For Four Fores

My friend K called to see me this week, and as always it was really good to see him, to have a catch up chat, our usual shared laughter over mugs of hot sweet tea and to hear his interesting and informative latest news.  We'd got so much to say to each other and it was good to sit outside in the fitful summer sunshine whilst we talked. I offered him another,  rhetorical....."more tea", since I know he drinks as much of the beverage as I do,  and he accepted with a grin, and said "Ill have a look at your latest effort whilst you're doing it" I turned back to him "EFFORT?????!" I queried. And he explained patiently to me "It's not a masterpiece until its finished, until then it's an "effort"!" "Ok" I acquiesced with a smile, although he was on iffy ground as far as I was concerned, I've not thought of my art as "efforts" for many years. They invariably turn out as I expect, and are always pieces of art from the first pencil line. I consider the word "effort" in this case to describe amateurish attempts at artwork that may or may not become a finished painting.  So, I don't consider my paintings as "efforts", not at all! It's a good job he's a good friend, for me to let him get away with that comment!!! LOL

But I was more than happy to show him the watercolour painting I'm currently working on for Stuart, of the interior of the Bothy at Calke Abbey. And he agreed with me how detailed the painting is! I'm really pleased with the way it's progressing, and the drawing out that I've done of it. It was always going to be a difficult picture as I'm painting from half a dozen photos to make a whole room, although the photos can't capture the whole room all together. It's half painted, by now, and I may use a fine black sketching pen to pick out the detail afterwards, I'll know for sure when I see how the painting has progressed and see how much it may be needed. And the surprising thing is - I'm loving doing it! Its great fun, and very challenging to draw all the tools, and paraphernalia of an ancient garden shed.

Today, a guy I have only met a couple of brief times before, came to my house on an unrelated to art matter. He and I stood chatting in the kitchen as we drank tea and coffee together (not mixed you understand, that would be the worst of both drinks!), and it was only in passing during the conversation that I mentioned that I'm an artist. "Aaaarrre you an artist?" he asked in wonder, and I nodded at him, and agreed that I was. I went on with the conversation, and skipped over the artist part. It was only when he was leaving the house, that he looked at the artwork on the walls and asked if I'd done it. "Yes!" I said. "What, ALL of it?" he asked, and I agreed with a broad grin that it was indeed all mine. He peered at one of the big cat watercolour paintings that I'd done and asked me how long it had taken. I appraised the picture he was indicating and said "MMMMmmm.. about 12 hours for that one" and he was flabbergasted at that answer and shot back with "Is that all...?" and I answered with a bigger grin "Well, I know what I'm doing!" and he nodded in understanding, especially when I went on to say a bit later on that a painting actually takes "12 hours AND forty years of experience" - THEN, he understood!!!!  :)

And the reason for the strange title for this post...? Well, this is the four hundred and forty fourth blog post...... so I thought it worth a mention....... don't you...?  :)

Falling in love with a colour and a memory

The chance to paint some one's memories is always a pleasure. When that someone is my friend Stuart Haywood, and it involves a day out in his company, it makes it even more of one. It also involved a lot of walking, a history lesson, a botanical lesson, a bull, a herd of sheep and some cheekiness! But I'd expect all of that when out with Stuart, who's age certainly doesn't curtail his ability to walk many miles over hill and dale, and to air his considerable knowledge to any willing audience, which was me, this day.

We met at the village of Ticknall, in south Derbyshire and had arranged for us both to walk to the nearby stately home of Calke Abbey. I hadn't realised it would involve passing through a field of cows, who were all lying down chewing the cud, and I noticed one of them was a lot fatter, and fuller than than the rest...."Hey, isn't that a bull?" I asked as we passed by. "Yes" Stuart agreed "He'll be calm if he's with his herd" and I was incredibly pleased and relieved to note that that was indeed the case. We walked through woods and through the beautiful parkland and came out by the large house. It's not a very attractive house, quite square and heavy looking I always think. But we weren't there to look at the house, and passed on and up the hill, towards the little church. But we weren't there for that either. We were heading for something far more interesting.

We past by the newly restored Orangery and stopped before a gate in the high wall. Closed against us. "Do you want to go through?" he asked and I nodded in agreement. I love doors in outside walls, and always imagine they lead into mystical worlds. As indeed did this one. A world of the past, a world of colour and fragrance.

It was the world of Peter Rabbit, and Mr McGregors garden!

Cabbage patches, currant bushes, fruit trees, gourds, and beans, and in the distance a white lean-to greenhouse, and upended clay pots on canes amongst the potato plants. We by-passed the well stuffed scarecrows and passed under Medlar trees, and black Mulberry trees, (both of amazed interest to me since I've never seen either tree before) and on to the next part of the garden. Of flowers and colour and sweet fragrance and Stuart indicated the plain looking building to our left. "That's it!" he said, and I looked with interest at the place we had trailed this far to see.

I walked towards it with him, walking in through the main door and he indicated the greeen painted doorway to my left. I stood in wonder and looked at the scene infront of me.  A vision of metal, wood, brick, pot, hessian, glass, plaster and paint. All of it much handled, aged and worn. This was what he had brought me to see. And more to the point, this was what he wanted me to paint for him! Wow! It was a veritable cornucopia of ancient gardening implements and would be most interesting to sort into some semblance of structure and interest.

For what Stuart wants me to paint is the essence of the spirit of 17 years spent there, in that room, the Bothy, when he was a volunteer working at the gardens at Calke.

I took photos, lots of them, and looked at all the old implements. But the thing I loved most about it was the blue distemper on the walls, all peeling off and faded with age and many summers, and long distant winters. And I knew that I would love doing that painting for him, because the haphazard piles of old clay pots would be set off to perfection against that blue. If you can fall in love with a colour, I fell in love with that one.

We continued the rest of the visit looking in other old buildings, all full of memory and one purpose - the boiler room, the pony lawn mower shed, the ice house, the Orangery. Soaking up the atmosphere, soaking up the memories, the feeling of the place, the ambiance. And I agreed whole heartedly with Stuart as we set off back through the woods that it was indeed important to do that, to see the place for myself, to understand what it is he wants me to paint for him.

The photograph is here, of what he wants me to draw and paint for him in watercolours. And I can't wait to get started! And he can't wait to see it!!!!

