Author: Jane

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Pen and Ink — with colour or without?

Frigliana

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 pen and ink drawing
Marriots Shaft at Wheal Francis mine, painted in watercolour

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

Frigiliana pen and ink drawing
Frigiliana alley painted using watercolour

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 pen and ink drawing
Venice pen and ink drawing, with added colour
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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Eye surgery

jane lying face down after eye surgery

I have been diagnosed with a Macular Hole in my left eye and I needed eye surgery to fix it. Having a macular hole means i am losing my central vision . My vision is blurred, straight lines become wavy and distorted and I have difficulty in reading. I have attached some images below to try and explain what I see!

  • Painting of Chapel Porth
    How the painting actually looks
  • Painting of Chapel Porth distorted
    Sight from both my eyes
  • Painting of Chapel Porth distorted
    Signt from my left eye

From normal, to what I see with both eyes and just left eye. Anyway the good news is that I can have surgery to help it.

In the meantime, my husband Mark has been looking after any Orders, so that isn’t a problem. However I should warn that at the moment – “once it is gone it is gone”, as I won’t be painting for a while!

I will spare you the gory details of my eye surgery, but I had complications that resulted in a second emergency operation the following day! Followed by several procedures in clinic the day after that, all related to raised pressure in my eye. They are now waiting for the gas in my eye to dissipate to see how it settles but I may require another small op.

It has been very difficult and having to lie face down for 24 hours a day for 7 days was, to be honest, awful. During the day I alternated between resting on the ironing and sunbed that had a “breathing” hole!

I am now slowly on the mend but reading and writing makes me feel very nauseous so responses, not to mention using computers! Hopefully in February I will be given the all clear and I can order some new glasses, all ready to start painting again.

Progress update on eye surgery

I first posted this in January and it is now mid February and here is the latest information. The gas in my eye has now gone but I still have problems relating to the new lens they inserted. As a result I will need laser surgery and I am still using eye drops to help with the ocular hypertension. I will have to wait at least 6 months until it all settles down before I have the laser surgery.

So please excuse any typos that you see on this website, as I still have distorted vision and also my style of painting may be a little looser! Which could be good or perhaps not!

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Seascape Watercolour Workshop

seascape workshop

I attended a great seascape watercolour worksho. I love painting seascapes, but there is always something new you can learn and I definitely did at this workshop.

The idea was to combine photographs to create the image that you want. Paintings are not intended to be a photographs, so we can paint the image we want to!

I love St Ives harbour, but on some photographs you can end up with a lot of seaweed and the sand can look rather “dirty”. This is especially true in the harbour area where there is probably fuel spillage from the boats. The idea was to take the scene I wanted to paint and use the colours from a photograph of the sea at Porthminster beach, where the sea is a beautiful shade of blue and the sand very white.

seascape tests

However what to leave it and what to add? I started by painting a couple of quick thumbprint sketches, so I could work out what would work. The sky worked having it relatively clear and to have a little bit of seaweed near the shoreline.

Low tide at St Ives with texture

I decided to work with just three colours and I choose Windsor Blue (Red), Naples Yellow and Venetian Red as a cool palette. Whilst painting it I wasn’t altogether sure about the colours. As the Workshop was a full-day course I painted another one at the same time!

St Ives Harbour

I used the same colours, in different quantities, I think you can see the difference. I like them both and am delighted with the result.

All of the original paintings are now sold so I have the painting above printed and it is now available to buy as an A5 greeting cards.

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Painting of Godrevy

Chris, who used to live in Cornwall and comes back every year to visit, asked if I could do him a painting of Godrevy, one of his favourite spots. So here is the start

What do you mean it looks like a blank sheet of paper?

Start of Godrevy painting

Well nearly, because I need white bits on my paper for the surf I first have to start off with masking out the areas that need to remain white.  I have also used a white candle, which should transform into those little white bits you get on the waters edge as the tide goes out again. If you look closely you will see my rough pencil sketches and masking fluid.

Can’t wait to add some colour, most especially a new colour, Manganese Blue, which I think will show the beautiful blue sky and clear water.

Here is how the painting of Godrevy is progressing, to reassure anyone looking at the previous photo (especially if on Facebook), that it is not just a sheet of grey paper!

Godrevy in- progress

This is my first wash of colour, using the lovely Manganese Blue, a new colour for me and a very much appreciated Christmas present! The sand uses Naples Yellow Deep, another new colour, it has a hint of Burnt Sienna to take off the yellow. Much as we think our sand is golden yellow, in reality it is not.

Godrevy in progress, adding more blue
This is the second stage, where I have intensified the blue of the sea, but now starting to get some texture in the close up area, where the sea is so transparent you can see the sand below.

I am also using my new paint brush, purchased as a bargain at Arts and Graphics closing down sale for only £50 (it should have been £182), but it is wonderful at moving the paint around the paper and worth every penny!

Godrevy in progress, nearly there

The masking fluid and has been removed, the finishing touches added and my latest painting of Godrevy is now complete.

This is a painting done specfically for Chris and Trudy Stevens. Chris used to live in Cornwall and comes back with his family every year to visit as they love the County so much. They have fond memories of Godrevy beach, particularly one year as they stayed on the campsite just up the road.

Low Tide at Godrevy with Lighthouse

Hopefully every time Chris looks at this painting in his home it will transport him back to sunny Cornwall.

Because this painting has been so popular it is also now available as an A5 printed Greeting Card, so you can enjoy it as well as Chris.

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Turning sketches into cards

making greeting cards from my sketches

Looking around this website it may be apparent that I love sketching however it does mean that I end up with too many sketches. So I decided that I would turn my sketches into cards that people can buy.

Jane sketching at The Lizard

My sketches can include being in a beautiful spot in Cornwall, perhaps visiting Portreath or Godrevy. I love to sit down and capture the day with a little sketch.

It could be taken from one of my photographs, I love walking and taking photographs so I have a vast library of images that I would like to paint. Doing a little sketch also helps me decide whether to paint a full scale version of it.

wheal francis drawing

Sketch using pen and ink

Style wise, I have two different styles. One style uses a stippling effect, where the image is drawn using lots of dots. The other uses a free, quick sketch approach. The difference in these two techniques will depend on the subject matter is stippling tends to be a more accurate representation, wheras the free, quick sketch can be more dynamic, capturing the essence of a place.

The Crowns at Botallack Mine

The initial sketches can be when watching TV, as I find it a great way to unwind. I find stippling very relaxing. Then I will add the watercolour at a later date, perhaps sat in the garden or my summerhouse, which I particularly enjoy on a summers evening.

Low Tide at St Ives greeting card

I always like to revisit these sketches at a later date and decide which of these sketches other people may enjoy and I cut them down to size, around 90–100mm square and attach them to a blank card stock, usually a 6×6 inch card.

An inexpensive gift idea

Clear waters at Logan Rock-framed

The cards, which are blank inside for your own greeting, all have matching envelopes. Alternatively why not put them into a square frame. Most high street, and online retailers, have square frames that a 6×6 card will fit in. This creates an affordable framed painting to either have in your own home or give as a gift.

This is a Win Win situation, I love my sketching and you can enjoy owning an original piece of art – without breaking the bank. Have a look at the greeting cards that I currently have for sale.

Remember these cards are all originals and once they are gone I may never paint that scene again.

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Beaches in Cornwall

Selection of miniature paintings and drinks mats

One of the reasons I love my little, miniature acrylic paintings, is that I can paint them relatively quickly! My latest selection are of beaches in Cornwall.

selection of acrylic paintings

Three of them are my easel paintings, and they include looking from Porth Kidney Sands, across Hayle towards Godrevy; Portreath and also two of St Ives Harbour – one is the view from the bus station looking across to the Harbour and the other is of the Lighthouse that is at the entrance to the Harbour at low tide.

drinks mats of cornish beaches

Then I have had fun with my “drinks mats”, one is another painting of the Lighthouse and the other is Godrevy, which I just love painting!

Painted Pebbles

I also experimented with painting on stones! These are very random beach scenes, mainly because the stones are so tiny it is difficult to paint, but I thought they might make nice paperweights!

I used Gesso first to create a surface on which to paint. I quite like them!

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Sketches from Scotland

Illustration: Edinburgh Castle

Recently I was lucky enough to spend time in Scotland, mainly in Edinburgh and Oban, and as always I took my Moleskine Sketchbook, Pens and Paints so that I could capture the scenery, so here are my sketches from Scotland.

Edinburgh

We started our holiday in Scotland, and it turned out to be quite a different experience from what we had been expecting as it coincided with the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The whole country then observed a period of mourning but as Her Majesty passed away whilst staying at Balmoral, Edinburgh led the way. This meant we were able to pass our respects in person when she came to Lie in State at St Giles Cathedral, something that living in Cornwall is not usually possible due to the distance in travelling to London. However it did mean that access to a lot of Buildings and Places were closed or restricted.

The weather was lovely during our stay, with a lot of blue skies and here are my sketches from Edinburgh.

Illustration: view from Salisbury Crags
view from Salisbury Crags
Illustration: Holyrood Media Centre
Holyrood Media Centre
Illustration: Tower of St Giles Cathedral above the rooftops
Tower of St Giles Cathedral

Oban

We left Edinburgh and transferred to Oban, via Glasgow and the West Highland Railway. Our Flat had the most amazing view of Oban Harbour and Bay, looking towards the island of Kerrara, with the islands of Lismore and Mull in the distance. I could have just stayed in the flat and looked (and sketched) the wonderful view all the time.

