Last Post and Last Supper

This is it then last post and last supper in Carmarthen for a fortnight. Off to North Devon tomorrow. My family arrived this afternoon to House and Mother sit, so all looking good.

Pictured above is St. David's Head one of the paintings for the Small Picture Show, I think. Its a bit different to my norm but thats how I felt it at the time.

I have done the work I intended so all ready now. I have a few paintings to do when I get back.

We went to see Jayne Russel's Art Exhibition this morning very good work and my oh my lots of it she must have worked all winter day and night. I was very pleased for her as she is a lovely person and works hard. So its nice to see it all come together for her.

Well hope you will all be reading my blog after 14 September.

Less is better

Where watercolours are concerned I have the philosophy that less is better. The watercolours that appeal to me have been confidently executed with a minimum of strokes. The danger with watercolours is that of merely using the paint to fill in a drawing. The painting above of Abersoch is now gracing the walls of a house in France.

In all my paintings I like to see how I would paint them if I had to start again. This is a search for constant improvement.

Watercolours lend themselves to being used in layers as opposed to filling in the shapes. Hence less is more or better.

Today I have filled in the details for the Small Picture Show and sorted out the camper. Alex has been changing a frame for a customer and has been cleaning.

Countdown for the off now. Looking forward to a couple of weeks in Devon while my family come here to look after my mother.

Making an impression

I have started my paintings for the Small Picture Show an my commissions. I am doing a variety of paintings for the Small Picture Show. Two are in an Impressionistic style. The one above I did today and is of Cattle near Llanfrynach in the Beacons National Park. I quite like painting in different styles as it keeps me from becoming bored and too machinistic (is that a word?).

Alex has soldiered on with the accounts and is near done or done in.

Got a few things to do in the next couple of days including finishing 2 commissions and a bit of paperwork. Also looking after grandchildren on Tuesday, hopefully the weather will be ok and we can take them out.

How Time is Accounted for

Today has been a tale of two halves. I have had the pleasure of painting a commission of Whitesands in Pembrokeshire. I havent finished yet so pictured above is Snowdonia from Harlech Beach (ps.it is not as blue as it appears online). I confess I did also stop for an hour to watch the Test Match.

Alex the other half of the partnership has had the uneviable task of sorting out our income and expenditure for the financial year. We should learn to keep on top of it monthly but other things keep getting in the way.

It is interesting to note how things change and keep an eye on trends, where is our work coming from are we getting more from private sales and less from galleries?

Alex has stopped framing for the public and other artists so it will be interesting to make comparisons next year.

Meanwhile I have more painting to do tomorrow for the Small Picture Show.

Zen and the art of Gardening

Aberglasney is run by a private trust who work very hard to keep it going and move it on. They rely on private donations and some grants. I donated the painting above of Aberglasney for the Trust to give to a mature Lady from up North who has contributed substantial sums of money to the fund.

Now I like looking at gardens trees and nature but I have to say I am no gardener. I go along witht the old Zen saying,

"Hunter who chase 2 rabbits catch neither"

I only have a couple real interests my family and painting and rugby. I consider gardening to be an obligation to stop the local tenants association knocking on my door.

Today unfortunately was a day for gardening having been at the exhibition for 2 weeks. Things were a bit out of control. I also look after my mother's garden, maybe I'm paying a penance for some great evil deed I undertook in another life.

Some good news though a new watercolour brush arrived which I had ordered. I dont suppose I will test it anytime soon as I have about 7 oils to do at present. So don't look for me in the garden tomorrow!

Drawing to a conclusion

This was the last day of the exhibition and admittedly it has been a case of a fast start and a slow finish. We did sell another painting today of Venice but unforgivably I find I have again either failed to record an image of it or somehow lost it. Considering I have an external drive and automatic back up I guess I just forgot.

So pictured above is a drawing of trees from Aberglasney.

On the question of drawing I feel these days it is very much underated as: a pastime, basic excercise for an artist, or an end in itself.

Drawing contains most of the requisite skills for the artist:

The ability to frame a decent subject.

The ability to draught an image in proportion to reality.

The ability to identify the relevant values(tones).

The skill to put this together.

I admit I dont draw as often as I should but I do undertake numerous sketches from some of which I produce paintings. A sketch to me is a short hand form of recording information allowing me to use it at a later date if required and may take anything from 2 -10 minutes. My drawings may take anything up to 3 hours and are generally a finished article in themselves although I rarely sell them or even keep them.

Start the car

"Start the car" after 13 days at Aberglasney its nearly time to pack up and come home. Didn't see the dirty dozen or even the famous five to day more like the three tenner's (except it was £12). Weather was horrible so no one through the gates hardly, again.

Still Geraint did call at home for his painting of Abergwili and Ebeneezer Chapel with Merlin's Hill in the background. Pictured above. So that was one sale.

They say things come in threes and despite the lack of people the third knob managed to turn up today a rather borish hooray Henry with attitude and a big mouth who received the Alex treatment. Shame you meet lots of really nice people of all classes (If this is a classless society then there are a number of people who haven't been told about it) but the boorish ones tend to be of the Rupert variety.

Talking of nice people we had gifts of vegetables from Eluned who along with Graham, Francis, John and all the other lovely army of workers and volunteers have always made us feel welcome at Aberglasney.