Pastel skies and sunny atmospheres

One of the thing I love about the art workshops I go on, is meeting old friends. So, I was delighted to bump into two of them on Saturday who've I've not seen for some months, and catch up with their seperate news (yes, the cats still fine, her mother is better now thanks, her husbands got a new job, the daughter is getting divorced, and the painting is going well - is a generall summing up of the two of them!).

The workshop was well attended and the tutor very on the ball so we were kept busy and well informed all day which I much prefer as the day is more structured than if we're just left to get on with it. The lesson was about atmospheric skies in pastel. I don't do pastel much. I CAN do it, and I DO tend to enjoy it when I get into it, but I find that my results can be sometimes surprisingly fabulous, and sometimes strangely disappointing. But, I found on Saturday that that was because of the pastel paper I've been using, and the method of applying the pastel. I've not been using enough, I've found out now - and should put more on the paper and really rub it in to get more of the soft cloud effects that create a powerful stormy sky. Also, the use of a "colour shaper" would be incredibly beneficial I now know. I've seen these strange looking tools before and never been quite sure what to do with them - they have a long handle like a oil painting brush but with a small wedge shaped piece of rubber at the end, which is brilliant for rubbing in pastels and moving the colour about on the paper. Of course, it helps if you know about all the different kinds of paper too, as some are smooth, some have a "tooth" to them, some are like vicious sandpaper, and some like soft velvet, and all of them will affect the pastel  in different ways - either to make the effect more artistically rough or beautifully smooth. We all had the opportunity to sample and buy small squares of the different types of paper and have a "play" (artistic term!) with each to see which we most prefered. I wasn't so keen on the sandpaper stuff, and not at all surprised to find that the tutor didn't have ANY fingerprints on the fingers she used to rub in the pastel!

I was quite pleased with the picture I did on the day - a pink and purple sunset with the sun lighting up some of the clouds. I want to do more work on it though, before its finished, so I won't show it to you here, as its not done yet! I want to bring out the drama of the clouds and the colours a bit more first. And maybe add a tree in silhouette to add some focus to us, unless the clouds are interesting enough on their own....MMm..... I'm not sure yet.........

And on Sunday, I had a different kind of arty day - at the Guild of Erotic Artists event day. It was my first visit there this year as last time it was snowing heavily which curtailed my being able to get there, and the time before that I had a stinking cold so was better nursing it at home. This time all was well with snot and weather, and great to catch up with my friends there again! Lots to talk about, and discuss, and I was delighted that a guy I met from San Francisco at one of the event days last year whilst he was working over in England, had decided to return again. He'd emailed me a few times since we met last year, and I knew he was going to the event day as he'd let me know how keen he was to be drawn by me. He loves my innovative art and we discussed the likelihood of him having time to pose for me whilst he's in England. I'm hoping that I can get some good drawings done of him, if he's able to come and sit for me.

I was also delighted to catch up with two couples there whose company I really enjoy, and also thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them about life, art and people!

Later in the day, I was most amused to hear a couple of the guys say they were far more interested with what was happening outside Beaumont Hall studios than what was happening INSIDE them. You have to bear in mind at this point that inside, there was an attractive brunette girl in a basque draped in provocative poses, with good atmospheric lighting on her, and a number of guys photographing her. Outside, was a radio controlled plane being flown over the open fields. This was FAR more interesting. Apparently. :)

And to add to my amusement........later on....after the model had been photographed in provocative poses on some pretty sheer fabric, the female owner of the fabric remarked "If that's been around her fanny, I hope she's going to wash it after!!" - which made me burst out laughing and reply "You don't get THIS problem at the local flower show, do you!!!!!"    LMAO

Relishing new beginnings

My new friend Stuart rang me the other day to say that later on in the year he's been booked in to do a talk to a local group of 50 or so writers, and has asked me if I'd like to go along to hear him speak, as I think he's going to talk about his experience of being drawn by me, probably in a bit of a humorous way - it made me smile at the thought, so I said I'd be glad to! A couple of days after that he rang again to confirm it, and asked if I'd also like to speak to the group for a few minutes or so, and after the briefest of moments to think about it - I said I would.... it should be fun........ if I don't upset them too much.... "Hi, my name's Jackie Adshead and I'm an erotic artist"..........sharp intake of breath from the collective audience......!!!! LOL Well. if the Women's Institute can stand it, I'm sure local writers can too - I do ordinary landscapes, and flowers, and paintings of vanilla things too, you know!!! Tee hee!

Chatting with a friend the other day, she said that a friend of hers had seen an erotic painting of mine, and had screamed out loud when she saw it, and covered her eyes in mock horror - I know I like a reaction to my art, but I did wonder if this seems somewhat extreme (LOL). She did then spend fifteen minutes staring very intently at it, and analysing it. This was the painting that caused the reaction. I suppose I'm so used to painting erotic art, I forget that some people are only used to chocolate box pictures of fluffy kittens and horses in fields.....

And this week I've spent a lot of time thinking of pastel shades. They're not colours that I usually go for on their own, because I normally paint with dramatic colours. But, I'm getting into the subtleties of these really beautiful colours, and liking where they are taking me, so far. I'm half way through a painting using them, and liking the restraint I'm putting on myself to keep to the soft pinks, blues, oranges and sunshine yellows that I'm using. I shall be interested to see how the painting turns out when its finished....... Does that sound odd, that even I don't know how the painting will look when its complete, and I'm creating it! Usually, I know exactly, and I think I actually do know....thinking about it - I can see it in my minds eye already.