Month: Jun 2020

Hopefully Inspiring Others

| ingridhillart

Apologises for missing last week’s blog post, the week just seemed to disappear!

I’m so excited to have now produced my first on-line lesson. I have to say it’s been a really steep learning curve and I’ve discovered it takes lots and lots of time to get the filming and video editing just right!

My first attempt wasn’t entirely successful! I was so pleased with myself after a morning filming the first part of my demonstration painting, I’d got the camera set up, the microphone on, new lights positioned and a good view of the painting, yeah success! However when I came to watch the afternoon session I found I hadn’t focused the camera properly and that I’d been leaning forward so that the back of my head kept coming into view, meaning the whole of the afternoons filming was unusable even though the painting itself was now finished! I’ll try not to make those mistakes again! I’m pleased to say it turned out well in the end after I re-filmed the painting again the following day.

Encouraged by the fantastic feedback I’ve received following the snow scene lesson I’m now excited to be planning my next on-line workshop which will be available to everybody. The painting I will be demonstrating will be based on this watercolour and ink sketch I did last week. On one of my morning dog walks I came across a patch of large flowering white daisies amongst tall grasses. I loved the contrast they formed and as soon as I got home, I did this quick sketch whilst the inspiration was fresh in my mind.

I also came across these beautiful toadstools or mushrooms, I’ve tried to find out what type of fungi they are but I haven’t managed to identify them yet. It was a good job I photographed them at the beginning of the week because they were almost destroyed by the heavy rain and thunderstorm we had the following day.

Each moment of the year has it’s own beauty,

a picture which was never before

and shall never be seen again.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stay safe,

Ingrid

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Exciting plans!

| ingridhillart

Today is definitely the day to be catching up on computer work, we’ve had gusts of wind, sunshine, rain and now hail!

As I mentioned in my last blog I’ve been developing several different projects to enable me to still run my art business during the current situation. One of the things I’ve missed during the pandemic is not being able to share my love of painting with others at my weekly classes, workshops and demonstrations. This has encouraged me to look into the possibility of offering online workshops and courses where I hope to help and inspire others. Although this is early days and I’m still in the planning stages I’m so excited about this possible new venture. I have so many ideas that I’m looking forward to sharing with others.

So, this week has been a week of working out the practical side of filming in my studio. I couldn’t have managed this without my wonderful husband he’s adapted a tripod to allow me to film directly above a painting, sorted out the lighting and looked into video editing software. This is all quite a steep learning curve but I’m determined to get to grips with it all.

I’ve had fun doing a few practice sessions and discovered filming myself painting is not as easy as it sounds!

All of my groups are halfway through a demonstration led watercolour and if it hadn’t been for us having to stop the classes so suddenly, we would have completed together in class. So my first online lesson will be for my weekly classes. Next week I’m hoping to produce a video of myself finishing the painting to help the groups to complete their own version of the painting at home.

This new venture along with several others that I’ll talk about when they are up and running, has meant little time for studio painting again this week, although I do make sure I find the time to be creative in my daily sketchbooks.

I use sketchbooks for lots of different things and always have several different ones on the go at any one time. I find I’m inspired to create sketches based of a similar theme, style or technique such as ink drawings, mixed media or loose watercolours sketches and then I like to move on to a different style or technique which may then be in one of my other types of sketchbook.

Over the last two weeks I’ve been really enjoying creating pages in my experimental sketchbook using watercolour, mixed media and collage, inspired by my morning walks and my garden.

I absolutely love the freedom that my sketchbooks give me to experiment without any pressure on myself to create a finished painting but to just enjoy the process of being creative.

You are never too old

to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

C.S.Lewis

Stay safe,

Ingrid

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Follow me on social media to see more of my paintings, work in progress and sketches: