New Gallery ....new exposure?

Been contacted by Eliza The Gallery and put 10 paintings on to their website - let's hope they are as good as they say they are and can sell some work to their corporate clientele....definitely where the money seems to be at the moment.

I am SURE there are lots of office/ boardrooms with space on the walls for some of my BIG pieces..like this one!!  40 x 28"...can do bigger if need be!  This is 'Ice Flow Glencoe"   It's in Aberfeldy Gallery right now!

A ridiculous amount has passed since my last post which proves i have been neglecting this blog, but here are some Australian demos I did recently ( and sold!) during my Pastel Workshop Tour there...we travelled from Perth to Sydney, Hunter Valley, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne then Tasmania, and over 5 weeks saw some amazing places, met fascinating people and enjoyed some sunshine before heading home to Scottish winter...but we love it!

New Year resolution no.1...to write more on the blog, especially as it will keep you updated on what's being written simultaneously in the new book!!

Up up and away ....again!!

I cannot believe where the summer has gone...it is August already and I am packing the pastel box again in preparation for flying to USA today....  first to Christina Debarry's Studio in NJ, then to Millheim PA, then up to Hudson River Valley Workshops...  after this, fly out to COlorado to Terry Ludwig's Studio then finish at the PSA in NYC!   The Heilman Field Box will be well used by the time I get back and I will be ready to restock it with fresh stock...probably some new TL pastels while I am within grabbing distance of the factory!  Watch this space for some of the demos, or see my page on Facebook!

Venice beckons......

After a week of finishing off Scottish paintings for Summer Exhibitions, I can at last enjoy some new work from some of the millions of paintings ideas from my recent Venetian travel sketchbook.   The watercolour sketches inspire, and a series of nocturnal paintings are on the cards......  the first is the watercolour from the sketchbook, and the third is the gouache/pastel painting that's been painted from the sketch.  The middle one is the first of a series of 'nocturnal' paintings ..Venice Nights No 1!

Slowly getting there!

Some weeks the paintings fly off the easel and other weeks it feels like years!  Since getting back from So Carolina, there have been lots of interruptions to the flow of work, including workshops, visits & one large birthday celebration, so it has been a slow process!  However I have decided to go slower this year anyway and produce fewer but stronger pieces...hopefully to lead to more sales.  I'd like to spread my wings and exhibit in London, then some galleries in USA, so spread the word if any of you know of good galleries that may like my work!

A Southern Low Country experience USA style

Just finishing a great trip to USA with workshops in Pittsburgh and York PA, then a superb visit to the Palm Key resort at Ridgeland, near Beaufort South Carolina.  This is an award winning retreat set in wonderful wooded and marshland landscape, with a superb purpose built studio that any artist would crave for.  The 5 day workshop there covered pastels and any medium and the hosts, Judy and Emir Rigg organise everything from food to fabulous accommodation in pretty cottages surrounding the lake.  Delighted to say that this will again be the location for an annual visit for our first USA PAINTAWAY and we look forward to returning in April 2013 for another superb trip which will include visits to Beaufort, Savannah & Charleston, as well as private visits to plantations for superb painting locations.  Keep in touch for future details...this will be on the lines of 'Outdoor Sketching & Indoor Painting in the Low Country SC'

0Oo-la-la...the French Paintaway's a go-go

Deeee-lighted to say that we have our minimum numbers for our delicious French Paintaway week in June near Carcassone and the Canal du Midi.  I filmed here a couple of years ago for my latest dvd, and the landscapes are sublime....lavender, sunflower fields, canals, old farmhouses, windmills and much food & wine to satisfy the hungry pangs of artists....can't wait to go back.  Please come and join me!!   Details from info@shinafoot.co.uk

Spring Rush!

It's been one of those weeks when my back was against the wall, and I HAD TO get a good selection of work finished and ready for various Spring Exhibitions in galleries around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Easy Coast, West!

With more to follow. the gap in the middle for me is the month of March, as we prepare to travel to USA starting in Pittsburgh, PA, then York PA, then Palm Key S Carolina for workshops, and it will be the end of March before we are home.  ( by then I will have to get another good strong 12 paintings done for some May Exhibitions)  Life is certainly never dull - frustrating maybe but NEVER dull!  These 4 are all of the East Neuk of Fife, on the East Coast of Scotland...very rugged, picturesque & paintable fishing villages, like Crail, Anstruther & Pittenweem

Highland Flings!

Trying to get a few Highland paintings 'flung together' before I go to US....there's a few galleries needing a changeover of work, so it's great to keep on my toes and produce new work!  Better too, to be refreshing work wherever it goes as one painting can sometimes sit for ages in one gallery, then get snapped up in the next - I live in hope!!!! Plus it's always exciting to get a new piece out and hope the public approve with their feet...and chequebooks!!

Amalfi IS a go-go!

Just heard this week that our Amalfi Paintaway in September is definitely on....a good group forming and it means I am returning to one of my favourite places...such drama, beauty & inspiration all in one tiny area!

Scotch Mists

Working on some new Scottish paintings for some of the galleries, and feel like doing a few dramatic Scottish scenes to capture the mists we love in this country.  So much more atmospheric than a bright sunny day, though we DO appreciate blue skies here as they are so few and far between!

The Big Sleep - Winter ends - Spring awaits

BIG apologies for not blogging for a while but I lost patience with the bullying tactics of having to load Google Chrome before I could open my blog again - what a cheek!  Be it known to all - I understand the basic computer skills I need to get by, but change the rules and you confuse me - easily!  January slipped by in a flurry of organising and rescheduling workshops for this year, and now some of the uS workshops will be scheduled later in the year ie August.  however the march US trip is ON and I will be teaching in Pittsburgh, York PA then Palm Key SC   Try and catch up with me if you can!!!  Spring is here, winter is slowly leaving us, and we are coming out of 'The Big Sleep'   Which coincidentally is the title of my painting!

MARCH 2012

 

Pittsburgh Pastel Group PA   - Gail Sorace - gsds@consolidated.net     March 12-14th 

 

York Art Association PA    -   Kay Koehler - klkstudio@yahoo.com       March  16-18th

 

Palm Key   SC                 - Michael Hargraves - michael-hargraves@nc.rr.com         March 21 - 25th

 

AUGUST 2012

 

Debarry Studio NJ    -       Christina Debarry PSA - debarrystudio@gmail.com    Aug 11-13th

 

Green Darke Gallery Millheim PA   -  Karl Leitzel  -greendrakeart@gmail.com    Aug 15 - 17th

 

Hudson River Valley Workshops NY -  Kim La Polla -  klapolla@artworkshops.com   Aug 18 - 21st

 

Terry Ludwig Workshops CO  -  

customerservice@terryludwig.com   Aug 23 - 26th

 

Pastel Society of America   -  PSA Office

psaoffice@pastelsocietyofamerica.org   Aug 28-29th 

Looking to sunshine in Italy in MAY!

Anyone feel like a painting experience with me in Italy this MAY?
May in Venice - 5 – 12th Details from www.shinafoot.co.uk
Discover the quiet corners of Venice, as well as the islands of the Lagoon..
This trip can be added to Cortona & travel advice available from Margaret
May in Cortona Tuscany - 12-19th Book with info@tuscanyintheframe.com
...
For anyone who wants inspiration to paint paint paint..... whether you even need tuition, or just ambience of great company!! Contact me on the web or email
Ciao amici!