Weather again not too special.  Went sailing for a few hours saturday and sunday, fun, but not sunny.  Swimming is progressing (work in progress as they say).

Painting - few bits and pieces done this week, all sketching of sorts, but that's ok.

Started Moday plein air painting. This is Godshill, unfortunately a bit dull and overcast.

Inktober has started and this is sketch number three.  So far so good.

Have been messing with oil pastels on a Wednesday.  Forgot how much fun they are.  Think I will continue with them on a Wednesday from now on.

Again, working with oil techniques.  Felt the first one was really heavy handed and very, very disappointed.  Think I must have misunderstood what effect I was after.  The one on the right is a bit better and think I will work on that sort of effect.

Also made a "value stick" - nearly completed, which should help with some of the effects both in watercolour and in oil.

Did a couple of outdoor watercolour sketches, but didn't include them here as they are places I seem to repeat again and again.

Have drawn up a loose timetable of painting activities I should do each day.  So far (day three!) I have kept to this timetable.  Only problem is that I now have dendency to rush each activity so that I can say I have done it.  Not the aim of the exercise.

Apparently weather should be ok for this weekend.  Fingers crossed.

 Three weeks in a row, amazing.  Weather has been a bit up and down, hot, wet, windy.  Let's hope it starts to settle soon.   Swimming is progressing and so is oil painting - I think!

Wednesday's painting at the Priory cut a bit short, because we all wanted coffee and cake.  Tried a bit of guache, but made a bit of a mess.  Watercolour ok.

Messed about with oil.  Tried a beach scene both with brush and then knife.  AsI have done very little knife painting lately, I think the painting turned out more of a mess than anticipated.  However it was good to compare techniques.

Knife painting.

Brush painting.

Really not sure which I prefer.  Work in progress I think.

Got a really good book on colour theory for oil painters, except it's got homework in it! Still.

 Well I've even got things to publish this week.  The IWAC painting last Tuesday was at Fort Victoria.  Not too much light, but at least it was reasonably warm.  Quite a number of people turned up, so the finish up tea and cake was quite jolly.  Tried oils again.  Think there is a little progress.

Wednesday was the first of our regular visits to the Priory at Carrisbrooke.  The weather was lovely, so we painted outside.  Watercolour this time, because with oil there is a bit too much to carry.  Had a fight with my tripod - goodness know why, but the tripod won.  Checked it out when I got home, and can't for the life of me see what the problem was!

Thursday was swimming and then Friday we set sail to Lymington.  No wind, and it was incredibly hot.  Put the awning up which although it shaded us, it offered no protection from the heat.  Henry was very uncomfortable.  I did manage a couple of sketches

The sketch on the left is Mr Berthon's house, and the other is of the moorings.  We were certainly packed in.  Members of East Cowes sailing club turned up for their rally and it was nice seeing people we knew.  Dick and Judith came on Sunday (in the rain!) and we had fun with them.  Even Henry got to liaise with their cat Nelson.  We left on Monday and had a good sail back.

Tuesday IWAC painting was at Mottistone, and Mike and I painted the tea room gardens. Weather not as hot as it has been, but at least it was dry, just!

Watercolour and pen.

Yesterday back at the Priory.  Dull and overcast, so no painting outside.  Did a watercolour doodle.

Now back to trying oils again....

 Well website is up and running. Simonne Mason Studio.  A bit pretentious, but you've got to start somewhere.  Some bits are easy, but I do have to scratch the back of my brain sometimes!  I am trying to put things on, and off, a couple of times a week to make sure I can actually do things on it, without having to contact my Web Wizard (Susie).

Weather has been very up and down, but now we are in a settled period.  Went painting with the club at Brading Downs on Tuesday, would have been nice with a bit of sun for contrast in the landscape, but still, the company was good.

Painted in oils again, not an easy option I must admit. 

 Went swimming (or drowning) twice this week.  I am working on it, but find it really  hard.  Did actually manage one whole length of crawl.  Must work at it, because I really do want to swim with Alice in the not too distant future.

Finished my little group of "dunes" oil painting.  Was quite fun.

They really are small.

Friday took paintings to Ryde Library where we have an exhibition for the whole of September.  Put in 12 paintings, forgot to take picture of exhibition, but will try and remember in the next few days.

Pretty niffty poster.  Thank you Elise.

Well now it's back to practicing oil painting.....

 I now have a website.  It is still in its infancy and I'm trying to make little changes, but soon will publish the site name.  Couple of things are tricky but generally things are straighforward like the blog.  However, I must make sure I look at it (like the blog!) every week.

Went painting at Newtown this week.  Weather, subject and company were perfect.  Had cake and coffee when we had finished. 

I even did this in oils.  First time outside with oils.  Was a bit worried at first that it would go wrong and I'd end up in a mess, but seemed ok.

We are having an exhibition at Ryde Library for the month of September.  I am putting in 12 pictures,  most of which have already appeared on the blog, with the exception of two, which I thought were a bit of fun.

Cocktails.  They are only small, but fun.

Trying to make more of an effort with oils, watercolour and drawing.  The weather has put a dampener on motivation, but that's an easy excuse.  Onwards.....

 I cannot believe that it has been 8 months since I last posted anything.  Looks like I will have to reconsider and set aside a particular day each month (or perhaps week) to update.  I will look through my folders etc. and see what I have been up to.  A couple of the most important issues are that we managed to hold an exhibition at Quarr Abbey at Easter this year and it was pretty successful.  We have put our names down for  the possibility of an exhibition next year.  Fingers crossed.  

The other thing is that we managed to have 6 weeks holliday in the West Country in what now appears to be the best few weeks of the year so far.  I managed to watercolour sketch just about every day.  Some where better that others!

I have been working on my oil painting - sort of.  But do find it extreemly frustrating to get what I want out of it.  Got to keep persevering.

 

Most Tuesday mornings I go out with the Isle of Wight Art Club for "plein air" painting, although, to be honest, it's really plein air sketching.  Some better than others.  Today we, a subgroup (i.e. the winter group)  went to Newtown and it was lots of fun and I even managed an oil sketch.  

So that's it.  Must schedule an update, and start putting some pictures together.

 Cant believe it's been two months since I last posted!  I must have dreamt that I did  more!  Well clearly Christmas has come and gone.   We've had a lot of very wet weather and some very cold weather.  We seem now to be at the end of the cold weather, I hope.  I've still been going out on a Monday to paint with our group, but most Mondays the weather has been absolutely awful. 

 Finally last Friday we got a lovely sunny day, albeit still very cold.  So off we went to Yaverland.  Hence the pictures above.  I'm hoping that we may start to see less rain and that we may get out more.  

We haven't moved the boat and it's really looking a bit unhappy.  Visited the team on the mainland at the beginning of January but again it was raining and cold, so no pictures.