A Bit of a Catch Up

Does anyone know where the stop button is??

They say as you get older that time goes quicker but this is ridiculous! I don't think I've stopped since I last wrote way back in May and suddenly, nights are drawing in and it's almost August. Norfolk Open Studios in May and June were very successful and it was lovely to see so many friends and collectors. I was part of the trail, South of Sheringham. In all more than 100 sculptors, painters, printers and other artists took part.  Painting in Norfolk This is the second year that I have been based at The White House near Burnham Market. I had such a lovely group that it didn't seem like work at all. The weather was kind to us and we were able to get out to the coast and surrounding area every day. We made a return visit to Wiveton Hall with kind permission from Desmond (of 'Normal for Norfolk' fame) which was very well received by the group. I'm already looking forward to next year. 14th May - 19th May 2023 This course sells out very quickly as there only ten places so a quick heads up if you are interested - you can book now  (+44) 7785 439727

Wiveton Hall                                            Demo, looking to the sea

Friends

Those of you that follow me on Instagram may have noticed my absence for the last couple of months. This is mostly because I haven't been painting much.  I have taken time to catch up with friends. It was so easy after lock down to continue to isolate so, I made a concerted effort. One of the things we did was to get together 40+ people that we hadn't seen in some cases for as many as 50 years. This involved a lot of detective work and we eventually had people coming from Cornwall, Cumbria, South Coast and London. It was lovely to see sooo many smiling faces as everyone renewed friendships.

Old Friends

Garden

Another reason for lack of painting is of course the garden. A couple of weeks ago we opened our garden for the village's annual Garden Crawl and Scarecrow Competition. We put many hours into the garden making it as good as we could.  The event was a huge success with 43 scarecrows dotted around the village. Our garden had a constant stream of visitors too. Fortunately it was before temperatures hit 40c then we watched as the garden visibly wilted. I have however managed to keep the hanging baskets and pots alive. I cheated a bit with our scarecrow by buying a ready made outfit and stuffing it. I had a good excuse though as I had just fractured my ankle.

Garden                                A few pots                              Our scarecrow

Special Offer

This month I am offering this 10" x 12" painting of Weybourne, framed at the special price of £250 with free P & P to the UK. Please send me an email you would like it

August promises to be a quieter month for me so with a bit of luck I will get back into the studio to dust off my paints - watch this space. Enjoy the rest of the summer whatever you are doing and look after yourselves Love & Best Wishes Mo

 

News From Mulberry House, Garden & Studio

August Newsletter Well I have to say July was a month to remember or maybe forget. Disappointingly I had to postpone my course in Harwich as I had only just broken my right arm and it was too painful to travel.   Two weeks later I did manage to run a very successful painting course for Big Sky Art in Norfolk staying at the White House, Burnham Market. I had a really lovely group and was even able to manage a couple of left-handed demonstrations. I did promise you last month that I would show you any paintings that I managed to do with my left hand I will post these below. Some of you may know, I have been coordinating the next exhibition for British Plein-Air Painters. We had got the smaller North Gallery booked at the Mall. Whilst standing at Brancaster Staithe painting with my group, I had a phone call from the Mall to say that the proposed exhibition in the main gallery had pulled out and they offered us the chance to have the main gallery. I had to make a snap decision on behalf of the group and so I said "yes" - then the reality set in, my goodness what a big space to fill. I’m sure we can do it we have some excellent artists in the group.

