Bridge at Nightfall

This is an oil painting I have just finished it's still wet and i'm not sure but I may do some more to it once its dried. It's certainly given me a good chance to experiment with oils and see how to work with them

Azalea

I don't paint many flowers but this was inspired by the Azalea we had growing in our garden it's in acrylic and was started during our Wednesday painting sessions at Runnymede Art Society and completed at home

David Hyde Demonstration 2/4/08

This is David in action at Virginia Water Art Society painting in Acrylic paints

David Hyde Demonstration 2/4/08

This painting is in Acrylic and was the result of a Demonstration by David Hyde at Virginia Water Art Society he used the acrylics like chromacolour in a watercolour way for doing washes and fror blocking our areas, also using light over dark as only acrylics can do.

Mother & Child By Patricia Lumley

This is a painting in Acrylic done by a friend of mine I love the fluidity of it and the simplicity of colours

My dog Charlie 1.4.08

Oh yes my dog Charlie now I could do with some advice. Charlie loves the post No! he really loves the post when it comes through the door he goes barmy running up and down the hall ears flying tail wagging when he gets to the letters on the floor he picks them up in his mouth shakes them tosses them up in the air treads on them with one foot and opens them with his teeth.
Now I've managed to control this behaviour when I'm in by shouting at the top of my unmelodious voice LEAVE IT CHARLIE LEAVE IT and he does, but when I'm out and the post arrives oh does he have a field day and then the letters become a jigsaw. He very nearly shredded my husbands passport last week not to mention the insurance cheque that arrived to refund some of the money we had spent on his ear problems. We did buy a letter basket but when we went to fit it on the inside of the door we realised we would not be able to open the door wide enough to get through as the basket bangs against the wall. We did think of an outside post box but have you seen the price of them? I did try posting stuff through the letterbox myself and so long as I also shout LEAVE IT CHARLIE LEAVE IT through the door he's OK, so I reckon I need to get a Dictaphone with a continuous tape and tape me shouting the magic words also this would have to be activated by the noise of the letter box opening. Oh well I think I'll just put a cardboard box outside the front door with letters written on it. What do you think?

Whats happening now 1/4/08

It's the 1st April and my back has been fantastic I am still taking the painkillers but I am able to do a lot more than I could before the decission now is do I cut down the painkillers and do less or carry on doing the things I enjoy and carry on with the painkillers? I don't think the operation will ever allow me to do away with the painkillers altogether,but while I'm still so active it's hard to even cut them down. oh well chin up all three of them .

Dachshund

Another Pastel Dog this time a Dacshund this was my second attempt at this particular dog the colouring was very hard to capture and I had to resort to very soft pastels to get the blending right.

Glass again in acrylic on a black background

This Acrylic on canvas reminds me of summer I love trying to paint glass esspecially on a black background

Tropical Seas

This one is Acrylic and I used the texture paste as shown to us at the workshop with Dee Cowell
I used it on the rocks tree trunks palm leaves and the waves not an over kill then! I like the effect but I think you have to be careful not to make it too thick and getting the hang of putting it on with the palette knife is tricky

Girl on Beach

Yes another pastel instpired by a holiday photo

Never To Old Never To Young to Paint

Tuesday 11th March Runnymede Art Society Went to Springtime Nursery to paint with the Nursery Children aged between 2 1/2 to 5 years old all pre school children the Artists from Runnymede were aged between 58 and 82 years old We painted scenes of the seaside. We showed the children how to create clouds by taking out some of the paint with tissues and how to sponge yellow into the blue see to make green the children and artists both had a wonderful time. This is the third visit to the Nursery and the room buzzed with the interaction between the artists and the children, some children remembered us from our previous visits and we full of excitement. Runnymede Art Society will be holding their Spring Exhibition on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th April where the work of these very young artists will be displayed alongside the work of the members of the Society which proves you’re never too young or too old to learn to paint. Runnymede Art Society meet every Wednesday afternoon where they paint together at the Hythe Centre Thorpe Lea Road Egham from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm anyone interested should contact Jean McDonnell on 01784 741599

