A FEW MORE.....

Several more of the little ones.  Some of these are on the Daily Paintworks auction:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/buy/auction/218621

Beside the Path  oil  6x8
I have walked by this field many times in all seasons
and times of day. Love this light.

Blue and White   oil   6x8  
This is a composite of several watercolours painted in
  St Ives and Padstow in Cornwall, two of my favourite places.

The Rambler's Rest Pub  oil  6x6   
I believe this is the narrowest pub in Britain.  I love
winter trees and long shadows.

PAINTING THE LITTLE PICS

I love painting the little ones, the 6x8's and 6x6's. So much freedom and fun in them where one brush stroke can represent so much.  Love them.  These below are some that I have/had in auctions on Daily Paintworks.
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/allartists/#/artist=tilby




Early Spring  oil  6x6  
I was attracted by the colour combination of
orange, blue and violet.  The touches of yellow
and red really set it off.

From the Paddock   oil   6x6 
To paint this I had to stand equal distance from the
paddock on either side otherwise a nosy horse
would be upsetting my painting gear. 

One Small Boat   oil   6x6 
Rowboats are one of my favourite subjects
 and something about this one in St Ives is
 especially appealing.   

Fishing Boat in Rye   oil   6x6 
In England boats are left on the sand or mud
when the tide goes out.  They are so appealing
as subjects with all the ropes and cables and
shadows on wet sand. 

WATERCOLOUR DAYS

 All through the 1970’s, 80’s and early 90’s I worked in watercolour and, as I was living in England at the time, my  subjects were streetscenes and landscapes in England, France, Italy, Spain and Crete. I was always attracted  first by the light and then by the interesting textures of old stone, brick peeling paint and plaster. 
 Now, in my oils, I still want to get the light but I try to simplify things and let brushwork suggest details

   

INTRO TO MY BLOG

I thought I might start this blogging thing with a brief note about my artistic beginnings but I don’t intend to continue in any sort of chronological order.  I think I will jump around all over the place with short snippets from the lessons I teach, thoughts about recent and older paintings, experiences painting outdoors, bits of collected ‘wisdom’ and, of course lots of photographs.

Perhaps some of this will interest you, help you over a hurdle you have encountered with your own work, inspire you to try something in another way or maybe you’ll want to pass the link on to a painter you know. 

So.... to begin.....I didn’t start drawing seriously until about  the age of 14 or 15 when I became obsessed with horses.  I drew them constantly. Many summer afternoons went by with me in a stack of hay bales drawing the horses in the neighbour’s field.  I remember I had trouble with hooves and muzzles so many of the horses in my early drawings were standing in long grass and had grass or hay in their mouths. 

I graduated to drawing the vacuum cleaner, running shoes, kitchen utensils, my sister’s ragdolls, my hands and feet -  anything and everything.  Starting with pencil (I still have the pencil my father gave me; it is held together with layers of masking tape) and then pen and ink using a bottle of ink and a selection of nibs. (Still have those too). 

My parents gave me some oil paints and brushes sometime in my late teens.  The first thing I painted was a vase of flowers set up in my room and a few portraits from magazine photos. At 17, a school assignment to paint a watercolour landscape introduced me to the medium and I was totally hooked. I loved it and continued with watercolour for 30 years.  I still use it at times and I often have students working in watercolour but I now paint predominately in oil.  I thoroughly enjoy both mediums.