As the sun rises on a new year ( just used that so I could tie it in with my feature photo!!)I looked back at some of my arty adventures during 2018.
I joined a artist coop early in the year and have had a lot of fun sitting in the Quoll Gallery. It’s always nice to meet the people who buy my paintings and they love to meet the artist! I’ve also met a lot of other artists who , like me, love to check out galleries wherever I travel.
My Patreon page was a bit of a risk because I knew it would eat up my time. It’s been artistically rewarding as I’ve met wonderful people from all walks of life with a love of art in common. I have a small bunch of subscribers which has allowed me to interact with them more and really get to know them and their artistic aspirations and I’ve enjoyed the exchanges we have. Because it’s small I can spent time critiquing their paintings for them and answering their questions which I think would be impossible with a really large group. As I prepare the lessons and exercises it’s made me reflect more about my own art practices and I think it ‘s improved me as a teacher and an artist. Each month I concentrate on a theme and here’s one of the painting demos and lessons I did last month for our “Using Darks Effectively” theme.
I travelled to the USA, Canada, Italy, France and Switzerland and had a blast. Got a lot of painting done, hiked, swam, snorkeled, ate, photographed and soaked up the scenery. Don’t ask me what was my favourite place because I just can’t narrow it down! Here’s a few paintings I did while travelling.
Also a video of me getting into a bit of palette knife painting in the Vanoise region of France while Trevor did a hike.
Then there was the Etsy Christmas Market that I was on the organising committee for. It went fantastically but sure took up a lot of time.! Here’s a photo of one of the happy stall holders taken by Raven Jay Photography.
I’ve also been teaching a pastel class at one of our local art groups, Colour Circle. It’s been great seeing the students try new techniques , experiment, move out of their comfort zone and improve their skills. This year I’ll be adding a mixed media class which promises to be great fun!
Then there was all that busy , busy commission painting for Christmas.
It’s been a great year and now I’m looking forward to seeing what 2019 will bring. What did you do in 2018? What are you looking forward to in 2019?
Lindy Whitton Studio 
I can’t wait to watch the video, I might try watching it on my computer rather than my phone. I have a question for you about the black paper, is the brand Uart? I need to do a pastel of a dark landscape and sunset and I am thinking that using a black paper would make it more dramatic. I am wondering if I would find it difficult to work in the brilliant sunset colors. I will be also adding sky blues. Anyway I am hoping that you can give me some pointers.
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Hi Margaret, I use mostly Art Spectrum Colourfix original or Smooth( both are grit papers) or Mi Teintes TEX. The pastel sunrise in this post was done on a dark blue which I found better than the black. Almost all the blue in the sky is the paper with only a little bit of added brighter blue.
Black paper does up the drama factor – especially with bright colours. They go over the black fine and you’ll have no trouble working in those brilliant sunset colours.
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Thank you for your feedback, it is much appreciated. I will be ordering paper tomorrow.
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🙂
You have an incredible pastel collection!! 🙂
Sounds like 2018 was pretty full, hope 2019 treats you well
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It’s an ever expanding collection and I must get a grip on my addiction this year!!! Hope you have a great 2019 – I must head over and check out what you’ve been up to- have severely neglected my blog and everyone else’s lately !
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Gosh, you make me feel like a sloth – you do so much.
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Yes- well I don’t have a “must go to work” day job which does free up a lot of time to do other stuff. And you are so far from sloth like!
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You really had an interesting year. Patreon must be a lot of Fun.
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It is lovely meeting fellow artists and being able to help them on their journey in some small part.
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