Why can't the Buddha vacuum under the sofa?

The end of August can only mean one thing - it's time to promote Herts Open Studios!  So we spent the morning at the Farmers' Market, arriving at 8.30am to transform a bare and windswept stall (mercifully with an awning on it in case we had another bout of torrential rain) into a credible and attractive promotion for Harpenden-based artists opening their studios to the public next month.

Harpenden Artists' stall at the Farmers Market . . .

I'm pleased to say we generated a lot of interest;  given the amount of publicity we do each year both locally and county-wide, it's surprising how many people don't know about the event.  We even found some potential new members for Herts Visual Arts, who organise the Open Studios and support Hertfordshire artists in other ways.  What's more, the sun came out and the rain stayed away for the first time in days!

. . . with my sunflower photo and a print of Cardinal's Wharf on show

This year I'm exhibiting at Artscape again, with three other artists.  Our exhibition is running alongside Open Studios, from 5th Sept - 1st Oct, and from Saturday 10th Sept at least some of us will be at Artscape to meet and chat to visitors from 1pm - 5pm every Friday & Saturday.  You can find more details and get a feel for the work on show here.

As for the riddle in the title above: for the answer to that you'll have to visit my photos on the run page on my website.  The theme is things which have made me smile in August.  We could do with a laugh in the wet weather!

matching and making

In the midst of preparing to move house, I've been working on a commission which arose out of my exhibition at Art on the Common.  My client saw one of my Acer Leaf monoprints and contacted me shortly afterwards to find out if I could produce one using specific colours.  She sent me a sample of wallpaper and I set about making colour swatches to ensure that I could match it.

wallpaper sample and colour swatches

I'd made the original monoprints in a couple of days apiece, but as this was a commission it needed to be done properly, so I laid down the base colour (lightening it as I went to get the correct shade) and left it to dry for a week before attempting to work on any leaves.  I had to make sure that the first leaf matched the wallpaper but remained dark enough to be seen against the white background:

first leaf laid down

Then I had to be patient again for a week while that dried completely!  however, working this way did mean that the printing fitted in well in around my other commitments.  The wallpaper included a silver stripe so a metallic silver was the next colour to go on.

applying metallic silver to the Acer leaf

The following weekend things got really exciting as it was time for the final colour.  I had a total of six prints - necessary in case any got spoiled - and decided to try three with gold and three with copper.  Then I hung them to dry for the last time.

makeshift drying rack

The client has chosen one of the prints with a copper leaf - which I also preferred.  Here is one of its companions to give an idea of what the finished prints are like:

one of the final prints with metallic copper and silver

As I'd never done anything as a commission before, I was relieved that the client liked the result.  In fact I don't know which of us was more pleased with the outcome!

bikes to blog about

red bike, yellow door

Who said getting married and moving house within the space of a few months was a good idea?  yes, it was me.  This punishing schedule has played havoc with my creativity already this year and we haven't even got into our new home yet . . . so I've cheated for this month's photos on the run and used a mixture of old and new photos;  some from my regular walks along the Thames and some from various trips I've made to Oxford.  I did have more, but can I lay my hands on them? don't ask . . .

The photo above is the one which gave me the idea for the July photos.  I knew I had plenty of bike pics taken in Oxford, but I needed some more recent ones.  So I started to look for bikes - there are plenty in London, too, but they're not necessarily going to make a decent photo.  So last Friday I was delighted to find the one below - I think somebody up there must have known I was looking!

bike, boat, bridge, St Paul's

Trailing Along

source photo for Backwater, Venice

Life is so chaotic at the moment it was no surprise to me when I realised that I hadn't yet blogged about my latest painting, Backwater, Venice.  I finished it a couple of months ago (I think -  I've lost track!) and since then I've been trying to decide whether I like it or not.  The painting itself was long overdue - I meant to paint several Venice subjects this year after our honeymoon back in February - but various things including an impending house move have thrown everything out of sync for some time now.

early washes for Backwater, Venice

I began by blocking in the scene with raw sienna, adding in some turquoise for the water and sky.  Elements of these initial washes were very pale, as even at that time of year the sunlight was quite strong,  and I made sure I kept the runbacks to add some watery atmosphere!

