Every Painting Tells a Story. "Two Whippets Playing in the Surf"

Dear Seaside Friends,

I'm sure you'll agree with me that an artwork is not solely a collection of colours and shapes. It's so much more than that.
There's usually a bit of a story behind every painting and I thought you might like to hear how this particular painting came about.




"Two Whippets Playing in the Surf" is an oil painting on canvas panel measuring 30 x 30 cm (12" x 12")

We'd visited the beach on a Wednesday. It was quiet, not many people about and all the children at school. The beach belonged to the dog walkers and those with time to dawdle, like us.

On the sand that particular day were two dark brown whippets frolicking in  the sea under a blushing pink sky. They reminded me of children racing in and out of the waves.

There are no children with me on a daily basis any more. They're all off living their own lives, which if truth were told gives me time to paint.

For some reason much of my art has taken inspiration from the coast. After all every bit of  life is there or somewhere close by, whether it's on the beach itself or in the sea or the wonderful seaside towns and villages, sometimes very refined, often not!

I paint a lot of dogs, and love their free spirits just like children on the beach. Perhaps that why I paint them.

This painting is available now online, and in time for Christmas I have also produced a print of it which if you use your SEASIDEFRIENDS discount code gives you a 15% discount.

All best wishes

        Mary x

Border Collie Love on Etsy - Gift Guide

I love the feeling I get when I discover something new and exciting while I'm browsing a site that I love.
As you might have guessed I'm a big Etsy fan, and coming up to Christmas it's full of all sorts of enticing goodies.
I popped "Border Collie"  into the search engine, (as you might have gathered I'm a big border collie fan too) and here are some of the wonderful things that came up. I hope you enjoy them.

First I saw this unusual mug, with a border collie doing what border collies do best, going for a long walk in wild open countryside.

Blencathra Mug by Lake District Designs 

My second discovery was a rather smart tote bag, just the thing to carry those little treats home in!

This is made by Tailzgifts and is called an Agility Border Collie Shopping Tote Bag. They have lots of doggy type gifts.





I couldn't let a winter, nearly Christmas, round up go by without including a cross stitch. There's nothing like a long evening with a sewing project on your lap while you snooze over the television.
I've found a lovely border collie for you in counted cross stitch.

Border Collie 14 Count Cross Stitch Count/Kit
by BluebellThreads

My next border collie find I think is a bit niche, but they were so cute I just had to add them. They came up when I was looking at cross stitch kits.

Collie Stitch Markers by EBMetalStampingCraft

You use them for counting rows of knitting and crochetting

I looked at a lot of T shirts. 
Etsy explodes with T shirts with every possible image you could think of.
But in the end I chose a very simple understated design with a rather winsome border collie looking out at me.

Border Collie Tshirt by HisAndHersThreads

And really I know you're dying to see what my border collie offerings looks like on Etsy. I have a lot of border collie paintings and prints there, because my son's family owns the lovely Grace, a border collie with a lot of energy, and she finds her way into much of my artwork.

Jade Green Sea with Border Collie by Mary Kemp Studio

Check out Etsy, it's full of great stuff. 

Click here to visit.

Welcome Autumn!

Oh, don't you just love autumn!

© Mary Kemp.
Studio in Autumn

I revel in it's misty mornings and trees exploding into colour. There's conkers and baked potatoes, not to mention wooly jumpers, and for the knitters amongst us a new project in heather coloured wool to accompany all that telly watching.
It's just a shame it has to lead to winter.

© Mary Kemp
"Autumn Tree"

Sometimes I paint autumn (although my heart really belongs to summer)
It's very difficult for me not to reach for the blue. Sometimes I have to consciously decide not to use blue because before I know it everything is cobalt or cerulean or ultramarine.

© Mary Kemp

"Three Trees in a Russet Field"

And should I include my all time favourite autumn painting, from many years ago?

© Mary Kemp

"French Jug"

Check out my SHOP for available paintings.

Happy autumn to one and all!
                                                     Mary xx