Mulberry House & Garden Very little has happened since breaking my arm. I could almost weep when I walk down the garden. With recent rain and warm weather, the weeds have gone crazy, some of the dahlias which I hadn't got around to staking have fallen, the lily beetles have had a field day, most of the apricots dropped off in the heavy rain and the plum tree seems to have some kind of fungus. Frank has been going into work as we are starting to get bulbs in now at Gee Tee so he hasn't had time to help.  I did try to to pull a few weeds out with just my left hand but had to give that up when I put my back out!! It's a bit disheartening after all the hard work we put in at the beginning of the year Anyone know a good gardener?? On the upside, we've had a brilliant crop of French & Runner beans and the tomatoes are beginning to ripen. weeds are taller than the flowers Studio I was delighted with my one off Open Studio Norfolk weekend, I had a constant flow of visitors, friends, followers and buyers. Thank you every one that came to see me. I shall be taking part in the wider Norfolk Open Studios in September & October You can see who is taking part here I shall give more information nearer the time.  studio clearance                                                   one happy buyer & artist IEA Painting Day On 29th July I was picked up by fellow member of the Institute of East Anglian Artists, Jim Power, to take part in a Painting Day at King's Lynn. I optimistically took my paints and decided to give it a go. This was my first attempt at painting left handed room for improvement? There was a very good turn out and the predicted rain stayed away until the very end of the day, mind you it was very windy on the quay sideband I had to use my body to stop easel blowing over as I couldn't hold it    chatting with Ian McManus                                     enjoying a midday coffee Big Sky Art I have just returned from a wonderful week in Norfolk running a painting course at the White House. I had a group of 15 enthusiastic painters. On the first day we painted within the grounds but after that we went and painted at Brancaster Staithe, Burnham Overy Staithe I did manage to do a couple of left handed demonstrations and paintings. A lot of the group have rebooked for next year but there maybe a couple of places left if you are quick Big Sky Art. Phone +44 (0) 7785 439727 Burnham Overy Staithe                                        Brancaster Staithe            The White House                                                My bedroom                                                                             (shower room downstairs) I was very pleased that I managed to get special permission to paint in and around the grounds at Wiveton Hall. There is a wealth of subjects everywhere you look. The group were very pleased to meet Desmond from TV's 'Normal for Norfolk' fame and yes, he is as mad as he came over on the television. We had the most marvellous lunch there which I had preordered.  the wonderful Wiveton Hall Exhibition at the Mall Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be organising let alone exhibiting at the Mall Galleries in London. (I've had the odd painting accepted and hung in some of the major shows but this is much more) I count myself very fortunate to be part of a wonderful group that we call the British Plein Air Painters. After painting with a group of friends in Portugal in 2017 we decided to have an exhibition together. As there were only 10 of us we decided to invite some of our friends to join us and had our first exhibition was in 2018 at the Menier Gallery.   Following the success of our first exhibition, we booked the North Gallery at the Mall for our second London show. I volunteered to coordinate the show with the help of some of the members. This I can tell you sounds easier than it is but we won't go there. While I was painting with my group in Brancaster I had a surprise phone call from the Mall, they told me that the exhibitors that were going to be in the main gallery had pulled out and they offered us the chance to use that space. I made a quick decision on behalf of the group and said 'yes,  we would take it'. I then realised the enormity of filling such a huge space and all the other problems that go along with it. We are very excited about it and it promises to be an excellent exhibition. I do hope you are able to come along, there will members there each day and we hope to have demonstrations each day too. As part of our promotion for the show I have organised painting days around the country where we can hand out flyers. The next painting day is in Oxford this weekend 14th August followed by one in Kensington Gardens on 23nd.  All the details can be found on our web site British Plein Air Painters These painting days are free and open to any one who cares to come along and paint in the company of like minded artists. Left handed demo                                           10" x 16" Weybourne I was particularly pleased with this studio demonstration. I am offering it, unframed, at the special price of £190 including free P&P Drop me an email if you are interested Thank you for your support, I really do appreciate it. Hopefully by the time I write  next time, things will be back to normal, well, as normal as they'll ever be. I'm looking forward to being able to drive again. One thing is for sure - ambidextrous , I am not. take care and best wishes Mo xx

Day 19 of 30

Norfolk Sunset 16" x 20" oil on canvas £690

This is bigger than I am used to recently. It was painted over two days in the studio from an earlier painting that I wasn't entirely pleased with. I'm much happier with this and have asked for it to replace the earlier image in my book. Hopefully the book goes to press tomorrow so not sure when release date is yet - I expect I will let you know 😉

Visitors From Holland

Last Wednesday my dear friend Corry and husband Ted paid us a visit.Corry had a painting in the Artist exhibition at Patchings. So on Thursday we went to the show. So many artists offering their wares and there were demonstrations in every media. The exhibition itself  was a very high standard as usual. Corry was delighted to win a prize for her pastel of a new born calf. Well deserved too.

