Two New Prints, and Yes, One Does Include a Border Collie!

I've being beavering away behind the scenes recently, and one of the results of this frantic activity is that I now have two spanking brand new prints to share with you. 

I keep being drawn back to the beach, and animals always lure me away from any serious thoughts. So here for your delectation are two animal prints with the sun low in the sky. A little nostalgic interlude.

© Mary Kemp.
"Whippet at Sunset"
I just loved the way he stood there, poised, ready to go,
his tail like a shepherds crook.

© Mary Kemp
"Sunrise with Border Collie"
Up early on a pristine deserted beach, what
a way to greet the day!

P.S. And did I mention they're available in my Etsy Shop ?!!!

And specially for you here's a code for a 15% discount. Just use the code SEASIDEFRIENDS at checkout.

7 Practical Tips for Oil Painters

In case I haven't shared this with you often enough I paint with oils. I love the feel of oil paints, it's endless variety and the richness of it's texture and colours.

There are many disadvantages however, not least the fact that  it take ages to dry and can do serious damage to your clothes, but for me they are all outweighed by the wonderful sumptuousness of my all time fave medium.

So in the spirit of spreading the word to all you artists out there here are a few tips I hope will make life easier.

1. Because I don't paint super big I rarely buy the large tubes of paint.  For me it's false economy as they dry out, mainly due to my inability to put the caps back on.
2. This valuable tip I learnt at a workshop of Martin Kinnear at the Norfolk Painting School and my beautiful soft hands have thanked him ever since. Use Baby Oil to clean your hands. It's amazing what it takes off.
3. Never ever wear your best clothes for painting. Not even underwear. 
4. Don't let your brushes dry out, clean after every session. This is good practice for an awful lot of things in life.
5. I've found that if I cover the paint squeezed out onto my palette, but not used, with cling film then put it into the freezer it lasts for ages. 
6. The oil painters mantra might be "fat over lean". I was taught this at art school and it means paint thinly first, then get thicker, that way the paint won't crack.
7. There are transparent colours and non transparent colours. As a general rule it's best to use transparent colour on the canvas first.

© Mary Kemp
Lindisfarne
Oil on board 6" x 6"

There are countless books out there about how to paint in oils and I consume them with a passion. I'm particularly fond of Painting Clouds and Skies by Mo Teeuw, and Colour and Light in Oils by Nicholas Verrall.
Oh and did I mention my website?www.marykemp.co.uk where you can see so many more of my paintings!

Beneath the Waves. What's Going on in this Painting?

© Mary Kemp
"Mother and Child in the Waves"
30 x 30 cm oil on canvas panel

When I painted this picture I couldn't help thinking what on earth was going on beneath the waves in this painting where you can't see.
Even now I can feel my toes in the warm shallow water and the soles of my feet on the ridges of the sand. There's also the slightly unsettling sensation of the sea swirling round your ankles gently trying to pull you over. And who knows what little fish are sidling up to you!!!! Or jelly fish!!!

I don't think I went into the water on that particular day. If truth were told I don't like getting wet out doors. England is much too cold for that and I'm too much of a wimp.

So as usual I observed and drew a bit.  I wanted to capture the way the woman stood  and the quiet colour of her green dress. There was so much sea around them because the sea is shallow at that point, and when the tide is out it goes out an awful long way. It seemed right to paint the scene with no reference at all to land, just two figures in the waves. 

See it in my Etsy Shop. and lots more besides.

Open Studios. 7 Tips for Success.

 It's getting that time of year again, when we must decide whether to take part in summer Open Studios or not. After each one is finished I say "never again!!!" All that preparation, all that anxiety and hard work, not to mention cleaning and tidying. 

And then the quiet and boredom that assails us all after Christmas takes over, and hey! what a brilliant idea to take part in this wonderful sharing, cultural event that is Peterborough Artists Open Studios. 

So off I go again and fill in the form and send it off with my most colourful bestest image. I'm so excited. I'm already planning what paintings to display and it's not until June!

© Mary Kemp
Whippet at Sunset

And as if that wasn't enough this email pinged into my inbox.

"Dear Mary, I'm thinking of taking part in open studios this year. Have you any advice?"

Well. I don't need much encouragement.So this is what I wrote: 7 tips for success.

Hi Sarah,

Lovely to get your email. I love giving a bit of advice.

I've been doing Open Studios on and off for about 12 years now , and I would say YES without a doubt DO IT. 

1.It does take over your home and life for the time it's on though, so I only take part 2 weekends (usually the first 2) out of 3.

I've done it alone and with other artists. I like having someone else with me. This year it will be the mosaic artist who was with me last year.

2.Advertising I think is key. I usually make up an invitation and print it on the computer, then give it to everyone I know, and I have distributed in the neighbourhood. Any one is fair game.  There's also social media and your email list. I feel quite exhausted just typing all that!

3.I usually open 12 to 5 pm. The mornings I've opened have been slow. I serve tea and coffee and biscuits. Nothing fancy.

4.I say that the garden is open because people do like a good nosey round your plants.

5.I'm sure you know you must have someone with you, if only to make the drinks.

6.Usually my latest, best work goes in the most prominent place. I try to curate so it looks as though I meant to do it. I try not to put anything rubbish up.

7.I do mounted prints too, ideally in a size that fit standard frames. And I do LOTS OF CARDS. 3 for £5 seems to work well, because people often want to buy something even if it's not a painting.

This year I'm thinking of taking plastic payment as there are lots of devises on the market for that, otherwise it's cash or cheque.

Hope that gives you a bit of an idea. It's a lovely experience and well worth the effort in my opinion.

Now I look at it and I've written so much I may turn it into a blog!

Best wishes

Mary"

On reflection there's a couple of other things I think I could have mentioned, like having a visitors book to collect contact details so as to let them see your latest work, or paying attention to the lighting in the rooms.

If you've any ideas please leave a comment in the space below.

Oh, and did I say I'd spruced up my website at www.marykemp.co.uk?