Hanson Street WASPS Open Studio Event 5th and 6th October

Less than a week to go!

All the paintings are painted and most of the drawings drawn, as shown in my last post although several of them are still with the framer , who is having his usual annual sale during the event. Most of the booze (prosecco and spritzes will be served, as well as water and juice for the sober types) and nibbles (teacakes and ameretto biscuits mainly) have been gathered.

What needs done now is the scrubbing - the next couple of days will involve much elbow grease - those windows need cleaned again! - and I will post a picture of how it looks when sparkling clean. Better, though, is to see it for real, so do come along if you are able. Otherwise I'll have to eat and drink everything myself, which may not be popular with the husband!.

Also, to recap, here is how the studio when I moved in - Day 1 and Day 2 . I do have more photos of the progress after that and will look them out and post them tomorrow - as some of you know, I underwent shoulder surgery a fortnight after moving in, which stopped me typing as well as painting for a while.

But now it is full steam ahead and I hope that my visitors at the open studios will inspire me over the next year - feedback, both good and bad, is very important to me and I feel helps me progress. So don't be shy in telling me your opinions!

Drawings of Roses

WASPS annual open studios will be on the 5th and 6th of October - not next weekend, but the one after.

This will be the first time I've taken part as a tenant and not part of the life group - which is proving quite terrifying. There is a lot more organising than I was initially prepared for - but thankfully is now almost done. Just some elbow grease to go!

These drawings will be on show - it has been years since I've done this kind of detailed drawing but it was a very useful exercise while I was figuring out ways to paint them. Sometimes, especially when working with tonal values, changing from one media to another can really illuminate matters. And I feel the results are quite fetching, too.

So do come along and see them.

Civita Castellana

Just a few photographs from my balcny, which overlooked the main square of the town.

As you can see, the place is gorgeous, whatever the weather. Most of the buildings are a pale yellow/pink, which are in harmony with the sky pretty much all the time.

At night the lights have a strong yellow glow, to contrast with the deep blue of the night sky. Stunning.