Beware of the Chattering Monkeys….
Chattering Monkeys are the little demons that fill our minds with reasons why we should not, and cannot do something!
I am sure as you begin this exercise, they will be shouting out…‘you don’t have time to do this’, and you can’t draw or paint anyway…..
IGNORE THEM
As you move forward with the apple exercise and establish a routine, you will find that the Chattering Monkeys will go away…….
Note these apples cast their natural colour into their shadows. Each apple reflects upon the other. All of life is interconnected….
When we first enter this world, we are naturally full of curiosity and wonder.
By the time we come to the end of our formative years, at around seven, the narrow definition that our culture has imposed upon us has taken hold.
By the time we reach adulthood most of us have lost touch with and confidence in our inner creative energy.
Colour effects our every mood and emotion. Allow yourself to PLAY with colour….Apples can be any colour you wish them to be…..Be bold – make marks and surprise yourself with the satisfaction and joy this brings. 
When we think of an apple we might visualise the iconic Apple Max symbol, or the shiny red apple that children take for their favourite teacher.
What the Apple Exercise will demonstrate is that the apple, along with everything else in life, can be seen in a myriad of ways.
Seeing the apple differently…….
If we could time travel back to our earliest formative years, when the world was a kaleidoscope of colour and shapes and our young minds were full of wonder, we could regain our natural curiosity and love for colour and form.
Instead of just looking straight ahead, look in every direction, including up and down.
Instead of always sitting in the same chair view your favourite room from many different points of view
.Look at the whole – not just the shiny red outer image….remember there are fascinating pips inside the apple.
The creative process is all about experimenting. Letting go of the logical information that our brains have processed during out lifetimes and embracing the concept of seeing our world in a much broader sense.
It is about awakening the senses.
Stride out in confidence into this new year and enjoy the transformation that creativity and colour can bring. watercolour/collage from one of my children’s book illustrations.
My book ‘The Apple Exercise’ can be found on the products page of my website at http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk
My next painting course will be in Portugal beginning April 18th at http://www.artinthealgarve.com
a bientot
It”s so easy to get caught up in all the adult stuff. I remember very well when my own children were young and being responsible for putting on Christmas celebrations with all the trimmings. Quite often, the real meaning and essence of the celebration was lost,
Capucine – a little girl I painted in France this year. Her eyes were filled with wonder and curiosity 
As adults we don’t have to give up our childlike ways – in fact I believe that a fully integrated person is capable of being both an adult and a child. The child-like wonder that still lives within us is what keeps us filled with the promise of the unexpected, the spontaneous.
It would seem that it is the simple elements of life that give us all great pleasure. Singing, dancing, giving to those in need, being part of a community and laughter….and of course a simple smile can change the day for so many people. 
I hope that everyone enjoys a Christmas with elements of spontaneity and joy and of course some really good food:)
For those who are not familiar with traditional English Christmas Cake – a little more information.
About two weeks before Christmas the cake would be covered in marzipan along with a thick white icing resembling snow….and then Christmas decorations added.
After a wonderful summer in Holland…swimming in canals with local children, riding bicycles around the countryside – stopping at farms where we were given the most delicious fresh cheese and milk straight from the cow, and of course sketching…..even back then I carried a sketch book with me. Alas, it was time to return home.
I was put on a train heading towards the Ferry port at Calais France. 
When I arrived at the Calais Terminal I joined many other young people from all around Europe sitting on the floor waiting for ferries.
After docking at the Dover Ferry Terminal, I found a policeman waiting for me. Clearly alerts had been sent out…..
I think it took me until I was forty to begin to understand the meaning of gratitude. Until that point, I had wondered through life, sort of hanging on, and trying my best to put one step in front of the other, often under challenging circumstances, and then boom, an epiphany – something occurred which opened my eyes to what gratitude is all about.
Of course this didn’t mean that life would be easy from that point on. As a working artist for the past forty-five years, I am fully aware of the feast or famine syndrome and what it’s like to live on a knife edge. However, with this new way of being life’s challenges have become much easier to live with and to move through and more importantly I am able to learn from them….
I lived and worked in the States from 1966 til 1993 when I returned to Europe, consequently I enjoyed many Thanksgiving celebrations. However, I do wonder if I had real understanding of what it was all about. Sadly I think the running around and worrying about if every detail was correct obliterated the true meaning of the day. We live and learn…..
I am always asked what is the difference between watercolour and gouache.
About eighteen years ago – I was in my studio in Wales going through a period of feeling blocked. Always a difficult time for a creative!
The second example shows pure watercolour on an orange ground.
The third example shows a mix of watercolour and gouache. When painting this way, permanent white gouache needs to be applied for highlights because all the white paper has been covered. 
It’s important to note, that no one way is the right way. The whole point of being a creative is to experiment….as my opening quote points out.
So what is a colour ground? 
I hope this helps those who are interested. The key is to allow yourself to EXPERIMENT and PLAY, Remember it is only paper……
During the thirty years I have known Bonnie we have shared many experiences and on occasion have worked together. Extremely talented and organised she always does what she says she will do – something I really appreciate. Next year she will be running a workshop in the Black Hills of S. Dakota. I will write more about this at a later date.
Together with Bonnie in Deadwood, S. Dakota – 1998. Just about to hold up the local bank! 
A lovely place to stay…..right in the midst of Mother Nature’s bounty. 
The light was so lovely. 
After a morning of sketching, the following afternoon we drove to the Marina de Lagos Art Academy for an exhibition.
The work on display was by photographer, Jacek Ulinski (to the right of the picture). The Marina is in the background….All in all a very smart space, a very different vibe from the the School in Olhao. 
Sunday we drove back to Olhao just in time to join Bonnie and her group for the jazz session at Cafe Cantaloupe where we enjoyed Miguelo Delgado Motu Cordis. What a great jazz venue this is. 
In my first ‘overview’ blog about the trip, I showed my group in front of a black and white mural which is on the side of the local super market. It depicts the hard working fishermen and women who inhabit Olhao – a working fishing town.
This picture of my group in front of one of the panels, gives a better idea of the scale.
After another day of relaxation and sketching, it was time to return to London.
A Bientôt
My workshops are all about loosening up, letting go and getting into a flow and rhythm of work and most importantly enjoying the process.