‘LIFE DRAWING’ – perfect for honing observational skills.

During the last few years it’s been great to see that life painting/drawing is back in vogue.

Some of the images in this post are from a life session I tutored in Chester, UK.

To warm  up I painted this rapid watercolour/gouache portrait of David, the model.   I like to get to know my models a little this way before beginning the days work.      There have been periods during my career when I was fortunate enough to begin each day with a two hour life session.       I can’t think of a better way to get the creative juices flowing.

Twenty minute – full sheet watercolour and felt tip pen study – 

I love short poses – preferably five to 20 minutes max.     This enables me to capture the energy, movement and gesture of my subject….

five minute watercolour study – male dancerI was fortunate to go to art school in the early sixties when the first year was dedicated to  life drawing.      Observation, observation, observation……

Twenty minute watercolour study on full sheet…(all the white is dry white paper).  the negative space shapes are vital in the overall composition.     I believe that a strong foundation frees an artist to explore their work with confidence.    

Regular life drawing sessions help to build self confidence and most importantly build a strong foundation. 

Ten minute full sheet study of Scarlett, one of my favourite models  Along with nude models I also enjoy working with ‘costume models’ learning how to capture the human form beneath the drapes of fabric  – again it’s all about honing observational skills.

This man modelled for me in Paris….a beautiful dancer.   I often do quick portraits of my subjects in a life painting session. 

In this instance one of my favourite models arrived with her new born baby….It was a magical session.     In the warmth of the quiet studio both mother and baby completely relaxed…..Focusing on the loving and gentle hands of the mother.      A  few years ago I gave a weekend residential workshop in Herefordshire where we only painted the hands and feet of our models.   An excellent exercise. Capturing the gesture and seeking out the abstraction of the shapes produced. – ten minute full sheet study. 

Happy painting

Janet.

‘LIFE DRAWING’ – perfect for honing observational skills.

During the last few years it’s been great to see that life painting/drawing is back in vogue.

Some of the images in this post are from a life session I tutored in Chester, UK.

To warm  up I painted this rapid watercolour/gouache portrait of David, the model.   I like to get to know my models a little this way before beginning the days work.      There have been periods during my career when I was fortunate enough to begin each day with a two hour life session.       I can’t think of a better way to get the creative juices flowing.

Twenty minute – full sheet watercolour and felt tip pen study – 

I love short poses – preferably five to 20 minutes max.     This enables me to capture the energy, movement and gesture of my subject….

five minute watercolour study – male dancerI was fortunate to go to art school in the early sixties when the first year was dedicated to  life drawing.      Observation, observation, observation……

Twenty minute watercolour study on full sheet…(all the white is dry white paper).  the negative space shapes are vital in the overall composition.     I believe that a strong foundation frees an artist to explore their work with confidence.    

Regular life drawing sessions help to build self confidence and most importantly build a strong foundation. 

Ten minute full sheet study of Scarlett, one of my favourite models  Along with nude models I also enjoy working with ‘costume models’ learning how to capture the human form beneath the drapes of fabric  – again it’s all about honing observational skills.

This man modelled for me in Paris….a beautiful dancer.   I often do quick portraits of my subjects in a life painting session. 

In this instance one of my favourite models arrived with her new born baby….It was a magical session.     In the warmth of the quiet studio both mother and baby completely relaxed…..Focusing on the loving and gentle hands of the mother.      A  few years ago I gave a weekend residential workshop in Herefordshire where we only painted the hands and feet of our models.   An excellent exercise. Capturing the gesture and seeking out the abstraction of the shapes produced. – ten minute full sheet study. 

Happy painting

Janet.

‘LIFE DRAWING’ – perfect for honing observational skills.

During the last few years it’s been great to see that life painting/drawing is back in vogue.

Some of the images in this post are from a life session I tutored in Chester, UK.

To warm  up I painted this rapid watercolour/gouache portrait of David, the model.   I like to get to know my models a little this way before beginning the days work.      There have been periods during my career when I was fortunate enough to begin each day with a two hour life session.       I can’t think of a better way to get the creative juices flowing.

Twenty minute – full sheet watercolour and felt tip pen study – 

I love short poses – preferably five to 20 minutes max.     This enables me to capture the energy, movement and gesture of my subject….

five minute watercolour study – male dancerI was fortunate to go to art school in the early sixties when the first year was dedicated to  life drawing.      Observation, observation, observation……

Twenty minute watercolour study on full sheet…(all the white is dry white paper).  the negative space shapes are vital in the overall composition.     I believe that a strong foundation frees an artist to explore their work with confidence.    

Regular life drawing sessions help to build self confidence and most importantly build a strong foundation. 