It started with the smell of the sea and ended with a happy twist in the tail

The week started with a burst of painting from me. That in itself isn't that unusual, I have bursts of painting sessions quite often. This one was prompted by the fact that I had to get the paperwork completed and returned this week for an exhibition that is taking place at the end of August, and when the questions require such things as "title","medium", "size" and "price" it helps somewhat if the painting actually exists in real life! I couldn't ever just presume a painting would be finished by then, it has to be actually complete, for me to fill the form out. Hence the flurry of paintings, as I particularly wanted to do a couple of the sea, since I've recently been on holiday, and I find it a delightful place to be, as do most people.

I had virtually finished a pretty watercolour of the area I went to in France, at St Palais - and was absolutely delighted with it, as it depicted all that I had hoped for - the view of a sundrenched sandy beach, the tide receeded a little to reveal hidden rock pools full of sealife to explore in their miniature worlds, sand, sea, a large beach curving around to the next headland, pine trees revealing the buildings tucked amongst them, and the feeling of a bright sunny day from the strong shadow to one side, hinting at the steps following the wall down to the beach, and a couple of children playing by the waters edge, paddling and debating whether to have a swim or an icecream. The picture so easily named itself "The summer holidays start here"! And because it had gone so well, it inspired me to start another one, but this one a looser picture, more a hint of the sea crashing in, wet sand, and the curve of a wave as it foamed against the sand, and a couple walking in the distance. But the whole purpose of the painting, indicated by the title itself, is that the sky and sea merge as one as the clouds come in as the wind picks up. So, again, another easy title to name the picture (and I love it when it flows like that, it means it feels right!). But the part I love the best of this painting is actually the wave in the foreground, and the foam itself, it more than anything else in that picture is the part I love the most, the way the water is flowing, the texture and the dedicate colours of water, sand, and foam so difficult to paint, and yet it works so well here, but I know that's because I was on a roll, and all inspired from the other painting I'd done!

So, that was my week, of painting, and it's been a good one, because of these happy holiday paintings.

And then I opened up my my emails.

And found one from Lucy Felthouse.....

.....which said..

Just a very quick message to you to let you know that the Seducing the Myth cover is out in the wild! I just posted a blog post about it, along with the table of contents. You’re fully credited within the manuscript, too. It should be out within a few weeks.

YAY!!!!

So, go and have a look for yourselves, and see what my painting looks like now that it's a book cover!

And I'm so delighted to see that it has been well received so far, with the comments Lucy's had for it, which is really exciting to hear!

So, all in all,  it's been a good marine week! (I mean, of the salty variety, not the sailor sort!!)

Hitting the ground running

Since I've got back from my holiday I've not stopped being on the go, which is great, and I'm really pleased about. Some holidays it takes a while to get going again  with the work momentum after the relaxing break (or maybe that's just the jet lag when you feel like shit because you're wide awake at 3am but half asleep by 4pm!!).  But, I think it helped that on the day that I was travelling back from France there was over 9 hours sitting in a car, and four hours of sitting on a ferry, so I was able to get my mind in gear again, and think of the jobs I needed to do when I got home, so by the time I stepped over the threshold, I was mentally focused and totally tuned into the work in progress.

Which is a lovely job for me to come back to do.

It's a nude.
Of a man.
In watercolours.

Just the sort of thing, that's right up my street! :)

I'm working from a set of photos, that I took of the guy in question, as it's easier for me to do it that way. I know when someone is in a pose, it can be hard work, and the pain, concentration, need for a stretch, or an itch, shows on the face, and in the posture, and in the aching muscles. So, I made the decision to do it from photo, which I can do at my pace, and get it right for the client, so that he will look at it and know instantly its him, that he posed for it, but he won't have the unhappy memories of getting cramp whilst he did it!

I've drawn out the image, and am happy with the drawing, so the rest should follow on easily enough after that. I love the way the colours build up slowly, the highlights of pale colour on the skin, slowly building up the tones of colour to make the darks, and give the figure form and life.

And it's going really well so far...... I can't wait to get on with it!

Two mermaids for the price of one!

When I had a chat with erotic author Lucy Felthouse the other week about her latest book "Seducing the myth" I was fascinated by the idea of the erotic stories featuring mythological creatures within it, and absolutely delighted to be asked to design the cover for it. Its definitely my sort of book!  She had let me read the mermaid story she had written which will be featured in the book, and that lead on to some ideas as a basis of ideas for the cover. I drew a very basic thumbnail sketch to show Lucy my idea and she agreed it would be a good concept for the book. Ok, then....... I was ready to start....

But it wasn't until this week that I was able to begin it. And I knew that I would have to paint the picture in a slightly different way to normal, as the three basic tones would have to be slightly stronger than I would usually do to make the picture more dramatic.

I started by choosing the watercolours I wanted to use, a gorgeous turquoise, a slightly darker greeny blue, maroon, and green gold for the mermaids tail.  And knew before I had even started it that it would have paint poured on, and splatter within it, as that adds to the magical mystical feel of watercolour. The pale wet wash worked beautifully for the under water feel of the painting, and I made sure the masking fluid masked out any areas that I didn't want paint to touch whilst I painted the  fluid background. And with the aid of salt and splattered paint the background worked really nicely. I painted the mermaid next as she reaches out to the man's face she can see in the water, using lots of splattered white for the effect of her fishy tail swishing around as she edges towards him. The smiling man's face was painted subtly with his features a little indistinct. A few twiddles here and there and the picture was finished. I stood back to contemplate it and looked again at what had weaved its way into the picture..... for I could quite clearly see the hint of a large skull within the paint. And I smiled to myself, because I knew that was when a picture of mine produces its own magic from something I don't plan, but it happens anyway and it always enhances the picture when it does happen. It's part of the flow from me to my artwork via the creative spirit. But, it also means that I am totally in tune with my painting as well, because even though I didn't consciously plan it, the fact that there is a skull hinted at is so right for this story because ....(oh, well, I let you read Lucy's story for yourself, and you'll see what I mean.....!).

So, that was it, the picture painted.

Except, there was still more in me.

I had a strong desire to paint another one.

But with a bit more passion in this one, some more oomph....

So, I started afresh with another piece of watercolour paper, more or less the same colours (but without the maroon, and using burnt umber instead), and wet the paper and started with the windsor yellow of sunlight filtering down, the turquoise of the water, and adding more swirls of white and movement with this mermaid and man. They are totally in tune with each other, they are lost in their own world of lust and love, as they caress and swim energetically through the depths of water. I like this painting also, it's more erotic and sensual..... but it hasn't got the depth of magic in it that the other one has.

