Paint My Photo Spring 2013

8/13/2019 Paint My Photo Spring 2013

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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



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



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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/klinkemalliefrancis




http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=2686iw4h91cfo

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=2686iw4h91cfo



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:


FRANKLIN

Provence Balcony

Egyptian Girl

Carlyn - 1

Winter SceneOld BarnQuartier Des Usines









FRANKLIN

Small Street (2)

Martial Art

Bar in Antwerp

Chat-Kha

Rolled Petals

Abstract Reflection 1The Poor Fellow

Saignon

Sunflowers - 13

Enter the Light



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’

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RodneyCampbell

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RodneyCampbell

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=33nzjpmdfoi0d






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.



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


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

http://rodney-campbell.artistwebsites.com/







RODNEY CAMPBELL

Bald Eagle

Cherry Blossoms

Niagara Top of Horseshoe Falls

Old Wooden Fence

Red Fox

Make a Wish

Widow Skimmer (Female)



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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=0yzr2osjfa1c6




http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/FredaAustinNichols








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


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

http://www.pixoto.com/freda.nichols1/recent



http://fredanichols.artistwebsites.com/

http://fredanichols.artistwebsites.com/





Bright Side

Free

Lady Grey and Friend

Water Lily

My Lady

FREDA AUSTIN NICHOLS

Wild-Side

A Fiddle

General Lee

Ferrum HorsesLunch



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.

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/track/return-to-uqbar



http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RuthArcher








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’

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/track/angels-in-the-forest






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.

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-shadows

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-shadows

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/dark-dreams

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/dark-dreams

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/



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

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/dreamtigers

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/dreamtigers

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/the-end-of-days

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/the-end-of-days

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/angel-of-my-soul

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/angel-of-my-soul

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/falling-through-rainbows

http://rickmiller.bandcamp.com/album/falling-through-rainbows


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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’

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=0yhr1lm0lv5mn

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=0yhr1lm0lv5mn

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RoySimmons

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RoySimmons



http://www.davidstanleymusic.co.uk/

http://www.davidstanleymusic.co.uk/



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’

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/forum/topics/the-musician-and-the-artist-fund-raising-event-for-mencap-music-s










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

http://www.paulcarpenterfilms.com/

http://www.paulcarpenterfilms.com/



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’

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RoniHennen

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/RoniHennen

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=3btgr1mlaajxj

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=3btgr1mlaajxj



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.



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.

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/forum/categories/monthly-challenge/listForCategory





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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/JudyWright

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/JudyWright

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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

http://www.msaayuma.org/





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.




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!




One other thing I might mention is my webpage address, which is part of the website I run for MountainShadows Artists Association:


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







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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/spring-has-sprung






http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/narcissus-3

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/narcissus-3

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/a-vase-of-daffodils

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/a-vase-of-daffodils



http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/daffodils-6

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/daffodils-6

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/img-0728?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/img-0728?context=user

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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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/a-host-of-golden-daffodils

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/a-host-of-golden-daffodils

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/bluebells-growing-under-the

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/bluebells-growing-under-the

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/window-dressing?context=album&albumId=5204568:Album:542349

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/window-dressing?context=album&albumId=5204568:Album:542349

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/magnoliabloom-1

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/magnoliabloom-1

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/brightoct09-022

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/brightoct09-022

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/bluebell-woods-1

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/bluebell-woods-1

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/crocus-5

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/crocus-5



RO’S HIDDEN TREASURES Spring Special

Cherry Blossoms 1Spring Flowers

Orange Tulips 5Lotus TreeOrange Tulips

Colors of Spring Pink Poppy

Magnolia View

Golden Jewels

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/golden-jewels?context=album&albumId=5204568:Album:755628

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/golden-jewels?context=album&albumId=5204568:Album:755628

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/magnolia-view

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/magnolia-view

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/colors-of-spring

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http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/pink-poppy-2?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/pink-poppy-2?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/orange-tulips-by-maria-balcells?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/orange-tulips-by-maria-balcells?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/lotus-tree

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/lotus-tree

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/orange-tulips-16?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/orange-tulips-16?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/spring-flowers046

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/spring-flowers046

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/cherrie-blossoms-1?context=user

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/photo/cherrie-blossoms-1?context=user



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’

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/GaryJones

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http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/SharonWhitley




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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.




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!


http://www.sharonwhitleytheramblingartist.blogspot.co.uk/

http://walksnwildlife.blogspot.co.uk/





http://twopairsofboots.blogspot.co.uk/

http://twopairsofboots.blogspot.co.uk/



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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/PeterWilliams

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/PeterWilliams

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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



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’




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’




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’




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’




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’




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



http://www.mightyfineart.co.uk/








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

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/JamesSwanson

http://paintmyphoto.ning.com/profile/JamesSwanson

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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”



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.





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.





“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’

http://www.theartistandthetraveler.org/

http://www.theartistandthetraveler.org/


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http://swap-art.com/events/spring-random-swap-art-for-pmp-members/




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Paint My Photo Spring 2013