Ana as the doctor!

Here is my youngest daughter with a pair of plastic doctor’s glasses on. Still have to improve on the glasses and odd little bits which I now see, I hope to get around to doing soon, although I have a quite a large project in hand right now which is now going to take up a bit of my time. I tell you about it next time.

Horse

The horse! My first horse head, I don't know why but I've always thought drawing a horse would be a very difficult task; however it wasn’t as complicated as I thought and I really enjoyed drawing it. In the beginning it looked dreadful and I was about to ditch it. My daughters, being girls, love the horse!

Footprints on the sand.

I'm afraid yet again my photos are a little worse for wear! I can still feel the sand between my toes! This painting I did for a friend at work who loves the sand, sea and especially the waves. Not surprising as she comes from an island! I know she’s enjoying it but I have to confess I'm missing it. Can’t wait until she sends me a picture of it on her wall.

Robin in the Snow.

Here's the Christmas card I sent out this year! I hope you all have started the year on the right foot!

A Cocktail of ducklings!

It has been some time, and after being nudged I am back up-dating my blog. This is a little pencil drawing of two very cute ducklings.

Waiting for the Wave

She sells seashells on the seashore.

And the shells she sells are seashells, I am sure.

'cause if she sells shell at the seashore,

I am sure she sells seashore shells.

The girls waiting for that big wave that just never comes! Here are my niece and my eldest daughter around 6 and 5 years of age, eager to get tossed by a wave. The tide is low and great for those sandy waves. I hope you enjoy this one. This is a presy for my sister for all those times she has had to put up with me, and who now has no choice but to hang it in her front room! 

Window box

I have to be totally honest I got fed up with painting this one, I think I left too much time go by before finishing and I was too eager to start another one I had in mind, I hope you enjoy it more!

I've just started this one. As walking through the streets of Paris in the Montmarte area how could you not run out of film! We came across all sorts of lovely romantic corners, just behind the Moulin Rouge and near the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur, in a little street that led off from the a small vineyard in the Rue Saint-Vincent, was taken over by some film students that had set up a scene and one of the windows was this one with a beautiful window box! To just think the great artists Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani walked those streets…. 

I can hear Charles Aznavour’s La Bohème softly playing as I look at this painting… 

http://youtu.be/JmIBBzcC894

Giraffe

And this is another....

Enjoy!

Stealing biscuits

As the weather hasn't been so nice these days, and while watching the telly I've been scribbling. Here is a mouse in a glass biscuit jar.

Thirsty!

I'm afraid I haven't been able to get my paints out this last month. It's coming up to the end of the school year and boy there is so much to do! But I have left my sketch book around and pencils and this is one I started  this morning. Not finished missing whiskers etc... 

What do you think? 

.....

Ana with a paper boat

I am now painting this one. I have yet to finish but here is a sneaky peek... Ana is two here as you can see a very grown-up two. She loves her painting and every night before going to sleep asks me if it’s finished so she can hang it on her wall.... to be continued!!

It is finished now and here it is.....

The Corner

I've posted a photo of the painting in it's early days!

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Now this one has a story to it. A good friend of mine was and is in the process of changing homes and I thought as a house warming present I’d give her a painting. I wanted to paint something special. I googled her mum with help from a friend and managed to contact her and ask her to send me photos of her home in Norfolk. She sent me loads, but when I saw this one there was no doubt. I can safely say she recognised the place and I really do hope it brings that ‘home’ feeling to her new home. Could sit there now and have a cuppa!

Look at me!

I could touch the sand and smell the sea. This is Carlota aged 4. My first whole body! The beach is in Los Caños de Mecca, Zahora beach, in Cadiz. In the background you can see a little house on the cliff and a large plot of land behind it that all belongs to the military. Really liked painting this one and Carlota loves it.

Carlota diving in the pool.

I was inspired by a painting my boss has on her wall. Painter is family of a friend of mine. She does the most fantastic under water paintings, a sight better than mine! But I had to try it. So I did Carlota under the water in my mum’s swimming pool. She is 5 years old here. The canvas is a large square one about 80cmx80cm. Here she has just dived in. I liked the idea of reflecting the blue of the swimming pool on her skin; I have to say she didn’t. Never mind...

Here is a close up of the bubbles.

Deserted...

This was a laugh. I dreamt this one and got up doodled it on a paper then painted it on a massive Canvas also using cement to give texture to the sand. If you actually touch the shell you would find inside has a sand texture yet the shell it’s self it smooth. I really had fun doing this one!!! Measurements:

Here's a close up of the shell.

Doñana – The birds

Ahhh now this one is one of a long list I have planned to do for my husband. When our eldest was just two we went to Doñana for the first time. Unfortunately the lake was dry and there were hardly any birds. If I close my eyes I can transport myself there with that lovely warm breeze coming off the sand dunes on my face....

I’m hoping to do a second painting this time from the second time we went with both my youngest and eldest girls, this time the lake wasn’t dry yet there was too much water and again no birds!!

Rocks in the sea & Walk by the sea

We had works done in our house and our living room was in a mess but I still found a little space amongst the books to paint these two watercolours, together with my girls who also did some lovely paintings. I framed them and my mum has them in her living-room. (I’ll get a photo as soon as poss.) I think of them as a duet!

 

Gone mad

I was asked to do this one by an old friend of mine who goes way back. She wanted an abstract painting for her sitting room wall, can’t quite remember the measurements but nearly 1 ½ metres by 80 centimetres, something like that – to me HUGE. I did a trial on a small paper as you can see here and then I did the big one below (terrible photo I've asked for a better one). My first painting using cement and oils! I have to say she had a lot to say about the colours and frankly without her advice it wouldn’t have turned out quite so nice. Also very special!

Birds of a Feather

This I copied from a photo sent in one of those “lovely places” emails. I really liked all the birds huddling together on a branch; it feels warm and cosy to me. I drew it in the summer but didn’t get around to actually painting until Novemberish.

Country Lane

Here I've posted various photos so you can see the steps...








and I can just hear Luciano Pavarotti 
singing....

"Amapola, lindísima Amapola

Sera siempre mi alma
Tuya sola
Yo te quiero amada nina mia
Igual que ama la flor la luz al dia
Amapola, lindisima Amapola
No seas tan ingrata
amame
Amapola, Amapola
Como puedes tu vivir tan sola

Amapola, lindísima Amapola

No seas tan ingrata
amame
Amapola, Amapola

Como puedes tu vivir tan sola"

This was/is a very special painting. I really enjoyed doing and I hope it shows. It was a present for one of my Bestest friends. She is mad about poppies and here you may be able to appreciate them in the foreground mixed with other wild flowers. The village at the back is based on a village from Guadalajara. The lane does exist. At the far end of the path the two figures are her children, whom they recognized.