Never Too Old Never Too Young

Dee Cowell Workshop

Dee Cowell came to Runnymede Art Society on Thursday 6th March 2008 and is pictured here with Reg Marsh. Dee is by far one of the best workshops we have had for a long time she worked so hard from about 9:30 am to 3:30 pm taking us step by set through the mastery of using texture paste with watercolours and acrylics also using slowing medium, volume medium and glazing medium she supplied all the materials for us to experience these painting aids she worked tirelessly with each individual as well as working with the class of 16 as a whole

Dee Cowell Workshop

Two of Dee's paintings I think they should be named bold and beautiful

Dee Cowell Workshop

Dee Cowell at work with the Runnymede Art Society members

Black & Tan Puppy

Pastel animals seems to be my favourite medium at the moment thanks to Colin Bradley We are hoping to book a demonstration by him next year at Runnymede Art Society

must get some more pastel pencils Faber-Castell are the ones used by him and I must admit I find them very good

Boxer Dog

Well this is the second picture of the Boxer Dog Jodie that I did for a friend I enjoyed doing the first pastel so much I tried it a second time and was pleased with this result as well

Edwin Cripps At Thames Side Art

Edwin Cripps Frog on a toadstool playing a saxaphone doen on canvas using acrylic paint fantastic demonstration amazing painting very entertaining evening hope to see more of this painter

Edwin Cripps At Thames Side Art

Jodie

This pastel portrait of a friends dog I did this weekend from a picture she gave us getting the beautiful colouring was tricky but I enjoyed the challenge

Ginger Cat

This is a pastel picture done in using Colin Bradley's method it's a bit like my Ginger cat Benjamin

Glass

This acrylic on canvas is painted from a picture I was in a magazine and the light reflections on the glass table and vase just fascinated me and I couldn't help trying to recreate them in paint if you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see my attempt close up

My Ginger Cat Benjamin

If you think my dog Charlie is a pickle listen to what happened to my cat Benjamin. He came home one day with scratched ears .. nothing new there you should see the state of them, but I could tell he wasn't quite his self he growled at me when I stroked him now that's not like him so I took him to the vets and told them of my concerns, they gave him an xray suspecting he might have been knocked over by a car. They phoned to tell me that he had in fact dislocated his sternum (that's the breastbone) all the vetenary surgeons were amazed they had never seen an injury of this sort before Benjamin was very lucky the dislocated bone had not punctured his lung or yet his heart so no majour organs had been damaged. It was not an option at this point to operate because of the proximity of the organs it would be too dangerous, so we have to wait and see how he does. It's been over a week now and the vet says the bones will fuse in this position and hopefully he will be ok and indead he has been comming on his usual walks with me and Charlie he has also been climbing the gazeebo in order to tease Charlie and show off as usual so I guess he is going to be ok. (I did inform him he has just used 8 of his 9 lives in one go but it didn't cut much ice he still climbs the gazeebo to show off) That's my Benjamin

My dog Charlie

Poor old Charlie's had problems with his ears and now he's got no nuts!!
Well it all started with an ear infection in both ears for which I have been treating with drops but the vet said that he needed an ear wash and that would have to be done under anasthetic, so I thought poor old chap needs to be done so to speak because lately he has been taking rather a shine to his bedding, funny enough only after his evening meal, but anyway I thought we needed to address the problem so if he was going under anastetic for his ears then he might as well get the chop at the same time. So that was done this week poor old thing he doesn't know weather to scratch his ears or lick his wound!

What's Happening

Well the good news is I had my denervation op and all went well I was last to go into theatre as usual which meant I had to wait from 7:15 to 11:30 41/2 hours without any painkillers a bit uncomfortable esspecially as they didn't have a bed for me so I had to wait in the TV lounge, still I was greatful I got done at all. I was wide awake during the proceedure and it was quite funny just laying there listening to the surgeon and theatre staff chatting occassionally stopping to ask me if I was having any pain. The denervation didn't really hurt I felt the needles going in and a slight sting when the electric current went in but that was all not bad at all really. Now it's just a case of waiting a few weeks to see if it has worked. I go back in 4 months for a check up

Not only was Paul Howard an excellent demonstrator but he kept us very well entertained throughout with amusing stories

Paul Howard

Watercolour pencil demonstration by Paul Howard at Virginia Water Art Society 6.2.08
Paul Howard gave a brilliant demonstration on how to use watercolour pencils using varying techniques and lots of tips

