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Monday 30 September 2019

Demo-happy



Cross Farm
Inktense Pencil sketch by Teresa Newham

For this year's #HertsOpenStudios demonstrations, I was mostly working in Inktense Pencil, making sketches from photos on my iPad. Backlit on the screen, photos have a wonderful vibrancy which is often lost when they're printed out.


the Sunflower sketch taking shape
© Teresa Newham

It was a good opportunity to work up some of this summer's photos into something a little more - I'd been wondering whether the Cross Farm picture might make a good print, for example - and to experiment with different pencil techniques.


Sunflower
Inktense Pencil sketch by Teresa Newham


The beauty of these pencils is that they are easily set aside when visitors arrive - a must for an Open Studios event - and can be taken up again without losing your thread; I started the dahlias one afternoon and finished them three days later at the next session.


various stages of the Dahlias sketch
© Teresa Newham

A wide variety of colours can be made with just a few of the pencils, and I enjoyed straying from my usual palette and having some fun with them.  I particularly loved the contrast in the photo of the dahlias - the leaves really were that colour!


Dahlias
Inktense Pencil sketch by Teresa Newham

Some of the sketches were done more quickly than others, depending on who came in while I was making them; and the Hitchin Lavender picture took only an afternoon, because I wanted to get on with something else at the following session . . .


the lavender sketch, emerging
© Teresa Newham

I was tempted to make more sketches, but I'd used up all the remaining leaves of watercolour paper in the book; and my spare paper was well buried in the studio beneath the exhibits.  I didn't fancy trying to dig it out!


Hitchin Lavender
Inktense Pencil sketch by Teresa Newham

With Christmas not that far away, I decided to jolly up some plain gift tags, taking care not to get ink on the general public. It was by far the smallest piece of lino I'd ever worked with, but perfect for demonstrating the technique in a small space.


my smallest demo ever (!) . . .
© Teresa Newham

A huge thanks to all our lovely visitors who made this year's #HertsOpenStudios such a great fune, and to Sue Wookey for sharing a studio with me!


. . . resulted in these!
© Teresa Newham








Sunday 15 September 2019

. . . . and breathe!



paintings, prints, cards in the dining room
© Teresa Newham


The last print is mounted and framed for display, the browsers are filled, the cards are neatly stacked in their racks.  Everything that should be ready is ready, and on display.  #HertsOpenStudios has begun!


my studio, crammed with stuff
© Teresa Newham

We can finally relax, breathe a little, and settle down to demonstrating watercolours (Sue) and Inktense pencil sketches (me, with some lino printing thrown in).


Sue is making use of every available surface
 © Teresa Newham

As usual we're offering our visitors coffee, tea and cake while they browse; many of the people who come to take a look have been before, and it's good to catch up with them, as well as making new friends.


room for demos and a charity sale
© Teresa Newham

I've even found room to display a couple of A4 sketchbooks - my regular one I use when working up paintings and linocut prints, and the visual diary I made last winter.  I hope people enjoy them!


my sketchbooks, getting an airing
© Teresa Newham