Art

This last night was a bit interrupted. I think the morphine they gave me in hospital must have kept me under the covers a couple of nights ago.
I even got up and made my picnic lunch in a wakeful moment.
Today dawned sunny, but I had to get myself ready for my art workshop. This is the first of three in a series – a foundation course in watercolour. I’ve never really got my head round watercolour. And I always enjoy Denny’s courses.
But in previous shorter water colour workshops, I came to accept a lack of knowledge, mostly theoretical, which was not helping me achieve the results I wanted.

So I bit the bullet and paid a vast some of money and enrolled for her foundation course. The other two workshops are in November.. It was very much a last minute enrolment because of all the uncertainties of the last few weeks.

There are 13 on the course from all walks of life, mostly but not entirely from the retired, or near retired, sector. Teachers, a psychotherapist, a translator, an architect, an engineer, NHS staff and so on.

And the cherry on the cake is the fact Cherry is there. Cherry makes me laugh, she is not destined to be an artist of talent, but is a very funny lady. Often (usually) because she gets things not quite right, and is able to be self deprecating about it. She has been on most of my other courses and, as you will have gathered, I enjoy her company. When she is in attendance, she will always be somebody who can make me feel a sense of achievement.

The course was really excellent and I learnt masses about light, and tonal values, and also received some very handy tips about still life sketching and placement of objects. Placement of objects on the paper, that is. There was much else to absorb too. Denny tells us that if you can get tonal values right you are onto a winner. I have always found light quite difficult to understand.

Today we used caerulean blue – just one colour – to explore different tones via studies and then a simple composition. I also learned about edges of objects, particularly lost edges, and shadows. I loved it.

Not quite finished! Shame the jug is rocking on its bottom.

And we have homework to do.

Before leaving for the course, I took H for a quick walk and then had to abandon her for the day. But , hey, she was fine, but pleased to see me.

I was away quite awhile and it was quite a long day of me. Despite all the sitting, I felt tired when I arrived home. All that concentration I expect.

Strictly Come Dancing was just what I needed and I almost made it to the end. When will someone put Toyah out of her misery? And out of sight. Chris McCausland is blind and stunning.-and funny.

Thought for the Day