Viridian wash added

The next wash was of viridian green.  I'm attracted to this colour, although it's not everyone's cup of tea, and it added a lot of depth to the reflections in the canal.  Plus it was close to the original colour of the shutters on the buildings.  I also used it to add texture to the walls.  I was tempted to leave the painting alone after this, but it didn't have enough contrast.  So I added a final wash of ultramarine, to bring out the deepest shadows and reflections of the buildings in the water:

Backwater, Venice

This is the result - and I really can't make my mind up about it. Still, there's plenty of time to decide whether it's worth framing between now and Open Studios in September - isn't there?

* * * * * *

Elderly Couple in the window of Shephard & Akay

At the moment I have two paintings on show as part of the Hitchin Art Trail, which runs alongside the Hitchin Festival throughout July.  Elderly Couple at Rossbeigh Beach has been hung in Shephard & Akay Optometrists, Churchyard.  It's part of a seaside-themed display and I like the idea that the couple might be enjoying the view thanks to specs supplied by the business.

Breakfast at the Brown Box Cafe
in Tim's Art Supplies

My other entry,  Breakfast at the Brown Box Cafe, was one of around twenty pieces not shown by any of the participating shops.  The art trail organiser, Tim of Tim's Art Supplies in Tilehouse Street, thought they deserved to be seen so he's hung them in his own shop - some in the window, some in the art section and some (including this one) in the haberdashery & knitting wool section, which gets a lot of visitors.  My husband and I did the Art Trail on Saturday - it took two hours (!) - and it was extremely interesting to see how some businesses obviously choose by subject - music-themed paintings in music shops, the fish-and-chip shop showing a study of sea creatures - and others by size.   Maybe next year I'll be more organised and enter something relevant to specific shops.  Maybe  . . .

Statues in the City

Paternoster (Dame Elisabeth Frink), Paternoster Square
© Teresa Newham 2011

Sometimes changing your regular routine can lead to unexpected discoveries.  I recently took a slightly different route on my way to the office and found myself wandering across Paternoster Square, the other side of St Paul's Cathedral to the way I usually go; in the middle of the square is the most beautiful sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink, entitled Paternoster, depicting Our Lord as the Good Shepherd.   Another small detour revealed further treasures  -  the young lovers (a sculpture by Georg Ehrlich) cuddling up to one another in the shadow of the Cathedral itself, and further into the gardens a dramatic representation of Becket  by Bainbridge Copnall.

the UK Firefighters' Memorial, near St Paul's
© Teresa Newham 2011

 It should therefore come as no surprise that the subject I've chosen for June's Photos on the Run  (see separate page on my website) is Statues in the City.  As often with these things, it began with three and is now a series of eight photos.  I couldn't ignore the compelling UK Firefighters' National Memorial, which stands across the road from the South Door of St Paul's;  a magnet for tourists passing on their way to the Millennium Bridge, it eloquently conveys the intensity of their work during the London Blitz, and since - memorial wreaths adorn its base.  And when I venture along Walbrook I see Stephen Melton's life-size, lifelike statue of a yuppie LIFFE Trader.  At the moment he's carefully surrounded by scaffolding due to building works; usually he's lost in a scrum of commuters rushing from Cannon Street station to their offices in the heart of the City.  Once or twice I've almost apologized for bumping into him!   Not far from Walbrook is Whittington Gardens, named after the City's Lord Mayor Dick Whittington, who is buried nearby.  Here I found two Cambellotti sculptures of horsemen, given to the City of London by the Italian President during a state visit in 2005, which I hadn't really noticed before, although I visit the garden frequently. 

the Cordwainer (Alma Boyes), Watling Street
© Teresa Newham 2011

If I walk to the office along Watling Street (reputed to be the oldest street in London), I eventually come to The Cordwainer, a statue by Alma Boyes unveiled in 2002 to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Cordwainer Ward Club.  Cordwainers made shoes or other articles from fine soft leather sourced from Cordoba, in Spain - hence the name.   A famous cordwainer can be found round the corner in Cheapside - Captain John Smith, who set up a colony in America in the early 17th Century.  The statue is a copy of an original by the American sculptor William Couper which stands in Jamestown, Virginia.   I must have walked past him a dozen times, and only saw him when I started really looking!

what a difference a day makes . . .



