Rome

We spent a few days in Rome in March this year.  It was the artichoke season and the market was full of beautiful dark red ones, which the stall holders were preparing for cooking by paring them with extremely sharp knives.  I bought some and painted them when we got home.  This one comes from Sardinia

April 2016

I have been so busy in the last few months that I have not had time to add anything to this blog.  We went to Sicily in September and Rome in March. grandchildren have been taking up a bit of time too.
However I have had time to paint a bit

 This is a painting of Crinum lilies which was bought by Gilly Bomford.  It is quite a large painting and worked out well

Maglolia grandiflora 'Exmouth'

at last it decided to flower in 2015

Tiggy is a lovely westhighland Terrier belonging to Bronnie Armitage.  We have stayed with them many times on the Isle of Lewis.  She died last year at the age of 14

Elmley Church

The trustees of the Elmley Lovett Trust have asked me to paint a picture of the pinnacle on the church, which for many years lay by the door.
I went to do some sketches and found it almost impossible to get a good photo of the church tower as there were so many trees growing near.  In the end I sat on the Cross steps and did a sketch and took a photo.  It was quite a steep angle but I think it made it quite dramatic.
All this is in memory of Michael Needham who for many years was the Treasurer of Elmely Lovett Parish Church Council.  He, along with Graham managed to restore the Bells in the church, and repair the old tower, including replacing the fourth pinnacle in its rightful place.

October

Three grandchildren are staying so painting has had to take a back foot.  I have managed to paint a bit since the exhibition in London.

The Crinums have been brilliant this year and I thought I must paint a large picture of them instead of trying to squeeze them on a small piece of paper.  The leaves get really tatty by the end of the year but then that is the attraction in a way.  These came from Rose Cottage in Cheshire, Graham's first house which he bought from keen gardeners.  I discovered them in pots buried in the border and took them to Nottinghamshire with us, and then to Worcestershire and then dug some up again when we moved here.

 

I am participating in an exhibition at 54 The Gallery, Shepherd Market, London next week.  The Private Views are on the Tuesday 25th and Thursday 27th from 6.00pm until 8.00pm.

  Since there are 12 other artists it might be a bit of a scrum, and I am only taking a few paintings up there.  The camel been sold already, it may have been put on this blog before but I will re-publish it just in case.  I have let the buyer take it so it will not be included in the Exhibition.  The pastel of the Caravanserai in Marrakech was done after I went there with Katerina and Georgina earlier this year.

  As a 'Botanical Artist', I have only included one Botanical painting of some irises.   But I am putting this January King cabbage  in.  It is quite large and still with the framer, I am collecting it this week.

Work in the garden is keeping both Graham and I very busy, therefore not much time to paint.  I did manage to get some paintings properly photographed by I-Pixel the other day and have uploaded them onto the Bridgeman Studio Blog, and I will try to get them on this one too.
The flowers were for Alexandra Boyd Carpenter's wedding to John Murphy at least three years ago now.  The copper beech leaves had been put in glycerene and were beautiful.  I was so stupid and threw them away after I had finished the painting, I should have kept them as they would have lasted ages.  Looking back on the painting after so long, I wish I had been able to put more definition in the roses, but they were so pale, I did not want them to end up looking dark.  Artificial light and shadows might have helped.

The image is so large that I am unable to post it!  have a look on the Bridgeman Studio website and look up Alison Cooper's file!

Marrakech

Four days in Marrakech with Katerina and Georgina was great fun and a lovely change for me.  I wish I had done more drawing out there though.  There is so much to see particularly in the Old medina.  Here is a pastel of a Caravansari