A Scottish Country Garden

I've had Bridget's card, my last one of this exchange, propped up on my mantelpiece for a week or more, to gaze at and enjoy - and think of what I could say about it that it doesn't eloquently say for itself. Gorgeous rich colour, expressive and varied marks that describe her winter garden so vividly - the dormant stalks, withered leaves and brave new snowdrops in the muted, wild looking landscape. I absolutely love my little piece of Scotland, and of the painterly way it's presented - apparently casual yet so masterful! Thank you Bridget - hope that back is well on its way to recovery so you can get to zumba and walking again - though you clearly don't need to go very far to produce wonderful work.

My golden treasure.

Just before New Year, my postman drove all the way to the house to drop me my mail. We are now on good foot...we should be! I bought a calender from him! And to my delight, it was a postcard from Robyn. My Christmas was extended with a whole week.

It was an experiment she did with oil pastels on a gold acrylic ground. The gold doesn't show up so well with the scan so I took some photo's on angles with added light to catch the gold. I wanted you to see the gold acrylic ground.
On Robyn's blog you can see more of this technique she is playing around with(or messing around with, as she calls it...). How does the saying go..."One person's mess is another person's treasure"...?

...the gold reflects beautifully in the dark corner bottom left...

...more golden reflections on the ground and a view on "Giornata mondiale del teatro"...

Thank you for my golden treasure, Robyn!

Wee Scottish House in Straiton

Acrylic 14.5 x 20 cm
Bridget Hunter

This is wish fulfillment - to own a landscape painting by Bridget Hunter. What a temptation this must have been for postal workers but thank goodness they delivered it safely to me.

Trying not to gush over Bridget's work because it really speaks for itself. Click on the image to enjoy a bigger version so you can enjoy the brush strokes and the colours.

It shows how much Bridget loves this landscape. Straiton, near the Galloway Forest is where she lived happily for twenty years with her three daughters going to the tiny two teacher school. She says, 'the hills are grazed by black faced sheep and lower down by hardy beef cattle. It's Autumn now and the leaves are turning and being blown off the trees by the squally showers we're getting'.

Beautiful. Thank you, Bridget.

A pause in a wild spring garden: a postcard from Pat to Ronell.

Sometimes words aren't necessary to describe beauty. It should be left to be silently admired by each beholder.

...a pause in a wild spring garden...
acrylics and ink on watercolor paper, 12.8x17.6cm

For me, who loves "story painting", this beautiful card by Pat says it all: A pause in her wild spring garden.

Pat, who is a professional gardener among other things, captured so much of the exuberant energy and optimism of this moment with her brush and acrylics... and the poppies, of which the seeds simply came from her spice rack, call us by name out to our own gardens!

A detail of the thick luscious strokes of the acrylics on her poppies and the watery colors melting into one another to form the background. Great skill and comprehension of perspective and depth of field.

...detail...

Thank you for such a special card Pat!

Rhubarb and Bean Poles

Here's yet another wonderful postcard!  This time from Bridget in Scotland. This is done in acrylics and although the photograph hasn't done it justice, it makes it lovely loose and alive looking.  There are no figures in the sketch, yet there is a sense of quite busyness, of readiness, and of hard work having been done. Anyone who loves gardening and growing will have an immediate empathy, and I love it!

This is Bridget's comment-
 "April means lots of planting and bare earth but i love the pattern of the tall poles and the blue of the bins.  The rhubarb had been allowed to go to seed and in flower - I liked the colour!"

I like the colour too, especially of the blue bins. It's a really unusual subject, and really cleverly done. It really stuck chords.  Thanks Bridget!

Hoar Frost - Misty Morning greetings by Vivien Blackburn

Hoar Frost - Misty morning by Vivien Blackburn acrylic on paper 

I am the happy winner of a beautiful British winter landscape by Vivien Blackburn. She took the time and effort to do this piece at low temperatures. I never tempted to paint hoar frost. It is so beautiful to see the landscape powdered in white. I always considered it an "impossible" subject for me. This is a great start that fits so well for me because we had similar beautiful landscape vistas over here in Germany just a couple of days before this. Thank you Vivien!

Introducing Bridget Hunter

I live on the south west coast of Scotland and I love painting - oils, acrylics, gouache - especially the landscape around my home.

I prefer painting outside in front of the subject but, as its not always possible to do this,  I often sketch. The sketch then becomes a painting resource along with my recollection of the atmosphere and colours.

Above Loch Doon

Sketch - Loch Doon

Landscape, Loch Doon
Oil 2010

I also love walking and I'm lucky to live 10 minutes from unspoiled beaches and 10 minutes from the countryside which varies from rolling hills to rugged moorland, both populated by Blackfaced sheep, grouse, deer and buzzards.

I always drew and painted, but, as others find, working fulltime and being mother to 3 meant ironing and other such necessary activites always came first. Then I was widowed, my daughters became mums, I retired and painting has become much more than a part-time hobby.

But since joining Sketchercise and seeing all the wonderful, varied sketches of the people here and of artists' work found through the blog Making A Mark, I now appreciate drawing as an end in itself once more.

I'm very grateful to the members of Sketchercise for the opportunity to be part of this postcard exchange and look forward to being in touch, in this amazing way, with like-minded people from all around the world.