Art on the Common 2011
© Teresa Newham 2011















June means that it's time for Art on the Common again, and sure enough around forty hopeful artists arrived at 8am last Saturday to set up their gazebos and pitches on Harpenden Common for the first day of what we hoped would be the usual two-day local art event in aid of Cancer Research.  It was cool, but sunny, and we were relieved (after last year) that there was a gentle breeze rather than a howling gale.

my set-up, thanks to my husband's help
© Teresa Newham 2011

Because S had other commitments, I'd decided to brave the first day exhibiting on my own; of course my husband kept me company (and set up the gazebo and did the general dogsbodying, bless him!), but all the art was mine.  I managed to put together what I hoped was a reasonable exhibition of watercolours, prints and photos, and because we weren't fighting the weather like last year, everything was up and organised in time for the 10am opening.



I even had room to show some old photos . . . !
© Teresa Newham 2011



The Harpenden Common Discovery Day opened at around the same time, and we spent the day sitting in the sunshine and listening to the various events going on nearby (ferret-racing, birds of prey, dog show).  My husband read while I sketched and painted and resisted the urge to pluck at my visitors' sleeves and ask if they liked what they were looking at (quite a few said nice things without prompting, which was of course much better!).  We chatted to a lovely couple who knew Portmagee, and gorged ourselves on tea and buns supplied at minimal cost by the local Scouts.  Friends came and went, and my volume of card sales crept up steadily.  By 4.30 the passers-by were on their way home and some clouds were threatening; sure enough, as we packed up some rain began to fall but we managed to get everything into the cars without it getting wet, and dashed off to six o-clock mass, ahead of the second day of exhibiting tomorrow.



Discovery Day, Harpenden Common
© Teresa Newham 2011





We knew that some people had been put off exhibiting on the second day by a poor weather forecast.  Even so, around twenty were expected for Sunday's session, and we met S on the Common as arranged at 9am.  It was windy, wet and  miserable, and only seven exhibitors had turned up.  It only took a few minutes of struggling (unsuccessfully) with the gazebo to convince us to pack up and go home again.  What bliss to sit in the warm and dry with a cup of tea!  I was sorry that S hadn't had the chance to take part this year, but she didn't seem too bothered as she'd just had a highly successful Open Studios week in Dunstable.  And I was only just starting to realise how tired I was . . .

After we'd dried out and unpacked everything my husband went into town.  Only four gazebos were braving it in the driving, constant rain and by the time he came home again barely half an hour later, only two were left. 

Ah, the English summer!

street life

violinists underneath Southwark Bridge

I've called today's blog Street Life, but in fact in my latest crop of photos on the run there's not a street to be seen.  They were all taken within the space of twenty minutes on the walk from my office near Southwark Bridge over the river towards St Paul's.  It was 5pm on a Friday evening, and the crowds were out in force enjoying the unusually warm May sunshine.  Naturally, a whole host of vendors and entertainers had come out to join them and make a bob or two: as I walked past the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern and over the Millennium Bridge I couldn't help but be caught up in the festive atmosphere conjured up by the music and the smell of roasting chestnuts.  It was a great start to the weekend!

masks & memories

Venetian Masks

reduction linocut in black & metallic gold

© Teresa Newham 2011

It's nearly three months now since J & I had our honeymoon in Venice, but the memories are as strong as ever.  Every photo or painting of Venice that I see - anywhere, and by anyone - takes me straight back there.  I understand now what people mean when they say that Venice is magical.  Once seen, never forgotten!  The recent long weekend offered the opportunity for some printmaking; I'd already decided to take a couple of carnival masks as my subject.  Until I visited Venice I'd always found masks rather creepy - those empty eyes - but five days surrounded by them on every street corner must have done the trick, because I was raring to go!! they also had the advantage of being visually graphic, thereby lending themselves effectively to a linocut.  As a starting point, I used one of the honeymoon photographs:


Venetian Masks on display
© Teresa Newham 2011

Then, having chosen two masks I particularly liked, I turned them into a 14 x 18cm black and white image (just to check their suitability).  From that I traced the image onto some paper, adjusted the design and coloured in the drawing with black biro and yellow marker pen, to determine where the colours would go. After last year's efforts at reduction lincocuts, I'd decided that it would be simpler to stick to just a couple of colours.  I traced the drawing onto a prepared A4 sheet of lino, leaving room for a 35mm gully around the edge of the image and a 5mm lino border - which is not inked and does not print - around that at the edge of the lino.   It takes a while to cut the gully out but the result is a much neater and well-aligned print - important if you are using more than one colour. 