This is our Chairman Joy Doleman with Sarah and this is Reg our resident tutor with Sarah

Sarah Janavicius

Runnymede Art Society members enjoyed a demonstration of Collage by Sara Janavicius today Sarah demonstrated various methods and techniques showing how everyday items can be incorporated in a picture and how to be adventurous and try new ideas

Girl in Pastels

This picture done in pastels made me really look at the subject the light paterns and shades The one on the left has better light and shade but the one below I think has better form all I need to do now is to reproduce the picture combining the best elements of each

29/1/08 What's Happening Now

Whoopee I got my date for my back operation 7th Feb only 8 days away not much notice but that's fine by me as i have been struggling lately even the walks with charlie have been difficult and I haven't been to gym since before Christmas swimming is about the only thing that still comfortable. The plan is for the surgeon to do the denervation on the left hand side of my back and at the same time top up the right hand side, which should give me back some pain free mobility fingers crossed

It Always Rains At Lunchtime

Dedicated to all thoes office workers our there somewhere

It Always Rains At Lunch Time

It always rains at lunch time
There seems not rhyme or reason
It always rains at lunch time
No matter what the season

At ten o’clock you’re hard at work
The sun is in it’s glory
Come the time to go to lunch
You know it’s a different story

Take the car vary the time
You’re sure to beat the rain
A breath of fresh air is all you ask
But it’s raining all the same

Back at the office nice and warm
You removed your outer clothes
Wipe your feet dry you hair
And take the drip from your nose

Within the hour you’re almost dry
And back to earning your pay
When you notice through the window
Outside it’s a lovely day

JMcD

The Ocean

Well this is my finished picture done in the Roy Lang Workshop I put the finishing touches to it at home and for a first real attempt at oil I am quite pleased with it plus I have now learned how to keep most of the oil on the canvas and not on me.

Roy Lang Seascape in Oil

The Gentleman on the left holding the picture is Reg Marsh and the gentleman on the right is Roy Lang the artist who painted this seascape and presented it to Reg at the end of the workshop in thanks for Reg's hospitality. Runnymede Art Society members of which there were 17 thoroughly enjoyed painting in oils with Roy Lang, we spent the whole day at The Hythe Centre learning the skills of painting seascapes in oils. Roy not only shared the secret of his skills but was also very entertaining, we all attempted the same scene with varying degrees of success and we all without exception gained vital practice for handling oils, as for most of us it was a new experience. For those few who had previously experienced oils, mostly in the form of removal of oils from clothing hair and furniture, knowledge of actually painting on canvas was a welcome change

Charlie

I my personal ramblings you will read all about my dog Charlie. Well this is a pastel picture I did and I used the method explained by Colin Bradley and am quite please with the results I think I have captured charlies character

London Lake

This Acrylic on canvas painting is of a London Lake taken from underneath a tree in the Autumn

Virginia Water Ar Society

Virginia Water Events Diary
The Community Hall Beechmont Avenue
Virginia Water
Surrey


6th February 2008 Starting at 7:30n a.m. Paul Howard - Greek Scene.
further info e-mail johnandjean@ntlworld.com

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Badger

This Badger in Pastel pencil was my second pastel I did after seeing Colin Bradley's workshop and trying some of my own creations in pastel

Dog

This Pastel is another of Colin Bradley's workshop pictures which I really enjoyed doing the thing with his workshops is that no matter how many times you do the picture because you follow a method you get consistency and always end up with a good picture

Bird of paradise

Acrylic on canvas this was painted from a photo a friend of my husbands took the picture which now hangs in another friends kitchen, but I did eventually paint one for the friend that gave us the photo

My Dog Charlie

It seems I'm in the mood for rambling today so I must tell you about my dog Charlie. He was 9 months old when we got him in August and had spent his whole life in kennels he had been the last of a litter and as each new litter came into the kennels so he was overlooked in favour of the smaller puppies. I had been talking to my friend Joy about wanting a dog and I knew I wanted a Cavalier King Charles because of their very laid back nature the fact that they are very good and tolerant with children and they also are very good with other animals, but when I looked on the Internet I was amazed at the price £500 to £600 so my friend said lets go to the animal shelter and have a look there.