It was a good day out and I can home with a new supply of Rosemary brushes and Michael Harding paint.

The following day Corry & Ted went to Norfolk to stay for a few days. .I Joined Corry on the Saturday to go and paint at Felbrigg Hall

Felbrigg Gardens 8" x 8"

The Dove Cote. Felbrigg 8" x 8" oil

The gardens were full of visitors but I managed to stay tucked in out of the way. I returned home early Sunday morning (before either Corry or Ted were up) as Frank and I were visiting friends in the North of the county for lunch. I managed to sneak into the studio first and got another painting done for my forthcoming exhibition.

Monday morning I was back on the road for Norfolk. Corry and I went to Blakeney as the tide was high 

High Tide, Blakeney

From here we went to Wiveton Hall of the 'Normal for Norfolk ' fame (BBC series) I painted chickens whilst Corry painted Chloe 102 year old mother of Desmond, the Halls owner.

Wiveton Hall, chickens. 8" x 8" oil

Tuesday was much cooler. Our first stop was Salthouse. I had to tape my pallet to my easel as it was so windy 

Salthouse 10" x 12" oil

Coffee time took us back to Wiveton Hall. It was very busy as the TV program had aired the previous night. We met Chloe and Charlotte walking back from the cafe and made arrangements for us both to paint her.

Corry managed a brilliant portrait in between her nodding off. I chose to paint the sleeping position as it was more constant 

102 year old Chloe enjoying the sun

Charlotte that cares for Chloe liked the picture and as she was such a kind and generous lady I gave her the painting. 

I look forward to going back to paint at Wiveton. I was made to feel so welcome. Looking forward now to the next episode of Normal 4 Norfolk 

30 in 30 Day 20

Warm Sky, Cley 12" x 12" oil on canvas board

On this particularly cold day the aeroplane vapor trails were very prominent in the sky. In spite of the cold, the sky gave off a warm glow as the sun sank down behind Cley Windmill on the North Norfolk coast. The strength of the light from the sun, threw the mill into a dark silhouette which adds to the drama of the painting.

30 in 30 Day 14

After the Spring Tide, Blakeney 12" x 12" oil on canvas board

The sky was an incredibly deep blue at Blakeney on this day. Usually when I use Ultramarine, I tend to knock it back a bit with either Yellow Ochre or a touch of red. In this instance I just used Michael Harding's Warm Light Yellow to lighten the blue.
 The same yellow was also used for the clouds as pure white would have been too cold. The pattern of the deep puddles left by the high tide were the perfect shapes for this composition. It definitely a scene waiting to be painted.

Acrylic demo at King's Lynn

Old Hunstanton From Holme 10" x 14" acrylic

 An enjoyable day at King's Lynn where 20+ plus enthusiastic artists attended my acrylic workshop.

I started the day with a demonstration taken from a watercolour I'd done earlier of Old Hunstanton.
I handed out photocopies of the painting for the group to paint their own version based on my demo.
I don't like to do a 'paint along' as everyone works at their own speed and also I find it discourages people from doing their own thing with the painting.

In the afternoon I gave another demonstration of how I tackle a sky

Blakeney Marshes 18" x 14" acrylic demo

An Experiment

I had two very similar subjects that I wanted to try. I decided to try out two different colour schemes.

I put the two resulting pictures on my https://www.facebook.com/moteeuwart/ yesterday and asked people that follow me which one they preferred, Blue or Grey. The result was really interesting. I would have thought that a more colourful picture would have got the vote but it is definitely the Grey.
It also goes to show the power of FB and how useful it can be to artists. It is not always about getting the 'likes'. I do find it very difficult to judge my own work.

I have since 'played' with the 'Blue' picture and knocked back the Blue - I prefer it now too.