Ten minute full sheet study of Scarlett, one of my favourite models  Along with nude models I also enjoy working with ‘costume models’ learning how to capture the human form beneath the drapes of fabric  – again it’s all about honing observational skills.

This man modelled for me in Paris….a beautiful dancer.   I often do quick portraits of my subjects in a life painting session. 

In this instance one of my favourite models arrived with her new born baby….It was a magical session.     In the warmth of the quiet studio both mother and baby completely relaxed…..Focusing on the loving and gentle hands of the mother.      A  few years ago I gave a weekend residential workshop in Herefordshire where we only painted the hands and feet of our models.   An excellent exercise. Capturing the gesture and seeking out the abstraction of the shapes produced. – ten minute full sheet study. 

Happy painting

Janet.

‘LIFE DRAWING LIVE’ on BBC4 TV prompted me to post this…..

In light of the new BBC4 TV show entitled ‘LIFE DRAWING LIVE’  which I viewed last night, I am re-posting a blog on the subject.

In early December, I was invited by my good friend and fellow artist, Maria Do Rosario Tavares (Miza to me) to give a painting demonstration for a group she is working with in Chester.    The subject, ‘life painting’  – one of my favourites.      It was only a two hour session, but a very good one.    The group and the model were lovely.

To warm  up I painted this rapid watercolour/gouache portrait of David, the model.   I like to get to know my models a little this way before beginning the days work. There have been periods during my career when I began each day with a two hour life session in my studio.       I hope to have that opportunity again one of these days.

Twenty minute – full sheet watercolour and felt tip pen study – 

I love short poses – preferably five to 20 minutes max.     This enables me to capture the energy, movement and gesture of my subject….

five minute watercolour study – male dancerI was fortunate to go to art school in the early sixties when the first year was dedicated to  life drawing.      Observation, observation, observation……

Twenty minute watercolour study on full sheet…(all the white is dry white paper).  the negative space shapes are vital in the overall composition.  I believe that a strong foundation block frees an artist to explore their work with more confidence.    

Regular life drawing sessions help to build self confidence and most importantly hone observation skills. 

Ten minute full sheet study of Scarlett, one of my favourite models  Along with nude models we also worked with ‘costume models’ learning how to capture the human form beneath the drapes of fabric  – again honing observational skills.

This man modelled for me in Paris….a beautiful dancer.   I often do quick portraits of my subjects in a life painting session. 

It’s exciting to see that ‘life drawing’ is back in vogue.    I  believe that people who attend sessions regularly recognise that along with honing observation skills it is a wonderful form of meditation.

In this instance one of my favourite models arrived with her new born baby….It was a magical session.     In the warmth of the quiet studio both mother and baby completely relaxed…..Focusing on the loving and gentle hands of the mother.      Quite a few years ago I gave a weekend residential workshop in Herefordshire where we painted the hands and feet of models.   Excellent exercise. Capturing the gesture and seeking out the abstraction of the shapes produced. 

Beginning in 1982 I began a series of works integrating the human form with the rock formations of Isle au Haut, Maine where I spent much time painting.     Thirty eight years later I am still working on this series.           

‘The moment people turn their backs on one another’. 6ft x 4ft oil on canvas. (1982)For those who would like to try life drawing – I suggest tuning into ‘LIFE DRAWING LIVE’  BBC 4 TV—–a good way to get started. 

Happy painting

Janet.

 

 

 

 

A Perfect Day

 

I spent the past weekend with my life long friends Mick and Gail at their lovely home in Kent, not too far from where we grew up.

Gail, Mick and I went to school together when we were little children….i.e. five years old!    Although I left the UK in 1966 for the States and didn’t return until 1993, our friendship endured.

Interestingly we are all artists.    Mick a photographer/musician and Gail, writer, historian and musician.      There must have been something in the water at the school we attended.

This visit was super special because I got to meet Cosmo, their first grandchild….and he is an angel……

Cosmo in the garden…..such a joy. 

Mick – watercolour

Gail – watercolourOn Saturday we drove to Viking Bay Broadstairs to reminisce.    It turned out to be a perfect day in every way including the weather.

Given that Mick and Gail live in the middle of the countryside we drove…..and immediately found a parking place just a minute from the Bay.    Good start…..

