Have I Got the Website Llicked at Last ?

Mary Kemp - Sunflowers in September
Oil on block canvas 50 x 50cms

I like a bit of control in my life, especially when it comes to things related to my art, so I manage my own website, instead of paying someone else to do it.
It's a time consuming business, mainly because I'm not very expert at it, and even though there's loads of instructions you can follow trial and error works better for me. I like the ability to change it at will, I don't want it to look like a museum piece.
I use clikpic to host my site, it's fairly cheap, and works well.
In this update I've tried to resist the temptation of putting everything in, but at the same time I want it to give a good idea of my work. I've also put a fairly prominent link to this blog.

Quick, Easy and Efficient Way of Sketching Outside

Mary Kemp - Dead Geraniums
drawing, pen and coloured pencils

I want a way of drawing on the hoof that :
a.doesn't take loads of materials
b.is incredibly quick
c.with a result that is easy to read when I get home
d.and, as a bonus, looks good to the casual bystander.
Not much to ask, but I am working on it !
So far I have been through
pencil, watercolour, pen and wash, watercolour pencils, conte crayons , pastels and coloured pencils.
My latest experiment involves pen, Faber Castells Artists Pen, and Derwent Softcolour pencils.
Here's the picture. Took me ten minutes after lunch.

Peterborough Artists Open Studios 2013

Well, it's almost upon us. Several weeks away actually, but it feels as though there's no time left. Our annual Peterborough Artists Open Studios  event, that is.
On Saturday we held a publicity event at our local shopping centre, Queensgate. We were positioned just outside John Lewis, handing out directories and talking to many interesting people.
My good friend Tony Nero took a photo of me, which actually looked like me and is flattering !

Courtesy of Tony Nero

 Here I am next to two of my paintings of Grace the bouncy dog.

Two Cats - A Jolly Painting

Mary Kemp - Two Cats -
 oil on block canvas 30 x 30 cms

We own two cats - or rather we are their servants. They sleep all day and then we have to feed them !
So I painted them, but they didn't appreciate it. I used a block canvas and plenty of cobalt and cerulean blue. The pattern in the background is the net curtains. I don't call this a serious painting. But then again why should painting be serious?

New Painting - Featuring Yet Again, Grace the Dog.

Mary Kemp - beginning of painting.

I have started a new painting, on a canvas board 40 x 40. It features Grace the dog at the seaside again. She likes it there.  As you can see I have drawn out the design roughly. You can just about make out  where I have squared up the image of the dog. I sprayed it over with fixative so the carbon won't mix with the paint. I then draw over the pencil with acrylic, raw umber, and when it's dry add a wash of Venetian Red and Ultramarine Violet. Then the next thing is to add a covering of cobalt blue, titanium white and ceruleun blue and buff titanium for the sand.

Mary Kemp - next stage.

Welland Valley Art Society Spring Exhibition. The Winners!

I stewarded for a session as this wonderful exhibition. Always a pleasure. A chance to scrutinise all the works in detail, decide your favourites and contemplate what's fashionable and what's not.
The winner of the WVAS Award was a vibrant painting of an African lady by Judy Merriman.
Work by Barbara Allen, Harry Hamill, Chris Isley and John Page were commended.
But my favourite picture was "Duddington" an oil painting by Mark Green. It was obviously someone else's favourite too because he sold it ! I like Mark's work because he captures our local landscape so truthfully.

You can see Mark Green's picture on the left, the middle one. 

Is This My Next Christmas Card?

Mary Kemp -Possible Christmas Card

I painted this. Is it my Christmas card for this year? Still used oil paints on canvas panel. Can't get away from  it. A bit of tweeking needed I think. Or perhaps I'll do something else.

Still Working at the Pedestrian Gallery , Leicester.

Two artists, Deborah James and Garth Bayley,
 with my work in the background.

Thursday night I attended the private view of the Still Working Gallery exhibition at the Pedestrian Gallery in Leicester. It runs until the 13th of May. This is a small galllery space with a strong community bias, set in a huge Victorian industrial building in the cultral quarter of Leicester.
It was an enjoyable evening, and we went for a curry afterwards.
  I also bought a vase, by the lovely Denise Brown. I always buy pots, we've got enough paintings in our house.

The beautiful vase I bought.

Zebra with his Portrait.

Zebra with "Sleepy Afternoon" Mary Kemp.

I was getting pictures ready for the upcoming exhibition of the Still Working Gallery, when Zebra our black and white cat decided to get in on the act. He likes sitting on the back of the sofa because it's a good vantage point and he gets a bit of sun.
I draw him quite a lot, so I know his markings off by heart, and of course he was the ideal model for this "Sleepy Afternoon" picture.