Post on 04-Jun-2018
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PACKED WITH ARTICLES YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS...Congratulations to Roni Hennen, our winner of the January Monthly Challenge. Her winningpainting, ‘Getting to Know You’, takes pride of place on our front cover.
Paint My Photo 5Spring Edition 2013
Original reference photo provided by Gary Jones
‘Snowdrops’ Photo by ChrissyM
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Well, Here It Is... PaintMyPhoto’s Latest Newsletter
A warm welcome to our latest PaintMyPhoto newsletter. There have
been so many wonderful new reference photos and artworks created
since our last edition!
I would like to apologise to everyone for not being around on
PaintMyPhoto as much as I'd like for the last few weeks. Unfortunately,
work and personal commitments have been at the forefront, but I
have still managed to find time to put together this 5th edition of our
newsletter that I hope you will enjoy. Thank you everyone who has so
kindly taken the time to contribute to the newsletter - it wouldn't exist
without you! I never fail to be overwhelmed by the generosity and
goodwill of PaintMyPhoto's members.
I'm sure you will also join me in extending a hearty 'thank you' to
PaintMyPhoto’s volunteer administrators who keep the site running. An extra-special mention must go to Robyn Lovelock and Suzanne
Wallick who work tirelessly helping out members, new and old, and
also invest a great deal of time in making the monthly challenges the
pleasure they are to participate in.
Last, but not least, none of this would be possible without
PaintMyPhoto's very own Roy Simmons, who founded the site to
enable photographers to provide copyright-free reference photos for
artists to use as inspiration. He cannot have realised the extraordinary
impact it would have on so many lives. Thank you, Roy!
Ruth Archer
EDITOR’S
WELCOME
Dawn Sail to Hydra
Father and Son
Someone’s at the Door
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Perfect Photos of Provence & Stunning Street Scenes to Name but a Few...
First and foremost, on behalf of all members, maywe thank you for your generosity in sharing your
wonderful photos! Can you tell us how you first
discovered Paint My Photo?
I first started with IDAP in September 2010,
following some tutorials, painting some basic
things and subscribed to the watercolor
challenge. November 2010 a photo (Fig still
life) from PMP by Teresa Houston was
chosen as the painting challenge of themonth. Bix, leading this group, suggested to
me to post it on PMP to show it to Teresa. I
spent some time finding my way on PMP but finally
went through all difficulties and started to post my photos
as well. Nowadays, I enjoy every minute I spent on PMP,
looking for photos which can suit my feelings of the
moment to express myself artistically. I like to have a look
at others contribution too, artwork and photos.
What is your favourite photography subject?
I take so many ... it’s difficult to single out a specific
subject. Flowers, people, animals, village views,
landscapes, lavender fields, streets ... but my heart is
closely attached to Provence in France for sure. Eachtime I go south, my camera gets hot. I can shoot 1000
pictures a week.
What type of camera and equipment do you
use for the photographs that you post on
Paint My Photo?
I’m using a bridge camera: a Sony DSC-
HX1 with a 20x lens (extends from 28mm
to 560mm). It has also a HD video recorder,a 3 inch tilting LCD screen, up to 10 frames/
second and panoramic view shots. The best
compromise for a good price in my opinion.
Sometimes I also use a tripod.
What, if any, photography/image software do you
use to manage your photos?
I never rework my photos. Sometimes I crop a part of it,
frame my paintings with a French shareware called
Photofiltre and Picassa.
Franklin
Franklin is a very talentedartist and photographer wholives in Belgium.
Visit Franklins’ gallery on PMPto see more of his wonderful
photos and paintings. Visit hisPMP profile to contact him.
MEET THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
Franklin
The Cello Woman Show
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If you had to choose just one photograph that you have posted on
Paint My Photo, which one would it be and why?
The ceramic shop in Roussillon is one of my first but also a very successful
photo on PMP. I really like this village and I can spend hours just hanging
around to find something I would have missed the visit before. The village
view of Saignon, is a very paintable village, my Egyptian girl, my daughter,
the Provence balcony, the rolled petals (flower), my abstract reflections, thepoor fellow I’ve met in Prague.
Finally, we’d love to know a little more about you, do you have a
personal website (or other online presence) where we can see more
of your work?
I’m still working part time (4 days a week) as an Application and Development
Engineer in the aluminum business.
Being a sportsman since my early youth, I’ve played football (soccer), basket-
ball, volley-ball, swimming and karate. Martial art has been an important part
of my lifestyle. I’m a 4th Dan Shotokan and I’m still practicing 4 times a
week, teaching kids and adults.
Artistically, I’m still posting on IDAP and PMP as Franklin (subscribe and be
my friend) but also on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/francis.klinkemallie
Now you know why I’m using a nickname as FranKlin. It is the first 4 letters
of my first name and name.
I’ve started painting watercolor in September 2010 and couldn’t stop since.
Lot of my painting is referenced from a PMP photo and if I’m still painting, it’s
due to the encouraging comments from some good friends on PMP. I’m sure
they will recognize themselves. Some of them joined my group of friends on
Facebook as well and I enjoy this because it makes our discussions even more
familiar.
You can see more of Franklin’s many wonderful photos and
paintings by visiting his PaintMyPhoto gallery:
http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/klinkemalliefrancis
FRANKLIN
Provence Balcony
Egyptian Girl
Carlyn - 1
Winter SceneOld BarnQuartier Des Usines
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FRANKLIN
Small Street (2)
Martial Art
Bar in Antwerp
Chat-Kha
Rolled Petals
Abstract Reflection 1The Poor Fellow
Saignon
Sunflowers - 13
Enter the Light
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Rodney’s Gallery is Packed with Amazing Bird & Insect Photos, Plus More!
First and foremost, on behalf of all members, may
we thank you for your generosity in sharing your
wonderful photos! Can you tell us how you
first discovered Paint My Photo?
I spent a great deal of time on the internet
looking for subjects to paint. Being
concerned about copyright issues, I would
email the photographer to get permission to
use their photo as reference for my paintings.
Most gladly gave me their permission but it was
not always possible to locate an email address for aphotographer.
I saw references to PMP on ID&P as well as on a couple
of other sites. I was delighted to find that Roy had setup
a site that took care of my concerns about copyright
and provided an opportunity for myself and others to
share our photos. PMP also inspired me to shelf my little
used point and shoot camera and to purchase one with
more range and capabilities. I began in earnest to
capture photographs that could serve as reference for
myself and others. It's been great to meet so many
interesting artists and photographers through this site.
It's also been quite exciting to see how this site has
grown over a period of a couple of years.
What is your favourite photography
subject?
My favorite subjects are wildlife and flowers.
I particularly like butterflies because they
frequently give me an opportunity to
photograph both in one shot.
When I was a youth I spent a great deal of time in thefields and forests. I took nature and my surroundings for
granted. Now that I'm much older and have the time to
revisit the outdoors, I find that many of the quail,
pheasant, loons of my youth are no longer in this area.
There is however an abundance of some species that
were rare when I was young. We have nesting Osprey
near my home as well as an abundance of Egrets and
Herons. Photographing animals is particularly rewarding
for me because it requires learning about their behaviors
and habits in order to locate and photograph them.
Rodney Campbell
Rodney is one of PMP’s verytalented photographers and isbased in the USA.
To see more of his photos, visithis gallery on PaintMyPhoto.
Rodney can be contacted onhis PaintMyPhoto profile.
MEET THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
RodneyCampbell ‘Sparrow Preparing to Land’
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What type of camera and equipment do you use for the photographs
that you post on Paint My Photo?