Broadstairs is a place where we spent a lot of our childhood….and so I am really happy to report that Viking Bay is relatively unchanged other than some new amusements for children at one end of the beach.            The pier is still the same and many of the cafes and shops overlooking the beach are still there…including Morelli’s ice cream and coffee which was our first port of call……and oh my it was good.   Overlooking this part of the beach is the old band stand….a place I always enjoyed as a child.        I have special memories of when my Grandmother would take me to Broadstairs for the week….just the two of us.    She would allow me to do all sorts of things including enter the talent competitions held on the band stand.  Such happy memories:)

On the bandstand this Saturday – no competition this time……Sixty three years, before when I was ten years old….close to the pier.    Time is such an illusion. As we walked along the promenade we happened upon this lovely woman with her even lovelier cat:).   Apparently the cat walked with her every day to the beach.    When we came across her, I had just been saying how much I look forward to having another cat of my own.     A good omen I think…..

We then walked to the pier where we had the most delicious fish and chips….watched over by this very healthy looking seagull who I am glad to report behaved him/herself. All the while, we talked about our childhood memories….It was such a gentle, lovely day….and again another reminder of the importance of making the most of every single moment.

As we sat there enjoying the views, sounds, and smells and of course our fish and chips, I was reminded of this quote by Alan Watts  

‘I have realised that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is…….’

The hummingbirds are weaving their magic…… watercolour

This magical hummingbird is drinking from the sweet nectar of life…………………

A Bientôt

 

 

 

 

An Accident of Birth – short story about Sid the Boxer

I always carry a sketchbook and watercolours with me so that I can make quick sketches of the fascinating people I come across.

This short story is about one of those meetings.    The day I met Sid The Boxer.

Sid the Boxer.    watercolour  I first visited Barnes, SW London in August of 2005.

I was preparing to leave Wales where I had been living and working for thirteen years  to move to London, primarily for work, and to be closer to my failing elderly Mother.     It had  been suggested that I rent rooms in a house in Barnes in SW London.

This particular visit was to take a look at the area before making the move in October 2005.

On what was a lovely summer’s morning, I packed my watercolours and something to eat and went off to explore.

I found a promising place in a little park next to the river Thames between Barnes and Mortlake and set myself up on a bench.     During the next hour or so I enjoyed the sense of peace and tranquility that comes when I am painting and communing with nature.

Across the little park from where I was sitting were a group of people on another bench.    Other than this group and myself, there seemed to be no-one else around.       Eventually the group got up and began to walk towards the river and then towards me.     My first thought was that I hoped they wouldn’t want to chat with me and disturb my solitude.

As the group steered towards the river (thank goodness) one of its members broke away and came directly towards me.       He was a big man with dark glasses, drinking a large can of beer and generally looking rather disheveled.      He said ‘Hey love – you wanna paint my portrait’?     I looked at him and said ‘Actually yes – I would love to on the condition that I paint one for you and one for me‘.      I motioned for him to sit at  the end of the bench.

Clearly very surprised at my response….he actually became quite nervous.     ‘Did I mind if he drank his beer‘?   ‘Should he take his dark glasses off’?     I told him to make himself comfortable and then as I painted him he began to tell me about his life.

His name was Sid the Boxer – be was born into a gypsy travelling family and had spent most of his life in reform schools and prison.     That he had only recently been released from Wandsworth Prison for attempted murder.   Banned from every pub in Barnes and surrounding areas, he basically spent most of his time wandering around with his friends during the day time, until they could return to their hostel.

As dangerous as this might sound, I knew instinctively, intuitively that there was nothing to be afraid of.       I learned that Sid had a daughter who he hadn’t seen for over thirty-five years.   Sid had been a very good boxer and he went on to tell me this talent had kept him alive and given him respect when in prison.   It had been his protection.

As we came to the end of our time together, he asked if I had gone to a special school to learn to be an artist.    I told him that I had gone to the Medway College of Arts in Rochester Kent, and he exclaimed with great delight.   ‘That’s where I went to Borstal’ – (a boys reform school for the uninitiated)”!

We shook hands and Sid the Boxer left with his sketch and I kept mine.     As I thought about our meeting, I recognised what an accident of birth our start in life is.   In the random nature of things, Sid had been dealt a tricky hand, however he used his best attribute, that of being a boxer to survive.

Wherever Sid the Boxer and his sketch is, I send him this magical hummingbird, and hope that he is able to drink from some of the sweet nectar of life – if not in this life, maybe the next……..

The moral to this story, is to never leave home without a sketchbook…..You never know what interesting person you might meet……

A Bientôt.

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

http://www.artinthealgarve.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something gentle…Magical hummingbirds married with the words of Mary Oliver.

 

We all need something beautiful, gentle and real to cling onto during these difficult times.     We all need to be reminded that just because there are those who shout out their hate and lies into the world……there is still so much beauty and love that we can share with one another.    

In this post, I pay homage to the American poet and writer Mary Oliver (1935-2019) whose soul and spirit live on in her beautiful and evocative words.

