Dog Rose

Hi all,
Hope you had a good Christmas; mine was quite and uneventful. It came and went with rapidity and stealth. Still there's always the next one to look forward to.

I did get a couple of arty books which I have enjoyed looking at. The first was a book of Lakeland sketches by Alfred Wainwright. I guess that when most people think of Wainwright they think of his walks, but I' a great admirer of his sketches. They are done in pen and ink and show that he was a master in that form of art.

The second book was Mark Crilley's, Realism Challenge. This too is a great book and I'm steadily plodding my way through the exercises. I will show you one or two on here as soon as I manage something half decent. If you like a challenge and want to improve your drawing here is the link.

It has been a busy time over Chistmas so I haven't done any big paintings but I've got one on the way.
I've been watching a man on You tube painting roses with watercolour and I'd love to be able to do it half as well. I'll give you the link in my next post.

So far I'd done the drawing, which can be seen below.

I will start doing the painting soon and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you. I Hope you have a great new year and let's hope it's peaceful one.

Lino Prints

Hi all,
I don't know about you but whenever I think about creating a piece of artwork, I always seem to consider the commercial value. Will people like it and, would anybody want to buy it, are two thoughts that come to mind along with how much could I sell it for?

These are strange thoughts, considering that making money from my art is not a prime motivator. I keep telling myself that I'm doing for the enjoyment of the process and to create something nice for my own pleasure, but those commercial thoughts will persist.

I can only put it down to the notion that the act of selling something that I have created gives it an elevated status. After all, if somebody is willing to part with their hard earned cash for something I painted or made, surely that is all the endorsement one's art needs.

Anyway, during the act of creating the wild flower painting in my last post

it came to me that it could be easily be replicated in print form. I then struck on the idea that I could do a lino print. Now I know diddly squat about lino prints, we didn't even do them at school, where the best we managed was a potato print. In fact, the my main memory of lino was, many moons ago when I was a young thing about town, and beer was but ten pence a pint, being left to sleep on cold lino floor after I'd returned from the pub in state of drunkenness that almost put me into permanent sleep mode.

So I did what I normally do now to educate myself, I turned to the Internet and You tube to see how it was done. Then, I purchased a lino starter kit from Amazon for about £20. While I was waiting for it to arrive I did a couple of drawings that I thought would make good lino prints. I would print them in black and white and then colour them in with watercolour paint.

 The first one didn't look too bad, but perhaps it would be a bit ambitious for my first lino print so I did a simpler one. This looked much easier to replicate in lino print and I was ready for action.

My plan was to then sell a limited edition of the prints on the internet. What could possibly go wrong? Well, I had several attempts at doing a lino cut and used a lot of paper making prints, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the process one bit. The best part was creating the drawing, but the actually cutting and printing was tedious. Here is the best print I produced before I gave it up as a bad job. I couldn't even be bothered to colour it in.

I guess I could have stuck with it and lashed out more money better tools and ink but I'd had enough. I can now admire the skills of those who create masterpieces out of a floor covering, but it doesn't ring my bell. I'll stick to the painting in future and one of the day, if I ever produce something good enough, I will investigate the world of Giclee prints because they will be easier to acquire than those done from lino.

Wild Flower

Hi all,
I am still of the mind that to be a good artist you need to be able to draw. This is a skill that I would like to improve upon and, to that end, I'm trying to do as much drawing as possible. I have tried keeping an art journal in the hope that would give me the motivation to draw every day but I find that, although my intentions are strong, my will power is pretty weak. It is much easier to sit in my chair and play with my kindle fire than it is to get some pen and paper out.

Still all is not lost, I have been watching an artist on Youtube called, Mark Crilley. He does some really amazing realistic drawings of everyday objects. I have ordered his BOOK "The Realism Challenge" and I shall start reading it at Christmas. I have to wait until then because I asked my wife to get it me for an extra present.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not aiming to be a super realistic type of artist, but I would like to gain an insight into how he does it so well. There must be lots of things that he does that can be used in the type of painting I want to do.

Here is a drawing/painting that I did recently.

It's okay, but it is a bit flat looking. It looks more like an illustration than a work of art.
That's not to say that illustrations aren't works of art, they clearly are, but I think you get my drift. Flowers don't all grow like they do in my drawing and the colours must be more subtle than my skills allow me to show. In fact, it did occur to me at the time that this picture would make a good lino print, but that is another story which I will relate to you in my next post.

If you use you tube, I would recommend checking out his video about the realism challenge. Then you will be able to see why I ordered his book.

I hope to get another post in before Christmas, but if I don't, I hope you have good un and manage to do some painting.

Free Book

Hi All,
Just a quick one to let you know that I have made one of my books free for two days.
It is called "Bossyboots" and should give readers a good laugh over the festive period.

To get a copy just click on the books tab at the top of the page and you can then click on the book to take you to amazon.
Happy reading

Colouring In

Hi all,
Have you noticed that the latest adult craze appears to be colouring in. Every where I go there are stacks of books devoted to what used to be a child's pastime. I guess colouring in can be therapeutic and I'm sure it is better than sitting in front of the telly watching brain numbing programmes like Big Brother etc. I don't know whats happened to the telly, how many programmes can they make about "Lizard Lick Towing" and it's a wonder that the tapes containing "Grand Designs" and "Come Dine With Me" aren't worn out.

Anyway, back to the colouring in. Anything arty is a winner with me and if people get pleasure from colouring in that's great. What would be even better is if a small percentage of the people, who have started colouring in, actually went a step further and decided to create their own drawings.

I recently did a couple of drawings to remember days out and now realise that they could just as well have been done for a colouring in book. If ever I get the time and inclination I might colour them in myself. Please feel free to take a copy if you want to have a go.

The drawing above was inspired by a visit to a lovely village in Derbyshire called Osmaston.

This drawing was inspired by a picnic we had while sitting in our car during the summer. Butterflies were flitting about everywhere.

By the way, I currently have a free book on offer over the Christmas period. It is the second book in the fishing detectives series called "Bun In The Oven.

If you would like a free copy pop over to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/267076
then when you get to check out use the following free coupon code VZ64V to get your copy.
Happy painting.