I'm pleased with them both though.

Oh, and the titles... the first one is called "Seducing the myth, gently" and the second one is called "Seducing the myth, with passion".  The same concept, the same subjects, just both done in slightly different ways to get the point across.

Now I'm just wondering what the next mermaid picture will be, I do love doing em!

............

And as a post script - I've just had Lucy's conformation that she loves the "Seducing the myth, gently" painting as well, and we are in totally agreement that it is that picture that is the right one for the book cover! She says its going to be fabulous! So, that's great to hear, and we're both happy!!! Result!!!

Floral muddles

There is something I have in the past struggled to paint, a subject that should be easy, and is certainly one that a lot of people enjoy painting. It is a subject that is probably as far away from figure painting that you can get. Which is probably why I have struggled on some occasions with it! Because a lot of artists will do landscape paintings, but usually only a few will do figure paintings as well (I know of some artists who are more than happy to paint fields, trees, sky, buildings, water and far hills, but the minute you mention putting people in the picture they shudder at the thought!!!).  But this is a subject that is more specialised, and one that I am certainly not known for!

And the mystery subject is .............."Flowers!"

So when I knew I was going to the art workshop last Saturday I thought that this time I would get it right, I would get over my supposed flower phobia, and do something decent. I even did it all the proper way and picked some flowers from my garden - the previous owner, Anne, had informed me they were "Scabious" when I enquired what they were, as they weren't a flower I knew.  So, I turned up at the workshop with my freshly cut flowers, and sat near my friend Janet, who came over and said "Oh, what unusual Cornflowers!" which lead on to us having a bit of a horticultural  conversation as to whether they were Cornflowers or scabious, and I'm still not sure, as I haven't had a definitive response to my query as to what they indeed are.

I started by arranging my three flowers in the glass vase I had taken for that purpose, and finding the right balance of shape, form, contrasts, negative shapes, and focal point, and then when I was happy with all of that, I started to draw them on the watercolour paper that I had pre-stretched the night before. The tutor prefers Bockingford paper for the white-ness of the paper, which suits me fine, as I prefer it to any other paper that I use, by a long way. She showed us how she paints Wisteria in two different ways - by wet in wet, and by wet on dry paper, both showing different ways of tackling the same subject. And she was the perfect sort of tutor as far as I was concerned, as she didn't spend all day painting herself (well, not herself as such, but you know what I mean!), and let us have most of the day painting ourselves (well, not actually painting our bodies, but..... oh, you know!). So, I was able to take her guiding words to use for my flower painting of the "purpley flowers of no definitive name" and get a good lot of painting done in the day. But, not enough to finish it, but almost to do so.

 I brought the painting home triumphantly, as I knew that I had done a good job. I had cracked the flowers!!! YAY! I can paint flowers!!!!!! 

And last night continued working on it, to the point where I can happily say it is finished, and done in my style, with splatter and a loose wet way of painting part of it, to make it look more lively, and less of a static botanical painting.

I am very pleased with it, with the flower heads, full on, three quarter profile, and full profile, as well as the flower head just about to burst open. And the different leaves, denticulated in shape, with veins showing, and the stalks, with enough negative shapes to make the picture interesting. One of the women at the workshop said that her brain "couldn't do negative shapes" which surprised me, as I learnt to do it many years ago, and can do it easily now. Its just a matter of looking at the shapes in a different way and painting the shapes between shapes, instead of the shapes themselves.

So, here it is, my watercolour painting.

And its title? - well its called "Anne's Scabious, Janet's Cornflowers" and it'll stay with that name even when I find out which one of them is right!!!

So, flowers, done. I can tick that box now!!!!! LOL

Having my cake with the nude boys

Eating cake with friends is a nice occupation. But it adds a frisson of amusement to all concerned when you know that you've seen them in the nude before. It amuses them too, to know that that is the case. And I suppose it's twice the fun when you introduce them to each other, clothed, and in public, and they know they share a common factor. The nudity. And the fact they've posed for me and I've drawn them. A common bond.

(And its for you to decide whether the fact that it was lemon drizzle cake was of importance to the proceedings. Either for the lemon. OR the drizzle! LOL )

But, it's all quite normal for me!

And nice that they both turned up for the exhibition I was part of over the weekend.

It was good to be part of such a diverse art group and interesting to see what  the others had painted - wild animals, pretty flowers, and verdant landscapes.

And then there was MY stuff.

A selection of nakedness, bright colours, surreal landscapes and spiritual forces!!!

Including this one - the Stonehenge picture was finished in the week, and I'm happy with parts of it, but am undecided about some of it. I think it may be improved by being re-painted in oils. That way the colours of the unseen energies could be depicted in slightly more subtle tones. Having said that, I love the way the clouds have created their own mystery within their formation. But that was because I started with the poured on paint on wet paper that I love so much. It creates its own magical shapes within the paint and I use that as the basis for the rest of the painting. I like the way the light is shining around the stones, and I've painted them in dark forbidding tones to give the feeling of strength and solidity within them. They are firmly anchored to the ground, and make a nice contrast to the lighter clouds above. The watercolour painting is called "Awakening the unified energies" and shows the power that still lies within Stonehenge. Power to conjour the unseen energies, felt deep within them, lying dormant, awaiting their summons.................

Stuart wrote to me after the exhibiton to say how much he enjoyed it, and enjoyed seeing me again which I thought was very sweet of him. He says posing for me has given him more confidence than he's ever had. And I'm delighted that he feels that freedom from the art. It's freed his spirit.

Or perhaps it was the cake that did it................. :)

Mysterious fish and a fabulous moment in time

One of the things I love about being an artist is the people I meet through it.

Like this weekend, for instance.

