tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90583581956131441852024-03-06T08:01:39.540+00:00Jill Keeley ArtJill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-10576413688260165952018-11-11T16:12:00.002+00:002018-11-11T16:12:57.986+00:00Grandad Keeley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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100 years on from the end of the Great War, today was a day for Remembrance. As most of you are aware I usually paint landscapes but today I took some time out from that and chose to remember Grandad Keeley. I was very young when he died so I have no memories of him as an individual but this is what I do know. If any family members are reading this and would like to add to his story, there is a comments section below.<br />
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Michael Keeley was underage when he enlisted in August 1914 and joined the West Lancashire Royal Field Artillery. His records were apparently destroyed during the Second World War so there is little information on his exact role and movements during the subsequent 4 years. As I understand it though, he was assigned to the cavalry unit and worked with the horses throughout the war. The picture above is based on a photograph from that time. There is another photo of him at Toxteth Military Hospital from Christmas 1918 which suggests he was injured and repatriated towards the end of the war. What he was doing on this exact day 100 years ago when the guns fell silent is something I'll probably never know.<br />
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We're lucky today that most of us will never truly appreciate the horror of war. The lives we lead today and the freedom that we too often take for granted were hard fought for. Grandad Keeley came home. So many people didn't. We should never forget that.<br />
<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-66271795975286255032018-06-13T11:07:00.000+01:002018-06-13T11:07:39.088+01:00Heading Home from Mull<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was about 5 years ago on a visit to Scotland that I took the photographs that were the source for this picture. My sister and I had gone on a day trip to Mull and Iona. We took the boat from Oban to Mull in the morning, passing this lighthouse on the way. Looking back at my pictures, I had taken a couple of photographs and promptly forgot about them, they were not particularly memorable pictures. The way home was a different matter entirely. The calm sea and the low September afternoon sun cast a beautiful light over the scene and made some stunning reflections in the water. It's amazing what a difference the right lighting makes.<br />
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At that time I was working mostly in watercolours and I knew that I wouldn't do this scene justice so I filed the pictures away, knowing that one day I would come back to them. A few weeks ago I went on a colour theory course run by <a href="https://www.colourtutor.com/" target="_blank">Colour Tutor</a>. We spent a very interesting day learning about saturation, tone and mixing along with many other topics. I would highly recommend this course to anyone with an interest in colour. Combined with a relatively recent move towards working in acrylic, it helped give me the techniques I needed to tackle this picture. Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Isle of Mull, United Kingdom56.4391984 -6.000887000000034355.877704900000005 -7.2917805000000344 57.0006919 -4.7099935000000341tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-75246263974334734682018-03-24T12:27:00.000+00:002018-03-24T12:29:35.878+00:00Going home in daylight<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJr4jxpxHgmYrOX2OSqPp8U2yfKqrnte7e9TQnNRrx8kSLN6XEvQ2yu3fNmy6FIGFi5DOypltyOF3bPFUqc39DhuqqNIfsBYh5huyuEx6gvcsMEVGD8hK598W1Bc4jrLvuKZEtbBPc578/s1600/Canary+Wharf+Tube+compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="945" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJr4jxpxHgmYrOX2OSqPp8U2yfKqrnte7e9TQnNRrx8kSLN6XEvQ2yu3fNmy6FIGFi5DOypltyOF3bPFUqc39DhuqqNIfsBYh5huyuEx6gvcsMEVGD8hK598W1Bc4jrLvuKZEtbBPc578/s400/Canary+Wharf+Tube+compressed.jpg" width="400" /></a>The clocks go forward tonight which makes Monday one of my favourite commuting days. If (big if) I was to leave the office at 5:30 and if (even bigger if) South Western Railway run on time, Monday is the first day of the year when I can arrive home in daylight.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pd9vvY9wYcG1xcqT5uS3B0RlflTkn3GCvZ7w3p3eAob0SX4qwdmWq9yqVwlDPfRlzaHCh3vGwMNZt94KyzHNEO99fyWZXcaTfihKnbUhP2M5sZvTniuQE7O0Qg6ttJp5P1AUHDTbfGE/s1600/Fleet+Commuters+compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="762" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pd9vvY9wYcG1xcqT5uS3B0RlflTkn3GCvZ7w3p3eAob0SX4qwdmWq9yqVwlDPfRlzaHCh3vGwMNZt94KyzHNEO99fyWZXcaTfihKnbUhP2M5sZvTniuQE7O0Qg6ttJp5P1AUHDTbfGE/s400/Fleet+Commuters+compressed.jpg" width="296" /></a>Arriving in Canary Wharf on those dark January mornings can be a bit depressing. Hundreds of us wrapped up in our winter coats, climbing up the escalators and preparing ourselves to make the quick dash through the rain into the office. Most of us won't step outdoors again until we make the return journey in the dark later in the day. This is why the arrival of daylight on Monday will be so welcome.<br />