Painting Number 10

Hi all,
At last I have done a painting that feels as if I am getting somewhere. It might not be fantastic or even great, but I feel that it is a step in the right direction.

For the time being I have given up on the chuck it and chance it type of painting that I've been attempting and gone for something more formal. The best part is that I actually enjoyed doing this painting.

For some reason the theme "Escape" came into my head and I wondered how I could depict it in a painting. Here is the drawing that I came up with.

It portrays a red admiral butterfly that has just escaped from a spider's web that is strung between some roses leaves. Here is the painting done with a mixture of SAA, and Winsor and Newton watercolour paints on 140lb paper.

If you look back through my other paintings you will see why I am pleased, it is much better than the rest. In fact, my wife liked it so much she allowed me to frame it and hang it in our living room. If that isn't a seal of approval I don't know what is.

So what's the score for this one? Well, I'm going to give it 24 out of 100. I don't want to go too high because it could be father to fall when I do my next one.

Good bits
I like the composition and the colours.
Bad bits
I could have made the spiders web darker to make it a bit clearer.

Anyway, I'm happy and that's the main thing. I'm looking forward to doing my next painting and I will show it to you soon. Don't forget to check out the SAA website if you get a minute, as well as the shop there are thousands of painting to look at in the gallery.

Inktense Pencils

Hi all,
I my last post I was telling you about how I enjoyed drawing with water soluble pencils. Well, I thought it would be nice to do a drawing with coloured watercolour pencils. To be honest I didn't do a new drawing for this exercise, I used Tracedown paper to copy the daffodil that I did for my previous painting. I was mostly interested in the colours and how easily they blended together.

 There is something about drawing first and then adding water that is an enjoyable process for me.
 The only problem is, I have tried drawing with ordinary water soluble colour pencils before and found that the finished result is a bit wishy washy. I don't like wishy washy paintings so I invested in a pack of 6 Derwent Inktense Pencils to see what they looked like. I was expecting bright strong hues and that is exactly what I got.

My first impressions are that they are easy to use and blend really well, but I'm afraid that the results are a bit to harsh for my liking. Here is a drawing I did of a daffodil, which gives you a fair idea of the intensity of the colour.

I think Inktense pencils are great if you are doing manga or comic images etc, but for the art I want to produce they are a bit too bright. If somebody could come up with a pencil that had a colour tone that is half way between a standard watercolour pencil and an Inktense pencil they might be onto a winner, at least with me.

One of these days I might try doing a bigger drawing with the Inktense pencils but for now I will reserve them for adding highlights, something they should be very useful for.

By the way, I purchased my Inktense pencils from the same place where I get all my other art materials called the SAA (Society for All Artists). If you haven't come across the SAA, it is well worth checking them out. I have been a member for over 6 months and would recommend them to anybody.

There is a low membership fee, but once that is paid you get free magazines and free postage just to mention a couple of the benefits. If you want to check them out here is a link to their website.

The next painting in my challenge will be along soon.

Painting number 9

Hi all,
I managed to finish another painting, this time the subject was a daffodil. I think it turned out okay but it wasn't very exciting either in the execution or the finished image.

Perhaps I'm being a bit hard myself because it isn't that bad. In fact, I'm having a job to find something bad to say about it.
Score 15 out of 100
My review
Bad bits
The flower head looks slightly out of focus.
The composition of the leaves is wrong, the bent one on the left should be in the middle so that the bent shape could be fully seen.
Good Bits
It is a pleasant enough image and would probably make a good book marker. However, seeing as I use a kindle to read my books it will have to go in the folder with the rest of the unframables.
The one thing that I did learn from the exercise was how valuable it is to do a drawing of the subject first. I used to think that doing a drawing first was a waste of time but it really isn't. Not only does it give me a chance to work out the tones, it also gives me the opportunity to familiarize myself with the subject.
The other thing I realised was that I like drawing with water soluble pencils. In fact, I liked it so much I sent off for some Derwent Inktense Pencils to see if they worked the same, but would provide me with a bit of colour. I know that you can get water soluble watercolour pencils but they look a bit washed out to me. I don't want my paintings to look like a kids colouring book.
Anyway, I'm going to do a daffodil with my new pencils and I'll show you it in my next post.

Drawing

Hi all,
I since I started this watercolour challenge I have realised that I am torn between drawing and painting. I seem to enjoy the form and line of the drawing process, but when I have completed an image, in either pencil or ink, I find that I want to add some colour to it.

Anyway, I've done another drawing of some spring flowers that I rendered in pencil.

The pencils I used were Derwent water soluble pencils. If you haven't had a go with these pencils I would recommend giving them a whirl. They come in various wash strengths so that you can vary the shading. Using them couldn't be simpler, just do a bit of shading and then blend the mark with a damp brush. This way you can blend your pencil marks across your image without those annoying lines that a dry pencil leaves.

When using them it is worth keeping in the back of your mind that once the pencil marks have ween wetted you will not be able to erase them, so make sure you like it before you set about your image with a damp brush.

I have another painting coming soon, but in the meanwhile can I just remind you that my book

is still free for the rest of the day (27th November) on Amazon. Why not grab a copy while you can? Click on my books tab at the top of the page and you will find a direct link.

Watercolour 8

Hi all,
I can't believe how time is flying since I started this challenge, in three more weeks the nights will start drawing out again. I was hoping that by this time I would be seeing a real improvement in my efforts, but I'm afraid a breakthrough hasn't happened yet.
Here is painting number 8

The only thing good I can say about this painting is that it sort of shows you what I'm aiming for even though the execution is weaker than a brew that's been made with a second-hand tea bag.
Score 14 out of 100
Bad bits
Some of the branches are non too convincing.
The ferns at the front are way to small.
There aren't enough berries.
It lacks a focal point.
Good bits
The darker leaves in the background are quite convincing and the berries pop out nicely.
I think the time has come now to step it up a gear and try do do something decent. To that end I have chosen a decent subject that we can all relate to and I've even done a preliminary sketch to help me with the shading.
Here is the drawing.

