Pyfleet Week 1-8th August

Fancy trying your hand at sketching & painting sailing boats ?

What better place to begin than by watching the great variety of boats racing away during Pyfleet week...this week... in Brightlingsea:

http://pyefleet2015.sailbrightlingsea.com/programme/

These paintings were completed in the studio after sitting sketching away... I have to be really fast and only jot down the main shapes that first catch my eye, filling pages and pages with rough sail shapes & people's silhouettes... all the time looking out to sea and drawing "blind"- hardly looking down at the paper
But one year I was lucky enough to see this boat coming straight towards me, travelling really fast, out on its own ahead in the race & clearly on a winning streak with the wind full behind its sails...

Later this sleek sailing boat below was riding high on the waves with a good strong wind; dashed straight up to where I was sitting at Splash Point & suddenly jibed just before hitting the sea wall steps !  Wow ! Boom riding over, almost into the sea wall, front sail flapping & spray flying everywhere as it dashed off at a sharp angle to continue the race...

.

 I really enjoyed the challenge of catching this, using a palette knife on the sails to give the sense of power as they turned slap into the wind right in front of me.


Then another day there wasn't even a breath of air: one of those hot hazy mornings before high tide where the sea is calm as a millpond...

A few boats had ventured out, only to become totally becalmed !
They were stuck there for nearly an hour as the tide glided in, barely moving the reflections.

This was a real gift for me... as I could sit & sketch to my hearts content...ending up with these 2 paintings (above: "Becalmed" & below : "Waiting for the Race to Begin " )

Once the tide was up, they all set sail... 

... only to discover the wind rather variable still...

some were soon taking the breeze from one another (whether they intended to or not !) 

whilst three had managed to get ahead and two others were yelling to one another: " Lets nip round behind this lot !" "Yea ! theres room on t'other side...best get around them quick !

I really enjoyed painting this one, hoping to convey the  sense of confusion afloat.

Wonder what awaits us at Brightlingsea this week ?

Butterfly Count 2015

There seem to be fewer butterflies around... is this true ? or is it just in our garden ?

I saw this beautiful Peacock butterfly a couple of years ago, but haven't noticed any since then... 

Has anyone seen any of them this year ?

I just happened to come across an advert for the  Butterfly Count... for the next week or two, until August 9th... & spent a lovely quiet 15 mins watching for butterflies.

 Saw a few large white butterflies circling around one another and then fluttering away on the breeze, or gently floating into the lavender... a couple of very small brown ones, or so I thought...but they turned out to be bees, also enjoying the lavender !  

  I was really surprised how few butterflies I saw... I thought we had planted several butterfly friendly plants...so where are all the other butterflies ? 

...years ago we used to see Red Admirals,  and many others I couldnt name...but theres a very good identification page to download from  

   

  www.bigbutterflycount.org  

A few years ago I visited a tropical butterfly house, and saw this amazing Blue Morpho which landed on a large banana leaf and basked in a pool of sunlight.

At first its wings were tightly closed & I was fascinated by the "eyes" & other patterns, quickly sketching away while it sat obligingly, almost as though it knew it was sitting for its portrait!

Can you imagine my surprise when it suddenly began to open its wings...just enough for me to glimpse this brilliant blue inside. What a challenge...could I possibly paint its portrait with this vibrant blue ? it took a long time to give the appearance of glimmer and shine, experimenting with various blue glazes...and, yes, this is one of those oil paintings that is best viewed from a distance... with, perhaps, a little time just to sit in silence....?

Climate Change

Climate Change Window

designed & made by Janet Driver in the 1990s

It must be nearly seventeen years since I was designing & making this stained glass window commissioned by the School of Life Sciences at Whitelands College, now part of Roehampton University, London.

In the 1990s Climate Change was already firmly on the agenda of the Environmental Studies Courses, and so my design includes visual predictions of increased volcanic activity, displacement of large numbers of people, tsunamis & rising sea-levels, to name just a few of the abstract images.

Even as far back as 1970s I remember discussing possibilities of alternative energy with university students; concerned young people, who realised it wasn't only a matter of curbing lead in fuel emissions, but how vital it is for the future that we move right away from fossil fuels...

... something the Guardian is now re-emphasizing with its 

 "KEEP IT IN THE GROUND" 

CAMPAIGN 

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/series/keep-it-in-the-ground

We were actively aware of the need for action on climate change at least thirty or forty years ago... how slow we humans are to adapt and take the necessary steps so vitally needed to prevent catastrophe.

Even just in the 15+ years since I made this climate change window, many of these predictions have become alarmingly true:

 first the tsunami that shocked us ten years ago,

& since then earthquakes have devastated Haiti, Japan & now Nepal...
rising sea levels still threaten the Maldives... & floods have become much more frequent worldwide...
...& then last week I heard on the TV News that the current conflict in Syria was sparked off through climate change causing fighting among farming families which escalated...

... a wake up call we dare not ignore!

and if you are still unsure, I came across an excellent book, written by an eminent Climate Scientist,
& highly readable...I mean if you are a non-scientist, like me...
 

In the Eye of the Storm: Sir John Houghton

                            ....we have just a short window of opportunity ...

Annual Art Exhibition 20th & 21st June 2015 at Elmstead Church

this exhibition is in a lovely old church with a lot of daylight flooding through the windows to light up the paintings... Whilst deciding what to choose to exhibit, I happened to read this article about renewed violence in the Darfur area of Sudan:

 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/16/why-is-the-world-blind-to-the-fresh-threat-of-genocide-in-darfur

and this made me decide to include the "Darfur Madonna" I painted a few years ago...

 ...when the plight of refugees in Darfur first began, and pictures of hundreds of women and young children were flooding the media...I found these images so moving I made a quick sketch of one of countless women queuing for food with a young child sitting atop a pitifully small bundle of their belongings ... then began the slow process of building up dozens of thin glazes of oil paint...
 a slow  meditative process
enabling me to pray whilst painting

Pentecostal Symphony

The Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe

Dodds & Co

just a few more days

to see this

fascinating exhibition

 I watched this new gallery being built over the last few months, each time I walked down the pebbly road from Wivenhoe car park.  I have to admit I was intrigued to see what kind of building had finally been accepted after all the fuss about planning permission, and as the weatherboard panels were hoisted into place I was amazed how well the subtle pale ochre blended into their surroundings. Surely even the former critics would agree this gallery has grown into a building that has really improved the area ?

 The Sentinel has not only become a lovely showcase for Prue Green's ceramics, but she is hosting the work of local Wivenhoe artists throughout the year....

http://www.thesentinelgallery.co.uk/

Do go & see the current exhibition... where many beautiful surprises await you...

                                          & don't forget to read the poems !

Shades of Spring Colour

What colour do you associate with Spring ?

Yellow ?    

I painted this group of trees with gnarled old branches, grey and empty

and yet the sun was lighting upon the small new sapling in front

full of bright young leaves

and then the distant leaves on the older trees lit up against their greying branches

giving the impression of feathery yellow puffs bringing new life....

then today I noticed such different shades of yellow in crowds of primroses under shady trees

and then the brilliance of a tiny coltsfoot, originally from the Isle of Wight chalk downs near the Needles, and now almost hidden in my garden but definately making its presence felt through that glowing depth of colour...

 and the glorious yellows of daffodils with sunlight flooding through the window

but I was surprised how many shades of purple I found today

and among the leaves just emerging...two other hidden surprises

both enjoying the sunshine !

...oooh just look at those shades of green.....

what is your favorite colour this spring ???