Castles

The painting of Llansteffan sold a couple of weeks ago. A popular spot and a popular view. It reminds me of when we were sat in an exhibition of my paintings and a youthful lad came in probably straight out of art college and said in a  loud disdainful voice to his companion, "Oh more castles!" ( In fact out of 70 paintings there were only five paintings of castles three of which sold).

 Everyone is entitled to their view although shouting it to the whole world can be a trifle immature.

Anyway Joseph Mallord Turner had no problem painting castles including Llansteffan so if it was good enough for him it is good enough for me.

End of the Exhibition

This large painting of Llansteffan was sold last week. The exhibition is now finished. We took it all down last night and have packed the paintings into their crates. It has been a good two weeks but it is now time for a change. We were blessed with good weather and lots of interesting people to talk to hopefully we will have a similar year next year.

We haven't decided on our next exhibition yet as we have a number of options but also still plenty of work on the go.

Last Day

A watercolour of Tenby sold this week at the exhibition. I can't find an image of the painting for some reason but it was a similar view to this one.

Meeting new people can be quite entertaining especially if you are a detached viewer. Yesterday Alex got to talking to a couple about the gardens. The conversation that went like this.
Alex,"So where are you from?"
Man,"Norfolk."
Alex, "Oh I know someone from Norfolk now what was their first name?"
Stunned silence

Last day of the exhibition today so this afternoon we will be taking down the paintings and crating them up.

St Mary Magdalene St Clears

This little watercolour of St Mary Magdelene Church in St Clears was one of those sold at the exhibition yesterday. The church is dedicated to St Magdalene and St Clarus and dates back to at least 1100. St Clarus was a French monk who was the son of a nun.

Anyway there was plenty of strong contrast in the sunshine when I painted it and it came out as I wanted.

Kite Flying

The above painting of children flying a kite was sold yesterday. I had seen them playing on the sands at Machynys, Llanelli and couldn't resist doing a painting from the memory. The red sail in the distance was added to give the eye an exit.

This morning the mist was hanging in the valley when I walked Jac up into the woods. It was quite strange the woods were unusually totally silent. Normally there is a chorus of birds. I think Jac must have felt it as he normally runs off in to the undergrowth in search of something to flush out (although he rarely finds anything). Today he just walked along the path with me. It was a bit like a scene from a Hammer Horror film.

Anyway I picked a good selection of blackberries on the way back to go with my porridge. Only three days left of the exhibition now. If you haven't been there is still plenty to see although a good bit has gone.

Link the late Dusty Springfield http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fola80rQop4

"Llandeilo from a distance"

The above oil painting of "Llandeilo from a distance," was sold at the exhibition yesterday. It seems like this charming view will change if a bye pass comes into being. The town probably needs it but it will produce yet another scar on the landscape.

Ever decreasing circles was a sitcom in the 1980's and at times I think Alex and I begin to resemble Howard and Hilda from that TV program more every day.

This morning we were a bit late and Alex was in a bit of a panic as we got in the car she realised she had forgotten her glasses (which she needs for driving). She got out of the car and unlocked the front door and disappeared in to the house.

A few minutes later she reappeared empty handed. She went in to the back of the car and started rummaging in her shopping and hand bags.
She stood up and announced ," I must be losing it I have no idea where they are."
With that she placed her hands on her head and said,"Oh, here they are."
The little blighters had been hiding on her head all that time.
Me I had been looking at her and not even noticed!

Treffgarne

The above painting of Treffgarne in the Preselis was sold the other day in the exhibition.
I asked the lady who bought it if she had any connection with the area. She said, no she just loved the painting and had fallen in love with it, which obviously pleased me.

I tend to do mainly non generic paintings i.e. I do paintings of specific places. Normally people buy them because they have some connection to the area and hopefully because they are well painted. Nevertheless it is always nice when people buy them purely because they love the way it is painted.