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

Travel Diary last pages

travel Diary page 4

Travel Diary

travel diary page 3

Travel Diary page 2 - Georgina's masterpiece

travel Diary page one

Katherine and I have just got back from 4 days in Morocco.  Here is my travel diary

life drawing

I am sitting here with Dave perched on my lap purring away very loudly.  This is the latest effort at charcoal drawing .

Botanical painting

I thought I had better paint something botanical to check I can still do it.  The new glasses have made a difference although I sometimes have to use a magnifying glass.
This is Iris stylosa or unguicularis.  It means 'narrow clawed' and refers to the petals.  This spring we have had lots of flowers probably because of the lovely warm summer.

But Watson caught it

Here is little Watson with his trophy.  He has been staying with us whilst Katerina and Chris are away.  It has been a joy to have him.

Dave still rules

Dave is still firmly in charge.  Last night he brought a baby rabbit into the house to show me how clever he was, but unfortunately he let it go and it darted underneath the deep freeze.  We were going out to dinner so had to leave it until this morning and amazingly the poor thing was still alive - I thought it would have died of fright.  In the end Watson caught it and wanted to keep hold of it.  Graham eventually managed to get it off him, and now he is certain there are rabbits everywhere!

March 8th

I got one of my pupils to paint a Sea Bream and thought I had better have a go myself.  It is quite a pretty fish with spectacular fins.  

March

I have just spent hours trying to get back into my blog as I have not put any work on it for a while.  With poor telephone reception here it makes life quite difficult and also my keyboard is playing up which does not help.

I painted a January King Cabbage the other day.  It was good fun and I am quite pleased with it

I had breast cancer last year and chose not to wear a wig.  Thanks to a friend I had lots of coloured scarves and tied a turban round my head instead.  It was much more fun and more comfortable.  I wrote a piece describing how to tie a turban but somehow cannot download it onto this blog so briefly this is what you do.


Take a 2 metre piece of cloth, linen or cotton is best.  Silk is too slipppery.  Fold it in half lengthways and then fold one side a couple of times to make a thicker edge.  Place this thick part on the top of your head at the hairline and take the ends back and twist them at the nape of your neck.  Pull the ends back up to the top of your head again, and then twist the ends at each side, tucking them is as you go.  You may find that one side is longer than the other and then you have a bit hanging down, as in the photo.  If you want to jazz it up a bit, add a brooch on the top.  Some materials have a bit of sparkle which all adds to the glamour.  

January 11th 2015
Last year was  'right-off'.  I discovered a lump in early November and eventually had an operation and treatment  in London  ending in June 2014.  Not much fun, but not too bad and I am glad it is all over.  I shall just feel happier when my hair returns to normal.
Lovely Caz and a dear friend have sorted out a problem here for me this weekend, so I am back online and able to add to this blog after over a year.  Having no mobile coverage here was proving more than just a mild hindrance. Now I have no excuse!
This is a painting I did for a wedding present of a friend of Katerina's.  It depicts elements of the bride's bouquet which was all white;  sweet peas, phlox and delphiniums.   The latter was almost impossible to get hold of, and I have another friend who came to stay for a weekend to thank  for them.   Lavender was  on the tables of the marquee, and Katy's dress had applique flowers on the bodice.  They sent a lovely thank you letter, so I think they are happy with it.