My camera is a Nikon D5000. My lenses are a Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens,
a Tamron 90mm Macro Lens and my favorite a Nikkor 70-300mm VR
telephoto lens.
What, if any, photography/image software do you use to manage your photos?
I use Photoshop Elements 8 to crop and edit my photos. I occasionally use
Photomatix software to create an HDR or High Dynamic Range photo.
If you had to choose just one photograph that you have posted on
Paint My Photo, which one would it be and why?
Serendipity plays a large roll in photography. I would have to say that my
favorite photo is of the Boy and the Girl holding hands. I saw them on the
sidewalk while vacationing near Traverse City Michigan. I had no time to get
a technically good photograph but I captured the essence of what I saw and I
think their joy and happiness comes through.
Finally, we’d love to know a little more about you, do you have a
personal website (or other online presence) where we can see more
of your work?
My website is rodney-campbell.artistwebsites.com.
More of Rodney’s wonderful photographs and paintings
can be viewed in his gallery on PaintMyPhoto.
RODNEY CAMPBELL
Lungwort Blooms
Bobcat
Swallowtail Butterfly
Greenhouse Keeper’s Door Rock Glen Wawatam Light St Ignace Michigan
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RODNEY CAMPBELL
Bald Eagle
Cherry Blossoms
Niagara Top of Horseshoe Falls
Old Wooden Fence
Red Fox
Make a Wish
Widow Skimmer (Female)
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If You are a Portrait or Figure Painter, Make Sure You Visit Freda’s Gallery!
Can you tell us how you first found out about Paint
My Photo?
I had been a member of another site where I
could share my photos. Other members
were very creative and I became fascinated
with the techniques, but it was strictly a
gardening site so they didn't allow me to
share all of my photography. So I started
looking for another site that would better suit
my needs.
I found a site called Picture Social at picturesocial.com I
loved that site but it was here that one of my friends
there told me about Paint My Photo, because she knew
that I loved painting in watercolor. I have enjoyed the
site and it seems to be perfect for me. I hope to be here
a very long time.
What is your favourite photography subject?
My favorite subject is my daughter, because this is
something we love doing together. However, life itself
inspires me. I love capturing images in my camera lens
that has the potential to be framed as is and appreciated
as art. I love creating the perfect compositions and seeing
the results. Digital cameras are awesome for this
purpose.
What type of camera and equipment do
you use for the photographs that you
post on Paint My Photo?
I use a Canon 60D with the standard lens that
came on the camera and a Canon 70-300 zoom
lens. Before I got the 60D I used the Canon EOS 20IS.
What, if any, photography/image software do you
use to manage your photos?
I would love to own Photoshop, but for now I do very
little editing. There is a site that I go to sometimes called
Pic Monkey that allows me to edit my photos somewhat.
I also have software that came with my camera called
"Digital Photo Professional".
Freda Austin Nichols
Freda is an extremely talentedphotographer and artist basedin the USA.
You can contact Freda byvisiting her profile page on
PaintMyPhoto. To see more ofher wonderful work visit herPaintMyPhoto gallery.
MEET THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
‘Mystery’
Freda Austin Nichols
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If you had to choose just one photograph that you have posted on
Paint My Photo, which one would it be and why?
The photo titled "Remember" is the one I would choose, because it reminds
me of a painting done by a famous painter, Andrew Wythe. This photo is of
an old house that sits on a hill in the horizon with a girl in a white dress at the
bottom walking towards the house.
Finally, we'd love to know a little more about you, do you have a
personal website (or other online presence) where we can see more
of your work?
I was born in Orange County, New York, but moved south when I was very
young. I now reside in a small town in the foothills of the beautiful Blue
Ridge Mountains with my husband, two children and one precious grandson.
I graduated from Ferrum College in 1998 with a Bachelor of Art, a minor in
history and a second minor in education. I am now a certified k-12 art
teacher at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School where I have taught for
fourteen years.
I have exhibited my work at numerous Piedmont area shows winning awards
such as 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the watercolor division as well as
honorable mentions and people's choice awards. Although I experiment with
many mediums in the art world my preference is watercolor.
I am a member of a site called Pixoto.com:
http://www.pixoto.com/freda.nichols1/recent.
I am on Facebook and I have recently completed a website for my galleries at
artistwebsites.com where people can purchase my artwork and photography:
http://fredanichols.artistwebsites.com/.
PMP Members can also see more of Freda’s fabulous photos and artwork by
visiting her PaintMyPhoto Gallery.
FREDA AUSTIN NICHOLS
Blonde Curls
A Boy and His Dog
Strawberry Ice Cream
Still Life
RunawayTime Is No Joke
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Bright Side
Free
Lady Grey and Friend
Water Lily
My Lady
FREDA AUSTIN NICHOLS
Wild-Side
A Fiddle
General Lee
Ferrum HorsesLunch
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An Artist's-Eye View of Creative Inspiration
There are so many things that can inspire a painting, it could be poetry/literature, a significant life event, a
special place, colours, photographs (of course!) and above all, for me, music, which is my primary source.
Every painting that I produce will almost certainly be derived
from music that I have listened to. If not, then I will still havebeen listening to music while I’m working.
Music is highly subjective and we all have our particular
favourites. I enjoy a wide spectrum of music, but I am adedicated fan of progressive rock and find my inspiration from
the music of bands like Pink Floyd/David Gilmour, The MoodyBlues and Canadian composer/singer/songwriter, Rick Miller.
I painted a large acrylic painting recently that was inspired byRick Miller’s amazing song, ‘Return to Uqbar’. It was a verychallenging painting and tested my level of skill to its maximum
and beyond, but nonetheless I felt a great connection to it andenjoyed the process immensely.
What made this painting particularly rewarding is that the songwas itself inspired by a short story written by the 20th centuryArgentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, called "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis
Tertius". So, from the written word came a wonderful song and,in turn, I was inspired to paint an image from my imagination.
Isn’t creativity a joyous thing?
Ruth Archer
I am a web developer by dayand an artist & photographerwhenever possible. I ambased in Cambridgeshire, UK.
I also help Roy as an
administrator & Newslettereditor on PaintMyPhoto. Youcan visit my gallery andcontact me via PaintMyPhoto.
IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF ART,
PLAY ON...
Creative Inspiration‘The Downfall of Icarus’
‘Return to Uqbar’ - acrylicpainting based on a song of the
same name.
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PaintMyPhoto also has a key role to play in how I develop my ideas. I am just in the process of starting
another large painting called ‘Angels in the Forest’, which has been inspired by another of Rick’s songs of
the same name. It is a haunting piece and I have been thinking about how I could create a painting that
will convey the emotions that it evokes in me for some time. I’m not an experienced figure painter and I
don’t have access to live models, so when Freda
Austin Nichols posted her superb photo ‘Waiting’, it
was like Manna from Heaven! I immediately saw a
composition that I thought would work for me.
Steve Lyddon has posted so many enchanting andatmospheric woodland photos and these are helping
me to form the background.
So at this point in time I am busy using photos
provided by Freda and Steve to define the
composition, Rick’s song is continuing to enchant
me, and a recent visit to the Pre-Raphaelite
exhibition at the Tate Britain has inspired me further.
All these elements are collectively helping me in mycreative process.
I find that for me that sometimes an idea needs to evolve in its own time, as is the case with my latest
painting. The more I try to ‘force’ an idea, the more I tend to struggle with it. Until recently I’ve also
lacked the confidence to tackle many of my ideas and then a friend said the following to me:
What poignant and sage words these are and I wanted to share them with you. Creating art, in whatever
form, is a pleasure that is available to everyone and should be embraced accordingly. No one should ever
feel that they aren’t ‘good enough’, or didn’t have formal training and therefore cannot produce
interesting and creative artwork. Just enjoy being creative!
