If anyone has read my previous blogs you will what a great fan I am of Ann Blockley's watercolour work. I've just had a look on her website and read her blog and my oh my, what delightful paintings she has recently posted. Beautiful, creative and full of different techniques. I have tried some of her techniques, but I could never produce anything so wonderful as her paintings, she is fantastic. If you ever want to share the secrets of your sucess Ann, I'm first in the queue!!!

I've been dabbling in acrylics lately, and do have another painting ready to post on this blog, once the lovely Roy has scanned it for me. The subject matter  is what I would call mmm...interesting  really - its not a pretty painting at all, but great fun to do;  it is so joyful to try experimenting with different mediums.  However, for me watercolours will always be my first love.

On this wet and windy summer day I thought I would post some recently taken photo's of my garden to remind me that we have had some nice warm days so far this year. I use photos I take as inspiration for my paintings so you may well see some reference to these photos in a future painting. When we moved into the house in 2010 the garden was totally laid to grass and even the grass was in a pretty poor state. I dug all the borders out myself  and also planted it all singly handed. I am really pleased with how it has grown up and developed over the last three years. We lost several plants over the long harsh winter we had so I have had to replace some cherished plants already. Of course, being a garden its always work in progress. Its a constant pleasure and an inspiration!

Here's my latest painting, an acrylic of Nefertiti, an eygyptian queen. Very apt for me as according to some historians she and her husband allegedlyworship one god "Aten" - the sun god. Apt because I too am a sun worshipper!

It was very satisfying using a different medium for a change. I painted the paper a pinky marooon colour as a base shade before I began to put any other colour down. The background I made up, just went with my own feelings, but chose the predominant colours of yellows and blues to reflect the sands of Eygpt and a blue sea and also the blues within the head gear (I am sure there a technical name for it!), jewellry (although the jewellry on the  original busk is not such a vivid blue) and of her eyes. Then I worked the rest of the painting up from there.

I've already got another acrylic painting planned but the sun has been shining a lot here lately and I want to be outdoors making the most of it and of my garden!