The Red Tree

New painting, going into the 303 Gallery’s Christmas exhibition next week. The theme was ‘A Walk in the Woods’…I know, it’s a bit Glastonbury, but at the same point there are interesting environmental and horticultural lessons here to be learned about dandelions and why we should be careful about cutting down trees… I’m a fan of Dandelions, and they are good for the soil – but what you see is the mere tip… of the dandelion. This is why they are good for the soil, but of course this is also why they are so very difficult to get rid…

How to grow trees in just a week!

There was no time to show you any progress on this painting untill it was completed. Early last week I got an email from Gale who runs the 303 Gallery in Martock, asking if I had any image that could be used in their promotion of their summer exhibition ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ (new artwork required in any case, not necessarily fitting the exhibition title, but work inspired by or appropriate to the title always appreciated). As it happened, I had had an idea about this one, but was busy with other stuff and it hadn’t got onto paper. So…

The Pigs of High Ham

Continuing my documentation of our local magical creatures, I bring you The Pigs of High Ham. The sketches and explanations for these appeared three posts back in How Pigs Fly. Here is the finished painting, and I have broken away from the one colour at last! (The last 3 large paintings were entirely in Prussian Blue) Having said that this painting is in colour, it isn’t in all that many colours. With the exception of the tiny bit of blue sky, I only used two more colours than the previous blue paintings. Here’s my palette: Here we have yellow, magenta…

Technicolour Flying Pigs!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you the technicolour flying pigs: Hilda, Mildred and Archibald! …they are going to feature in a larger painting too, but while I was pondering what to enter for the art exhibition at the Royal Bath & West (an agricultural show plus everything else, for those who don’t know), I realized they would be just the thing, so I’ve whipped up this little group of piggy paintings for that.

The Winter Tree Demons

Whilst I am on the subject of our very local magical creatures (Rhyne Maidens, Pollarded Dryads), I couldn’t let another winter pass without documenting the Winter Tree Demons. Not so evocative of my local area on the edge of the Somerset Levels, these creatures are visible all over the country in the winter, but particularly in low-lying rural countryside. In the summer you would think they were trees; only in winter do they show their true shape…

Knowing when to stop.

I have no idea! There I was, embarking on a painting – my first ‘proper’ painting for about a year and a half – and then I just stopped. This painting was not intended to look like this at all, this is my blue underpainting stage, but having added blue tones to the central figure and put in the dark pollarded willows behind her, which were going to be almost silhouettes like my photograph, I stood back and had a look at it, and didn’t know whether to go on. Part of the issue is that those pollarded willows are…

“Theatre of the Soul” – an exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre

I’ve been invited to take part in an exhibition in Bridport Arts Centre, 17th Jan – 28th Feb. Here is the poster, with my ‘Murder of Crows’ painting a part of it. I really like the images by the other artists, this promises to be a fascinating show! For more details see my exhibitions page: https://nancyfarmer.wordpress.com/future-exhibitions/

Introducing the Spelling Fairies

There has been quite a bit of spelling lately. Since I started putting them up on Etsy, I have had a few requests for Spelling Animals but here is one I was asked for that was not in my Etsy Shop. It is now, because I was rather pleased with how this came out. It’s sweet and innocent, which you may find disturbing from me, so rest assured that on my To Do list is also to offer ‘your name in naughty naked people’ as a spelling option. Sometime I shall get round to that one, sooner if I actually…

Misbehaving, as clear as Black and White…

I have one more silhouette drawing to show you, which I completed before the Octoparty – I snuck the latter in out of sequence because there really have been a lot of fairies lately, and more to add to the blog. Some years back I did a series of drawings called ‘Fornicating Fairies’… they need no more explanation than that. I then added a drawing to the series where, well, you just couldn’t quite see if…they weren’t… or were they…? You get my drift. I called that one Frolicking Fairies. There was much frolicking. This is along the same lines:…

Two’s Company

One of the first of some silhouette drawings that I have been doing. I have to say that I thought this picture was rather too sweet for me, but when I posted it on my Facebook page it got more likes than anything has for a very long time, so there, maybe I should be sweeter! I’m not going to change though 😉 Personally, I particularly like the dandelions in the grass, being a bit of a fan of dandelions. I cannot currently think of an excellent title for this so it is going by the name of ‘Two’s Company’ unless…