Here at PaintMyPhoto, not only do we want to provide wonderful reference material for ourmembers, we also strive to actively encourage and inspire everyone who would like to
express themselves creatively.
An Artist's-Eye View of Creative Inspiration
IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF ART, PLAY ON...
The start of my latest painting‘Angels in the Forest’
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An Interview with Rick Miller, Composer, Singer, Songwriter and Musician
1) First and foremost, Rick, thank you for taking the time to talkto us. Music is known to be a great source of inspiration for
painting. As a musician, what do you find inspires your songs and
music?
Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to take part.
Looking back at the music I have created over that last 5 years or so,I have to say that personal experiences are the driving force behindmy artistic inspiration. Some of the experiences I’ve had over thelast 5 years have affected me deeply, and when someone of anartistic temperament is emotionally affected, the result is usually anartistic expression of some kind.
For me, the most powerful form of expression is music, so when I
feel the need to express myself artistically, music is usually theresult.
Rick Miller
Rick is a multi-talentedcomposer/singer/songwriter/musician and producer basedin Canada.
All Rick’s music can be found
on his website:
rickmiller.bandcamp.com
IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF ART,
PLAY ON...
A Musician’s Perspective
Rick has painted theartwork for most of
his albums.
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2) Your music often includes classical instruments, such as the
flute, cello and violin, played by very talented musicians who join
you. How do you decide on which instruments to include in a
piece?
When writing music, I tend to hear it in my head first. Sometimes you
hear what instruments you feel should be playing, and sometimes not.
So what it really gets down to is trial and error. Because music to me
is more of a hobby rather than a profession, I can afford to takeplenty of time and try different things, and with this time, I will try
different sounds with different backgrounds over and over until I find
the right sound. Sometimes this is easier said than done.
3) When developing a new piece, do you leave the guest musicians
to interpret the song and play freely, or is it a more controlled
process?
Depends on the musician and the music. My flute player (Sarah Young)and my cello player (Mateusz Swoboda) are both classically trained
musicians who are much more comfortable with a sheet of music in
front of them. I may make suggestions as to the playing style, but the
music itself has to be written down ahead of time. Another factor is
that they both have day jobs, so they can’t afford to take lots of time
working with me to figure out the best approach to a piece.
Barry Haggarty on the other hand, who plays lead guitar for me is a
rock musician at heart. I tend to just give him the outline of what I
need done and let him go at it. I always get him to play severaldifferent versions of something, which I will pick apart later in my
own studio, then put back together the way I want it.
4) Not only are you a multi-talented musician, you also paint as
well and have painted most of the artwork for your CDs. Where
does your inspiration for your paintings come from?
My answer to this question is more or less the same as I gave for your
first question. Painting like music is a form of artistic expression and
when artistic people feel the need to express themselves, some form
If Music Be The Food Of Art, Play On...
An Interview with Rick Miller, Composer, Singer, Songwriter & Musician Cont...
An Interview WithRick Miller
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Roy Needs Our Help!
It is surprising sometimes how ideas develop. Ruth had
already begun her article on the inspiration she and others
find from music when I approached her regarding a
project that I was contemplating which involves a
musician friend, David Stanley
(www.davidstanleymusic.co.uk ).
David is a musician who now works full time with Mencap
students with learning disabilities. My Daughter is one of
his students, so of course I have a great interest in hiswork! Rather than me
explaining in detail about all that is being done, and how this really (and
I mean REALLY!) benefits people.
Please see if you can find time to sit down and watch this professionally
produced 1 hour documentary about the Mencap music school, and the
music man project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1SdQ0auLg
I think you’ll agree what a worthy cause this is and understand my
passion to support it.
Roy Simmons
Roy is the founder/owner ofPaintMyPhoto. Without hisgenerosity none of this wouldbe possible - heartfelt thanksRoy!
Contact Roy on his profile atPMP. View Roy’s paintings inhis PMP Gallery.
‘Paignton Sunset’
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You may also like to know that the British Prime Minister has seen the documentary and sent a letter to
David endorsing and encouraging his work:
So with such high level support you would be forgiven for thinking that the project is well funded and does
not need help from anyone. However this is not true, like many charities in these difficult times, raising
funds and obtaining grants is a challenge.
I am also of the opinion that the best way to raise both awareness and a little money is by giving people a
fair value exchange. This is what David does with his many fund raising concerts and events.
So as the saying goes... ’ and now for something completely different...’.
The Project:
Performance, Show or Event...
I need your help, and... I need your Art. I am taking a
leap and hoping to create an event which probably
needs a new title. I hope to build this idea in full view,
warts and all, in a discussion on PMP. If successful
(and success has yet to be defined!) it can become a
blueprint for similar ‘events’ in your part of the world,
and for many other good causes. Please checkout the
most up to date information on this discussion on
PMP.
So, what on earth is Roy on about? You may well ask.
Well, for this event I envision a performance involving
Art and Music. A dialogue between a Musician (David) and a Painter (Me- and/or you!) There would be a
discussion of terms shared by music and painting. Colour, texture, harmony, counterchange (counterpoint),
tempo, etc. With, perhaps, musical examples and example paintings. I would hope to be able (with
permission of course!) to use PMP members paintings to illustrate the points. I will also produce a couple of
my fast loose watercolours, or gouache paintings ‘to music’. I hope to be broadcasting live on youtube via a
hangout, as well as video recording being made at the event.
PAINT IT FORWARD...PMP & CharityRoy Simmons
‘Lyddon’s Woods’
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Although this is still early days I have had encouraging feedback alreadyand Paul Carpenter Films may be involved if planning goes well. I am
hoping that Hangouts give the opportunity to engage with online audience,
however, this all needs to be tested out. I hope you find the possibilities
that our connected world offers as exciting as I do. So, enough for now,
please join in the discussions and let me have your ideas!
Since writing the above I have been further inspired by a couple of threads
on PMP that have developed around the idea of paintings being ‘gifted’ to
another member, who then gave to charity as ‘payment’ for the Artwork!
What an amazing idea! Could this be expanded? Do members want to
fund raise in that way? We will need to discuss this, and see what
develops.
Roy, January 2013
PAINT IT FORWARD...
‘Return to Uqbar’ may appear as
part of the event. Rick Miller hasgenerously given permission for
the music to be used.
PMP & CharityRoy Simmons
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An Interview with Roni Hennen, Winner of the January Challenge
1) You are relatively new to PMP, Roni....how did you find us, and what is your overall
impression of our little community so far?
This site is a Godsend for those of us, which is probably most of us, who don't have the time or resources to
travel the globe taking our own photos to paint from. Not to mention having the photographic skills to get
shots worthy of painting....( my personal photographic equipment consists of an iPhone and a 5mg pocket
model SLR, not going to far with that! ). An artist friend of mine got tired of listening to me bemoaning the
fact that when I did find an image I'd like to paint, it was rarely "legally" accessible, and pointed me to PMP.
The site is chocked full of information, yet I found it easy to navigate, and if I needed help, someone was
always willing to point me in the right direction. Obviously, there are people devoting a great deal of time andtalent to making this work, and all I can say is a heartfelt THANK YOU!
2) Tell us a little about yourself and your art. (how long have you been in the art field, are you a
professional or casual painter, and what is your favorite kind of painting, and in what media?
What do you envision for your future in art?)