On Saturday I attended an art workshop run by a fascinating Japanese woman. She was born at the end of the second world war but she's lived in England for thirty years or more and is an excellent watercolourist through an intriguing mix of East and West, with equal measures of Japanese and English in her approach to art and the techniques she uses and teaches. I found her very interesting, partly because of her art and partly because of where she comes from. I loved Japan when I visited there a couple of years ago and could really relate to her explaining about using a paintbrush like chop-sticks, being dexterious with it for picking out the details with confidence and aplomb.
I can't say I was particularly happy with the picture I did during the workshop though! But I know that that's the way it goes sometimes. I was trying to paint goldfish in a pool, with the reflections of sunlight on the surface, and the depth of colour below, the fish appearing out of the depths, and an acer tree leaning over, the red leaves in sharp contrast to the water, with a strong depth of aquamarine in the top right hand corner, and pure white light in the bottom left. I started off well, but lost the flow somewhere along the way. I know that that was mostly to do with the watercolour paper I was using. I went with what the tutor advised instead of sticking with the Bockingford paper I know and love. If I'd used that instead of the blotting-paper-like Saunders Waterford I did use, the picture would have worked fine. So, that's a learning curve and one I'll bear in mind in future (stick with what you know, and ignore what a tutor advises if you KNOW you can make it work with the materials you're used to!). Still, even so, I got a lot of postive feedback from the others attending the workshop, so that was nice, and the tutor said she really liked my "Mysterious fish fantasy picture" as she called it! Aw, sweet!!

There were a couple of new faces at the workshop, both friendly, as most artists seem to be. But I knew I knew one of them, and presumed it was from a local art club. When we had a chance to chat, I said hello and she said hello, smiling, and said that she knew she knew me but wasn't sure where from. I agreed, grinning, and mentioned the local art club. No, she said, that wasn't it. She mentioned another art group and I shook my head, I wasn't in that one. We paused, and looked at each other, and both were adamant that we knew each other somehow. HHmmmm.....................did she work in the local town? Nope. Did she have anything to with any other art group? Nope. Did she go to my school? Nope. HhhMMMmmmmmm. How curious. And then I mentioned art workshops. And the penny dropped! It was one we'd both attended four and a half years ago! We both smiled in recognition, and rememberence! Ah, yes, that was it! And she said "You had your Euruka moment!" and I laughed along with her. Yes I DID!! It was the day I found something amazing. Something that stopped me dead in my tracks. A strange thing! But simple. And that was that my LEFT hand was actually far better at art than my right that I used all the time! PURE Eureka! And she had remembered it!!! I must have left a big impression ('scuse the joke! Ha!).

Sunday was a day off, a non painting day, if there is such a thing for an artist. But every day is an art day, even if its not painting. Such a lovely day, weatherwise and worth going out to see the local Well Dressing at a nearby village. A pleasant amble, an ice-cream in the sunshine, cups of tea and the quintessential Englishness of Morris dancers (no, I'm NOT a fan!). And it was whilst wondering around the little art exhibition there that I saw a couple of faces I knew - and went over to say a hello to one of them. Another woman artist, and someone I've not seen for a while, not since her husband died last year. She was busy doing lovely pen and ink landscapes and selling them like hot cakes. She said that art was her saviour since her husband had died. They'd been together more than fifty years, and she was eighty this year. And still painting. But that's the thing about art, it's something you start when you're old enough to hold a crayon, and something you do until you're in old age, and it brings you so much pleasure inbetween. And is good therapy, when you think your world has collapsed.

It brings hope, for the future.

Selling a painting's a night mare!

I'm always looking at ways of selling my paintings. And in a recession, other ways need to be looked at.  That's why I've decided that I need to investigate more about making prints of my work. Because not everyone wants to buy an original picture. Sometimes you just want to buy a picture because you LIKE it, not because you want to invest a large amount in it. Not that my paintings are expensive for the work and expertise that goes into them. The prices are incredibly reasonable. But then I'm trying to cut out the middleman - the one who takes his "cut" out of the selling price. He's the one who puts the prices up. And the customer ends up paying for it. Having said that, some people believe that they've got a BETTER painting if they pay a lot for it. It's perceived value, for them. I understand that, and would quite happily put a nought, or two, on the end of every price if it would get me more sales.

Mmm..... Perhaps I should DO that............................ !!! :)


But at the moment, I'm concentrating on prints. And double checking the quality of the pictures on my website by putting them through Photoshop to enhance them. It brings out the colours that the original  photography in some cases has flattened and lost.

I'm totally in love with Photoshop at the moment, it is making some real gems out of some of my previous paintings. Take for instance "Nightmares". Its a painting I did a number of years ago and the original is now hanging on a wall in a far off land, near the Mediteranean, where the sun shines far more than it does in England!

Nightmares is three horses racing each other by moonlight. Hence the title, which I've always liked!

The original painting has some nice blues, and purples, greens, and deeper shades of burnt sienna and red in it. I've always liked this painting as it was painted using the "pour on paint" technique that I've always loved using with watercolour. The horses and the moon were masked with masking fluid, then the paper around them was wetted with clean water, and the watercolours poured on in various places and allowed to weave their own magic by mixing with each other on the paper, their colours staying fresh and vibrant. And just to add to the magic, I flicked some gold metalic paint on it too, to add to the movement of the horses, and to add a gleam of bright colour to the finished painting. The details of the horses bodies and faces was painting on afterwards, adding form and definition.

The movement in the paint adds to the magic air of the finished painting.


But it is with photoshop that all these lovely effects shown here have enhanced the painting and given it a new life altogether! The picture stays the same, but the colours have been brought out, or lessened, accentuating the magentas or cyans, pulling out the highlights or the shadows, tipping the colour balance one way or another. And just to add to the fun aspect, on some of them, I have added more artistic effects to them too. Making the picture look more painterly, subduing the colours, or adding an ink effect to them.

And just in case you're wondering, which is the original..... Its the last one.

But I think they all stand up as a beautiful painting in their own right.

So, which is your favourite..............?

Tumbled down and put out to dry

The  art workshop I attended this month was for "cottages" in line and wash so since that is both a subject matter I like, and a medium I always enjoy using, even though I hadn't done it for a while, I was happy to go along and see how the day progressed...........

Line and wash is a lovely way of depicting a subject matter, especially landscapes, as the drawing and painting work beauifully in conjunction with each other, complimenting and enhancing. Some artists paint the landscape first, then put on the pen in a loose way, but this time the tutor explained that she draws out the image in a neat way, and uses that as the backbone to her painting, but not necessarily painting within the lines, because that makes it look like a "paint by numbers" image, which is not considered creative.

I liked the way she taught - it was of the "here's what I do, this is how I do it, this is what you can do,  now get on with it" type. Which meant that we weren't all sitting there watching her for two hours and then all having to do the same picture together which stops me being creative and "doing my own thing".