Sadly the weather was not as good as Edinburgh, and although we avoided heavy rain it was mostly grey, so my sketches will include a lot of grey clouds. However I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Oban.

Illustration: view across to Kerrara
view across to Kerrara
Illustration: McCaig's Tower, Oban
McCaig’s Tower, Oban
Illustration: View from Pulpit Hill, Oban
View from Pulpit Hill, Oban
Illustration: Ganavan Sands
Ganavan Sands
Illustration: Craignure, Isle of Mull
Craignure, Isle of Mull
Illustration: Entrance to ObanBay
Entrance to ObanBay

We flew from Newquay Airport to Edinburgh Airport with Loganair, which was highly recommended. We decided to travel around Scotland using local transport, mainly trains and because of the risk of train strikes we did restrict where we visited. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Scotland and I can’t wait to visit again visiting other places.

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Small Paintings of Godrevy

Godrevy painting landscape

It will come as no surprise that I love painting Godrevy and the miniature easel’s are just perfect for small paintings of Godrevy and I just can’t stop painting them! Luckily people like to buy them, so win win all round.

Godrevy low tide painting
Good surf at Gwithian easel painting
Godrevy beach acrylic painting
Looking to Gwithian painting
Godrevy splash painting
Nice surf at Gwithian and Godrevy little painting

I have painted them as portrait and landscape, some look towards the lighthouse, and some look towards Gwithian. You will notice that most of them are painted at low tide, mainly because I love to see lots of sand! It reminds me of walking across the beach in the sunshine, looking at the various rock pools. got very ambitious and painted a small version of one of my larger paintings, with the waves crashing against the rocks — and I am quite pleased with the result!

Illustration: Loving Godrevy

This one was using a different kind of canvas, it is quite thin and didn’t look quite right sat on the easel, so my daughter suggested adding a magnet! It works, so I see a new range of products coming on.

I could carry on posting these little, small paintings of Godrevy, as I just keep painting them! Have a look and see if I have some available for sale. If your chosen scene isn’t include then please get in contact with me and I can paint another one!

I hope you enjoyed looking at them, you can like to look at my other paintings of Godrevy.

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St Ives Painting take 2!

I have decided to have another go at painting the same photograph of St Ives but using a different style!

My painting of Venice turned out well using a stippling method. By drawing the buildings in ink, the background were given a solid structure. Then when I added the watercolour paint and I didn’t need to worry too much about the detail, as it was already there.

St Ives gets ink

So I decided to paint St Ives using the same pen and ink method, only this time not using stippling but using my lovely old ink pens. Dipping in the pen regularly into the ink gives a different vibrancy as the pen stroke is not consistent. I am still struggling get the depth of field correct, with the boats in the water, but hey I am not going to worry about that too much!

St Ives just started

Next stop add some colour. I am quite happy with the sky, so now just need to work on the foreground sea. I already prefer it to the other one, which is shown below.

St Ives Painting using Pen and Ink

My second version of the St Ives painting is now complete, my aim was to give more definition to the background of the buildings of St Ives. However I am not sure how well it works, which one do you prefer?

This version of St Ives harbour is now available as an A5 Greeting Card.

Original St Ives Painting

St Ives harbour

This is the original, I suppose that is the joy of art, everyone can have their own opinion!

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Quick easy watercolours

acrylic images on easel

I have a variety of styles, some are quick easy watercolours – these are watercolours that I can paint in 10–30 minutes. This is usually when I am outside trying to capture the scene quickly. Other watercolours take me a lot longer and these are my larger paintings, and are not usually painted in one session – an idea for another blog post I think!

Acrylic paintings

Sometimes I paint using Acrylic paint and I have to be quick with these because they dry so quickly. Never has that been more evident than this summer when it has been so hot! I have been painting my little easels but also drinks mats.

4 drinks mats of Godrevy beach

I did a few more but using different colours this time.

more drinks mats of Godrevy beach

I have been visiting the beach on quite a few occasions and after taking a dip I got my paints out. Here is my attempt to capture how busy Godrevy beach was, with so many people swimming, on paddle boards and inflatables. Everyone was really enjoying the lovely weather.

skethc of a busy Godrevy beach

Greeting cards

I like to convert my quick skethces and make them into cards. As mentioned I I love painting outside, so afterwards I cut them up into squares and turn them into greeting cards that hopefully people enjoy. They are purposely put on to 6×6 square cards so that they fit a standard square frame that can be purchased from a variety of supermarkets and other shops.

making greeting cards from my sketches

Visit my Greeting Cards page for what is currently available for sale, although as they are original paintings, once they have gone there is no guarantee I will paint the same scene again.

Lastly, this sketch is of Noto Cathedral, which I haven’t personally visited but was for an anniversary card for a special couple who got married there.

Sketche of Noto Cathedral

I hope you have enjoyed an insight into what I have been working on during August, don’t forget to find out my latest paintings that are availble to purhcase.