I've been involved in creative endeavours of one kind or another for as long as I can remember, but as a
single mom, I could only justify taking time creating if it also served a practical purpose, usually saving me
money. So for years my creative outlets were sewing, quilting, knitting and jewellery making. It was my
interest in beading that led me to invent and patent a product called Thread Heaven Thread Conditioner.
Roni Hennen
Roni recently joined us onPaintMyPhoto and is a verytalented artist. She is basedin America.
You can view Roni’s gallery, or
contact Roni on her profilepage on PaintMyPhoto.
JANUARY CHALLENGE:
NEW BEGINNINGS
Roni HennenOurWinner!
‘Snowy Egret’
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Time may have been a limited commodity before, but
that was nothing compared bringing a product from
conception through development, production, and
into the market place, and unfortunately the first
thing left off of my to-do list was creating stuff. Then
about six or seven years ago, I realized I not only had
the time, but perhaps for the first time in my life, the
resources, to just make art for the heck of it, andpainting went to the very top of my to-do list! Except
for a couple of drawing courses in college, I'm self-
taught, well, self-taught with the help of at least 100
art instruction books, almost every instructional
magazine printed in the last six years, and more hours
on YouTube than I really want to think about! I
started working with colored pencils and moved to
watercolor, which has become my favorite medium.
Although I've painted many watercolors, I feel I'm just beginning to know this beautiful, but
temperamental "partner" in art. I hope to be painting
for as long as I am breathing, but I don't ever want to
be a "professional". I have a job, and have had many
others, so painting for the sheer joy and wonder of it
is more than enough for me!
3) You entered our January painting challenge,
"New Beginnings" and it was your first ever on PMP....were you surprised to find out that you
had won, and what was your first thoughts?
Well, it was kind of funny really. You see, I had posted a note to the discussion on the last day of the month
saying that working with the limited, three pigment palette had been such an eye opening experience that
whatever the outcome, I felt like I had already "won". So, the next morning when I got an email
congratulating me on winning, I thought it was a reference to that post. Then I got another, and another,
but it wasn't until quite late in the day that I actually checked to see if the results had been posted and if
the judges had picked the ones I had. I almost fell of my chair when I read my name..actually I had to read
it about five times before it sunk in!
JANUARY CHALLENGE An Interview withWinner Roni Hennen
Gary Jones’ Original Photo ‘Elephants’
Roni’s Winning Entry - ‘Getting To Know You’
An Interview with Roni Hennen, Winner of the January Challenge Cont.
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4) Your entry for the challenge was based on one of Gary Jones beautiful wildlife photos...what
drew you to it, and what were your thoughts about how you planned to paint from it? Did you
enjoy painting in only 3 hues within the primary colors and black and white??
I paint mostly animals and birds, but I don't consider myself a "wildlife" painter in the traditional sense in
that I really don't care about faithfully rendering all the details of the subject, or its habitat. Rather, I try to
invest them with some idea of "personality" usually based on a specific characteristic of the breed. The
elephant's sense of "family" is well documented and I thought I might be able to convey that working fromthis photo. The idea of working with only three pigments seemed a bit daunting, but because of the rather
monochromatic look of this photo and decided it would lend itself to experimentation with this limited
palette. Not only did I enjoy working this way, I plan to continue exploring this approach for quite some
time.
5) Do you feel that you might learn from our monthly challenges? Will you enter more in the
future, and are there any ideas that you would like to see included as a monthly painting
challenge?
I read somewhere that painting is really just a process of problem solving..what do I want to say?, what
colors do I want to use? Would it be better if this was over here and that over there? ...on and on. But,
sometimes in gaining experience solving these problems, I find myself falling back on solutions that I know
work instead of searching for new ones. When this becomes too much of a habit, the work starts to
stagnate. The monthly challenge forced me right out of my comfort zone like a big ole kick in the butt, and I
will be looking forward to each and every new one that is coming. I may not always enter a piece for
judging, but I know I will always give it a try.
Being so new to PMP, I'm not really sure what ideas have already been put forth, but if I think of something,
I'll be sure to let you know!
JANUARY CHALLENGE An Interview withWinner Roni Hennen
An Interview with Roni Hennen, Winner of the January Challenge Cont.
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I would venture to state that everyone knows the story A Tale of Two Cities. In my case it’s a Tale of Two
States. My art career really began in earnest after I retired and my husband wanted to try going to Arizonafor a month to escape cold and snowy Montana for a few weeks. Upon arrival at the RV park where we’d
reserved a space for a month, I ventured up to the Activity Center and asked the Activity Director if theyhad someone who taught watercolor classes, hoping to find someone who knew more than I did and could
teach ME! The response was “NO! But would you like to???” They had a room at the center that had asink and running water open and I said, “Why not! It might be fun.”
I had spent my entire professional career of 32 years teaching special education and knew a few thingsabout how people learn. I had had a few watercolor classes in Montana and had found that while you
might have a wonderful artist who did all kinds of great things, they often had a terrible time trying to
convey to others just what they were doing that worked. I also knew from years of teaching when I taughtothers, I learned a lot more myself. I decided that I could take what I knew, structure the information in a
way that would be easy for others to learn and off I went on a new adventure!
That was nearly 10 years ago. My classes have grown, as has my knowledge base and my awareness ofwatercolor techniques and styles. Last year, I had so many new students I had to add a class at the RV parkand also had a class in Old Town Yuma at the Village Art Gallery where I show my paintings during the
winter months.
In addition, between the first year in Yuma and now, I became a member of two very fine artist
organizations here: Desert Artists of Yuma and Mountain Shadows Artists Association. I cannot emphasizeenough how important it is for an artist to belong to an art group. When artists work together, they build a
following for not only the organization, but also for their members.
Judy Wright
Judy is a talented andversatile artist and art teacherbased in America.
View Judy’s gallery onPaintMyPhoto to see more of
her amazing work. You cancontact Judy on herPaintMyPhoto profile page.
A TEACHER’S TALE
Judy Wright‘Sunny Ones’
Judy’s Amazing Adventure as an Artist and Teacher
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Between the two organizations, there is sponsorship of The Village Art Gallery, a co-operative of artists
who wish to display their work, two very fine art shows and an “art walk” in March of each year thatattracts buyers from as far away as Phoenix, Arizona, and San Diego, California. For the Mountain
Shadows Artists Association, I am the webmaster for our website: www.msaayuma.org . I find Yuma to
be a very rich environment for artists with many wonderful opportunities to learn, grow as an artist and
get your work recognized!
A bit about my development as an artist.
When I was a college student in the mid
1960s, I began painting with acrylics. The
very small school district where I had
attended school had no art department, but
my mother, who recently passed away at the
age of nearly 94, did have a background in
commercial art and also in elementary
education. She did more interesting things
with 3rd graders art wise than any teacher I
have ever seen. Those 8 year olds were doing
art activities that some high school students
would have difficulty with and doing it well. I
learned some basics from her during my yearsbefore college.