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As those of you who follow me on Instagram will be aware, this first picture was built up over the course of about a month. I had to be quite careful as I tried to map out the shape of the roof and the perspective on the escalators while still retaining a somewhat miserable atmosphere. For the next one I wanted to work more quickly so I set myself the challenge of painting the other end of my commute at Fleet station in one afternoon. I spend a minimum of 3 hours a day commuting and I spent 4 hours on this picture. Somehow the 4 hours painting felt like a better use of time!Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Canary Wharf, London E14, UK51.5054306 -0.02353330000005371451.495547099999996 -0.043703300000053714 51.5153141 -0.0033633000000537136tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-9091866759715615012017-11-12T12:16:00.001+00:002017-11-12T12:16:53.417+00:00The American DreamJust before Christmas last year, I received an email at work looking for volunteers to train as art guides for an exhibition we would be sponsoring as part of our celebration of 40 years in the UK. I filled in the entry form and wrote my 100 words explaining why I thought I would make a good art guide. A month later, I got confirmation that I had been selected. The exhibition in question was <a href="http://americandreamexhibition.org/" target="_blank">The American Dream</a> at the British Museum which ran from March to June. My role was to act as a guide at a number of corporate events, hosting clients, the press and employees. Each guide was allocated a room within the exhibition (I was in Made in California) and we spent the next two months learning about the artists, the pieces in the room and about the printmaking techniques they used to produce the work. On the night before the exhibition opened to the public we hosted our first event and we put months of training and preparation into practice. The evenings themselves flew by and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent there. I wanted to put some of what I learned into practice and so I started a series of paintings inspired by the work in the exhibition. I don't have a printmaking studio so I turned instead to a medium often favoured by the pop art movement and used acrylics. And because this all happened because of work, my office was the obvious place to start when looking for subjects.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2nsuhGUFVXAV-RpaGF8lJMaVfxz5B6NnRtJTAV7R_xFeUzAr6sb5dhz7uUR7r2h9I6pR9Tzocbmn1jrs-XMa0hEMkImwkJZLk5pxThUAOqbOOuKPBCrGIRQzVYy3hK5uE-TVQuwwgyQ/s1600/Donuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1024" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2nsuhGUFVXAV-RpaGF8lJMaVfxz5B6NnRtJTAV7R_xFeUzAr6sb5dhz7uUR7r2h9I6pR9Tzocbmn1jrs-XMa0hEMkImwkJZLk5pxThUAOqbOOuKPBCrGIRQzVYy3hK5uE-TVQuwwgyQ/s400/Donuts.jpg" width="400" /></a>Wayne Thiebaud was one of the earlier pop artists and is well known for his depictions of cakes and confectionary using bright, bold, somewhat synthetic colours and geometric shapes. Early in his career, he worked at a Long Beach fast food joint and this inspired much of his work, <a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/wayne-thiebaud-b-1920-boston-cremes-5730711-details.aspx" target="_blank">Boston Cremes</a> (1970 linocut) being an example. Thiebaud often worked from memory and so, following his lead I started on donuts. Trays of donuts are a regular feature around the office and are usually a hint that someone nearby is celebrating a birthday or other significant event. One of the things that struck me with some of the pictures we were looking at was how effective relatively few marks can be. In Ed Ruscha's <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3638457&partId=1&people=109089&peoA=109089-2-60&page=1" target="_blank">OOO</a> (also 1970), the use of a shadow and highlights make the words appear liquid although the image itself is remarkably simple. I tried to use this approach to put the glossy icing on my donuts. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-I3glpz5yhAUdEUQbX-2P232YYMb2uXCwqLFz0d2jESxEG4kY50fbenekP9oa9vfclNl5do3RFS47uZg866ua6E6KZcd3zwdQ98mipJ4EzGleH7e6hkbdygL4uoBmrj8Fgz7ougzcZg/s1600/Coffee+Machine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1024" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-I3glpz5yhAUdEUQbX-2P232YYMb2uXCwqLFz0d2jESxEG4kY50fbenekP9oa9vfclNl5do3RFS47uZg866ua6E6KZcd3zwdQ98mipJ4EzGleH7e6hkbdygL4uoBmrj8Fgz7ougzcZg/s400/Coffee+Machine.