Toast

Hi all,
Just thought I'd give you a quick update regarding my rendering skills. I have been following a book by a great realism artist called, Mark Crilley because I want my painting to be grounded in realism. I've tried the slap dash, anything will go and hope for some happy accidents approach, but it doesn't give me any sense of satisfaction.

I'm following the exercises in the book and I'm pretty happy with my efforts. One of the exercises was to take a photo of a piece of toast with a dollop of jam on it. Now some people may think it silly to be painting everyday things like pieces of toast, but it doesn't half get the creative juices flowing.

Anyway, we don't have rasberry jam in our house, so I took a picture of my toast with a dollop of marmalade on it. I printed it out and over the next couple of days I painted it using the techniques in Mark's book. Here is the result.

I don't mind telling you that I'm pretty proud of my efforts and I'm looking forward to the next challenge.

By the way, I'm pleased to let my followers know that I have a free book offer on today and tomorrow (25th and 26th Feb 2016)

It is called, "No Fishing In Here" and is a collection of 12 short stories to stir up the emotions. Some of the stories are sad while some are very funny. If you look at the list of books I have written you will noticed that many of them have a fishing theme, this one doesn't but can still be enjoyed by anglers.

To get your free download, click on the books tab at the top of the page then click on the book cover.
I hope you enjoy it.

Damsel

Hi all,
It's been a  while since I did a post, but at last I have managed a painting that I am very pleased with. The painting is a watercolour of two yellow flag irises and a blue damsel fly. I have watched may of these wonderful creatures flitting between the reeds while I have been fishing, and I have always wanted to capture the essence in a painting.

I am really pleased with the way it came out and I'm giving it a score of 50 out of 100.

The bad bits.
I'm trying hard, but unlike the previous paintings I've display, I can't find anything bad to say about it. Of course, it isn't top gallery material, but given my experience I think it's a damn good effort.

The good bits.
Firstly, I think the composition is very good. I suppose experts looking at this painting could ramble on for days, and perhaps even weeks, about the rule of thirds. Well I don't know much about that, if a painting is pleasing to the eye, then mathematical equations don't matter a tinker's cuss. I also like the colours, which are set off by the dark background. I think it s also clear, when looking at this painting, that I have used artist quality paints. If I'd done it in using El Cheapo watercolours it would have the the appearance of a old washed out dish rag.

Anyway, it has given me a lift regarding my paintings. The only downside is that I have now set myself a new level, one that I think may be hard to retain. I guess we will see in my next painting.

By the way, regarding my books. I am retiring in April so I am going to simplify life for myself. At the moment, my books a available through Amazon, Smashwords and Draft to Digital, but I'm going to knock the last two on the head and stick exclusively with Amazon.

Besides making life simpler, it will also give me chance to really see what difference enrolling all my books into Amazon's select program makes to sales. Currently 90% of my sales come via Amazon, so although I may be giving up 10% of my sales by giving up on Smashwords and Draft to Digital, I am hoping my overall sales levels will increase. I' a bit of an old wart really and keep a lot of detailed graphs about my sales, so in a few months I should have a good idea if my ploy works.

The upshot of all this is that I will be offering more free books on Amazon, which is good news for those of you who follow my post, because you will get to find out straight away when a free book is on offer.

To make a start, you will find that "Bossyboots" is free on Amazon on the 18th and 19th of February 2016.

If you want a free download of a book that will make you laugh out loud, click on the book's tab at the top of the page and follow the "Bossyboots Link.