I did paintings in acrylic for a number of years until my children came along. Of course a two year old is
into everything so my art went away for many years while I was raising a family and did not come back to
life until my daughter had graduated from high school and was off to do her own thing. At that point I
picked up my acrylics again and started to paint, but soon
discovered that watercolor required a great deal less space and
fuss than acrylics did. However, the switch from a medium like
acrylic to watercolor required a mental shift and techniques shift
as well. At that point I began looking for watercolor instructors
and had great difficulty finding them. When I did find a couple, I
quickly discovered they were awful teachers! I struggled on my
own learning from books, DVDs and finally in 2007, discovered an
artist named Sterling Edwards who had helped to start a website
called Art Academy Live that could be accessed for a small fee
per year and had all kinds of “mini” art lessons online. A year
later, I was fortunate enough to get into a workshop with Sterling
in Salt Lake City, Utah, and really got my start with intense color
which has become a hallmark of my watercolor art. I learnedfrom him that a watercolorist cannot get strong, clear color from
low intensity pigment that resides on the inner ring of the
colorwheel. Bright colors like the phthalos and the benzamides
A TEACHER’S TALE Judy Wright - Artist & Teacher
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and the pyrrols can be muted by their compliments on the color
wheel, but earth tones cannot be made no matter what is donewith them. A year later, color expert, Nita Leland, was hired as
the jurist for the Montana Watercolor Society national
Watermedia Show and I learned a great deal more about good
color from her books, Exploring Color and Confident Color. Two
other artists from which I have learned a great deal are Lian Quan
Zhen and Judy Greenberg. Lian Zhen is both a watercolorist and a
Chinese Brush Painter. My fourth workshop with him will be held
in Yuma in February and he has greatly influenced my use of color
and design.
Chinese Brush Paintings are signed in two ways: your signature in
Chinese script as well as your chop stamp. My chop stamp was
specially made for me and says “hummingbird” which is the name
I often go by online.
Some of my favorite watercolors are those which have
the brightest colors. Among them are paintings of the
Desert Southwest, which I love. From the first time I
came to Arizona, it has felt like home to me. Theglow and intensity of the colors match my inner being
and inspire what I create. A few of them follow:
These paintings are entitled:
Escalante Vista, The Garden Gate, Mission Bells, and
September Melody (on a following page).
Another recent influence on my artwork is
watercolorist, Judy Greenberg with whom I had a
workshop in September, 2012. Judy is using some
interesting texture techniques with gel medium which
I have included in one of my more recent paintings,
“From Los Algodones, with Love.” Los Algodones is a
sleepy little Mexican town which lies about 1 ! miles
as the crow flies southwest of where I live in the
winter. There are a number of artists there and the
texture and color with which they make pottery is
quite interesting and varied. The design of the
pottery changes from year to year and what theyhave to offer is never repeated.
A TEACHER’S TALE Judy Wright - Artist & Teacher
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For Judy’s workshop, I put together a number of
these interesting pots from photos I took a number
of years back and combined them in that painting:
This painting has been stamped with various
textures using gel medium, including one which I
carved out of Speedball soft texture medium, an
old piece of burlap and the non skid material used
to keep kitchen items from sliding around while
you are in the process of moving your fifth wheel
from place to place.
One of my more recent acrylics, “The Lion’s Den” won
best professional painting in a Yuma Art Show a couple
of years ago. It includes some texturing of the coral
using molding paste and has a 3-D effect.
This is Moonlight Dance and is also a mixed medium
painting using a variety of collage approaches including
saran wrap on acrylic wash background, tar gel on rice
paper for the moon and trees, molding paste in the
background for the trees and painted crinkled
ventilation tape for the foreground grasses.
This is a new thing for me and I'm still learning!
A TEACHER’S TALE Judy Wright - Artist & Teacher
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One other thing I might mention is my webpage address, which is part of the website I run for MountainShadows Artists Association:
http://www.msaayuma.org/
and my blog:
http://www.judywrightwatercolors.blogspot.com/
A TEACHER’S TALE
Finally, before I end here, I must give a tribute to Roy Simmons, who created Paint My Photo and
really is responsible for gathering us all together from the far corners of the earth to share and
communicate and add to the richness of our collective being. Being a member here has greatly
enriched my life and given me friends I would never have had otherwise. Roy, THANK YOU!!!!!
Judy Wright - Artist & Teacher
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Robyn’s Been Busy Finding us a Fabulous Collection of Spring Photos - Enjoy!
Robyn Lovelock
Robyn (Ro) is a very talentedartist and photographer basedin Australia. She is also one ofPMP’s superstars, helping tokeep PMP running smoothlyand looking after members.
You can view Ro’s gallery orcontact her though PMP.
RO’S HIDDEN TREASURES
‘Simon’s Lavender Fields 7’
DaffodilsFoxgloves
A Vase of DaffodilsSpring has Sprung! Narcissus
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RO’S HIDDEN TREASURES Spring Special
CrocusBluebell Woods
Bright Magnolia-Bloom Window Dressing
Bluebells Growing Under The Poplars A Host of Gold Daffodils
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RO’S HIDDEN TREASURES Spring Special
Cherry Blossoms 1Spring Flowers
Orange Tulips 5Lotus TreeOrange Tulips
Colors of Spring Pink Poppy
Magnolia View
Golden Jewels
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Join Us in Congratulating Mary on Her Success!
In December, on a whim, I decided to enter three of mywatercolor paintings at the Florida State Fair held on Feb 7 –18. It only cost $2.00 per entry, so I thought it would be a
fun way to show my paintings. Two of the paintings werefrom Ruth Archer’s wonderful photographs. I also entered a
hand-woven shawl that I made on my floor loom.
My heart went pitter patter on Sunday when my best friend
and I saw the ribbons on my paintings. The Gondolier wonthird place and an honorable mention for the Sea Shell
painting.
I also entered another painting and it won 3rd place (that
one is on the I draw and paint website if you would like tosee it). It is a portrait of a lovely girl with a hat. The last bit
of news is that my Spring Flowers hand woven shawl won 1stplace in the weaving category.
I would just like to thank you all for inspiring me with your
paintings and beautiful photographs. Your lovely comments
on my paintings just warm my heart. I am so grateful that I
discovered the PMP community because you all have reallymade a difference in my life!
Mary Van Arsdel
Mary is a talented artist who isbased in the United States.
You can contact Mary by visitingher PMP profile
View Mary’s gallery on PMP to seemore of her wonderful work.
‘Treasures From The Sea’
Mary’s watercolor painting ‘Gondolier’
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Two of Our Very Gifted Members Share Their Creative Inspiration...
I have been asked by Robyn and Ruth to write a little
article about the hiking Gary and I do each week(or as often as we can) and how it inspires our
art ... i.e. Gary’s photography and my painting.
We are both lucky enough to be able to have a dayin the week off work which is normally a Friday andwe always use this day to go walking either in
Snowdonia in Wales or sometimes we travel furtherafield to the Lake District in England. We
absolutely love our time in the mountains, as does
Holly my gorgeous black Labrador! She gets soexcited when I put my walking clothes on and
knows we’re going out for the day. Her tail neverstops wagging all day - even when the weather is not so kind to us. You may not realise it from the photos
Gary has posted over the year but it feels like we spent most of last year walking in the rain and wind andthe views were few and far between!
This year so far is looking good weather wise and we’ve already had 4 rain free walks in 2013! Hopefullyour luck has changed! One of the first walks of this year was in Snowdonia, the Cwm Eigiau Horseshoe a
walk neither of us had done in full before. Starting in a remote and little visited area of Snowdonia, this
grand circuit of Cwm Eigiau ranks as one of the classic walks of Wales, boasting soaring ridges, narrowaretes, high mountains and stunning landscapes.....that is what the guidebook said .... and it wasn't wrong.
This is one of the finest walks that we have both been on, the landscape is stunning, rugged and remote,
and add to that the fantastic weather we had, made it one we will remember for a long time.
Sharon & Gary
Talent abound! They providewonderful photographs andproduce superb artwork - they arebased in North Wales, UK.
View Sharon’s gallery or contact
her on PaintMyPhoto.
View Gary’s gallery or contact him on PaintMyPhoto.