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Having got myself started with a reasonably simple image, I turned my attention to a theme that ran right through the exhibition - every day objects of mass consumerism. One of Thiebauds most iconic images is <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/479844535286604281/" target="_blank">Gumball Machine</a> (1970, linocut). Thiebaud described this as a reward system, you put something in and you get an instant reward. With the office coffee machine we simply select from a baffling array of options, press a button and out it comes. We don't even have to wash up afterwards, preferring instead to fill up landfill sites with our disposable single use cups. Of course there's always one (you know who you are) who thinks this is all far too easy and insists of grinding his own coffee beans every morning for an altogether more satisfying coffee experience. It would have been rude not to acknowledge his efforts here. I worked from memory again on this one and I noticed that this approach was starting to make me pay more attention to the things around me. I'd never really thought about the different shaped cups on the pictures on the machine before. Or about how pointless that is when you have to put a standard sized cup on the tray so the machine can squirt the correct amount of liquid in without it overflowing. By the time I had finished I never wanted to see another paper coffee cup for the rest of my life but it was worth putting the time in to get it right. <br />
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Moving on from California, one of the images that struck me in the rest of the exhibition was Richard Estes <a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/richard-estes-b-1932-560-from-5463786-details.aspx" target="_blank">560</a> which was a part of his Urban Landscapes series of screenprints from 1972. I was particularly interested in the reflections in the glass of the somewhat anonymous office building. It was pretty obvious where I needed to go next. Estes worked from photographs so I allowed myself some source material this time. I took several pictures of the front of our office and printed one in black and white so I wouldn't get too distracted trying to make the colours match. Much to my surprise, once the initial drawing was complete, I didn't actually use the photo much. The lack of people in Estes picture makes the place feel eery and unwelcoming. While I wanted to capture an element of that, I did want to have some human presence so there are 3 people in my finished piece although one of them has faded into the background so much that I'm starting wondering if he's gone for a coffee. The reflections in this picture were hard to do, particularly once I got to the revolving doors. I lost my way a bit when I got to that point and abandoned the picture for several months over the summer. It was a return visit to the museum last week that sparked my enthusiasm again and triggered me to finally finish it.<br />
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The artists featured in The American Dream used a multitude of printmaking techniques and having finished my paintings, I am left in awe at the level of skill and patience required to turn these images into successful prints. It's easy for me to make a correction with acrylics when something doesn't go quite the way I wanted it to. If I had spent months cutting a series of templates out of a sheets of lino, a mistake would have been hugely frustrating. Being an art guide was an incredible experience. The research we did and the training we were given, combined with my own project exploring some of the themes of the exhibition has given me an appreciation of a whole genre of art that I'd never paid much attention to before. Thank you to everyone involved who made this happen for us.<br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG, UK51.5194133 -0.1269565999999713325.997378799999996 -41.435550599999971 77.0414478 41.181637400000028tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-34812625859956224312017-10-22T16:50:00.002+01:002017-10-22T16:50:56.341+01:00The Kirkudbright Boat Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeizECSnUirQaiDwcUcUzjx6HOceCb9k67l-d-cAIvWEVTfRlPt2fG14DgnB_bZp5XQFESaFabd2Jq0UfBbtS8dIP03azXSe4dkwG2ttTp9xLvtdKMmrwfs2AO_4B2GUbHKZ_7tjcJag/s1600/Boat1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="1024" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNeizECSnUirQaiDwcUcUzjx6HOceCb9k67l-d-cAIvWEVTfRlPt2fG14DgnB_bZp5XQFESaFabd2Jq0UfBbtS8dIP03azXSe4dkwG2ttTp9xLvtdKMmrwfs2AO_4B2GUbHKZ_7tjcJag/s400/Boat1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
