As a thank you for your patience whilst I was not taking orders recently I am running a Sale off all my stock that are currently available to purchase.
From Sat 27th May–Sun 4th June use the code HOLIDAYMODE to get 20% discount, this applies to all of watercolour my paintings, cards, print and miniature acrylics. It could be time to treat yourself (or someone else)!
Here are some that are included in the sale but visit my Shop page to see them all.
Etsy Sale
Here are some that are included in the sale but visit my Etsy Store to see them all.
I am also offering a Sale on my Etsy Store, on all my cards and smaller paintings. There is 25% Sale off everything from Sat 27th May–Sun 4th June.
I have been experimenting with a new product – Watercolour Gift Tags. On my Etsy Shop a customer has the option to mark their purchase as a gift. I thought it would be nice to combine my crafting skills with my paintings and have a gift tag made from watercolours.
I had great fun creating various tags using old paintings. These are paintings that for various reasons, I wasn’t that happy with as a final product. As I love card making, and similar activities, I experimented with using sections of these paintings as a gift tag. Another idea was create tags that relate them to my products or brand. Above are my initial experiments, which were great fun.
Using small sections of paintings
Sometimes I can paint a picture that includes a little gem – perhaps a boat, but the overall painting just doesn’t work. So I decided that I could use these little gems and turn them into gift tags.
My initial test was using a lovely a “Miss P Loves” long die, with a narrow image. This is set against a coloured background and stamping a sentiment “Just for You”.
I was delighted with how they looked so I proceeded to make more. Using matt and layers allowed me to use some quite small paintings. I also added a faux reinforcement where the hole for the ribbon goes.
Using a painting for the whole tag
I love to paint, or sketch, outdoors but I find end up with so many paintings. These are perfect for using as a whole tag – these above use my Sizzix die for the shape. This die has a lovely faux stitching effect on the outside edge that I like.
On this gift tag I was using up a small piece of paper, the perfect space for a little painting to become a tag. It is quite simple but I did enjoy painting it. It would probably match one of my paintings of Logan Rock / Pedn Vounder beach.
The third option uses a small tag die from Crafters Companion. Some of my paintings are of iconic Cornish scenes, such as Godrevy Lighthouse, St Michaels Mount, to perfectly match with a painting. This could make a really nice gift offering for a special present. On some of the gift tags, where there is suitable space, I have stamped the words “Just for You”. I will monitor interest and feedback to see if people like this.
I frequently use A6 watercolour postcards whilst out and about for my sketches and these lines already printed on the reverse. In this instance the backs may either be blank or stamped “For” and “From”. Again I will monitor feedback to see if people prefer them blank or with words.
Finished with twine
I have used a natural jute twine to attach the gift tag to the present. This is in keeping with the scenes from nature that I have painted.
Testing on Etsy
Currently only available on my Etsy shop to gauge interest with are 3 options.
Some cards or paintings have an additional option to buy a gift tag
You also buy tags separately as a pack of 3
Alternatively select “Gift” option on checkout and receive a free gift tag which will be picked at random and won’t be a cornish scenes.
I have enjoyed making them, but will people like them! I will report back at a later date.
It is May and the weather is warming up. Yay! I have been on some lovely walks and here are some sketches I did during May.
Sketching at Carbis Bay
It was a glorious May day and we walked along the south west coast path from Lanner to Carbis Bay. The sea was a gorgeous colour and I don’t think my photos or sketch capture the beauty. It was just like being in the Caribbean – only easier to get to!
I looked across to Godrevy, this time a different angle from that I normally see and paint.
It was bliss and I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy this view. The walk was also excellent and would recommend for anyone able, but it is a little steep in places.
Sketching at Lizard Point
Another walk we did was around Lizard Point. This was a mixed day, some glorious sunshine, some mist coming in. We had packed our pasties and found the perfect spot to sit and eat them on Old Lizard Head.
This looks towards Kynance Cove, again a slightly different view to normal. After I had eaten my pasty out came my paints to sketch the scene.
The biggest difficulty was getting the depth of field correct, but hopefully you like it.
Sketching at Long Rock
The weather hasn’t all been wall to wall sunshine and when we visited Long Rock it was definitely a day to dodge the showers!
However Long Rock is a gem to sit and look at St Michael’s Mount in Mounts Bay. And of course I got my paints out!
I spent longer that I normally do on the surf area and I am quite pleased with how it came out. There is more definition that I normally have in a sketch.
Sketching at Trelissick
Talking of changeable weather – Friday was a corker! It was wall to wall sunshine. So we packed up our lunch and headed to Trelissick Gardens for a walk around the woodland walk.
I found the perfect spot to get my paints out overlooking the beach. It was high tide and made a nice vista. However dark clouds gathered overhead and it became quite gloomy. In the images below I have included a photo of my initial sketch so you can see how my sketch comes together.
You will see I adopted a little “poetic” licence! I decided not to include the telescope, although on reflection perhaps I should have! Also the clouds could have been darker.
