Welland Valley Art Society - Spring Exhibition.

The Welland Valley Art Society holds two exhibitions a year at spring and autumn.
The 2013 spring exhibition starts today, April 29th, and runs until May 11th, daily from 10am to 5pm. It is held at the Stamford Arts Centre, St. Mary's Street, Stamford.
Of course I always enter work, with varied success. This year one out of two got selected so I was quite pleased with the 50% triumph.
We went to the private view on Sunday afternoon , and I was so delighted to see old friends that I forgot to take note of prize winners for this blog ! However I am visiting next week to do my stewarding stint so will do another blog post about this fabulous exhibition.

Welland Valley Art Society Private View.

Taking Photos of Art Work

 A few days ago I thought I would do a scientific trial of the best circumstances to take photos of my paintings.
 It was a clear day, no breeze so I set up this experiment outside.

Part of the Experiment.

It involved taking photos at high resolution in sunlight and in shade. I used two cameras, a point and shoot Nikon Coolpix held together with parcel tape and my latest toy a Canon Powershot.
At first I took pictures using both cameras in full sunlight and in shade.
Then I took pictures with the Canon only, using a polarising filter, and then with the ultraviolet filter.
I was concerned about getting the white balance right and not seeing a grid pattern from the canvas.
The Nikon did not handle the colour well. The white was grey, although I could correct that using Gimp.
The Canon performed much better on colour.
On balance shooting in full light was best.
I couldn't see any real difference with the filters. I didn't get a grid pattern, but I think I had the angle right.
I will try outside on a cloudy day next, but indoor photography is a whole new ball game.

Sketching in the Garden - Sunny Day

Mary Kemp  - Pencil Sketch

I loved the way these pots grouped themselves together - nothing to do with me - so as I sat with a cup of  coffee I drew them quickly.                                            I wanted to get the lights and darks down so used a lovely soft 7B pencil and just drew. I had several attempts. You're not seeing the one that ended up a mess ! I used a small amount of colour by way of Derwent Softcolour pencils. I also tried to create some white with an electric erasure but it didn't produce a nice white area, just a grey streak.
The paper is extra white cartridge, not very thick but the pencil glides across. Scrumptious !!!

More Tea Time and Sunshine

I think this might be the last of my tea time and sunshine paintings for a while. But then again...
 Anyway what intrigues me is the way the sunlight falls upon the white table cloth and makes such intricate and beautiful patterns.

Mary Kemp - Tea Time and Sunshine.
Preliminary work  oil on canvas 30 x 30 cms.

I have reached the very best part of the process of painting , knowing what I want to paint, having drawn it out ( first using watercolour pencil and then finalising with acrylic paint) and then starting to add the oil paint, my very favourite cobalt blue.
I can now see the glass on the right looks a bit wonky so I shall have to alter that.

Picture Frames Are Not MeantTo Be Noticed

Oh damn ! That perennial conundrum, what frame to use.
I struggle with choosing the right surround for my work. I wish someone would come along
and do it for me. My beloved is a picture framer but that only leads to discussions/ arguments.
What I really want is a frame that enhances and finishes off my paintings, one that is lightweight and not prone to damage and one that fits in with everyone's decor and taste, and of course  doesn't cost a lot !

These are what I am using at the moment.
The one on the top left is the latest one, and I am experimenting with putting oil paintings under glass with a mount.

Of course really no one cares about your frame, like a good cup of tea it's just got to be there and taken for granted.

Websites for an Aspiring Artist.

On Monday an A level student from Deacons Academy visited me, to see my studio and take some photos of me  for part of her art A level project,  about the working space of an artist.
 I felt I ought to give her a bit of paperwork to take away , so I gave her a copy of the Artists and Illustrators magazine to which I subscribe, and a post card with some websites to look at.
The first of course was this blog, then Making a Mark blog and then the brilliant Artbiz Blog.
I also sent her to the Peterborough Open Studios website.
I hope she does well in her exams. I am invited to the display of the finished project. Looking forward to it.

Aileen

Picture for an Exhibition.

Mary Kemp -Zebra Asleep
Oil painting on canvas panel 40 x 40 cms

I belong to a group of artists called the the Still Working Gallery.
We exhibit together at various venues. ( We first exhibited in a pub in Peterborough called The Still ) Soon we will be exhibiting in the Pedestrian Gallery in Leicester. Here is one of my offerings. At the moment I am working on a series of paintings exploring the way light falls when it filters through leaves. I love the shape of shadows , and the borders between light and dark. I've used a lot of cobalt blue recently.

Daffodil Sketch

Mary Kemp - Daffodils Sketch

I follow a blog called Making a Mark which talks a lot about Urban Sketchers who seem to use a lot of coloured pencils for sketching, and when you think about it makes sense. Gets a lot of colour on the page quickly without any messiness. So I treated myself to some Coloursoft pencils from
Derwent and this is my first effort, sketched on Easter Saturday.