I really enjoyed doing this drawing, not least because of the medium I chose. I did it with water soluble pencils, which are a joy to use. If you haven't tried them, please have a go and I'm sure you won't be disappointed. You do the shading as you would with a normal pencil, then wet it with a damp brush and you can see the magic happen before your very eyes.
Now all I've got to do is paint one like it and I will show you the results in my next post.

Before I go I would just like to let you know that one of my books, "No Fishing in Here: Just Short Stories" will be available for free download on the 26th and 27th on November via Amazon.

Most of my books are about fishing but this one isn't. It is a collection of a dozen short stories that are easy to read and different. Some will make you laugh while others could make you weep. Why not grab a copy while you can; it is great for those occasions when time is tight and short read is preferred to a novel. If you click on book's tab at the top of the page, you will find its link to Amazon.

Watercolour 7

Hi all,
I will have to admit that the challenge this week has been, well, a bit of a challenge. I have not had a good week time wise. The problem is that when we moved to our current house about 18 months ago, we found that it had a cold water supply and tap in the garage/workshop. That's great you might think, but the trouble is the tap is just on a wall, there is no sink and no drain. If anybody uses the tap and doesn't turn it off properly the garage floods. Who thought this was a good idea I don't know, but they obviously didn't have all their chairs in the same room.
Anyway, I booked a plumber to come next week and move the tap to an outside wall so that my wife can use it to water her-always thirsty-plants. To cut a long story short, I have had to paint the walls in the workshop in preparation for the plumber. The walls want painting anyway and I want to do it before he redirects the pipework across them.
On the art front, I thought I'd have a go at some wet on wet pansies. Pansies are easy to draw so I did a few.

Then I copied and pasted them in photoshop and rearranged them into the design above. So far so good. I then transferred the image onto watercolour paper and set about painting them with the wet on wet technique mentioned earlier.
All I can say is that it was a absolute disaster. You've most likely seen my last 6 paintings, so you will know that I'm not shy about showing you my failures, but even I couldn't pluck up the courage to post my pansies on here. Take it from me they were crap.
So, like a naughty rose, I reverted to type and had a go at some more undergrowth. I want to get the hang of painting backgrounds with realistic leaves in the foreground. Once I've mastered that I want to add wildlife like butterflies and dragonflies, I guess I've always been a dreamer.
Painting Number 7

My Review score 15/100
Bad bits
1   The light blobs in the top right hand quarter spoil a reasonable image. They were caused by me dropping granulation medium onto the wet painting. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it turned out to be stupid. I won't do that again. Here on my website are few other stupid things I won't do again.
2   I don't like the background colour, it looks like an explosion in a marmalade factory.
3   The composition is wrong, especially the top right hand corner which is as empty as a gambler's wallet.
Good bits
1   Some of the background stems and leaves work quite nicely.
2   The hips and leaves in the foreground have a nice bright look to them. This was achieved by glazing them with several thin layers of paint, rather than applying one thick coat.
It has taken a while for the penny to drop but applying watercolour in layers is the best way to give an image a bit of a glow. I have also discovered that not all watercolour paint is transparent. This came as a bit of a shock to me and I will discuss it more in my next post.

Bluebell Wood

Hi all,
I'm sure that if I can improve my drawing skills I will also make improvements to my watercolour paintings, so I decided to draw a bluebell wood and use it for the subject of my next painting.

Many artists believe that doing a pencil drawing of a subject first has certain advantages. Firstly, it allows you to sort out the tones so that you have more chance of getting them right in the painting stage. I am sure you have heard the experts talk about establishing the lightest lights and the darkest darks in their paintings, well doing a drawing up front allows you to accomplish this task.

Secondly, doing a drawing up front gives you a chance to become familiar with your subject, which is never a bad thing.

Here's my drawing of the bluebell wood.

It isn't bad, but to be honest, by the time I'd finished doing the drawing I gone off the idea of the painting altogether. I need to do something with fewer trees in it.

Watercolour 6

Hi all,
In my last post last I showed you the snow drop that I did for the competition I was entering. Well it wasn't good enough, so I did another on the theme of damselflies taken from a pyrography design I once did on top of a box.
Here is my first attempt at the subject.

Yes, I know its a right dog's dinner. Last week I said that hoping for happy accidents wasn't the way to go, yet in my next painting I did exactly the same, in fact, it was worse. I won't even give it a review because it doesn't deserve one.
The only thing to do was try again, but in a more controlled manner. I know that loose water colours that look  like they've been produced by an artist who did the job with the brush shoved up his nose are the in thing, but I want better.
Here's painting 2 of the same subject.

Okay, it might not be everybody's cup of tea, but in my world it is grand improvement on the first effort. If you disagree I'd love to hear your views; please share them with us.
Review bad bits
It isn't terribly interesting.
Good bits
It is tidy and a step in the right direction.
Score 14/100
I'm not sure what I am going to paint next, but I'm going to increase the size. Everything I've done so far is about as big as a post card so I'm going large, well at least twice as big. I'm also thinking of doing a bit more drawing to try and hone those skills a bit

Drawing

Hi all,
 It seems to me that painting and drawing go hand in hand, unfortunately, my drawing skills leave a bit to be desired. I keep telling myself that the best way forward is to draw something every day and that is exactly what a lot of drawing instructors advise. I am sure that are right, but having the discipline to sit down and draw everyday is another matter. Finding something to draw is also a problem, I'm sure I could arrange a still life of a couple of cups and a jug on a gingham table cloth, but I haven't got any inspiration for that.

Anyway, I decided to draw something out of my head and just let it happen on the page. Here is the first one. It was inspired by a book my wife picked up from a garden centre. I started off with a pencil and then went over the lines with a Staedler 0.05 pigment liner pen, but it was taking too long so I did away with the pencil. That's the best thing about not copying. If you make a wrong mark, nobody else but you knows about it. If you draw a wren and it looks like a duck, who is to know you weren't drawing a duck in the first place.

I started by drawing the big daisies first then just filled the rest in a bit at a time over the course of about a week. The end result was quite pleasing so I went on and did another.

