Right said Fred

Last week I stayed at the beautiful Dundas Arms in Kintbury and my heart was stolen by a fellow guest,  the adorable Fred.

Fred is a lurcher/saluki cross and was found by his new owner as an abandoned pup.  He had lost one of his front legs but this loss doesn’t seem to have lessened his zeal as he recently managed to catch a hare!   In the pub, I took a lovely photo of him and he provided the most wonderful and appealing subject to paint.

So, at a recent painting demonstration organised by South Petherton Art group, I set about trying to capture the essence of his amazing persona for my audience.

For those who watched me paint, I promised to share the image when finished - so here he is.  Finishing the painting after the demonstration wasn’t too complicated – I just had to paint the lead, darken some of the fur and of course, add some finer details to those fabulous ears!

Workshops are being planned for the New Year Jan 2019.  If you are interested, please do either email me or subscribe to my website mailing list.

www.kayeparmenter.co.uk

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The difference a week makes

Blue Tit

Original watercolour on paper

15cm x 15cm

This time last week we were 15cm deep in snow and just seven days later we have lovely warm spring sunshine and the snow has completely disappeared.  I wonder how these delicate birds cope with our extremes.

So this little blue tit is the latest addition to my website under the small paintings section.  The happy accident watermarks were perfect for the fluffy feathers.  The directional brush strokes reinforcing the angle of the tail hopefully catches the fleeting moment where the bird lightly lands on the feeder.

My favourite bird is the blackbird and we have them in the garden usually hopping about on the ground looking for earthworms but more recently we have had blue tits and goldfinches visiting.  I am always really excited to see them and would love to encourage more to the garden.

Leading a busy life, I don’t have much time at the moment to spend on the garden but the birds seem to appreciate this, well Mr Blackbird does anyway 

www.kayeparmenter.co.uk

Nestling

"Nestling"

Original Watercolour

37cm x 37cm

Personally, I have always loved penguins.  Christmas and birthdays, I used to receive an array of gifts from penguin slippers to jumpers and games, fabulous!  Their family life is fascinating – the females leave the nestlings with Dad while they go in search of food and how they manage to find their family upon return, hidden amongst the thousands of other penguins, is amazing.

Imagine my delight when a friend, who recently retuned from a trip to Antartica, presented me with a memory stick full of penguin images.  Aside from the instant oohs and aaaghs of the sweet images, I wondered if I could try and capture the images on paper in watercolour.

So here we are, my first baby penguin painting, I’m sure there will be more to come.   Often I am asked how long it takes me to produce a watercolour painting.  The most important thing is the thought process and planning behind a painting, together with understanding how to achieve a result.  These “furry” effects have been achieved by years of learning the behaviour of watercolour and painting daily.    I did do one preparatory small watercolour sketch to gather my ideas, and then I just “went for it!” 🙂

www.kayeparmenter.co.uk