She'd also brought the source material with her, which helped greatly. There were  images of pink roses around windows, nah, not for me. Images of pretty Cotswold cottages in their primped finery, nah, too perfect. Welsh cottages nestling under pine trees, mmmm.... a bit more like it. Cornish fishermens huts at Prussia Cove - now that's more like it, but I've already painted those exact same cottages already, so what else is there? Ah..................this one, now THAT is exactly what I like - a broken down stone cottage with half the roof missing. Perfect! There was a dry stone wall infront of it, and a clutter of farmyard gate, an old wooden pallet leaning against the wall, all of which didn't enhance the picture, so I'll take those out, and just paint the rest. So that's what I did. I started drawing, and loved the image, the broken tiles sliding down the roof, the skeleton of roof timbers silhouetted against the sky, the mismatched chimneys, the creeper on the barn, and the darkened doorways. I was using some Saunders Waterford paper, as the tutor had recommended. I rarely use it as I find it too much like blotting paper, so had taken some that I already had stuck to a drawing board from the last workshop I'd attended that required it. It had been a year ago, but paper doesn't go off, does it?

Well, actually, yes it does, I found!

The minute I started applying the paint I knew something was wrong. The paint didn't flow, the paper was just sucking it up, and the whole image just looked amateurish, because the paint just sat there. Weird. I've never had that happen to me before - and after thinking about it and asking others at the workshop, the nearest I can think is that the paper had dried out. Ok, I've learnt that as a lesson, lets try it all again after lunch and count the first picture as a practice piece.

Armed with a new piece (of the same paper, but some I'd had stored in a bag in a cupboard rather than exposed to the dry air of my studio) I tried again. Redrew it all, and with baited breath, mixed my paint, and dipped my brush in to do the first wash. Fine. Absolutely fine. So it WAS the paper that was off. How strange.

And here it is, the picture I completed on the day. I'm really pleased with it - its got lots of light and dark, the shadows are part of the focal point, there's tone and texture, interest and chracter. I've shown it here in its entireity on the board, and haven't even got a title for it yet. I may cut it down for the mount and frame, and I may add a few more darks perhaps in the corners of the doorways. I'm not fully sure yet. Sometimes I have to leave a picture for a while and decide if it needs any more doing to it to improve on it.

I love this type of picture. Most people at the workshop did the pretty pink roses around the window, but not me. I much prefer the drama and contrasts in this subject. Its got loads more character!

The feminine touch

The oil painting of the seven Goddesses is starting to pull together now and I'm delighted with some of the effects that I'm getting in it. I have a loose idea of how the picture will look but sometimes how it turns out even surprises me..... and I'm creating it!!!! I'm working from this watercolour I did the other week, as my starting point, and love the way the watercolours have flowed and gathered colour, texture and shape. That was why I wanted to paint it in watercolours first, to emulate that special fluid effect within the finished oil painting. But I knew the oils would depict the faces better so that is why the finished piece will be the oils on canvas. Having said that, this painting, although only half complete is alright too. It just needs more work doing on the faces, and some areas lightening and darkening but I'll return to it once the oil painting is complete. Its weird, in a way, that the two paintings are being painted in conjunction with each other, but they are both helping my thought processes, in different ways - the watercolour shown here, for the background, and the oil painting for the faces but using the basis of this background. And when the oil painting is finished, it will guide me as how to complete the faces in the watercolour. Because I think it will be a lovely painting in its own right. Different to the oil painting though...

I'm delighted with the faces I've chosen as my goddesses - there's Kali with her three eyes, Isis crying for her dead husband Osiris, Innana passionate and courageous, Demeter greiving for her lost daughter Persephone, Diana the virgin of the hunt, Astarte - Queen of the Heavens, Hecate shining and luminous - the Queen of the night. They are starting to evolve from the paper and come to life. This half finished painting is only the start, the oil painting is even better...........

On the right path

After sorting out whatever the problem was with the headless chicken, he came to see me for us to discuss the work I've done so far for the goddesses painting. He knew he'd asked for a complex painting, when he asked me to do the commission, but I hadn't realised how complex it was until I started doing the research - three weeks of reading up in books and on the internet about each goddess and comparing notes to make sure that they were all telling me the same thing. So then after that, I was ready to find the basic image for each goddess having found out about her persona and having the beginng of an idea of how I interpreted how she looked. Of course this is all MY version of how they look, and not necessarily what anyone else would think. But then the whole point of this painting is that it is ME who is doing it. He wanted me to do it because he knows I'll do a good job, because he knows I'm greatly interested in the subject matter and the style of painting, because he wants a woman artist to put the feminine into it, because he's seen my "Enigma" painting on my website and wants the Goddesses painting done in a similar way. I've shown it here so you can see what I'm talking about. But most of all he wants me to do it because he's wanted this painting done for years but hadn't found the right artist to do it for him. A woman artist who can paint mystical paintings. He told me when he first contacted me that he had  asked the universe to send him an artist to do the goddesses painting, and the universe had sent him me. Ok, I won't argue with THAT then !!!!

 But I wanted to go through my thought processes with him to make sure we're on the same wave length - and it seems that we are! I showed him my sketches for each goddess, and the layout I proposed for the painting, and he nodded happily at my decisions and explanations for each one. I told him about my gut reactions to some of the goddesses and the way that had led me to make various decsions regarding the images and how they would all pull together. He nodded again, smiling. And asked me which one of them was leading me most - which one did I have most empathy with, and I smiled and instantly replied "Diana". He was surprised but pleased at my confident reply. I also told him that I felt very strongly that she had demanded to be in a certain place within the picture, and yet I had overrridden that and put her in the central position. He said that the left side of my brain was taking control, and I agreed it was, and that made me instantly think that I'd be better to return her to the original place that I had felt that she was to be in. This picture more than any other I've ever done is based on the feel of it.

I smiled in recognition of that and made the decision to put her back where she wanted to be.

All of these goddesses are strong personalites and they will make their feelings known to me, I'm sure, as I start to paint.

Then he asked me which medium I was going to work in. The "Enigma" painting is done in oils, and I felt that the end result of this painting would look best in oils, the subtlety of each face as it merges into the background is best done in oils, I can capture their beauty better that way and make any small adjustments as I go along.

BUT.............

He knew there was a "but" and pushed me for my thoughts on it. What was my gut reaction to the way of painting this picture - what did I REALLY want to paint it in?

I hesitated to answer him, and he pushed again for me to explain.....