A WALK ON THE WILDSIDE
‘Puffin in the Grass’
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As well as being a fantastic walk I can think of no
other walk that includes two summits with such
unusual names - Pen yr Helgi Du (Hill of the
Black Hound) and Pen Llithrig y Wrach (Hill of
the Slippery Witch)! Fantastic names don't you
think but no idea why they are called that!!
We left home at around 7am in the morning, in
the dark as our destination was over an hour
away. We arrived at first light and headed up
onto the ridge which would lead us into the
mountains.
This particular area of Snowdonia is known as the
Carneddau and is vast and rugged and home to hundreds of wild Welsh mountain ponies. We both love
coming across them and Gary always stops to take plenty of photos, many of which he has posted here on
PMP and some of them have been beautifully painted by some of the members here. Other wildlife we
often come across on our walks are mountain goats, sheep and upland birds such as ravens, buzzards,
stonechats, the odd skylark and snow bunting. It was not long before we came across the ponies on this
walk on a remote hillside overlooking a beautiful valley, we came across a mare with a young foal, the
wildest looking ponies we’ve seen to date!
There was cloud all around us for most of this walk, yet the summits remained clear for us, the views
were spectacular and we made sure we took time to
admire the scenes before us, taking it all in – as
wonderful as Gary’s photography is, nothing can
convey the sense of just being there..
This particular walk took us around 7 hours from
start to finish and we walked 11 miles, climbing
3465 ft.
Mountain walking is a great passion of ours and it
fits in so well with our other passions of
photography (for Gary) and art (for me). Gary’s
landscape photography is very much influenced by a
long standing love of the mountains. He has been a keen mountaineer since his teens. His passion for
photography has grown over the years, mainly due to his love of wildlife. He says there is more meaning
and purpose to his photography now that he knows they are inspiring me and members of PMP to paint
from them, he thinks more about the composition and whether it will make a good painting.
My walking bug started a lot later in life, as did the painting. I’ve only been hill walking for just over 5
years and painting for 2 years. It was the walking which inspired me to paint, I just decided to paint a
landscape one day and then that was it – I never looked back.
A WALK ON THE WILDSIDE
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Although I don’t paint landscapes that often now, mainly animals but I
would really like to start painting more landscapes, I’m just not as
confident with them. I usually come home from a walk with a painting
or two in mind, whether it be of a Carneddau pony, a mountain goat or
a lake or ridge that we’ve seen.
This painting of a Carneddau pony was inspired by a walk in the same
area a few months ago and has also been painted by other members of
PMP.
It was also through walking that Gary and I met and I feel so lucky to
be able to share such a passion. We’re planning on doing a big walking
challenge this year, the Welsh 3000 Challenge which is to climb all 15
mountains in Wales which are over 3000ft within 24 hours – not sure if
I’m up to it but going to give it a try! Gary has done it before and
assures me that I’ll do it, so we need to do lots of training and lots of
big walks to get fit enough, which means lots more photos to post to
PMP and lots more paintings to paint!
A WALK ON THE WILDSIDE
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Growing up in Hertfordshire in the 1950s and 60s I didn't have
much art education, in fact I think the only useful thing Ilearned at school was how to sleep sitting bolt upright on a hard
chair. I do remember though, being quite good at paintingpictures from an early age. So at primary school, being a very
shy boy this gave me a feeling of great confidence. Paintingpictures seemed to be the most important of skills and I wasactually good at something! Great pots of powdery poster paints
which you could splash about to your hearts content overmassive sheets of sugar paper. I didn't have anything like that at
home so always got really stuck in at school. Crimson being my
favourite colour at the time, I remember coming homesometimes looking like I'd been mauled by a savage dog, paint
everywhere. Often this led to a good clout around the ear andno tea, but it never stopped me.
One time when I was about 9 years old, we were asked to paintsomething to do with the birth of Jesus.....(I know, who would
have thought how I would turn out) and I came up with a pictureof three men riding camels across a desert under a starlit sky.
Unknown to me it was submitted by my teacher, Mrs White, into
the annual Horniman's Tea painting competition and blow medown I only won a prize didn't I! So I went home beaming and told my mum who, having four unruly sons all
aged within five years, didn't spend a lot of time listening. I was to go to a big 'do' on Saturday and receive
my prize.
Peter Williams
Peter is a an artist ofextraordinary talent and isbased in Suffolk, UK.
Visit Peter’s gallery on PMP tosee more of his amazing work.
You can contact Peter byvisiting his profile onPaintMyPhoto.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
Peter Williams‘As Time Goes By’
‘Outlawed’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey To Becoming A Professional Artist
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Unfortunately I don't think this part of the conversation madeany impact on my Mum as she was out in the back yard poking a
steaming hot 'copper' with big wooden tongs in one hand and
winding the mangle at the same time with the other. (People
born after the 1950's will need to Google that) I had learned
not to press home my point too hard with my stressed out Mum,
especially when she was holding something like the big wooden
tongs as it invariably led to something painful, so I let it slide.
When Mrs. White gave me a letter the following day with the
details of the forthcoming 'do', I told her my Mum couldn't take
me so I wouldn't be able to go. No problem she said, she would
take me herself.
So Saturday came. In those days we boys would normally
disappear off out to the wastelands for a day's bird nesting or
play football in the park until it got dark, so when I got up
early and dashed off to school nobody really noticed. Mrs White
spent a bit of time spitting on the corner of her handkerchief
and robustly cleaning the corners of my mouth and nose (I still
hate it when people do that to me) before bundling me into her car and setting off to St. Albans. I'd rarelybeen in a car so this was turning in to quite an adventure. Upon arrival we went into this posh building
where lo and behold I spotted my painting all nicely framed up and displayed in the foyer along with all
the other prize winners. I proudly went up onto a stage and collected my prize, it was a book token for
twenty five shillings! (people born after the 1960's will
need to Google that), and everyone clapped as I skipped
down the steps to rejoin Mrs White who I noticed was a
bit tearful. I don't know what I'd done to upset her, so
kept quiet on the way back.
Twenty five shillings! I knew exactly what book I was
going to get. It was in the book department at the 'Main
Stores' over in the town and I'd had my eye on it for
ages. So as soon as the car pulled up back at school I
was out and sprinting across the dell, over the railway
lines and into town. I made a beeline for the 'Main
Stores' and left clutching my book....'A Pictorial
Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom'. You can see where
this is leading now can't you.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘In the Swim’
‘Rusty & Bracken’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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I treasured that book and I've still got it although it's a bit battered and dog eared now. Particularly frombeing vandalised in about 1965 by my younger brother after we'd had a fight and it was his way of getting
back at me. But actually those torn pages, repaired with sticky-tape add extra memories to it, so I'll
forgive you Malc. Anyway, over the following years I probably copied and drew nearly every photograph
from that book. When I was about 14 years old I had a
bit of a crush on one of the girls in my class (a
certain Jennifer Rowland) and I remember proudly
presenting her with a pencil portrait of a wild
horse.....she was speechless and I'm sure impressed
but her large, ginger, bully of a boyfriend at the
time, Dave Ponting, wasn't going to let me capitalise
on my success.
Time went by and at the age of sixteen I left school
and went to work in Fine Fare (People born after the
1960's will need to Google that) as the butcher's
assistant. The following year, fed up with stinking of
dried blood and having to scrape bits of entrails off
my desert boots before I could go out on a Friday
night, I left home and joined the British Army aged 17as an armoured vehicle mechanic in the REME. I continued my artistic endeavours throughout my service
albeit mostly drawing caricatures of our superiors. It got me in a lot of
trouble at the time, but helped make me popular with the other
lads. Always shy and lacking confidence it was a great boost for me.