This one I felt was even better. I especially like the leaf like pattern around the tree and the Hooty owl peering out from his hole.

I will now endeavour to draw as much original content as I can and only resort to copying and tracing when I'm extra desperate. If you like the drawing above please feel free to print them off and colour them in if you wish. There seems to be surge in popularity at the moment to colouring in, especially among adults. This is a good thing because it may lead many on to bigger and better art.

Painting number 6 in my challenge will be posted soon. Meanwhile, enjoy your painting. One last thing, one of my books in The Fishing Detectives series is up for a free download on Smashwords this week. If you would like a copy just pop along to my website for details and the link.

Watercolour Painting 5

Hi
A few posts ago I was moaning about the cost of paint, especially artists' quality paint. Well, I have come up with a cost saving plan that should keep my wallet happy. I have joined the SAA to take advantage of their great prices and every thing else they have to offer. Here is an example of what I mean.
A 5 ml tube of watercolour paint in my local art store cost me £5.60.
A 14ml tube of SAA watercolour paint costs £4.70
I'm sure you can do the sums yourself and this isn't just a offer price, it is on the full range and all the other artists' materials in their catalogue are excellent value as well. More good news, postage is free no matter how many times or what you order. My experience is that delivery is also very quick.
The only catch with being a member is that you have to pay an upfront fee of £29, but when you see the prices of their stuff the membership fee will soon be recuperated and you will forget the pain.

Being a member also has lots of other advantages, a gallery to display your paintings, a forum and every two months you get a free magazine etc. I'll put a link at the end of this post if you are interested in taking a look at their website.
Anyway, when I joined the SAA, they sent me a free book and some watercolour post cards. The purpose of the post cards are to allow new members to enter the new member competition. You don't win a big prize but if it is selected it is printed in the free magazine that members get every two months. I nice boost to the ego I thought, so I decided to have a go at a postcard painting to see how I got on.
Here is my first attempt, which was inspired by a painting by Jane Betteridge who is the author of Watercolours Unleashed.

I masked off the snowdrop flowers stalks and some parts of the leaves. When that was dry, I wet the paper and brushed paint across the paper in a vertical strokes to try and give the painting a bit of movement. When the paper was almost dry, I brushed in some of the leave and then sprinkled salt over it to give it a bit of an interesting texture.
When the whole painting was dry, I brushed off the salt and removed the masking fluid. Then I painted the stalks and put some more definition into the leaves.
I would say that it is my best effort so far and a step in the right direction, so I'm giving it a score of 12 out of 100
My review of the bad bits
The salt didn't work. In fact, I'm not sure at all about always being on the look out for happy accidents because my accidents always look like total carnage. I don't want to be a botanical artist using a brush as big as a butterfly's todger, but I think a bit more control wouldn't go amiss.
 The ink splatter at the bottom right was also a big mistake.
Good bits
If you take away the scabby salt marks and silly ink splatter it isn't too bad.
I don't think it is good enough to enter the post card competition so I will have another go this week.
Here is the  Link to the SAA and here is a link to Jane Betteridge  website. She is a fine painter and she also uses SAA paints in her work. So if they are good enough for her they will do for me.

Watercolour 4

Hi all,
I can't believe another week's gone since I began this challenge. I had a day trip to Barmouth on Wednesday and, because it was a three hour drive around twisty roads in each direction,  it took me another day to get over it. In fact, my wife got me a bottle of Sanatogen tonic wine to see if it will bring some life back to my poor old soul. I have had on glass full and the taste is great, however, regarding its pick-me-up qualities I'm not quite sure. If I start dancing about like a new born lamb I'll let you know.
Anyway back to the painting, this week I thought I'd have a go at something different and chose a red admiral butterfly. It was done as usual with watercolour paints on 140lb cold pressed paper. I won't beat about the bush any longer, here it is in all its glory.

Again, I am disappointed with the way it turned out and would give it a score of 10 out of 100
My view of whats wrong with it.
1 The butterfly is smack bang in the middle of the painting, so that was my first mistake.
2 The butterfly doesn't look very dainty, in fact it has all the fragility of a pair of welder's mitts.
3 The background is an horrible colour. I come from a large family and it reminds me of the over diluted orange cordial I had when I was a youngster.
4 The blackberries are purple when they should be black.
5 The leaves look like they've got some disease that all the people on Gardener's World couldn't cure.
Good points
1 I think the stems have a pleasing curl about them.
2 The painting is small, so not much time or paint was wasted.
Now there may be some people who think I'm being a bit harsh on myself, well perhaps I am. I guess it is all about meeting ones own expectation. At my age, how good can I expect to get and what sort of paintings do I want to do?
Well, photo realistic and even realistic are probably objectives that are beyond me. I've never been a fan of abstract painting or impressionism so what am I left with. The answer is that I want to paint images that are pleasing to the eye and look as if at least a thimble full of skill was used in their creation.
To me art is all about making pleasing images. I am sick of hearing expressions like, "good art should say something" or "great art should be though provoking." Bullshit, great art just needs to be a pleasing image however it is produced.
If you have any views on my painting or on what constitutes a great picture, please let me know.

Watercolour 3

Hi all,
A week goes very quickly when you get to my age, but I managed to crack off another painting. Following on from the watercolour birch trees that I produced in painting number 2,  I thought I'd have another go and see if I could make an improvement. "It wouldn't be too difficult," I said quietly to myself.
My inspiration for better things this time, came from seeing a painting by Jane Betteridge in her book "Watercolours unleashed." Jane is one of those artists who paints with a lot of confidence and it shows in her work. My wife and I attended an exhibition of hers earlier in the year at Ticknall village hall where she had some great art on display. Her book is well worth a read and will inspire any artist who is stuck in a rut. Here is a link to Jane's website . Please don't forget to come back and have a giggle at my efforts.
Part of me would like to paint in her style, but yet another part of me doesn't want my paintings to be quite so loose. I like the idea of using Jane's style and technique for my backgrounds and something more detailed in the foreground. I guess I can only dream at the moment but one of these days, who knows.
Anyway, here's my painting of some birch trees in a bluebell wood. It is painted with Winsor and Newton artists' watercolours on 140lb Langton paper.

