Cherries

Cherries

Cherries

start

Not such a bright idea!!

I had this great idea to paint a tin full of light bulbs - I didn't think this through. Getting the shapes to work was a nightmare and I know that if you look too long you will probably see things that aren't quite right. However, I was determined to see it through to the end. I would like to say that I learnt a lot - what I learnt was not to try and paint a tin full of lightbulbs again!!

Bottles

Small brown bottle (don't know its original use), an old ink bottle and an Angosturas Bitters dispenser with a silver top.

Buddies (sold)

Another red oil can to team up with my favourite one! An old funnel completes the trio.

Pink Troca Shell

Little pink shell and glass - tricky to get right!Part of the shell series.

Still Life with Pearl Nautilus (sold)

I have been searching for a nautilus for a while and they are hard to come by because of restrictions on imports - this one was very old stock at the fishmongers! I will be painting lots of compositions with shells over the next months as I have secured a petite and bijou exhibition space at a nearby National Trust property called A La Ronde. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-alaronde .In the very best English tradition of being spinsters, cousins and with the name Parminter, these two ladies from the recent history of the house, created a unique and now slightly crumbling, shell gallery. I have just under a year to paint lots of pictures including shells, but maybe some of the other objects that they brought back from their Grand Tour too.

Bottle and Cowrie Shell

It's been a while since I completed a painting! Too many distractions like sitting in the sun reading. I was also privileged to spend a day with John Dyer http://www.johndyergallery.co.uk/ who came to school to work with the children. He was so inspiring and I don't think a workshop with the children would have been much different had it been for adults. It did make me want to have a go but it's so different to what I do that it was a bit of a struggle!! Hence the time since my last still life. The bottle went really well on this one but the shell was a lot harder.

Blue and White

This group of objects were my haul from a cold Sunday morning at the car boot sale. Mostly tat,but if you look hard enough there are sometimes treasures to be found!

Darning Mushroom

Something a bit different. An old Sylko cotton reel and wooden darning mushroom are amongst my recent aquisitions. I guess you could call them objet trouve - literally found objects but also everyday objects turned into art. I wonder if anyone still uses a darning mushroom or do we just buy new socks and throw the old ones away!?

Silver Cup and Figs (sold)

From a photo taken when figs were around! A 1/2 pint silver cup, probably intended as a christening mug but found in a charity shop. Starting to get a bit of sunshine in the studio giving me some much needed warmth - roll on summer!

Posy

A gift from my friend Lindy, who's so good at that sort of thing, these daffodils were completely closed to start with. As always, I enjoyed the glass and reflections the most and I did really struggle with the flowers.

Little Red Oilcan again (sold)

I'm much happier with this painting. Done in one sitting, approx 2 1/2 hours. I have started using a lightbox setup again and it really makes a difference in controlling and directing the light!

Victorian Beer Bottle

I wanted to try the bottle again, but as the main focus. A very frustrating painting though, with the background scrubbed and re done 3 times!