My thoughts were this - that the oils would certainly capture the images well, that the goddesses would look beautiful and I could do them full justice in the oils, but the background would lack the magic that it needed to pull this picture together. Because this is what this picture holds more than anything else - M A G I C - the feel of it, the sign of it, the ambience of it has to be in the picture. That is what this is about. And oils, wonderful as they are, don't pick up on that to the extent I need it. And boy, do I WANT it in this picture. He nodded, as I explained that, and agreed, that that is what I'm going to have to do. I smiled as I met his eyes, and he could see I was all fired up with the idea, it fed my creativity, and the picture wouldn't flow if I didn't do it.

But here was my problem again - if I do the painting in watercolour, with the pour-on technique that I love so much, the magic would be in there, but the faces wouldn't have the depth of personality and character that I wanted, plus watercolours are notoriously difficult to get right for faces, and doing SEVEN of them would be more so.  Mmm..... lateral thinking was needed!

Ha! Got it!

I would do TWO paintings. The first would be done in watercolours, with each goddess's face put where she is going to be in the picture and the basic outline drawn out, then I will carefully paint masking fluid over each face and let it dry. Then I'll choose my colours for the background - a deep blue, maybe two different blues, possibly a deep purple, and probably another colour I haven't finalised yet - a deep green or even dark red, maybe even gold.  Each colour will be mixed in its pure form in a small pot. I'll wet the whole of the paper, and then pour on each colour, here, there, a bit more, working over the whole painting, and seeing how the colours swirl together on the paper, finding their shapes within the water and causing lovely fluid lines, but as they reach the masking fluid the colours will swirl past them and on to the next free area. The hardest part will be for me to not get the inclination to *play* with it, to walk away and leave it to dry overnight. And then the next day, to go and have a look at it like a child on Christmas morning, full of bright eyed wonder,  to see what magic has appeared on the paper - there will be light areas and darks, pure colours and mixed colours in bright hues, and to build on those colours as my background, for the magical background of this most magical of paintings.......

And then, and only then, will I be able to actually start the painting itself. To paint in oils the effect of the watercolours, to capture that beautful loose effect with a brush. Its the only way I can get around the problem. With some lateral thinking! Hard work? Certainly! But I shall love every minute of it!!

Rose tinted view

Some days are really nice arty days, and yesterday was one of them.

It started when I attended an art workshop. On the subject of ................flowers! :)

Not very erotic, I know, but I still enjoy them regardless of the subject matter. I don't do many flower paintings. Infact there's only ever been one that I've done that I've been really happy with (so, it'll be THAT painting that will be worth a million when I'm a famous artist - and not the erotic stuff at all!!! LOL ). But still, flowers it was, and flowers I did. I had to take my own "subject matter" to paint, and since my mind is full of the  "Erotica" event that I'm exhibiting at in a fortnights time, I just took the first book I could find with a selection of flowers in it. Roses. I like roses. Most people like roses. But I didn't know what I was letting myself in for.......

The tutor started the day by explaining that she covers her canvas in plaster filler to start. I've come across this technique before and was intrigued to use it again. It makes a nice texture on the canvas, and the acrylic paint instantly adheres to it as its like blotting paper, and makes some nice effects as it soaks up the paint. And then you build up the shapes and the colours, and can use a dry brush effect over the paint to make interesting texture as the colours underneath shine through. Lovely! I like it!

But.

(You knew there was a but, didn't you !!)  :)

The problem was my choice of "flowers". The roses. They're difficult to do at the best of times. And I was told AFTER I'd started and was half way through it that I'd chosen the most difficult subject in the class. Ok, I don't mind that, I like a challenge. And a botanical painter friend who was there told me that its always easier to paint flowers "when you can count the petals". Ok, I'll bear that in mind next time. And avoid roses.

So after that I carried on and decided to make the image more abstract, and play with the colours and shapes that were the interest for me in the first place. And I enjoyed the day. But the painting was crap at the end of it. It sometimes happens like that. But, at the end of the day, I'd learnt a lot (avoid roses like the plague!) and had had a fun day with my artist friends. So that was good then!

But later on....... I went to a house party. To a place I'd not been before but I had met the hostess a few times in the past through a mutual friend, and was delighted to be asked to her house for the evening. I wasn't sure how many people were going to be there or what exactly would be the nature of the gathering.

It turned out to be drinks, and delicious food, and lots of chat with a small select group of nice and friendly multi-national people, some of  whom I hadn't seen for a few years, and others I didn't know at all. So, the usual initial conversation of "Who are you and what do you do?". And I answer "Hi, I'm Jackie, and I'm an Erotic Artist" - which seems to be enough to continue the conversation in an interesting way! :) Particularly when they all seemed to be genuinely interested in the subject matter. And vowed to look at my website as soon as they were able.

But..... I think the most amusing part of the evening for me was when the host passed me at one point, as I stood with a glass in my hand, and with no warning beforehand, said out of the corner of his mouth "You're going to have to tell me what a "prince albert" is!". I burst out laughing, as I realised he must have read my blog in the last couple of days. Because there was certainly no other reason he'd have said that to me!!!!

So, to give you a picture to look at. It will be my favourite flower painting of a few years ago. And guess what the subject matter is..........yep, that's right! ROSES !!!

Please don't touch that

I wasn't *greatly* looking forward to the still life in watercolour workshop last weekend, as I always think still life is a little uninteresting, no matter how well its painted, but I still went along, and was happy to attend......

It was mostly women there on the day, which is understandable, as I think still life does tend to be quite a feminine thing on the whole, pictures of flowers, or fruit, or jugs and bottles, are very peaceful objects to paint and enjoy looking at. The tutor had chosen a cut glass bowl filled with licorice allsorts to paint, on a white linen tablecloth, a difficult task to capture on both the cut glass aspect and the white linen cloth. She didn't finish the picture, but at least we were able to start to see how the beginning of her painting began. Then it was our turn to put paint to paper. We'd all been given the chance to take our own still life objects to paint, which I thought was a good idea and meant we could paint the objects that interested us most. A few had taken flowers, one woman had taken balls of wool and some knitting (to paint, I hasten to add, not to knit with!), and the majority had bottles and vases to paint. But I'd chosen something a little different, I'd taken some sea shells, picked up on various beaches in Devon and Cornwall on long distant half remembered holidays. I like shells. I like the intricate shapes, the pretty colours, the rough outer shell as opposed to the translucent inner parts where the sea creature lived, the gorgeous beauty and sense of natural history attached to them. So shells it was, for me.