I suppose it is slightly better than my last painting but only because it isn't so green. The method I used isn't worth relating so I'll just get on with the review.
My review
Bad bits
1 Again I've gone for a sunburst yellow background and again, that looks totally daft.
2 The bluebells in the middle ground look okay, but I could have done with adding some in the foreground with more detail.
3 The foreground foliage in general is rather pathetic. I sprinkled some salt on it to give it some interest but I'm not impressed.
4 The birch trees have their markings all coming from the same side, which when you thing about it is really absurd.
Good bits
None
I can summarise this painting in one word, crap. I know it is only my third attempt but I was hoping for better. I'll score it just to be consistent but it isn't getting anything higher than a 7 out of 100.
What do you think, am I being to hard on myself? Your comments are very welcome.

Bossyboots

Hi all,
Just a quick one to let you know that you can download a free copy of my book, "Bossyboots" on the 22nd and 23rd of October.

Please grab a copy if you want a good laugh. By the way, my next watercolour painting is well on the way and will be posted in the next few days.

Watercolour 2

Hi All,
Time seems to be zooming by at a hell of pace, perhaps one of these days it will take me by surprise and settle down to a  gentle gallop. It's a shame time is going so fast because this is one of the best months of the year and it is almost over. The nasty wasps have almost gone and the trees are showing off their amazing autumn colours. They are an inspiration for any artist and need to be enjoyed before that inevitable bout of wind and rain comes along to rob us of their glory.
Right, let's get on with it, I'm sure you are dying to see my second painting. I would like to think it is better than the first one, but I'm afraid it isn't.
The subject features one of my favourite trees, the birch. This tree, with its silver white bark is, along with tigers and kingfishers, one of the most paint subjects known to man. If you check out some of the galleries on the Internet, you can bet your last lollipop that a birch tree will feature somewhere.
Here is my version, it is painted with Winsor and Newton watercolours (artists' quality) on 140lb, not watercolour paper.
Method
I masked off the birch trees and when the masking fluid was dry I wet the paper and then painted it wet on wet. I made a few marks in the wet paint with a craft knife in an attempt to be arty crafty and splattered some paint from a tooth brush. Then I added some more details when the initial painting was dry.

So, what do you think? Any comments are welcome but here's what I think just to get you started.
Bad bits
1 The birch trees taper to quickly and the banding is too stripy.
2 The overall colour is too green. My wife said it looks like I've been on acid and she is threatening to hide my sap green so that I will use some other colours.
3 Seems silly now, but why did I do the sky orange? And while I'm mentioning the sky what is all the yellow about? It looks like there's been and explosion in a custard factory.
4 Some of the arty crafty marks that I made with the craft knife are okay but I think I have over done them.
I could go on for a while longer, but I think if I addressed the issues already mentioned I'd have a much better painting.
Good bits
Help me, I'm struggling here.
1 Perhaps the distant trees on the left hand side just below the sky are acceptable if you stand in a candle it room and squint a bit.
I'm disappointed and my score for this one is a pathetic 8 out of 100. This means I've got a long way to go yet. However, I'm not going to get down-arted about it and I'm going to give the birch trees a second go. If you want to see how I get on please catch up with me next time. Until then enjoy your painting.

Paint Test

Hi all,
In my last post, one of the issues with my first painting was the lack of vibrancy regarding the paint. When I look at proper artists' work the colours seems to jump off the paper. My paint looked like it would have a job to dribble off the edge of the paper even with a good wind behind it. I said my painting looked wishy-washy and, even taking into account that the subject matter was a misty scene, it still looked out of salts.
If you are interested in art, you have probably been to the exhibitions at village halls where amateur artists have their annual display. There is no doubt that there are some good paintings hanging about at these events, but there are even more that, like my first effort, look like they could do with an injection of steroids. Could it possibly be the paint? Is professional quality paint worth the extra money or is it a bit of a snobby thing?
 My view on the subject was that if you bought students quality watercolours and didn't put too much water into it when mixing, the result should equal that of professional watercolour paints. I would therefore save my self a fortune because professional watercolours are more than twice the price.
Anyway, I must have found myself in a pool of delirium because I decided to get my wallet out and purchase three tubes of professional quality watercolours from a nationally known hobby and art shop. Those three tiny tubes cost me almost £18 quid, if they contained tooth paste it would be gone in a couple of days and I'd be making an appointment at the dentist to have all my teeth removed before I allowed myself to be fleeced again.
The next thing I did was to set about doing a test to see if the paints were worth the extra money. Now I'll be the first to admit that my experiment might not be the most scientific in the world and you can make what you will of the results, but here's what I did. I drew a couple of irises and painted one with student quality watercolour and most of the other with the paint I'd paid an arm and a leg for. Here is the result.

I think you have probably worked out which was done with the most expensive paint. So what can be gathered from the evidence?
 If I want to do a painting that looks proper, I need to fork out and buy the best quality paints. It's no good telling myself that I'll use the cheap stuff until I get good because using cheap paint will only hold me back and I'll never paint anything worth risking an eye on.
 It also seemed to me that because the professional watercolour paint is a lot stronger, when I need a weaker wash the paint will, due to its increased level of pigment, go much further.
So, what I need to concentrate on now is finding professional quality paints at something like student paint prices. I'll let you know if I'm successful in a future post. Painting number 2 is well on the way and will be posted in a couple of days. Happy painting.

Free book

Hi all, just a quick one to let you know that my book, "The Reluctant Pom" is free today and tomorrow on Amazon.

If you fancy reading a copy, here is the UK link, and here's one for those in the USA.

Painting number two will appear in the next couple of days.

Watercolour 1

Hi all,
If you have been waiting earnestly for the first painting in my challenge I am very sorry for the delay. However, the ball has started rolling and here is my first watercolour effort.