She asks her reader    

‘Tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life…..’  

She reminds us that material stuff clutters our lives.

“I have a notion that if you are going to be spiritually curious, you better not get cluttered up with too many material things……”

 

We are reminded of the importance of giving time, power and energy to that which we love and feel passionately about.

“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”

“You do not have to be good.   You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.   You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves…….”

In this poem she speaks of her intense love for Mother Nature and the smallest of birds flying among the scarlet flowers……..and that she cannot wait to be the hummingbird……

Thank you Mary Oliver for showing us how to drink from the sweet nectar of life….like the magical hummingbirds.

• 

• 

Janet

http://www.janetweightreed.co.uk

http://www.artinthealgarve.com

Taking a break…..

“People say that what we’re all seeking is the meaning of life.   I don’t think that’s what we’re seeking.  I think what we are seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”     Joseph Campbell 1904-1987

watercolour/gouache – magical hummingbird I will be painting, writing, celebrating life and enjoying the company of dear friends during the next few weeks……

watercolourOnce again I have been reminded through the untimely death of a good friend of the importance of making the very best of every moment we have.

watercolourNot to put off what we really want to do….but rather to take on life’s new adventures with a sense of excitement.

watercolourNot to wait for the perfect time to do something, because there never is a perfect time…just today.

watercolour/gouache“Follow your Bliss” – another quote from Joseph Campbell.

For thirty years I have adhered to this way of being.       It doesn’t mean that I have received all my ‘wants’ but rather that my ‘needs’ have been met in ways that I could never  have been creative enough to imagine……..

watercolourAnd so today I follow the example of the magical hummingbirds, soaring above all the madness and drinking from the sweet nectar of life……..:)

watercolour/gouache

A bientôt

‘LIFE DRAWING LIVE’ on BBC4 TV prompted me to post this…..

In light of the new BBC4 TV show entitled ‘LIFE DRAWING LIVE’  which I viewed on player last night, I am re posting a blog on the subject.

In early December, I was invited by my good friend and fellow artist, Maria Do Rosario Tavares (Miza to me) to give a painting demonstration for a group she is working with in Chester.    The subject, ‘life painting’  – one of my favourites.      It was only a two hour session, but a very good one.    The group and the model were lovely.

To warm  up I made this rapid watercolour/gouache of David, the model.

Those who have followed my blog probably equate my work with hummingbird images, which of course is right:)   However I also love to paint the human form,

Twenty minute – full sheet watercolour and felt tip pen study – 

I love short poses – preferably three to 20 minutes max.     This enables me to capture the energy and movement of my subject….

five minute watercolour study – male dancerI was fortunate to go to art school at the beginning of the sixties.   For the first year, we made charcoal drawings of nudes, almost exclusively.      I quickly learned what an important foundation block the observation of the human form is.

Twenty minute watercolour study…(all the white is dry white paper)In the late sixties, it was said that the ‘busts were thrown out of the studio windows’ and replaced with a less formal mode of study.      Personally, I feel that if you have a strong foundation block – it frees an artist to explore with more self confidence….much as I believe, that ‘self discipline equals freedom’   

Ten minute full sheet study of Scarlett, one of my favourite models  

Along with nude models we also worked with ‘costume models’ learning how to capture the human form beneath the drapes of fabric  – again honing observational skills.

This man modelled for me in Paris….a beautiful dancer.   I often do quick portraits of my subjects in a life painting session. 

It’s exciting to see that ‘life painting/drawing’ is back in vogue.    I  believe that many people who attend recognise how relaxing it is and that it is a form of meditation.

In this instance one of my favourite models arrived with her new born baby….It was a magical session.     In the warmth of the quiet studio both mother and baby completely relaxed…..Focusing on the loving hands of the mother. Another model I really enjoy who wears blue stockings,

I love grabbing the gesture and seeking out the abstraction of the shapes produced. 

Beginning in 1982 I began a series of works integrating the human form with the rock formations of Isle au Haut Maine.        

If we wish we can use the sketches made in a life session and take them to new levels…..which can be where my last post  ‘How Does the Creative Process work’ comes I into play. 

large oil on canvas – ‘The moment people turn their backs on one another’For those who would like to try life drawing – I suggest that you tune into ‘LIFE DRAWING LIVE’  BBC 4 TV—–a good way to get started. 

Happy paintingA Bientôt

 

 

 

 

For all magical hummingbird lovers…..

For all you magical hummingbird lovers, please check out my new line of hummer products presented by HummingbirdHQ.com on

                                     WWW.ZAZZLE.COM  

Just enter my name in the search engine….

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Janet:)