Romney Marsh - Distant Storm

Romney Marsh - Distant Storm
48 x 60 Oil/Panel

I think I have pretty much finished this piece... a mammoth task for me! Wish I had a Hughes Easel when painting these large pieces - Deborah!!

Fun with Encaustics - Workshop

Above are a few of my encaustics that I did a while ago. I am getting ready to have a day workshop here at our studio. I love to play around with encaustics... it's a good break from the huge painting I have been working on! I love the immediacy of wax and it is such an interesting medium.

A painting by my husband, Barry McCuan

House on the Hill, Provence

30 x 48 Oil/Linen

I just had to post this new sunflower painting of Barry's since he is so bad at updating his own blog! I just love his sunflower paintings, they are so unsentimental and his wonderful treatment of Provencal farmhouses are so evocative of hot summers in the South of France. I hope you all enjoy it.

Amadeus

Back in the days when we lived in Abiquiu, we had a lot of chickens, ducks, turkeys, dogs and cats. I have so many funny stories, I could write a book about our life in Abiquiu. Amadeus was the head rooster. He was a beautiful Black Australorp. He would stand with all his ladies on my studio doorstep listening to the music I was playing, in those days, a lot of Mozart. All the girls would be sitting down, but Amadeus stood tall until the music soothed him enough for him to relax and sit down too! He was so funny. As the music reached a crescendo he would wiggle his neck and stand up again. This is why we called him Amadeus!

I painted him a lot back then and he paid the rent quite a number of times! Owing to popular request, I am now painting him again. This is the first stage. I will post the finished painting soon.

A return to etching.

Finally, I made it to etching... after a 5 month absence it was so good to be back and see old friends (hi Eric!). Now we even get supper, (thanks to Eric), which really helps because now we can work straight through. I did a lot of dry point as I didn't feel up to anything else. Not a bad start after such a long absence!

A House Sparrow

House Sparrow
8 x 8 Oil/Linen panel

I felt that I should pay attention to one of our more common birds, the house sparrow. They may be common but their wing markings are certainly quite elaborate!

I am working on a large painting... again. I have had about three different images on it, luckily it's a wood panel. It's such an investment to paint a large painting and I wanted to get it right which has proved easier said that done. I am doing another Romney Marsh, but with the emphasis on the clouds. Hopefully it will be the one that works out. So far so good!

Old drawing of my son after his operation.

To celebrate Mother's Day, I have scanned an old drawing from a sketch book as I can see that it is fading fast! My son, Ralph had to have a minor operation when he was 3 and as I sat waiting for him to wake up I drew him. I just love those baggy lips!

I am wanting to get back to doing more drawing. I used to draw so much, but now I just paint! Happy Mother's Day to you all.

Romney Marsh vi

Romney Marsh vi
10 x 12 Oil/Panel

Every now and again I revisited in painting a place that I love. I find that the years in between create a growth in one's painting and although the scene is the same, there are differences in the final painting.

This is a favourite area of mine. Not so far from Grove Ferry, but different in that it is a wetland area, much of it reclaimed. It has a full and varied history, too much for me to write here, but here is a link for more information if anyone is interested. It is not far from Canterbury, in Kent.