On a visit to my sister's house in the summer, we took a day trip to the town of Kirkudbright. We went to the Tolbooth Gallery where <a href="https://henriettaveyscrocker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Henrietta Veys-Crocker</a> had an exhibition of boat and seascape pictures. She was in the gallery as we were looking around and I spent some time chatting with her about her work. Boats are a subject matter I've always struggled with as they're a funny shape and the curves never seem to come out quite right. She suggested I try turning the page upside down as the curve that your hand makes as you bring your arm around makes the shape easier and free-er. Inspired, I came home and proceeded to paint hundreds of pictures of boats....most of which are now in my recycling bin. But as I persevered, a couple of them started to come out looking vaguely boat shaped so I thought I'd share those with you today. Both are pictures of abandoned boats in Kirkudbright which sit along the riverbank. I've taken photographs of them on previous visits thinking they'd make good subjects for a painting one day but have never quite known what to do with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKbgv_OQyyHXm3FtAWD9LqNOLvyabaKmv1TmecrQRqWlgIAAgyRwwL0RSOJ7Ve9hwcq2liVQiOysvuRYWBptnjIE0Vz0n4DjK4AhMhwinUi7bBRhp2ya8C8pFZcuApy-IixfILw-9r3o/s1600/Boat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1024" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKbgv_OQyyHXm3FtAWD9LqNOLvyabaKmv1TmecrQRqWlgIAAgyRwwL0RSOJ7Ve9hwcq2liVQiOysvuRYWBptnjIE0Vz0n4DjK4AhMhwinUi7bBRhp2ya8C8pFZcuApy-IixfILw-9r3o/s400/Boat2.jpg" width="400" /></a>The first picture was done in pastels and I'm quite pleased with the colours as I think they show a hint of the scruffy abandoned nature of the scene. But it is still a bit misshapen at the back and very nearly went the same way as everything else into the recycling. Frustrated, I decided to pack my paints and pastels away and go back to basics with a pencil. It was the right decision and this drawing is the only boat picture I produced that I'm actually happy with. <br />
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I went to a demonstration recently at the Fleet Art Society and the artist presenting talked about the importance of sketchbooks for building up your ideas and composition. I'm particularly bad at this and I have a tendency to launch straight into my pictures without too much thought. Clearly this didn't work when tackling a subject matter I found difficult. With some practice and perseverance, I did manage to eventually produce something I was happy with but I was thoroughly sick of boats by the time I did. Maybe if I'd approached the exercise the other way around and tried more practice drawings and sketches before putting pressure on myself to produce a finished painting then I'd have had better results and a less frustrating time getting there. I'm off out to buy a new sketchbook but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these pictures more than I did!<br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com2Kirkcudbright, UK54.837568999999988 -4.048779999999965254.800993999999989 -4.1294609999999654 54.874143999999987 -3.968098999999965tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-24982332133229651802017-04-29T17:52:00.000+01:002017-04-29T17:52:25.351+01:00Dolomites The Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy have been on my travel wishlist for several years now and last summer I finally went there on a week long hiking trip with my friend Dawn. We had booked a trip through <a href="http://www.sherpaexpeditions.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sherpa Expeditions</a> where we walked from one village to the next our bags were moved on for us. It was a great way to travel as every day we were waking up somewhere new but we didn't have the added burden of carting our entire lives around in gigantic backpacks. All the routes were meticulously planned out with detailed instructions and maps so all we had to do was turn up and enjoy the holiday. We couldn't really ask for better than that.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWn6Fn9XYtFJY_CvOyZuRIB5VL40uniubc3H04WaMESxNX9LZDsX_UDwf6TqM16f9nbfYuDFqYFiWe7srYbT4GP5wABqv0D0QHDHp9xM-frRYZNGmtfwsGSna8motcC_CuSEqXyujK6ck/s1600/Dolomites1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWn6Fn9XYtFJY_CvOyZuRIB5VL40uniubc3H04WaMESxNX9LZDsX_UDwf6TqM16f9nbfYuDFqYFiWe7srYbT4GP5wABqv0D0QHDHp9xM-frRYZNGmtfwsGSna8motcC_CuSEqXyujK6ck/s1600/Dolomites1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWn6Fn9XYtFJY_CvOyZuRIB5VL40uniubc3H04WaMESxNX9LZDsX_UDwf6TqM16f9nbfYuDFqYFiWe7srYbT4GP5wABqv0D0QHDHp9xM-frRYZNGmtfwsGSna8motcC_CuSEqXyujK6ck/s400/Dolomites1.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
