Tandridge Art Society Exhibition - 16th - 18th April 2010

These three paintings are being exhibited at the Tandridge Art Society Exhibition.
16th - 18th April 2010.
The Soper Halls, Harestone Valley Road, CATERHAM.
Open from 10am - 8pm and Sunday 10am - 5pm.
FREE ADMISSION

The work exhibited here is always of a high standard and it would be wonderful
if you could support the artists.

The Red Ballet Dancer

Watercolour. 40cm x 50cm. Mounted with cellophane.
For Sale at the Tandridge Art Society Exhibition

This subject was a sheer joy to paint. Ballet was very much part of my life when I was young and one has to admire the sheer strength as this dancer leaps through the air. This was a ballet step that I was never able to achieve due to the fact that I could never do the splits no matter how much warming up and stretching practice I did. This ballet dancer is proud and strong - I am hoping that I have achieved the feeling of movement by leaving edges unfinished and unresolved. I still dribble over contrasted edges and there is a juicy one that is nestling into her lower back which also highlights her right arm.

The Lion

Watercolour. 32cm x 33cm. Mounted with cellophane.
For Sale at the Tandridge Art Society Exhibition

Wildlife portraits are very special indeed. This one of the lion is no exception. The colour washes are subtle and I made use of the yellow/gold and purple combinations. I always try to enhance colour when I am painting. It does not mean that a painting has to be garish - one can still create a wonderfully harmonious balance using an unusual palette. I am secretly joined at the hip to winsor violet.

The Kingfisher

Watercolour. 25cm x 25cm. Mounted with Cellaphane.
For Sale at the Tandridge Art Society Exhibition

One is always treated to the most beautiful bird sightings in South Africa. As you can tell, I am a little homesick. One will catch a glimmer of turquoise, orange or green amongst many other colours. The bird calls are even better and I always know when I have arrived when I hear the Kingfisher. Here, I tried to capture the Kingfisher in as few strokes as possible, keeping the watercolour very transparent. Feathers and hair are challenging at the best of times. I tend to work with the negative spaces or broken whites to create the illusion of feathers and texture.

Hibiscus in Watercolour

Watercolour Sketch. 25cm x 18cm Mounted with cellaphane.
For Sale at the Tandridge Art Society Exhibition

This beautiful flower is growing freely in my parent's garden. I absolutely love the colour. This was an exercise in painting without drawing. Wonderful for freeing up the artist. I am forever going on at my students about identifying the main shapes that make up any given subject. By doing this, you will be able to recreate an image in as few strokes as possible. Once the flower and main leaves had been painted, I linked these shapes with a few drawn lines with my sable liner paint brush. It is worth practising painting like this from time to time as it encourages one not to be too fiddly.

Adie's Waterberg Landscape

Acrylic on Block Canvas. Unframed. 122cm x 76cm. Not for Sale

This is a place that is close to my heart. My parents happen to live not far from there and it is a safe haven in South Africa which offers wide open spaces, beautiful sunsets, long peaceful walks and great, big lung fulls of fresh air. I am not really known for painting landscapes but I really wanted a SA view in my English lounge.

I started with a traditional representation of the landscape and it very quickly metamorphosed into a picture loaded with symbolic references and elements which meant something to me. I do love the work of Alphonse Mucha so I linked the landscape to the mural in my lounge and the trees and foreground became slightly stylised. It looks good on the wall.