This was the early 1970's, I do remember once painting a load of
psychedelic designs on some wooden panels for a married friend to
decorate his house in Germany. I wonder whatever happened to
them. They'll be worth a fortune when I'm dead.
Now fast forward to the mid 80s. This was during my time of having
a passion for powerful motorcycles. I was in a hospital bed in
Stevenage with a shattered femur, broken pelvis, broken elbow and
various other injuries (I never said I was a good motorcyclist). Some
of my colleagues from work at British Aerospace had a bit of a whip-
round and came to visit me. Knowing about my hobby of cartooning
and drawing, and knowing I was going to be laid up for a long time,
they had chosen to buy me a nice little set of watercolour
paints.....good quality ones they were. I'd never tried watercolours
before and didn't have a clue so I found a book by Alwyn Crawshawand it set me on my way.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘Stag’
‘Calico Kitten’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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Thinking about my first efforts they were quite laughable really,but it was only for fun and with practice I slowly began to
improve. I stuck to watercolours for a long time. Once I begin
something I never give up until I reach my goal and I was
determined to reach at least an acceptable standard. I think
this turned out to be a good idea because I was able to build a
foundation which I could always fall back on as I later tried to
master other media.
Fast forward again to 1996, I heard about a school reunion via
one of my work colleagues who's wife it turned out worked with
one of my old school mates. My name had cropped up. Having
nothing much better to do I decided to go along. I hadn't seen
or been in touch with anybody from school since I'd left in 1968
and to be honest, I hadn't missed anyone although I was
wondering how a certain Jenny Rowland had turned out.....
The reunion was held at the football club just up the road from
the old school. I rolled up on my CBR600 in my best Honda 'T'
shirt, parked up and made my way to the bar. The barman waswearing an old 'Free Mandela' T shirt. I couldn't resist asking for a pint of Mandela seeing as it was free.
He didn't even crack a smile. I didn't recognise anyone and I don't think anyone knew who I was. It had
been 28 years after all. I was scrutinising the name badges people were wearing and the first one I read
was Ponting. Well, I couldn't help feeling a bit smug as the big
fat, ruddy faced bloke I was looking at with the greasy
grey hair hadn't aged at all well. I soon got talking to
one of my closer school friends who had gone into the
merchant navy at the same time I had joined the army.
He was now the captain of a big ship, pretty successful,
still single and a really dirty rascal. We were having
quite a laugh when the door opened and a face I
recognised straight away walked in, it was Jenny
Rowland! Holding in my stomach as best I could I went
right over. She didn't know who the hell I was at first
but after I introduced myself we got on like a house on
fire. Guess what! She had kept the wild horse pencil
portrait I'd given her all those years ago. I don't much
remember talking to anyone else after that.
Late afternoon, after a buffet and a few speeches, we left the football club. On my way through the door
a large hand clamped my shoulder.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘The Carnival is Over’
‘Cat’s Eyes’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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I turned to see it was the barman... “I get you now....free Mandela ...ha ha....I'll have to remember thatone”. I quickened my pace as the now well lubricated reunion moved to the old school up the road
where we were allowed to explore the class rooms and corridors and meet some of the surviving teachers.
It was nice to chat to my old geography teacher who was brilliant. I wouldn't have swapped him for all the
tea in Denmark.
I remember needing to pee and in the 'boys' toilets
bumping into a tall guy in an expensive three piece
suit. You know we all went to school with a smelly
kid. (If you didn't, you were the smelly kid) Well this
was ours and he was now a successful solicitor. Hewas enjoying a roll-up in the cubicle.... “Fags have
never tasted as good as the ones we shared in the
school bogs have they Williams” he said...I got out
of there quick.
I met up with Jenny again for a meal the following
week and not long after that I moved in to her
house.....Oh yes, the shyness was under control by
1996. Jenny had a council house where she was livingwith her two daughters who she had brought up on her own. After a while we decided to buy the house
from the council with a view to fixing it up a bit before selling and moving on. So that's what we did.
After various improvements and decorating it needed some pictures
before putting it on the market so I set about painting some. They
were pretty naff but she liked them and encouraged me to do
more.
Once we had moved to a nice house in Benington I started putting
some of my paintings into local village exhibitions. I remember the
first time I hadn't a clue how much to ask for them so just took apunt. It turned out to be much more than all the others in the show
but one out of the three I submitted did sell so it was encouraging.
While traipsing around all these village shows I started to recognise
some of the more talented artists work and spent a lot of time
studying their techniques and chatting to the artists. That's how I
learned really, I'd find someone who painted wonderful skies, tap
their brains a bit then I'd go home and practice until I could do
something similar. Somebody else could paint horses so I did
likewise and so it went on. I won one or two prizes and gradually Iimproved until I found I was selling my own work quite regularly.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘The Stripper’
‘Glastonbury Man’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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I might sell two or three paintings at each of these shows and
sometimes I'd do two or three shows in one week. The trouble
was, I didn't have the time to paint enough pictures.
This was when I took the biggest step of all. Aged fifty now, I'd
already experienced three separate redundancies and was no
longer enjoying the work I was doing. So after a long talk with
Jenny about it and a bit of soul searching I jacked it in and took
on a part-time lorry driving job, three days a week. The army
experience was paying off at last. This gave me a couple of
extra days a week to work on my art and I carried on like thatfor a while. But it was still frustrating when in the middle of a
painting I had to drop everything and go off and deliver some
tractors to Yorkshire or golf carts to Colwyn Bay. I was kind of
stuck between two worlds and couldn't give either my best
shot. So, the driving job had to go too. I sent myself on a
picture framing course and purchased a load of equipment from
eBay so that, if all else failed I could earn some money from
picture framing. I still make my own frames. Luckily I haven't
had to resort to framing for other people. Meanwhile Jenny was working hard as a school teacher so we
always had a regular income. Then in 2002 Jenny began feeling the same way about her job as I had
previously felt about mine. We decided to sell up in Hertfordshire, pay everything off, downsize and move
to the coast here in Suffolk. I would do my best with my art and Jenny would do a bit of supply teaching.
Plans were nearly scuppered before we moved though. I was riding my Triumph Daytona home one day
when an idiot pulled out and drove his car straight into me. It was back to the same hospital in Stevenage
I knew so well, this time with two broken wrists, a
buggered knee and a mangled left hand. Lying there in
my bed I calculated I'd spent almost as much time flying
through the air as I had on two wheels so sadly I cameto terms with the fact that my motorcycling adventures
were over.
We went ahead with the move and I started looking
around for outlets for my work. It's a lovely coastal area
and I imagined a great market for atmospheric beach
scenes, landscapes and boats. It soon became obvious
to me that the area was stuffed full of artists, all doing
the same thing, mostly far better than I could. I needed
to try to find a gap in the market.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘Head in the Clouds’
‘Fair-Weather Friends’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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I'd never lost my passion for animals and so began painting wildlife instead, along with a bit of figurative
work. I was ticking along OK with online sales but none of the local galleries were interested in my work.
They were (and still are) in general stuck on the coastal scenes and landscapes. It was a bit disheartening,
I knew a lot of people liked my work but getting it
out in front of them was proving very difficult. Then
I was lucky enough to be put onto an opportunity by
fellow artist and online friend Sue Warne who often
exhibited her work at a pub/restaurant where she
lived in Capel St. Mary. I drove over to talk to the
proprietor who was a bit of an art buff and liked to
do what he could for local artists. He liked my workand offered me a month's exhibition for no cost,
other than to choose one painting for himself. Well,
I sold really well and he let me stay on for a second
month. I had to go over twice to restock and made
enough money to keep me going for several months.