Needless to say, I took hundreds of photographs and came home wondering where to begin. I had taken a bit of a break from painting so to get myself started again, I picked a church in Colfosco, one of the little villages we stayed in. These little white churches are dotted around all over the place so really do represent the area. I often start with drawings when I haven't done anything for a while - it helps me get back into it again. I had recently bought some acrylic inks with some birthday vouchers (thanks Sonya!) so I was playing around with these in my first picture. Many of the hotels we stayed in had old sepia photographs on the walls so this is the look I was going for here. I think I need a bit more practice with the inks - they dry very quickly so I sometimes found I got a few too many brush marks where I hadn't expected them but overall, this was not a bad warm up exercise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL5CWuW7mf3zsKbOegGjUDYZTyvzSNOSVZDXxh5s486juT8gfdkMkU9davKIGnmB-Is4rYhPsoD2ZLjpsTXSM6tK55MP9fCtsJQ84JuP_coExtlGqDvZ3BBwT4BOeGI3Sd5V_C9zSc01o/s1600/Dolomites3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL5CWuW7mf3zsKbOegGjUDYZTyvzSNOSVZDXxh5s486juT8gfdkMkU9davKIGnmB-Is4rYhPsoD2ZLjpsTXSM6tK55MP9fCtsJQ84JuP_coExtlGqDvZ3BBwT4BOeGI3Sd5V_C9zSc01o/s400/Dolomites3.jpg" width="400" /></a>We weren't really there for the churches though, we were there for the mountains so this was the focus of my second picture. As you make your way through the mountains, every now and then you pass a little wooden hut with a chimney. They're there for hikers to sleep for the night. There are a number of longer distance routes that take you through the whole mountain range, stopping in these camping huts each night. I was glad we had chosen the more luxurious option for our trip although there is a part of me that could be tempted by the camping option one day.<br />
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I stuck with drawing for this. I like the way the rocks behind the church came out in the first picture and wanted to take that further. The rocks are, after all, what makes this place so distinctive. When the light hits them, particularly in the early morning or late afternoon, the shadows create some really interesting shapes. This picture took ages but I'm pretty happy with the result.<br />
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Finally, I went back to my pastels. Having spent so long on the details in the previous drawing, I was ready to step back and just go for it with this one. I didn't really know how it was going to turn out but I thoroughly enjoyed the process of finding out. This picture was from the most memorable day of the trip for me. We took the gondola up to the top of a mountain. It was baking hot when we set off and absolutely freezing at the top with a biting wind. There are many remnants of the First World War up here and we spent an hour or so at the top walking past huge craters blown out of the side of the mountain with dynamite, through old trenches still with their rolls of barbed wire in plan and past tunnel systems dug into the rocks where soldiers lived. On a sunny day in August it was cold. In the middle of winter with limited resources and and opposing army trying to blow you up at every opportunity, it must have been brutal. It was a sobering remainder of just how lucky we are. I haven't found a way yet of painting the remains of war and doing them justice so the view in this picture is from standing with my back to them.<br />
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Sometimes, when you visit a place you've been wanting to see for a long time, the reality doesn't quite live up to expectation. With the Dolomites I'd say the opposite was true. This is a truly beautiful and awe inspiring place and as we left, my parting thought was "why has it taken me so long to come here?" <br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Monte Lagazuoi, 32043 Cortina d'Ampezzo BL, Italy46.527944 12.00808499999993721.005909499999998 -29.300509000000062 72.0499785 53.316678999999937tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-82805155731225981932016-10-23T16:51:00.000+01:002016-10-23T16:51:29.813+01:00Sunrise at Fleet Pond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On a freezing cold day back in January, I had an appointment at the dentist to have a filling replaced. Knowing how quickly the station car park fills up, I drove up early and parked my car then found myself with half an hour to kill before I went for my appointment. Those of you who know Fleet will be aware that the station is right next to Fleet Pond, a nature reserve that has <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/fleet-pond.html">featured previously</a> in this blog. It was an icy day and the pond was completely frozen over so I decided to spend my time watching the sun rise. It was a beautiful morning which was inevitably going to end up in a painting one day. It took a couple of months for me to come back to it. This is often the case as I mull the picture over in my head, trying to work out what I want from the end result. In this case it was the blues and pinks of the sky that stayed in my mind so that's what I set out to capture. I used a watercolour under-painting, followed by pastels - a technique you'll have seen me use once or twice before. </div>
