paintings prints and stuff

Ogwen Valley in the mist, charcoal, a bit bigger than A3 Ogwen valley in the mist, charcoal plein air We revisted the valley later in the week.  The clouds were low over the tops of the mountains and the distance melted into whiteness.  The little river Ogwen wound its way across the valley floor and the single track, switchback road disappeared off over the side of the mountain. All the recent rain meant the waterfalls were beautiful.  I did a watercolour/mixed media with one in the afternoon, while the group climbed up to a higher lake.  Next post ........

Birch trees in the snow in the early morning mist 16x20ins oil on canvas Nearly finished but I'll probably keep tweaking it for a bit! The earlier stages are here and here and other trees are here . ...   and one that just didn't work - using coloured pencils on a mid brownish pastel paper.   Not a mix to repeat, for me anyway. The colours are too dulled by the paper, the pencils simply didn't have the intensity to cover it. I've got a small piece of Fisher 400 to experiment with - a friend, Nicole Caulfield, uses it for all her portraits and loves it.   I think I have to give it a go with watercolour and coloured pencils together.  

Hoar Frost, Misty Morning. Mixed media. 9.5 x7 inches. Vivien Blackburn This was a beautiful early morning, with mist across the fields and all the dried foliage covered in a fine coating of hoar frost. I wasn't certain if I could catch it - so ethereal, so pale and cold, distant hedgerows floating in the pale green/whiteness but with the trees vibrant, the sap beginning to rise, glowing in the January landscape. I worked initially in acrylic, with touches of coloured pencil and a little oil and my trusty tippex pen to catch the frosted vegetation against the deeper bushes and trees. It's part of our postcard exchange and has now arrived at its destination - see here. I'm really looking forward to the postman arrived with my card :>). This time from Martin - but for the rest of the time the exchange runs (14 months) the sender will be a mystery until the card drops through my letterbox, exciting! Incidentally - shooting in RAW is something I have to learn. ...

The view from the house windows, misty drizzly morning, Low Tide . Mixed media on Canson watercolour paper, 11x9 ins, September, Vivien Blackburn This was the view from 'our' windows (for one week only :>) ),one drizzly, misty morning, Even though it was misty the sea was still soft lavender and jade colours and the grey clouds had hints of lavender, the distant cliffs hazy without detail, the wet sand shining with mauves and pinks and hints of autumn reds in the foliage on the nearest cliffs. It's in mixed media - mostly watercolour but with touches of coloured pencil, watercolour pencil, a little oil pastel ........... that's about it but there could be more! I'm interested in catching the light, mood and particular colours, not in producing a purist watercolour-only work ; >) I like to use mixed media for the extra marks and 'language' potential, using coloured pencils sometimes to scumble a contrasting colour over underlying rocks or sand to creat...