I started by picking the shells that interested me for colour or shape and laid them out in a composition that pleased me, noting the negative shapes next to the positive shapes of the shells, and liking the formation of the design I was making..................... then I started drawing it out, and made sure I was happy with my design on the paper before I did any painting. We stopped for lunch then, and I sat and ate my ham sandwiches, chatting with my friends as we ate. It was as I returned to my table, that I found the woman at the next table peering over my shells and bending down for a closer look. "What sort of shells are those?" she asked "I don't know" I replied and she bent even closer and asked me if the flat shell was the same as the rounded one next to it, I wasn't sure if this was a trick question, since shells are always the same symmetrical shape................ and then, she did an astounding thing..................she lent forward........ and I could tell my her body language what she was about to do "PLEASE DON'T touch them!" I said urgently, and she drew her hand back, at my words. I couldn't believe she was just about to touch my STILL life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole point of it, is that it DOESN'T move!!!!!! Especially after I'd drawn it all out and was just about to start painting, it doesn't bloody move!!!! Rule one, of doing a still life workshop, don't touch anyone else's still life, and be careful as you walk past the tables, incase you barge into the table and knock it, inadvertently rearranging all the oranges and apples, flowers and feathers onto the floor!

So, on to the painting, and I decided to do a wet wash to start, to get some background in, and pull the image together before I started on the tiny details in the shells, and as I did the wet wash, I had that lovely piece of serendipity, as the paint wove its magic on the paper, it created the lovely wet beach effect before me - sand and water, light and shadows appeared, so it was easy enough to paint the shells afterwards, to pick up the contours of the shells, their shapes, and patterning, the way they sat together, the depth and form of them, and how they related to the shells around them, and the beach they were sitting on, and as I painted, and the afternoon wore on, I got more and more positive and admiring comments from the people around me, for the effect I'd created in my still life. Its got a life. It may be still, but it told a bit of a story, of the way the shells had been collected together on the beach, for their interest and natural beauty. I had to do a bit more work on it when I got home, but it all came together nicely. I've called the painting "Beach treasures" as that's what I think they are................. and I really love my still life, after all!!! LOL

Scaring teacher

It's been a while since I went to an art workshop, but, I think, important to do because it opens my mind to new painting techniques, and painting alongside other artists is always good both for the soul, and for learning. Today was a watercolour class, which is a medium I enjoy very much, although I haven't done much in watercolours recently because I've been doing the Fantasy Fannies in acrylic (and although I use them as watercolours, they still react in a different way to watercolours themselves). So, good for me to use watercolours. The subject matter was not one I've done for a very long time though. It was ..... wait for it............... flowers! Pretty flowers - hellebores, to be exact. Mmm...... flowers, not very erotic is it, a bit vanilla. But that's ok. I can do vanilla. In short bursts. I can cope.........


......The tutor was very proficient, and taught us in stages, we first drew out the picture in pencil, then masked out the flowers with masking fluid to protect the white of the petals, then put a wet wash of colour over the background letting the colours merge into each other on the paper. After that had dried we painted the "negative" shapes of the background against the leaves, which made the background colours shine through. I love "lost and found" shapes so my leaves weren't fully formed which gave the image more interest as the brain can fill out the details. Then we painted the darks in between the leaves and petals to give the image more depth, and make the petals stand out more. Then it was time to remove the masking fluid and paint the shadows on the petals themselves and pick out the yellow of the stamens and picking out any other fine details, like the veins on the leaves and leaf litter below the flowers in their woodland setting.



The tutor wanted the whole class (of 18) to put out their paintings at the end of the days session, leaning them against the wall, so that we could all see what the others had done. She had not met any of us before so she didn't know our names or standard of worksmanship, but she was pleased at the general result of the group. She went along the paintings as they leant along the wall, giving a few words of encouragement for each painting. Most weren't finished. The point of workshops is not to expect to take a good finished painting home with you, but to have learnt the techniques being practiced during the day, and to be able to use them in other paintings in the future. So the tutor went along each painting, giving constructive criticism, until she came to mine. She picked it up, and commented on the background washes saying that it had "character" which pleased me immensely. She liked my painting, and made a few comments about it, she liked the "calligraphy" of the artwork, and said that the artist obviously knew how to paint flowers and had probably done the subject matter before, as she was just putting it down to move on to the next painting. There was a general titter in the room that stopped her in her tracks, as I said "Er, can I just say, I DON'T paint flowers, I'm an Erotic Artist, and if I had had time, I would have hidden a naked woman somewhere in the painting!" and she smiled and said quietly (and maybe a little condescendingly?) "Yeh, but not really you wouldn't" to which I emphatically nodded and said "Yes, REALLLLY!" which stopped her in her tracks as she did a marvellous double-take and said with great regret "But, WHY haven't you done it today, I WANT to see it!" so I said that when I have chance to finish it, I'll email her a copy of it so she can see MY version of todays painting. It might not be for a few weeks as I'm working on a commission at the moment, and that will take priority, but I'll do it, and send her the image.



I can just imagine she's gone home tonight and her husband has asked her if she's had a good day, and she'll say "I had this scary woman in my class today, and you wouldn't BELIEVE what she's going to do with my hellebores!"

Rebirth

Since overpainting the "Naked desire" painting in oils the other week and being astounded at the vast and improved difference from the original acrylic painting of it, I've been wondering if there are any other paintings I've got that I can give the same treatment to. And lo and behold - there is! ...........

Early last year I painted a watercolour of a white horse in a bluebell wood, and although it was exhibited a couple of times locally, I didn't sell the painting. And looking at it now I'm not at all surprised! Its a very mediocre painting, of a mediocre subject with no depth of tone to it and nothing exciting happening within the painting. So, when I cast my eye on it last week, after looking through my dusty file of old paintings (filed under "not good enough to frame and too good to throw away") it struck me straight away what I wanted to do to it to change it. Wow. Instant idea! So, I did a little pencil thumbnail sketch , showing where the strong tones were going to be, and where I was adding the interest and got on with the painting of it. And d'you know what???? ........I think its one of the best paintings I've ever done! I'm mesmerised with the result! I can't believe how MUCH better it is from the original. Its astounded and totally amazed me! And it was me who painted it!! But just incase I was getting too carried away, and to get a second opinion, I showed it to my spiritual healer friend, since the subject matter is now two unicorns and not a single horse as before, and unicorns is very much her subject (as she's writing a book on the subject and I'm going to illustrate it for her when she's finished writing it). So, I took my new painting along to show her, unveiled it and waited for the response (and if it had been crap, she'd have definitely told me!) and she sat there, and looked at it, and looked at it and when she eventually tore her eyes away from looking at it, she announced that it was probably the best painting of mine that she'd seen. Ok, then, she likes it!!! YAY! LOL. So, we both sat there looking at it in companionable silence when she said "There's a THIRD unicorn in there" and just as she said it, I could see it too, she didn't need to point out where, it was there, if you knew where to look. HUGE WOW!!!! I've painted a "magic" picture, something with such a wonderful piece of serendipity in it, that within the paint techniques, I've inadvertently painted a secret unicorn. How wonderful is that!? (I've done it before but it was some years ago, and strangely enough that was with fantasy horses!) And even more amazingly upon the back of the hidden unicorn is a shadowy figure, possibly of a woman in medieval dress. How lovely. This morning my spiritual healer friend informed me that to her the shadowy woman is a Sylph, a beautiful and mysterious fairy-like spirit of the air. Wow again!

