Exhibition in full swing & paintbrushes back in action!!

Hello again! Since we opened the exhibition, my feet have hardly touched the ground. I've managed to get around to the rest of the Year 5 children at school and complete their drawing lessons. We had a local newspaper reporter come in to school and take photos of some of the children and their work. I'm told the report is in this week's North Somerset Times!

I promised you some photos of my new feather paintings. They've been attracting a lot of attention in the exhibition and I've just had my first 'feather commission'! So, here goes... I'll start with my very first attempt at a feather painting, a Peregrine Falcon. This one's one of my favourites!

Peregrine - my 1st Feather Painting

I've done quite a few feathers since and I'm now experimenting with different ways to present them. My initial gut feeling was to make specifically sized box frames (I used 'Picture Frames Express' who I found online and they were excellent!! I ordered a batch of custom sized frames on Sunday night, and the whole order arrived on Wednesday morning!)
Here are a few more feather paintings...

Woolley, Looking At You, Looking At Me.

Peregrine (Beak & Eye)

Fox Cub

If you fancy having a go, I found out that a light spray with hairspray (or art fixative) gives the feather a good base for the gesso to stick to, and that makes a nice surface to paint on.

In my last blog I told you about the Vic Bearcroft workshops I did in Bristol. Well, I've plucked up the courage and had a go at a couple of pastel paintings. In 2010, I saw and photographed  some stunning tigers and snow leopards in Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. I've wanted to paint them ever since, and now, with a little bit of help from Vic, I've managed to do it! I'm happy with the results although I feel the need for a lot more practice with this new medium - I find it quite tricky manipulating the pieces of conte pencils and soft pastels.

Snow Leopard - Pastel on Velour Paper

Now, after all this experimenting with feathers and pastels, I must get my head back into acrylics and finish off all those paintings I began but never finished!! I've got two more exhibitions to prepare for - The Clevedon Art Club Annual Exhibition and The Portreath Art Club Annual Exhibition, both in August. I'll let you know how i get on in the next blog...until then, happy painting,
Mandi ;)