My sketches quite often get turned into cards, so have a look at my Greeting Cards page to see what is currently available. If you want to see what larger paintings I currently have for sale visit my Original Watercolours page.
I have been really busy lately creating new cards, which is very exciting. So I am running a sale on Etsy running mid April to mid May to help clear out some space for new stock.
I have a variety of items for sale including original paintings and my greeting cards using my original paintings. There could be the perfect item for an inexpensive gift for someone – perhaps a wedding or special birthday? To bring back special memories of Cornwall to visitors and residents alike.
Here are a small selection of what is on offer.
Here is the link if you want to see what items I have in the sale and remember once they are gone they are gone!
Perhaps you might like my paintings or you don’t! And that is absolutely fine with me!
Art is subjective
Each person has their own pespective on each piece of art. We have different tastes, preferences and life experiences. All of these will impact on your feelings and opinions on how you feel about a piece of art. So some people may like my paintings and others may not!
Change the design
I am also a graphic designer and whether I am being asked to design a logo, a brochure or a website the client will also have their own ideas of what they want. Part of my job is to interpret those requests and create a beautiful design that meets the clients brief. Changes are inevitably requested, hopefully not too many until the client is happy. Being totally honest the final design may not something I am totally happy with, but it is not about me it is about the clients requirements.
This doesn’t happen in paintings, well not 99% of the time! If I painted St Ives Harbour, would you say to me, well I like that painting but I would prefer the boat in the foreground to be blue not red. Well you might ask, but it isn’t easy to change colours in watercolour.
Chances are, you would just decide you were not over keen on that painting and look elsewhere (hopefully choosing another of my paintings!)
I paint what inspires me, or what I love that means I do struggle to pain something I have no feelings for.
I was once asked to combine a photograph of a boat and a deserted island in the Caribbean and I really struggled with this. There were two different photographs.
Whilst I could paint the island and I could paint the boat but getting the two together took me about 4 attempts! You may have spotted there are only 3 images above, and yes you have guessed I didn’t photograph the first one it was so bad!
So I do hope you like my paintings, mainly of Cornwall and hopefully my love of Cornwall comes across in my paintings and that it invokes a similar response to you. There are some amazing artists painting Cornwall and you may prefer their paintings. That is just great because it is still about this beautiful county of Cornwall.
We enjoyed a glorious sunny but cold February but sadly March has been very mixed. On this day the forecast promised sunshine so I headed out to do sketching at the Helford.
Glendurgan Gardens
I do love it down around the Helford River but with its narrow lanes I prefer to visit out of season. First stop was Glendurgan Gardens, with its beautiful blooms, the rhododendron in all their glory, the magnolia trees in bloom. It was so peaceful and it was great to be out and appreciate nature at its best.
View of the River
After walking through the gardens, we ventured out of the gates at the bottom of the garden and on to Durgan beach. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I found a lovely spot to capture the scene looking towards the beach at Trebah Gardens (Polgwidden Cove). Helford village is in the background and out came my paints and sketchbook.
Grebe Beach
Venturing further I then followed the path down to Grebe Beach. There was a few people making the most of the weather and enjoying a swim. I wish I had my swimming kit with me, but as I didn’t I sat down to capture the scene instead.
Back to Glendurgan Gardens
As well as enjoying sketching on the Helford River, I also took some photos, mainly of Glendurgan Gardens. My photos of this glorious day are below, click on any image to see an enlarged version.
At the time of writing this blog post I have a couple of paintings of the Helford River for sale. One is of the tree-lined banks of the Helford River. The other is Grebe Beach , but a slightly different scene from the one I sketched today. If these have sold then have a look at what paintings for sale are currently available.
In a previous post I talked about my recent eye surgery however I am delighted to report that I am sketching again!
A few weeks ago it was a gloriously sunny day, Mark had made pasties so we packed them up and headed up to West Pentire. The view from the car park was just stunning – gosh I do love Cornwall.
I decided to have a go at a quick sketch looking across to Pentire Headland. The tide was coming in and there were great surfing conditions. I did struggle a bit using my one good eye, which made it quite hard to work out the exactly how far away the paper was! We also had a walk around where I was able to get some good reference photos for future sketches.
Looking towards Crantock beach
As the car park was rather expensive, we only stayed for an hour and drove up to Pentire Headland. Thanks to Cornwall Council offering free car parking during the winter in some places, we could stay as long as we liked.
The tide had been coming in fast and looking across to Crantock beach, the sand was almost covered.
I didn’t think I did too bad a job until I realised I forgot to paint the sky!
Not sure how the sketching went, painting with one eye is not easy but I did enjoy our beautiful scenery.
Sketching at home
Back at home I decided more practice needed and as I had been asked if I had any small paintings of the Newquay area, so I some more sketching from my ol photos.
I started with my little sketches of Holywell Bay, Newquay Harbour and the views across Fistral Bay.