Now if you can stop laughing long enough to read the rest of this post and look at it again through squinted eyes, I suppose it isn't that bad for a starter.
The painting is called misty village and puts me in mind of more than one holiday spent in the glorious countryside of Wales. The painting actually came from an exercise in an art magazine and it provide the inspiration to get me on my way.
The paper is cheap 140lb watercolour paper and the paints used were cotman watercolour. I followed the method in the magazine article and started by masking off some of the houses with masking fluid then wetting the paper all over before diving in with the paints.
Here is my review
Bad
1 The sky is a right mess; grey blobs on the right and splodges of mustard on the left.
2 The foreground is empty, surely something should be going on.
3 Some of the houses look as if they could fall over at any minute.
4 I know it is supposed to be a misty scene, but it all looks a bit wishy washy to me even though it is a watercolour painting.
Good
I like the smoke coming out of the chimneys. That was achieved by lifting some paint out with a piece of kitchen towel. The mountains in the background are also easy on the eye so it isn't a complete disaster.
Overall I would give it a score of 10 out of 100 so there is a long way to go yet before I can call myself a painter.
Lessons learned
1 When working wet into wet it is best to plan ahead. Paints need to be ready and mixed before wetting the paper because while I was ferreting about looking for the right colours and mixing them the water I'd put on the paper was starting to dry out.
2 Check out artists' watercolours to see if they are worth paying the extra money for.
Call in again next week for painting number two. I'm hoping it will be better but it could be worse.
Any comments on painting 1 will be welcome even if you thing it is a load of rubbish.

Art

Hi all,
My posts have become infrequent lately and I am about to put that right. The problem is that I have been trying to run 3 blogs. This one, which was supposed to be about writing issues. Another at
www.shirewriting.blogspot.com  that revolves around my scroll sawing and pyrography work. And another at myartisticchallenge.blogspot.com that is following my efforts to became a decent waterclour artist.

Anyway, the scroll sawing and pyrography are going to take a back seat and I'm going to move my artistic challenge to here.

If you look at the headings for my page you will see that I class myself as an author, angler and artist.
Well I'm not doing much writing these days and, due to health reasons, my worm dangling days are now almost done. So, I am going to expand my artistic vent from pyrography to watercolour painting and I'm looking forward to the challenge and the journey. I am sad that the fishing is over because it's been a big part of my life, but sitting in a warm studio do a bit of painting does look attractive especially with winter coming on.

Here a bit of information on what my artistic challenge is all about.

I have given myself 1 year to go from a pyrography artist to a successful watercolour painter.
Why am I doing this?
Those who remember the Beatles will also remember one of their songs, called "When I'm 64." Well just recently I passed that milestone and it got me to thinking about all the things I never got around to doing because I was always to damned busy trying to earn a decent living. I thought about circumnavigating the world on a unicycle but my heart attack and general lack of fitness knocked that one on the head. However, from the days when I was spot popping teenager I always wanted to paint, so  that is why I have taken up this challenge.
Why set yourself a challenge? why not just get on with it?
I'm sure many of you who have wanted to take up art or any other craft have found themselves floundering. The problem is that there are so many other things all after our attention. There are always other jobs to be done, so one feels guilty if one tries to sit down and paint. I am forever trying to clear my "to do list" so that  I can get on with some painting. Well now I've simply added the painting to the list so there is no excuse.
Being an ex-production manager I also understand how targets and goals do really help with motivation.

How does the challenge work?
I am giving myself an objective of doing at least one painting per week. Each painting will be posted on here regardless of how good or bad it looks. Please be aware that on odd occasions in the past I've had a go at painting and my wife still laughs at some of them. In fact, when she gets a bit down, which we all do from time to time, she gets out one of the paintings I did of a lion a few years ago and after looking at it she always busts into a giggling fit.
I don't think it's that bad, but does it tickles your sense of humour?

At least now you know what my starting point is and, if the world starts tweeting about bow legged lions, remember you saw one here first.

So how will I or my readers learn from my paintings?
Well, we all learn from our mistakes, so when I post a painting each week I will give it a score out of 100 and then review it honestly. If any part of the painting is crap I will say so and why.
Can readers make comments about my paintings and will I be offended?
I welcome and encourage any comments that are honest and constructive. After all, finding faults in ones own work can be very difficult.
Will I concentrate on one painting medium?
Yes, it will centre around water colour paints, but ink and pencil work will probably be included at some stage.
After one year, how will I judge my success?
The measure of my success will be simple. If I can sell a painting at a fair price it must mean that somebody likes my work, they must be if they are prepare to exchange hard earned cash for one of my creations.
So I have 52 weeks until the 1st of May 2016 to paint something good enough to sell. If you are interested in watercolour painting and like a laugh, why not come along for the journey. The first of what I expect to be a pathetic attempt will be posted on here within the next 7 days.
I will also tidy up this blog so that it looks half decent and create a paintings tab so that all the paintings that I produce can be seen on one page

New cover for Staffordshire Boy

Hi all,
They say you shouldn't judge a book by looking at the cover but I guess most of us do. I know that when I'm looking for a book it is the art work on the cover that attracts me first. In fact, I use the cover to filter the books that I'm not interested in. There are literally hundreds of books for sale that depict a bare chested man in various poses, usually mauling some unfortunate female. I ignore these books like the plaque, but I'm often left wondering that when choosing topic for the cover of their book, the author picks something that is so much like so many others.

Anyway, after saying all that about other authors' covers I must admit that one of my own book covers is pretty poor to say the least. The cove of "A Staffordshire Boy" is pretty damn boring and does absolutely nothing to promote what is within.

All I can say in my defence is that I was very short of time when I published it and the only good thing I can say about it is that it is different. I put a bit of a map of Staffordshire on the front to give it a sense of place, when it should have said something about the content.

Anyway, I've made amends and designed a new cover that gives any would be reader a reasonable idea about what the book might contain.

If you have any opinions on about the covers or think the first one is better, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, if you want to read a sample of what is actually in the book, please click here.
By the way, I am offering one of my books "No Fishing In Here: Just Short Stories" free on Amazon on the 24th and 25th of September. Grab a free copy if you can.

Two Free Books

Hi all,
I haven't been taking full advantage of having my books in Amazon select and I find my self with a backlog of free days to use up. So I currently have two books that are available for free, but you will have to be quick because the offer ends today.

