Marion's Landscape Painting Newsletter - APR 2011

WELCOME to my April newsletter, This newsletter is probably going to be my chattiest so far. I do not have one area to discuss instead there are various things I want to explore with you.

No time to paint!

Sadly this seems to be the situation at the moment. Life is certainly very busy and with exhibition commitments fast approaching in June I have had to get organised. So often the admin and emails take up our precious painting time. However snatching the odd hour here and there doesn’t really help us as artists to develop and get involved with a painting. My solution has been to block days in my diary where I can concentrate on painting. By having whole days or even a weekend to really paint means I can explore my subject area and feel really immersed in the process of putting painting on paper. We all need to find our own solutions to not having enough time to paint but I really do encourage you all to keep going and keep painting.


Talking about Art

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk to a ladies group about being an artist; my style of painting and to discuss work I have produced. I took along a range of my paintings and shared with the group how what started as a hobby, has developed into my career. What I found most interesting and exciting was how many of the ladies discussed modern art passionately. Some of them have been to a recent exhibition at the Tate Gallery and were trying to understand what a plastic sheet with toothpaste on was to do with the world of art. We considered the need to understand why the painting was created and the thoughts that were going on in the artist’s head. The question which fascinated me was ‘do we have to understand it?’ Do we perhaps try and understand too deeply the significance of the work of art. Should we sometimes enjoy it for what it is at face value, enjoy the marks, the line and colour? I would like to say that if you get the chance to talk and share about your work or what has led you to the point of where you are now, please say yes and I am sure you will learn and grow through the experience. Many, many people feel they are unable to paint, they are just not creative but they love to hear about the world of art.

Dream School

Recently I have been catching up on some television and have been delighted to discover what Jamie Oliver has been exploring working with teenagers who have had a rough time in secondary schools. This group of 20 kids have hardly any qualifications between them and many of them have very low self-esteem. Jamie has managed to persuade talented professionals in many areas of the curriculum to come and work with these young people. One project that they have worked on is manipulating a photograph of themselves, by drawing and painting and adding to the photo. It was a delight to see the raw talent in so many of these young people. Many of them really exposed parts of their character, their dreams and their hopes through this art project. Also it was magical to see the praise given to them meant so much. To walk in to the studio and see their work on display really made their day if not their year. All around us there are many community projects, be them based in schools or youth clubs etc. Why not share some of your talents and inspire others to try and be creative for themselves.

April's Product

I have been doing some quick focused paintings in the last few weeks and one thing I have been exploring is incorporating writing in the work. Using a range of permanent pens has allowed me to explore colour and washes over the words and images. The beauty of using a permanent pen is that you can place colour over the top of it in the form of watercolour or inks.


A Few Other Things

If you would like to ask any questions or share your thoughts please get in touch with me via the contact page on my website.

I wish you all a very happy, chocolaty Easter.

BE INSPIRED, BE CREATIVE!