basic drawing and first cut
© Teresa Newham 2011

True to form, things went wrong almost immediately, as the image came out on the lino identical to the drawing.  Which meant that the finished linocut print would be the wrong way round!  But as this was a graphic subject it really didn't matter - I'd earlier printed out a reverse image and coloured it in to guide me when I was doing the actual cutting, and I could see that it would work either way.  I gritted my teeth and started to cut the image.  I had another setback when despite my best efforts I couldn't prevent the nostrils of one of the masks from getting cut off;  they would have to go in afterwards.  Ironically I used a different tool for the other mask and managed to keep the nostrils in.   Well, at least I'd found a solution . . . !



first gold print and the inked-up lino block
© Teresa Newham 2011

Now for the best bit - the inky bit.  There's nothing quite like squeezing some lovely gold metallic onto the inking glass and going over it with the roller.   Metallic ink doesn't act in quite the same way as ordinary ink - it's a different consistency and dries faster.  So I had to work quickly to pull my eight prints, using a large roller to get the image to 'take' on the paper, and then burnishing it with the back of an old dessert spoon I begged off my Dad a few months ago for this very purpose.  It worked like a dream and I soon had eight gold-and-white prints laid out on the dining room table.

metallic gold prints & my 'inking glass'
(part of an old photo frame)
© Teresa Newham 2011

Despite all the careful planning, I had to adjust the cutting when it came to making the black plate.  In one or two places there were two areas of the same colour side by side, so I introduced a simple zig-zag pattern onto some of the pieces of fabric which frame each mask (they looked so good when I'd finished that I wished I'd included some more!).  By the time I printed the black plate I was extremely nervous, but also excited.  And glad I hadn't used more colours, as it would have taken longer and I was keen to see what the end result would be!


eight gold-and-black prints, drying
© Teresa Newham 2011

I was thrilled.  I didn't quite manage to integrate all of the cutting so there are one or two odd lines which don't make complete sense, but the overall effect is exactly what I intended.  I didn't even need to add those nostrils in.  And although you can't see it on screen, that gold is fabulous.   Oh, and my next linocut subject?  more masks, of course - I've caught the bug!!

sunshine in the City

Wisteria, St Paul's Churchyard
© Teresa Newham 2011

As I mentioned in my last blog, we enjoyed an unseasonal heatwave in the run-up to Easter.  Sunny weather brings out the tourists and locals alike in London (the latter easily spotted by their pasty skin slowly turning red in the unaccustomed heat).  With two four-day weekends in prospect for Easter and the Royal Wedding there was a festive atmosphere in the City; wandering the streets between City Thameslink station and my office just south of Southwark Bridge I was tempted to reach for my mobile phone camera more than once.

I've posted a few of the results to the Photos on the Run page on my website.  Whether tourists, commuters hurrying to the office or people (known as mudlarks) scavenging at the river's edge for who-knows-what, we were all delighted to see the sun!

Out of Sync

Ludgate Hill - outline sketch, inked up but not painted
© Teresa Newham 2011

I've come to the conclusion that artists live their lives out of sync.  Or maybe it's just me . . .  I have a whole list of 'future paintings' slowly coming into being in my head, there's usually a 'current painting' on the go (or at least an initial sketch of it), and once it's finished, to my mind it's done and dusted - old hat - until a few months later when I find myself framing it up for exhibition and watching other people's reactions to it.

Ludgate Hill - 'inspirations board' and experimental colour washes
© Teresa Newham 2011

This has been brought home to me forcibly over the last couple of weeks while I've been painting Ludgate Hill, a view which I'd been intending to capture since I did some London-themed paintings last year.  Exactly how to go about it was (as usual) the question, and it wasn't until I emerged from City Thameslink station in a downpour one dingy February morning earlier this year that I had the answer:  the lights and reflections of the traffic and shop windows and people.

Ludgate Hill - half painted
© Teresa Newham 2011

What with one thing and another I didn't even get an initial sketch down until March; translating it to something I could paint, adjusting the layout and inking it up brought me to April before any watercolour paint got near it.  The net result is a scene of a gloomy, wet, atmospheric day which was actually painted during the hottest April weather I can remember.  And next up I'm going to try my hand at some paintings of Venice, which I also visited in February when the weather there was bitterly cold . . . . !

Ludgate Hill
pen & watercolour wash
© Teresa Newham 2011