The first book is a collection of short stories. Some of them will make you laugh while others may do the opposite, however, I'm sure that they will stir some emotion inside the reader.

No Fishing IN Here: Just Shorts Stories.

Is available by clicking on this Link.

My other book is on a fishing theme and is targeted at those who have, or are thinking of taking up the sport but are confused by the terms used by coarse anglers.

It is available by clicking this Link.

If you do download either or both of the books, I hope you enjoy them and if you do please leave a review. Thanks

Fred Tench Fishing Detective

Hi all,
It's taken almost a year but I've managed to get on top of the house renovation. It's just as well because my back and my shoulder are complaining like mad. I guess my old bones are well past their abuse by date.

So, while they have been mending my ill used body I've been shuffling about wondering what to do next and I couldn't help but start working on the plot for another book in the Fishing Detectives series. I had originally only planned to do three but I feel Fred is dying to get his rods out again.

However, this book could be the last and if it is I will have to kill Fred Tench off so that there can't be another. Anyway at the moment I haven't got that far, if I enjoy writing it I might let Fred live to cast his line out again and make it five in in the series.

It usually take me a year to write a book but I am hoping this one will be finished by the end of the year. I will keep you posted.

Talking about books I have a couple of free offers on at the moment.

At Smashwords.com you can get "A Staffordshire Boy" free until the 22nd of June. You will find the links and coupon code on my website.

If you have a kindle, "Bossyboots" is a good, fun read and it is free to download on the 11th and 12th of June from Amazon.

If you download either book I hope you enjoy them, and if you do, please leave a review, they really do help with sales. Thanks

Two free books

Hi all,
Book promotion is a tricky subject. I'm afraid I'm not a sociable sort of chap so my marketing efforts are rather limited. My main thrust is via a couple of blogs, but I also rely heavily on my placing on Amazon.

In fact, I'm a bit of a nerd because every week I note the number that I'm placed for each of my books using various search terms. THis means that over the last couple of years I have been able to watch how each of my books performs, but unfortunately I still haven't found a formula that will keep me on the first page of results.

 The experts believe that having the right keywords associated with each book is essential, so in an effort to improve my lot I have purchased a couple of books on the subject and altered my keywords accordingly. Having changed my keyword three times I can tell you now that it didn't make a jot of a difference, in fact the last change made things worse.

However, I'm a gluten for punishment and I've purchased one last book on the subject. This time I have chosen wisely and hopefully it will see my books racing up the results. When choosing I used a bit of science. I read the blurb about how each Author knew the secrets of the Kindle Keywords; they all knew about Amazons special algorithms and how to manipulate it to get to the top of the pile.

I've learnt to recognise bullshit during the last sixty odd years, but just to make sure I didn't make any more mistakes I did a search on the Authors' own books. Well guess what? nearly all of these so called experts had a rating that was lower than mine. If they knew all the secrets, surely their books would be right up there at the top.

If the one I chose is any good I'll let you know.

Anyway, I have two free book offers on the go at the moment, so please take full advantage. The first book in "The Fishing Detectives" series, "Carp Rustlers is free on www.smashwords.com until the 7th of June.

On the kindle platform, "The Reluctant Pom" is free this week-end 30th and 31st of May. If you would like to know how I got on when my father dragged me off to Australia in 1967 this is an interesting and amusing read.

Here are the links  UK UK        USA USA

I hope you enjoy them. If you would like to find out more about my other books or even have a look at some of my pyrography, please visit my website.

Free BossyBoots

Hi all,
I'm a bit forlorn today because yesterday I did something foolish. If you have been following my post you will know that I have been refurbishing our bungalow for over a year. I am getting very close to finishing the job and yesterday I was taking up the hard and noisy laminated floor in the hall, so that we could have some nice cozy carpet fitted.

Anyway, while I was pulling it up I also managed to pull the muscles in my back. I can now hardly walk and its is uncomfortable to sit down. I guess I'll have to lie down on the couch all afternoon and watch the snooker. Ah well that's life.

However, there is some good news. The fact that I am laid up means that I have had chance to go onto my computer and arrange a free book promotion for this week-end.

The book is "BossyBoots" and it will be free on Amazon from Saturday 2nd of May 2015 until Monday the 4th.

More details about the book can be found here. If you down load a copy I hope you enjoy it and if you do a review would be nice. At the moment the book only has 2 reviews. One was written by a lady who enjoyed the story but didn't like the editing, which has been redone. The other review was by a man who liked it so much and raved about it in such a way it looks as if I wrote it myself. Indeed, if I had written the review myself I would have been too embarrassed to write about it is such glowing terms.

Anyway, the books is a bit different from the run of the mill stuff out there and worth a look even if I say so myself.

Crazy Paving

Hi All, For the last year I have been toiling away at refurbishing the bungalow that we moved into in January 2014. I have two rooms left to do but they will be easy compared with the landscaping that I have done in the garden.

Yesterday I finished the crazy paving so that is the last of the big jobs where bags of sand and cement are concerned. In my younger days I could carry bags of sand around without any problem but now that I'm 64 years old each bag seems to weight a tonne. I don't think the tablets that I am taking since my heart attack help either, statins seem to have an effect on my muscles.

I guess I'm starting to look a bit past my best because when I purchase the last bag of building sand from homebase, the girl on the till asked me if I wanted help to load it into my car. I guess that is milestone in ones life and a hint that it is time to take it easy and relax.

Anyway, this morning I lay in bed thinking nice thoughts about how that now the big jobs like the crazy paving were done I could rest my old bones and do a bit more arty crafty stuff. However, my dreams of relaxation were rudely interrupted by my wife as we ate our breakfast.

"I've been thinking," she said, "now that you've finished all the jobs in the garden, how about digging out a fish pond?" I don't think the female of our species likes to see a man with leisure time and it occurred to me that since I got married, my other half has thought up an endless stream of tasks for me to complete.

I haven't once and could never imagine sitting about thinking up jobs for my wife to do and perhaps that is the real difference between men and women.

Will she get a fish pond? I'll think about it.