And you know what, the best bit is - last week through my spiritual healer friend I cleared a whole load of negativity that was forming around me, and almost immediately afterwards I started this unicorn painting and knew EXACTLY how I wanted to paint it, and how it was going to look. And it looks EXACTLY the way I envisaged it. EXACTLY. And this morning my spiritual healer friend informed me that looking at my painting has inspired her for the next part of her unicorn book. Isn't that wonderful, when creativity begets creativity, and the circle is complete.

Anyway, before you think I've lost the plot completely - look at these two paintings and see if you think the same as me - one of them has magic and a mystical feel to it, the other is ....well.... boring!

The new painting is called "Love at first sight" because the two unicorns are obviously meeting for the first time in a glade in the forest. The sunlight filters down between the trees, casting patches of light and shadow. I used mostly strong Eygpt Violet and deep Touareg Blue for the darks, and added Viridian Green and Quinacridone Gold for the interesting depth of the mid tones, and using a white and warm cream gouache for the unicorns and patches of bright light. There is a pale ethereal light around the unicorn on the right, as it trots into view, out of the light. The focal point is the unicorn on the left, since the light is pointing at it, but the trees and branches point towards the right hand unicorn too, whilst the mossy hillock with the three tree trunks in the middle of the painting is splitting up the painting, showing the distance between the unicorns, but because of the way the painting is constructed, you know they're going to go and nuzzle each other in a minute.....

And to add as a postscript - I don't know if you'll see the secret unicorn here as the image isn't of the best quality for loading onto blogger - but if you look carefully, its in the top right hand side corner of the painting.

Unexpected responses

I attended a workshop at the weekend, one of many that I go to throughout the year. This time we were painting a Cornish harbour scene in watercolours by one of those step by step demonstrations that I dislike so much as they leave no room for your own artistic input. Not that they're made for anything but learning the technique of the artist who's teaching, so they don't expect you to use your own creativity much! This particular artist knew that the group was of a high standard so he'd brought a challenging painting for us to do. Which was fine by me. We had to draw the boats, sea, harbour wall, cottages on the hillside in the middle distance and sky above. Then he showed us how to paint the sky and hillside, followed by the middle distance, the sea and reflections and boats (boats are always a difficult subject, not that water and reflections are much easier either!!!). The tutor walked around the room, scanning everyones work and adding bits of advice as he went. Of course he didn't know any of us so he didn't know the standard of artists he was dealing with. Any one of us could have been the sort who ask "How do you make purple?". So he flitted around the room, looking at our work and adding his tutorly advice. And the bit I liked was when I could see in his eyes that he knew that I knew how to paint, even when my painting was only a quarter into the painting process, he could tell. And I liked that. Very much. I liked the respect I could see. As the day progressed, my painting progressed, and he could see I was enjoying doing it (and I was, even though it was a step-by-step painting, because it was such a challenging subject). And he brightly said "I can see you'll be doing this sort of painting again, won't you?" And I smiled. He must have been aware at that point by the muffled sniggers in the background, that he'd said something amusing. But he wasn't quite sure what. And I said, grinning, that I didn't normally paint this subject matter. And because he was a polite and interested guy he enquired "So, what do you usually paint?" and I smiled in a friendly and outgoing way and loftily said "I'll tell you at the end of the session!". He was intrigued. And five minutes later he was back again and said authoritatively "Tell me what you paint" and I replied, firmly, but again with a smile, that I would tell him at the end......

We carried on painting trying to finish the paintings in the alloted time, and at the end of the session, we all sat around in a group and each painting was put up infront of everyone else and comments were made on it, each person said what they had got out of the session and the tutor added any comments he felt were necessary. When he got to me he asked me my first name "Jackie" I said, and he took my painting off me to put it up for the others to see. He asked me what I had got out of the day, and I said how much I had enjoyed it even though I don't like step-by-step workshops and it had been a challenging subject which had suited me admirably and I was very pleased with the end result of my painting. He added a few comments about my painting, then, infront of everyone, said again, very authortively "Now, tell me what you do!" So I smiled and said "I'm an erotic artist, and if I was painting this picture myself I would incorporate a pair of lovers in one of the boats in the harbour, or hide them within the painting, perhaps making the distant hills the silhouette of a naked woman". And smiled as one of the women who knows me reasonably well quipped, "The couple are in the upstairs bedroom of the cottage second from the left!" His response was "Do you have a website?" and I smiled and said yes I had and would give him the details of it. And then a couple more people there asked me for my website address too - including the elderly woman sitting next to me, who I don't know particularly other than a smiling and pleasant woman who looks like she might bake cakes for the local WI or be a keen gardener. She was certainly the last person in that room who I expected to ask me for my erotic website address!!

And people do still surprise me by their response to my artwork. I was in the pub over the weekend and saw someone I've not seen for very many years. She's in her late twenties now and I've known her very well since she was eight. I know her family very well too and it was a delight to bump into her as I've not seen her for probably ten years or so. We hugged in delighted greeting, and she asked me what I was doing now and I said "Well, I still paint but I've changed what I do now" and she asked me what I do and I said "I'm an erotic artist" and her eyes widened in that way it does with people when they're not expecting the answer they've got and she said "Oh yes, tell me more!" and we had a really interesting conversation for the rest of the night about erotic art, art in general and erotic things, and I loved every minute of it! We also talked about our mutual travel experiences and the sex hotspots of the world we'd both visited and compared notes, but that's another story!!!!