Well I was so surprised to see so many saffordshire terriers who had been abandoned quite young apparently it's the idea that they are a macho symbols and in fact are a soft as butter that gets them thrown out. It's the people who are looking for a status symbol and find themselves with a dog that would lick you to death before it harms anyone that end up not wanting the dog.

Anyway I saw 3 or 4 dogs that I thought might be suitable to come and live we us taking into account my two cats and my two grandchildren who I look after, however when we went to register and mentioned the dogs I had seen, I was told in each case there was a very good reason why that particular dog would not be suitable. The first one had behavioural problems (although it looked pretty normal when I stroked it) the second one was too nervous ( again it looked a pretty calm dog when I saw it) the third one had lots of hang ups ( I was by now beginning to think my judgement of dogs was well rusty) the kennel assistant then pointed to a dog being walk outside and said that dog would be good for you she came from a good home and had very little problems ( it was 10 years 0ld) We were then told "you know all the dogs in here have problems! they wouldn't be in here if they were nice well adjusted animals , they would be in a nice home with a nice family, most of them are here because they have problems). Well that's enough to put even the brave heart off no wonder the rescue centres have problems finding homes for all their animals.

So my friend who has had lots of dogs cats and stray birds over the years phoned the puppy kennels where she got her dogs from and yes she had a Cavalier slightly cheaper because he was 9 months old £490 still beyond my purse however some bargaining was done by my friend and we got Charlie £350 we had to raid every moneybox in the house and the cats have to wait another 6 months or so before we can afford their teeth cleaning trip to the vets but it has been so worthwhile because not only does Charlie give us lots of laughs and shows us great devotion but he has helped me keep the weight off and exercise my way to fitness through our daily walks.

6/1/08 What's Happening

Whats Happening
Well I'm waiting for the next lot of denervation injections in my back I went to the hospital just before Christmas and the consultant has agreed to do the left hand side of my lower back and to top up the right hand side, funny when I asked originally if they would do both sides at the same time I got various reasons for not doing so from it's too long to do both to it's a matter of too greater risk, anyway I was told it will be 11 weeks or sooner so it should be about the end of February.
I can't wait I didn't realise how beneficial it has been until I recall things I could and couldn't do 6 months ago and the things I have been doing lately about 2 months after the operation I bought a Dog and started taking daily walks with him and up till a couple of weeks ago we had managed to walk round the lake for about a mile it took us approx 40 to 45 minutes but having the dog with me certainly made it easier and much more enjoyable I had forgotten how wonderful it is to have a dog it must be about 30 years ago when I last had a dog and because of work commitments I have only had cats since. Anyway its getting harder now to do the mile and I'm beginning to struggle to keep up the pace so the sooner the operation happens hopefully I will be able to improve one the mile.
I must say in the early days before the denervation when I was 2 stone heavier and in constant pain learning to paint was my savior, not only did it give me something to fill the hours with after giving up my job, but it turned out to be the best pain relief ever. I became so engrossed in painting that my pain seemed to go away, only when I went to get up did I realise the brief respite I had experienced whilst painting.
Note to all those overweight hard though it may be it is worth loosing even just a little bit it really does help, once I got myself help with the pain in the form of painkillers I was able to go to the gym and together with joining weight watchers I managed to loose 2 stone

Dartmede Framed

Yet another painting of Dartmede this one is acrylic on canvas sheet and framed behind glass in a frame that matched the Upper Slaughter painting

Upper Slaughter Framed

This is the second painting I have done of upper slaughter this one is acrylic on canvas sheet and framed behind glass this really is a beautiful place

Black and White Woods

This black and white painting is in gesso on ply and was done in a workshop by Reg Marsh and was so popular that Reg actually repeated the workshop in the open air outside the 1215 gallery in the summer 2007 where the public were able to watch and some members who missed the first workshop were able to join in

Autumn

I painted this watercolour after seeing a picture in the paper proclaiming Autumn in the UK is every bit as good as the fall in the USA again the reflections are what captured me I hope I have captured them

Reflections

This watercolour was inspired by a picture I saw in a magazine and I tried to capture the reflections of the trees in the water I find it much harder to do this in watercolour than in acrylic