Oil Sketch of Hilary

This oil sketch of Hilary was painted from life over a couple of hours during a session with my chums from the scout hut. These regular weekly sessions are invaluble. I am drawn back to the saying of Camille Pissarro,'It is only by drawing often, drawing everything , drawing incessantly, that one fine day you discover to your surprise that you have rendered something in its true character.'

Downtime

This is another gallery piece. A pastel featuring a favourite life model Neeley, who has made an appearance in several paintings on my website. Watch this space as I hope you will see more of her in the future. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/liz-balkwill/downtime/70648

Strawberries and Watermelon

Most of the Daily Paintings I do are small oils whereas a lot of my gallery pieces are pastel. I thought I would balance this up by including some of my pastels in my blog. This pastel was done on la carte and the beautiful rich pigment is thanks to Terry Ludwig which are without a doubt my favourite pastels! I have a beautiful pastel purple heart in my studio that Terry included with the pastels shipped a few years ago. A very touching gesture....... I will probably never use it as it seems too special. Clever marketing eh?

Lemon Tea

This is my effort for the week's challenge 'painting a yellow object from life.' I always have lemons in the kitchen and I have included them in a lot of my gallery pieces. Painting yellow going into shadow is not easy. My strategy is to go towards a degraded yellow i.e yellow ochre, and then if necessary lean it towards the green side or the orangey side. I know there should be no formulas as far as colour is concerned and relected light can turn everything on it's head but at least it is a starting point.

Bowl and Lychees

This bowl was given to me by a friend who knew it would be a welcome addition to my ever growing collection of objects to include in still-life. The shed where I keep all these treasures is fast becoming an aladdins cave. The fun in collecting these things is almost as enjoyable as painting them.

Japanese Vase with Orchid

I found this japanese vase in a tiny antique shop in Cambridge crammed with so much stuff you could hardly move for fear of knocking something over. The vase had been damaged and stuck back together which may have put some people off buying it but made it perfect for a painter. Perhaps that would be a more appropriate title.........