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Having finished this picture, I took a bit of a break from painting over the summer, I focusing instead on landscaping the garden. Those of you who also paint will know that after a break, it's sometimes hard to get back into things and when I returned to my easel I was at a bit of a loss as to where to begin. I've stopped parking my car at the station now (the cost is ridiculous) and instead use my parents' driveway which is a 10 minute walk away round, you guessed it, Fleet Pond. So now I get these fabulous sunrises every single day of the week. It seemed an obvious place to start - pick up again where I left off. The next few paintings ended up in the bin. I couldn't seem to get what was in my head out onto the paper and I screwed them up in frustration. This afternoon I decided to just spend some time playing around with a few sketches which was exactly what I needed to do. This is one of them - another sunrise using Pan Pastels. Pan Pastels are pastel pigment compressed into a dish and you apply them using either your fingers or sponges. I opted for sponges this time, something I haven't really tried before but will definitely be doing again. I stopped myself from adding too much detail on the reed banks, choosing instead to just hint at them with the green. I love the end product and as it was supposed to just be an experiment it has come as a bit of a surprise. Now I'm left wondering what I can do next with these lovely little pots of colour but for now I'll leave you with today's efforts.</div>
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Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1Fleet Pond, Fleet GU51, UK51.2884432 -0.82367769999996251.283478200000005 -0.833762699999962 51.2934082 -0.813592699999962tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-91734930440291858732016-04-17T18:55:00.002+01:002016-04-17T19:02:21.702+01:00A Pastel Workshop<div dir="ltr">
A couple of months ago we had a demo at the Farnham Art Society given by the very talented <a href="http://www.rickholmes.co.uk/">Rick Holmes</a> using pastels and Chinese ink. Regular readers may have noticed with my recent postings that pastels are fast becoming my favourite medium so I was particularly interested in this one. The demo was followed by a workshop which I signed up for and went to yesterday. I had a fantastic day so I thought I'd share the results with you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsi7vTrINcIT6BM4XMItjEHKuX5b8BVdB082QljgTPjlIaoB8n2tnYMcO0I-dgEONkXcPlF3EjJDRFX46XXNJYnOHV2S8bUlwq4HZBdky89olM0KUQRpKsqVRsK4F4SlQ44WMrKsb6ho/s1600/Pastels1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsi7vTrINcIT6BM4XMItjEHKuX5b8BVdB082QljgTPjlIaoB8n2tnYMcO0I-dgEONkXcPlF3EjJDRFX46XXNJYnOHV2S8bUlwq4HZBdky89olM0KUQRpKsqVRsK4F4SlQ44WMrKsb6ho/s400/Pastels1.jpg" width="400" /></a>We started off with a few doodles and marks to get used to using the pastels. Then we moved on to our first picture of the day. Using one of Rick's paintings as a reference, this is Frensham pond...I think. My thoughts on this one, I'm not entirely happy with the trees as I think they've come out too much like a dark block in the corner. Rick's comments, you need more colour... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkrD1NXdBraCUadlQnAolYHyn26dCX-aM49RYfvTZzaxnuDsYCU0eDJhFbaxkNlTk2CFE_Le6urpZhHsI0j5S95NRnxh0KmgkVm8TPDIsKA8U34QoJOPckaXiFSV51ofX6iL2KauZqMM/s1600/Pastels2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivkrD1NXdBraCUadlQnAolYHyn26dCX-aM49RYfvTZzaxnuDsYCU0eDJhFbaxkNlTk2CFE_Le6urpZhHsI0j5S95NRnxh0KmgkVm8TPDIsKA8U34QoJOPckaXiFSV51ofX6iL2KauZqMM/s400/Pastels2.jpg" width="400" /></a>Painting number two was a farm which I've forgotten the name of (hopefully one of my fellow participants will leave a comment below filling in that particular blank). This time our reference material was a black and white copy of another of Rick's paintings. That was exactly what I needed. In the first painting, I focused on copying the colours and missed a lot in the process. This time I had to use my imagination and so, listening to the feedback from earlier, I added colour. To the point where everyone who walked past my easel said "Ooh, that's colourful". I'm happier with this one and I can see how taking the same approach to the first picture would have worked. Something I often fail to do (because I often fail to think about it) is bring the foreground forwards and push the background back. Rick gave me a few tips to help here which I'll definitely be making use of in future,</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw7Q92fzD2ljRAMb5VB75oMLb-JmG5Ki4XxYWI0sXRTHlBJ8RPzQ2aLlxYW2mJCdZDfSizSiNA5oT1hNlh3qkGB5B-SRT86InlsL5F8hNNUuE2wfR-kEjMnfQUwXzGRNq-Cl9_EL9V9o/s1600/Pastels3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjw7Q92fzD2ljRAMb5VB75oMLb-JmG5Ki4XxYWI0sXRTHlBJ8RPzQ2aLlxYW2mJCdZDfSizSiNA5oT1hNlh3qkGB5B-SRT86InlsL5F8hNNUuE2wfR-kEjMnfQUwXzGRNq-Cl9_EL9V9o/s400/Pastels3.jpg" width="262" /></a>After a break for lunch, we moved onto our third and final painting. This time we used Chinese Ink to begin with (as in the earlier demo) followed by pastels. We had a choice this time between New York or Venice. I went with New York as it's not that long since I did a <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/new-york.html">similar scene</a>, also using pastels, and I wanted to see how different this one came out. I spent a lot less time studiously blending my colours together and I like the results. I'm also quite pleased with the truck. I'm less pleased with the deformed cars in the bottom right - they definitely need a bit of attention. </div>
