And the dog came too !

My home with the Open Studios Banner and a visitor at the door.

It's been a week since our Open Studios event and I think I'm still recovering from all the painting and tidying and welcoming and talking.

It was extremely busy and I think most people had a successful time .

Here are a few photos of inside my house though they don't feature the studio which is up a few stairs and was also open for browsing thfough. 

Most works are oil paintings though there are a few gouache too.

I didn't have greeting cards ready nor prints as I ran out of time and realise this was 

something I should have organised.

Ah well, note to self for next year.

Coffee in the Title!

I find it difficult sometimes to think of a title but  "Coffee in Cluny" is how I remember this place on a very hot day during a trip to France.

Paisley Art Institute annual exhibition starts soon and today is "handing in' day. Its been another rush - always seems to be the way with me - and so I'm submitting two dampish oil paintings. But being framed under glass helps. As they're both oil on board there is less chance of paint adhering to the glass as once happened when the work was wet and on canvas and the canvas can't have been taught enough. 

Oil on board

Bridget Hunter 2011

The image here is of a work based on sketchbook notes done while sipping coffee in the shade.

 The colour  of walls and shutters were the appeal for me - as was the delicious coffee sold in this cafe. I've included my sketchy sketch - and looking at it again I've adjusted the image perhaps more than I should have - left out a background umbrella etc and not sure now if it was the right thing to do.

Our Backyard

Oil on board 10 x 10"

Bridget Hunter 2005

Talking about paintings and emotions again!  This small work is in the present exhibition but isn't for sale. The memories of time and place are too precious,  having been done at my old home at a time of great loss.  Being in our garden on that particular day and recording it in paint was a way of getting through,  though strangely, I don't think this is reflected in the work. I loved the view up towards the back of the house and the slightly chaotic nature of the garden planting. I remember working quickly to get the image down as fast as possible before the clouds changed the tones of the shadows.

I recently saw a painting by Maggie Hambling of her mother on her deathbed and found the image has stayed with me - I find it a painting of great beauty in the way the artist has handled her subject, a tribute almost from daughter to mother. Maybe others would read it differently.

Les Charrieres with Blue Shutters.

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Acrylic on board 12 x 10"  .

Bridget Hunter 2010

This painting was done plein air in Burgundy, using acrylic which, even though I was working in shade, was drying very fast and needed fast working - I much prefer working into wet paint! Les Charriers was a beautiful old house where we stayed for 4 nights run by Florence and her artist husband. Everywhere, inside and outside, there were painting subjects. I've tried to capture the shabby chic Frenchness of the building which I found so appealing. But I have only included part of the front of the house. I've got some photos of the interior and would like to try using them as source material for other paintings.This painting is in the exhibition but I adjusted the angle of the stairs, after this photo was taken and before it was framed, realising it wasn't quite right !!

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