Sadly he moved away to the West Country not long
afterwards so it was a one off. But it encouraged me
to keep going along the path I had chosen.
Of course the monster that has become the internet has been the
most exciting and powerful tool for people like me. No, I don't
mean what you are thinking, I mean for self promotion and selling
worldwide. Not long after moving here to Suffolk in 2005, another
artist friend told me about an art form he was having great success
with called ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals), miniature
paintings all at 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size and which were a bit of a
craze in America. I had a look and could not believe the prices
some were fetching on eBay. I decided to have a go.
As I was aiming at American customers I began with some Western
scenes, rodeo riders, Native Americans, that sort of thing. Well it
was astonishing. Within a few weeks I had gained some faithful
followers who bought my ACEOs as fast as I could list them. Some of
these little paintings began fetching over a hundred pounds each at
auction. I spent day after day painting four of them at a time,
completing 200 of them in total. As my following grew I began to
receive commissions to paint larger versions, mainly from Canada
and the USA.
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘The Pear and the Tortoise’
‘Sunburst’
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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So I started looking for reference material I could use and cameacross the work of Edward Sheriff Curtis, a photographer from
the turn of the last century who had travelled the Americas
documenting all of the old Native tribes. I found some of his
photographs breathtakingly beautiful and poignant and studied
more and more. I fell in love with black and white work at this
stage. Of course I then came across a lot of Western artists,
people such as Martin Grelle, Kirby Sattler, Lee Bogle and in
particular JD Challenger to name a few. These people all had a
major impact on my style and the ACEOs gave me plenty of
practice at achieving fine details. Put these things together and
you will see the basis of my current style right there. Big open
spaces, loose backgrounds with a highly detailed central
subject.
The popularity of my ACEOs eventually fell away when eBay
changed their policies for international traders. I was losing
interest in my 'production line' anyway so went back to
concentrating on my normal sized work but still enjoyed painting the occasional Native American piece.
I've even sold a few here around Leiston, mainly to the
local Cowboys and other tradesmen. I haven't done one
for a while now though as the wildlife work has
gradually taken over my life, but I still like them and
still have a few left which are hanging in the spare
room. Writing this though, I'm feeling the urge to paint
another Indian portrait.....we'll see.
Nowadays I don't attempt to get into High street
galleries. I'd rather hire an empty space and put on my
own solo exhibitions several times a year. I also take
part in fairs and local open exhibitions but by far my
best outlet is with online galleries such as Affordable
British Art and of course my own Mighty Fine Art website:
http:www.mightyfineart.co.uk.
More of Peter’s wonderful work can also be seen on PaintMyPhoto:
PaintMyPhoto - Peter William’s Gallery
BIRTH OF AN ARTIST
‘Enduring Spirit’
Peter at the Mall Gallery, London
Peter Williams’ Fantastic Journey
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Hello, fellow artists and friends, I’ve been asked by PMP to do a
little step-by-step guide on how I go about making a painting.
To start here’s a little background on me and my work. I’m anoil painter living just outside of Chicago. I’ve been a
professional artist for 30 years and the last 10 I’ve beenconcentrating on oil painting and a painting project of mine topaint the world from one spot. It’s called “The Artist and The
Traveler” and I’m the Artist for it, and it is my job to go out andfind friends and people who have traveled to different spots in
the world, get their story and do a painting inspired by them to
mark the spot.
My friends here at PMP have sure helped in my quest to see thisbig planet of ours through someone else’s eyes, but there is one
friend here that I have not had the chance of working with eventhough her photos have really inspired me. So I’m taking thistime to work on one here for you.
Artist and photographer Ruth Archer and I have never met in
person, but I’ve admired here work from afar. She always finds
something special and interesting to photograph, and herecompositions are top notch. You can see the artist thinking in her shots which makes for very striking
images. Her gift for taking exemplary photos is matched by her fabulous hand drawn images.
James Swanson
James is a an artist ofextraordinary talent and isbased in the USA.
Visit James’ gallery on PMP tosee more of his amazing work.
You can contact James byvisiting his profile onPaintMyPhoto.
ART IN THE MAKING
James Swanson
‘Cloud Reflections in Ece Saray Marina’ - Original Reference Photo
‘Sketch for Blue Water Harbor’
A Step-By-Step Demonstration in Oils
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All my paintings start with a simple sketch (See
previous page). These are really rough, but what I try
to do is to start dissecting the image to see what the
composition should be, and to get that information
into my head. Then I transfer the info from the sketch
to a canvas that I’ve rubbed a neutral field of color on.
I’ll go in and tighten up the canvas sketch a bit using
the photo to help me make more sense of what I am
seeing, but I do try to stay with my initial sketch
composition and placement of things.
I like to work with the 2/3 rule in my paintings. It’s
either 1/3 or 2/3’s never in the middle. I pretty much
build my paintings around that idea.
Time to start painting, well almost, I first mix up most of the colors that I see in the
photo on my painting palette. The painting is pretty much all worked out on the palette,
if it works here it will work on the canvas.
I like to explode into my work,
and to stop and mix colors all the
time just takes the energy away
from my brush. My paintings need
to feel like they move and are
alive. The way I do that is to
paying attention to my painting
and not to my palette.
Now it’s time to paint. I start a painting by blocking in my darkest dark colors. In this
painting, the darkest darks were in the mountain and its water refection. I start with my
darks first, because they give the painting structure right off the bat and things fall into
place easier that way for me. I’m kind of a lazy artist and easier always works for me.
ART IN THE MAKING A Step-By-Step DemonstrationBy James Swanson
The Painting - “Blue Water Harbor”
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The Painting “Blue Water Harbor” Cont.
I then got real busy painting in all the paint colors from
my palette where they were to go on the canvas.
Working dark to light I blocked in the mountains, the
water, the sky, and then the clouds. I love to work wet
into wet. Thick paint mushed against thick paint makes
for excitement in my eyes. This is where I start feel the
strokes, and leave them alone.
Now that the background is on its way I started to focus
in on the boats and the energy of the harbor. I wanted
to keep this painting loose and impressionistic.
Everything is an indication or the accents of what is
there. With the focus ending up on the only boat
without a mast.
Here I am getting the boats in the right positions.
After the boats are put in place I took on the challenge of their masts and the reflections
of them. I like to use my palette knife for this type if work. Little brushes tend to get me
to tighten up, thus tightening up the painting too much.
ART IN THE MAKING A Step-By-Step DemonstrationBy James Swanson
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The Painting “Blue Water Harbor” Cont.
I mixed up two versions of each mast color.One for the mast in the sky and one for in the
water. Reflections are always a little darker
than what they are reflecting. With the masts
done I thought I was almost there, but one
thing kept jumping out at me.
The big sailboat mast to the left keep drawing
my eye in and up out of the picture. I tried a
few little painting things to it but I couldn’t
get it to work right for me. Finally though
figured the cloud in the background could be
bigger and I could use that to draw everything
together. It pulled the sky, the mast, and the
mountain together, bringing back the viewer’s
eye to the boats and water. Here are some of
the close up details from the painting.
ART IN THE MAKING A Step-By-Step DemonstrationBy James Swanson
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The Painting “Blue Water Harbor” Cont.
“Blue Water Harbor” was a fun little painting to do. A big thanks goes out to Ruth for her
photo inspiration. I will be signing her name along with mine on the back of it.
Thanks PMP for letting me do my thing here and see you all back at the site.
We thought you’d like to see some more of James’ wonderful work:
ART IN THE MAKING James Swanson
‘Snowbound’ ‘At the Watering Hole’
‘Yellow Sails’
‘Snowbound’
‘Beach House’
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