This was very successful annd I am pleased with the results. Even better I turned 5 of them into cards and 3 were sold within a few days! I definitely will be sketching more locations around Newquay.
Chapel Porth
I know feel inspired to get sketching again and Chapel Porth is next on the list! This and I love this scene.
I have lots more ideas for future cards, mainly painting scenes like Chapel Porth above that are always popular. Also on my list are Kynance Cove, St Michaels Mount, as well as different locations like Porthgwarra, Housel Bay, Lands End … to mention but a few!
Someone recently said to me “I wish I could paint like you”, which was a lovely compliment but I thought you should see some of my earlier work! So I have decided to show you my earlier work, and tell you more of my story about how I got started.
Painting in Menorca
We were on holiday in Menorca during August, and it can get very hot, so whilst having a Siesta I decided to use the sketch books and watercolour pencils that my daughter Siobhan had brought with us (she wanted to go to Art College).
These were painted at our favourite spot in a little place called S’Algar and whilst I found it extremely relaxing and I enjoyed it, I was also frustrated because I couldn’t achieve the results I wanted, it all looked a bit flat. Actually it is a lot worse than being a bit flat, there are so many other trhings wrong with it! The perspective is totally wrong, not to mention the field of depth. The lighthouse (the red and white striped building), is many miles away, the watchtower, sat on the rocks is a bit closer, but it feels very close. And talking of rocks did you realise it was rocks? I could go on …
I won’t post all of my paintings from that holiday but I feel happier with this pot. It was a decorative feature in front of the holiday bungalow we were staying in. This time I didn’t have to worry about perspective or depth of field and as a consequence is a lot more successful. This gave me hope that I could improve I just needed to learn new skills.
Attend evening class
Whilst at school I was good at drawing, and in fact my best O Level was Art (yes I am that old that I did O Levels). So on returm from our holiday I decided to attend a local evening class for Beginners in Watercolours. My tutor was Rachael Phillips, an excellent teacher and I owe so much to her.
Within three weeks I produced this still life drawing of lemons — already looking better I think. I had learnt how to use the paint and blend it much better. The image at the top of a Fuschia, another still life, learning a technique called “wet on wet”, was also from those early lessons. I was really getting into this and enjoying painting.
Won an award!
By the end of the first year I painted this seascape of a wave splashing against the rocks at Godrevy. This is still one of my favourite paintings and I won an award for it!
But what about my daughter Siobhan? She did go to Art College and trained as a Graphic Designer. She is currently working as Art Director for a major book publisher, with millions seeing her book covers! So win win.
I would encourage anyone to go out and try what you want to do, who knows where it might lead.
I have introduced a new product line – A5 printed cards. I already have a range of greeting cards , in various sizes including A6, A5 and square cards that I produce myself, using original watercolours. These are very popular as it is an inexpensive way of owning a piece of original artwork. You can also make them into inexpensive presents by purchasing a frame.
As mentioned in my previous post, I am struggling to paint at the moment due to recent eye surgery. That has meant I am struggling to keep up with demand, although I have managed to paint a few of these little paintings. So I decided to get some A5 printed cards of my most popular paintings to help meet demand.
Initially I have chosen 8 paintings, 4 in portrait format, and 4 in landscape format, to gauge the amount of interest. If they prove popular I will get more paintings/designs printed.
They will be available individually, as well as in a 4 and 8 packs. There are two 4 pack cards – one features West Cornwall beaches.
These beaches are all from St Ives Bay – such a glorious location and a clear favourite with people. There are two of Godrevy beach, one with the lighthouse and one focusing on the water; looking down on Hayle beach from the Towans and the harbour beach at St Ives, looking across to Smeaton’s Tower. Other beaches that spring to mind for future cards are Sennen and Porthcurno.
They have been printed by St Austell Printing Company on Premium 300gsm FSC card from sustainable sources, the inside is blank for your own message. Each card will be supplied with a quality white C5 envelope. I can’t wait to see how popular they are.
I like to experiment with different techniques and I have tried adding some colour to some pen and ink drawings that I have drawn previously.
Does it look better in colour or do you prefer the black and white originals?
Wheal Francis
Wheal Francis Mine Workings, on the Great Flat Lode just outside of Piece. On this one I like it as a drawing, I feel it captures more of the essence of the place, and the atmoshere of the disused mine buildings.
Frigliana
A courtyard in Frigliana, Spain – and whilst I really enjoyed using pen and ink to draw this, I think it looks better with a little bit of colour. The colour of the plants, and subtle paving, adds a splash of colour against the white spanish buildings. Buildings definitely look better having the original drawing in ink, so that the structure of the buildings are clearly defined.
Venice
Venice
My pen and ink drawing of Venice looks ok, especially for the buildings in the foreground. However the inclusion of colour to my painting of Venice definitely looks better in colour, especially with that dramatic sky.
I asked whether it looked better in black and white or colour on my Facebook page I have had some good feedback. It seems the general feeling is that, whilst the pen and ink drawings are good, that people prefer the ones with colour.
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