By the way, the first of my books in the Fishing Detectives series, "Carp Rustlers" is free on smashwords.com until 4th of May. If you want a free copy details are on my website

Free: No Fishing In Here

Hi all,
I mentioned in my last post that I was hoping to make my book "Bossy Boots" permanently free on Amazon. I was under the impression that to do this I simply made the book free on Barnes and Noble, Amazon would oblige by price matching it if somebody e-mailed them to say that they'd seen a lower price. Well, I did all that and even got other people to report the lower price but nothing happened, so it was all a complete failure.

However, it did push me into reviewing who and where I was distributing my books with. I use Amazon for everything and have a selection of other books with Smashwords, D2D or both. Anyway, the upshot is that I have pulled some of my books, including Bossy Boots, out of Smashwords and D2D and have enrolled them in Amazon's "select" program, which will allow me to offer them for free for 5 days in every three month period.

To get the ball rolling, my collection of short stories will be available for a free down load for three days this week-end.

Some of the stories are sad while others are funny but they all involve emotions, including anger, denial and betrayal. So if you would like a copy, stick the dates in your diary and download a free copy sometime from the 17th to the 19th of April. I hope you enjoy its.

Perma Free

Hi all,
Giving away free book downloads seems to be a good way to let readers know about your writing style, especially if you have several books published. So, how do you go about it?

The most obvious way is to join Amazon select, by doing this you will be able to offer your book free for any five days in a 3 month period. However, this has its drawbacks, to be in Amazon select you have to make your ebook exclusive to Amazon, which means that you can't sell that book through Smashwords or D2D.

The other issue is that many books on Amazon seem to be permanently free. Because I'm a bit of a miser, when I'm looking for a new book I can't help but search through the free book offers on Amazon. Some are good and some are bad, but there are literally hundreds of them. After doing this several times over a period of months I noticed that the same books were always free, so how does that work if I only get five days through Amazon select?

I sent an e-mail and asked Amazon if I could make one of my books permanently free and they said no. So how do Authors manage to get their books on the permanently free list? Well if you have a book that is distributed through Smashwords or D2D here is how it is done in four easy steps.

Step one
Go to Smashwords and or D2D and change the price of your book to free.

Step two
Over the next few days keep checking one of the channels, ie Barnes and Noble, to see if they have made your book free. When they have, copy the URL.

Step Three
Go to your book on Amazon and in the details you will find a link that says "report a lower price" Click on this link and a dialect box will open asking for the URL of the website where you found it cheaper. Paste the URL you copied into the box and then answer the other couple of other simple questions they ask.

Step Four
Ask some of your friends to do the above just to nudge Amazon in the right direction.

Well that's the theory. My book, "Bossyboots" went free on Barnes and Noble last week and I reported it to Amazon so that they could price match it. So far it hasn't cahnged, but I gather that the process is a bit hit and miss.

If you would like to report a cheaper price for my book, here is the link and, if you've got a Nook reader, why not pick up a free copy for yourself while you are there.

Wise Words

Hi all,
Isn't February one of the worst months of the year. Spring seems almost within our grasp but the weather can't seen to get any better. Just when the sun feels as if it warm the cockles of you heart a blast of wind that could freeze a penguin's winkle hits you straight in the face.
 Still I shouldn't grumble, I have a half brother who lives in Finland and they don't get any nice weather until May and then it's down hill all the way from July.

My father, who passed away seven years ago, was born in February and, on his birthday, memories of him crowded my thoughts. He was the person who introduced me to fishing, a hobby that became a life long passion. If it hadn't been for him I would have been able to write several books on the subject.

He was also responsible for taking me and the rest of the family to Melbourne, Australia on an assisted package. I was was only sixteen years old, I didn't want to go but I thank him for the experience. Just recently I published a book, "The Reluctant Pom" which tells all about my time in Australia, a land that my father thought would be the place of our dreams, but turned out to be a place of poisonous critters. However, without my father there would have been no book.

Throughout my growing up years he would drill bits of information into my head, words of wisdom that would see me safe on my journey through life. Through the years I have been able to discard some of his opinions, but others I still cherish and indeed use them to ease my passage through life.


When I was an impressionable youngster, who still believed his father was the font of all knowledge, he was always drumming the same message into my head. The advice, he said, had been handed down from his father and would be invaluable to me on my journey through life. Here is what he said.
"Never believe what you hear, and only half of what you see."
I suppose these words sound like good advice, but be aware because they turned me into a cynic.
Then one day it dawned on me. If I'd followed his mantra properly, I would never have believed him in the first place.
By the way, if you want to check out "The Reluctant Pom" or any of my fishing books, more information about them and a free book offer is available on my website. http://www.shirewriting.co.uk/

Free Book

Hi all,
Just a quick one to let you know that I have made my latest book "The Reluctant Pom" free on Amazon.co.uk.

The offer only lasts for three days, so if you are interested in a free read grab a copy before midnight on Friday. Here is the link for the free book.

The Reluctant Pom Photos

Hi all,
Just a quick post to let you know that I have added some photos of my time down under in Australia to my website . All you have to do is go to the home page click on any book and then click on "The Reluctant Pom" cover and you'll find the photos.
Here's a sample.

I was a sixteen years old when this photo was taken out side our house at 17, Carmichael Street, West Footscray, Melbourne. A fresh faced young lad who was dragged half-way around the world because my dad  thought Australia would be the land of beer and money.

I recently went onto google street map to see if the old place was still standing but sadly it's been demolished and a new house has been built in its place. It is interesting to note that while I was in the area on my computer I had a good look around at some of my old haunts and it made me kind of sad. I may have been a reluctant pom, but Australia still tugs at my heart strings when I see it on the telly.

I met my first wife in Australia and we did most of our courting on the veranda of her parent's house at number 1, Dove Street, West Footscray. I popped along there on street map and found that it is still there and looks almost the same as it did 47 years ago. What a great invention street map is, to be able to roam about the streets where I grew up on the other side of the world is just down right amazing.

One thing I did notice, which was a bit of a shock was the amount of graffiti that could be seen on some of the walls in West Footscray. My memories are all of a clean and tidy place without rubbish or graffiti, but back then in the sixties perhaps I was just too young to notice.