Oil Demo – Painting Spring Trees
Studio Demo – Starting a large Seascape
Demo – Hook Lighthouse
http://www.facebook.com/brenda.malley.9/videos/3091137200917029/ Today’s video demo – Hook Lighthouse
Demo – Seascape with Cloudy Sky
News from the Studio
After a lovely Summer of outdoor painting and Plein Air workshops, it’s good to settle back into the studio and classroom for the Autumn Art Season. LATEST WORKS My largest painting yet – West Coast (diptych) 90 x 240 cm – is finished and on exhibit at the Trinity Gallery Dublin. This is from the Kilkee coastal trail in county Clare on a stormy evening, an immense horizon, shafts of sunlight breaking through the scudding clouds. The expansiveness of the scene and vastness of the ocean called for a much larger scale than I had considered before. I…
From Sketch to Finished Painting
My painting process starts with some sketches to consider my composition, study my subject and refine my ideas about what I want to express. “Strand at Sunset, Dunmore East” focuses on the drama of the warm evening light on the cliff face, the deep shadow patterns, and the directional force of the tide pools and banks of seaweed, drawing the eye into the distance. The light is changing fast, so I start with a reference photo A quick sketch in pen and ink allows me to study the rock strata and the shapes of the seaweed masses And a “notan”…
Travel Sketching in Dubrovnik
Wonderful week with our group of artists in April, sketching and painting the historic city of Dubrovnik and the beautiful Adriatic coast of Croatia. We had joined the Travel Department “Discover Dubrovnik” tour, staying in the lovely Valamar Tirena Hotel outside the city by the sea. This was our perfect base, quiet and peaceful, yet a very short distance by bus from the Old Town. April weather was cool and sunny, and we enjoyed strolling and sketching the city before the Summer crowds arrived. Our local guide Suzanna brought the group on a guided walking tour of the Old Town…
My Workshop Checklist
Starting to gather my materials for my upcoming oil painting workshop “Coast” in Artform, Dunmore East. We will be painting outdoors as well as in the studio, so I will bring supplies for both. A full materials list is provided below. This is my Plein Air Oil Painting kit – – box easel (half size) – box of painting supplies – small backpack – This allows me to carry the easel in one hand, the box in the other, with extra sundries in the backpack, so the weight is spread evenly. Contents of art box – brushes, palette knife, tubes…
My Sketching Materials
Reviewing my sketching kit, my most important consideration is to keep my kit as simple, compact and lightweight as possible. All the items below, except for the sketchbook fit in a small pencil case. SKETCHBOOK There are many sketchbooks to choose from in an art supply store. The factors to consider are paper quality, size and weight. – The paper needs to be heavy enough for watercolour washes – A5 is a good size for on location sketching, compact and lightweight. These are my favourites: Stillman and Birn Zeta Range Hardback 5.5 x 8.5inches Or square 7.5 x 7.5 inches Stillman…
My 3 Step Sketching Process
3 simple steps to sketching
Travel Sketching in Italy 2017
Spring in Lake Garda, Northern Italy – bright sunshine, blue skies and a late snowfall on the peak of Monte Baldo.
Some Thoughts on Sketching
Sketching is a vital part of my own artistic practise, keeping my senses alert and attentive to my environment.
Life is Good on the Côte d’Azur
Dappled shade on the narrow street, bright flowers in a raised planter, the quiet of a late Saturday morning
Sketching in France – Valbonne
Day 4 – Market day in Valbonne. Local bus 630 brings us on a pleasant 30 minute ride through a verdant Spring countryside with views towards Grasse and as far as the distant Alps. Valbonne is a lovely authentic village with a lively and colourful Friday market. A sunny café in the Place des Arcades is our perfect spot to sketch the scene over coffee and croissants. Kieran explores some great sketching spots by the church and around the market Colette and Pauline escape from the market crowds to discover the quiet side streets of the old town Maria and…
Sketching in France – Island
Day 3 – to the Lérins islands. We take the local bus number 1 into Cannes, a 10 minute ride, to stroll and sketch at the colourful Forville Market. Enjoying the scene over coffee, and drawing the fruit and the archways and the shoppers. We pack a picnic lunch and head along the quay to the boat to Île Saint Honorat, the smaller and less visited of the Lérins islands. It has been a monastic retreat since the fifth century, where a community of monks continues to cultivate vineyards and olive groves. A place of quiet contemplation, far from…
Sketching in France – Hangar
Day 2 – a whole day painting with the Hangar Art Association, near Châteauneuf de Grasse, where I had been a member and instructor during our time in France. For our Irish artists, a “French style” art workshop is a special experience – in the sunshine, under the trees, with a glass of rosé in hand to inspire creative flow! Dutch abstract artist Pim de Jongh leads an international gathering of artists here every Wednesday in a relaxed and informal setting. We are visitors today, warmly welcomed by all. Using acrylics on paper, we can transform our sketches into a…
Sketching in France – Le Cannet
Our first day – we wake to sunshine and blue skies. Our guide Walid from the Office de Tourisme welcomes us in the hotel lobby and we start our introductory tour of Le Cannet, sketchbooks in hand. Le Cannet is a hidden gem only a short distance from Cannes, but a world apart, with a quiet, intimate charm and character. We feel like honoured guests when the deputy mayor, Mr Pigrenet comes to welcome our group of Irish artists personally. Our tour brings us by the Tour des Danys, through the Tivoli Gardens and remembrance monuments, and up to the…
Return to Le Cannet
It’s good to be back in Le Cannet, our little corner of the Côte d’Azur which was our home for the past two years. Michael and I arrived early to set everything up for our workshop starting on Monday. It’s early Spring, bright sunshine and cool breeze. Scents of orange blossom waft on the air, but it’s the aroma of coffee and freshly baked croissants which draws us to Francine and Pierre’s lovely Artisan Patissier Chocolatier on the historic Rue Saint Sauveur. A shady spot under a tree beside an ancient water fountain, I sketch the scene – dappled shade on…
Sketching Holiday on the Côte d’Azur 2016
Inviting artists of all levels to join me in Le Cannet on the Côte d’Azur for a Spring Painting and Sketching Workshop. This will be a four night, five day trip from 25 to 29 April 2016 Le Cannet is a quaint, historic village on the outskirts of Cannes, close to all amenities yet a world apart from the crowds and traffic of the Riviera. You can stroll the town, sip a coffee or glass of wine on the Place Bellevue, or take a 10 minute bus ride into Cannes for shopping and sightseeing. A frequent rail service from Cannes…
Brenda Malley 