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All in all, I had a thoroughly enjoyable day, learned a lot and met some lovely people. My only disappointment is that it's now Sunday evening and I have to go to work tomorrow instead of staying home and putting into practice some of those ideas. </div>
Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com2Wrecclesham, Farnham, Surrey, UK51.198675 -0.8181180000000267751.178773 -0.85845850000002677 51.218577 -0.77777750000002677tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-25126134266989265032016-01-16T14:48:00.001+00:002016-01-16T14:48:17.909+00:00Fall Foliage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every now and then an email drops into my inbox from Pete Marney, a former colleague and an excellent photographer. His emails contain links to his latest set of photographs along with stories and anecdotes describing where and why they were taken. It always makes a nice start to my day when they turn up and I spend a little while browsing through his pictures with my morning cuppa before getting on with my work. His mails were one of the inspirations behind this blog as I wanted to find my own way of telling the stories behind my pictures so it follows that sooner or later I was going to use one of his pictures as inspiration too. </div>
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Back in October I got a message titled "Fall Foliage" with a set of photographs taken on a weekend trip to somewhere called Skytop Lodge. I'm not entirely sure where Skytop lodge is (the email didn't say) but it looks like a lovely place so, with Pete's permission, I decided to have a go at my own interpretation of those beautiful autumn leaves. I used pastels to get the bright colours on a watercolour under painting. It's one of those paintings that was hard to judge when it was time to stop. I could probably have kept going for longer, adding to the trees but I'm not sure I'd have improved it by doing that so it's coming off the easel as soon as I've finished writing this. </div>
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If you like this one than please go ahead and check out the original photo on <a href="https://peter-marney.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Skytop-1510/i-F27LxmM" target="_blank">Pete's website</a>. Unusually for me, I tried to stick pretty closely to the original photo this time. I hope I've done it justice.</div>
<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001840.3275957 -74.651388300000022 41.0979717 -73.360494300000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-49179012273188331852015-12-06T21:32:00.001+00:002015-12-06T21:32:09.285+00:00New York<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Whether you love it or hate it, there's no denying that New York can be a bit of an assault on the senses. Times Square, in particular, is noisy and chaotic. There's an interesting array of smells, some nicer than others and it's impossible to walk from one side of the square to the other without bumping into hundreds of people and photo bombing many more. <br />
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I have to admit that after a week I'm usually quite pleased to return to the relative quiet of home - even with a hotel room on the 27th floor I could hear the car horns at night. That doesn't in any way take away from the fact that it's an incredible city to visit. I have a feeling that one painting of Times Square is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding inspiration here. It's such an iconic place that we're so use to seeing on TV and in movies and the first time you visit you get a strange sense of deja vu. <br />
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I've been twice this year, both times for work (you can see our office in this picture). After my first visit in June, I wanted to do a painting that captured the vibrant nature of the place but I wasn't quite sure how to approach it. Then I read an article in a magazine which showed a painting of a night scene in Bangkok and how it was built up. I decided that this was the way to represent New York so on my next visit I went out after work one evening and took some photos to work from. Pastels seemed the obvious choice to get those bold colours and once I got going, this picture actually progressed pretty quickly. The whole thing was done in an afternoon and I made very few finishing touches when I came back the next week to look at it. Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Theater District, New York, NY, USA40.759011 -73.98447220000002740.7469835 -74.004642200000021 40.7710385 -73.964302200000034tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-82095953092368973092015-11-14T18:04:00.002+00:002015-11-14T18:04:51.997+00:00Sacre Coeur<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTEJXzQD1eUP3GJcadB9vL18Q6z-TA2cqRNR_2ck3jQs-nJtxeeAzgFEBTurLvR4VUoB2QdfLh_alnK_fDHr-HoqUJqMYIyiOPrWwKF_Y4P7ICM5zAXoqFDkscs1XES-WMmaIkFffEUw/s1600/Paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTEJXzQD1eUP3GJcadB9vL18Q6z-TA2cqRNR_2ck3jQs-nJtxeeAzgFEBTurLvR4VUoB2QdfLh_alnK_fDHr-HoqUJqMYIyiOPrWwKF_Y4P7ICM5zAXoqFDkscs1XES-WMmaIkFffEUw/s640/Paris.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This picture is from my last visit to Paris. Happy memories with wonderful friends who I am lucky enough to be seeing this evening. Like most of us, I was shocked and saddened when I picked up my newspaper this morning and heard of the devastating attack on this beautiful city. It's beyond comprehension how anyone could dream up such a plan, let alone carry it out. <br />
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As you get on with your lives and prepare for your Saturday evening in with your family or out with your friends, spare a thought for the people who will never be coming home and the friends and families waiting for them.<br />
<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, 35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 Paris, France48.8867524 2.343041900000002948.8854474 2.3405204000000031 48.8880574 2.3455634000000027tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-11270712689663735102015-11-01T18:13:00.000+00:002015-11-01T20:18:26.894+00:00Chicago BeanI went to Chicago earlier this year to visit some friends. After a week in noisy, hectic New York, I was expecting more of the same as I stepped off the plane. I couldn't have been more wrong. Chicago is a much more relaxed, chilled out city. And very arty too. There's all kinds of interesting sculptures and artworks dotted around the place making it a lovely city to spend a few days exploring. Without a doubt, Anish Kapoor's Bean (or Cloud Gate) in Millenium Park is the most striking and probably most photographed work of art that I saw during my stay. The bean is perfectly smooth and polished and was built about 10 years ago following a design competition. I would imagine there is a considerable cleaning effort required to keep it looking as flawless as it does.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nA4s99uk64zVkCheTiaf94DkHKQtoGhle6XKC8keUgGPoGoJDfkyFUcygeTl-Pk8tvy4AsYz8qOnrvAPD_PpYrQf9wd3Q3kyu7YZwMP7CXu_BFXtCL8X94itnJIG_N06D0p18c9mK-U/s1600/Chicago+Bean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nA4s99uk64zVkCheTiaf94DkHKQtoGhle6XKC8keUgGPoGoJDfkyFUcygeTl-Pk8tvy4AsYz8qOnrvAPD_PpYrQf9wd3Q3kyu7YZwMP7CXu_BFXtCL8X94itnJIG_N06D0p18c9mK-U/s640/Chicago+Bean.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's not the easiest of things to paint either as the shape distorts everything in the reflection. I put off starting this picture for quite a while as I mulled over how to tackle it. In the end, I dug out my pastels again as I thought they'd be a fun way of making the curved shapes and smooth surfaces and I think it was the right decision. <br />
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When I was there it was a beautiful sunny day and the place was swarming in tourists all taking pictures on their phones. I couldn't help thinking it would look a lot better if we weren't all there so I decided to leave all but one of the people out of my final painting. This lady, leaning against the bean looking at her distorted reflection, hall of mirrors style is the only one who made the cut. I liked her because she was just enjoying the moment instead of snapping away on her camera phone like the rest of us. We should all take a leaf out of her book. We miss so much with the all too easy point, click and move on approach that so many of us take to exploring a new place.Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Cloud Gate, Chicago, IL 60601, USA41.8826572 -87.623303916.360622699999997 -128.9318979 67.4046917 -46.3147099tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-47866043234561547412015-09-23T18:28:00.004+01:002015-09-23T18:28:52.502+01:00Looking Out My Window - At Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgqZpFUI7G9MC4b8ZyaZoO-nQgVfNDqgvah3aDDUkjLM3ufTSlqO4riDYQ4k1hYKbAcInnUiIySqtaCLEL5AAQ7GA-FZg01X2IdFPGywaa2Btancb60wAICKbAJGfxEFCN6nyUz8aqXI/s1600/LondonFromWork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgqZpFUI7G9MC4b8ZyaZoO-nQgVfNDqgvah3aDDUkjLM3ufTSlqO4riDYQ4k1hYKbAcInnUiIySqtaCLEL5AAQ7GA-FZg01X2IdFPGywaa2Btancb60wAICKbAJGfxEFCN6nyUz8aqXI/s400/LondonFromWork.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Those of you who have been reading this blog since it began may remember when I went to the David Hockney exhibition and came back all inspired. The result was a series of paintings of the view from my window, watching the change of the seasons through <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/looking-out-my-window-autumn.html" target="_blank">Autumn</a> and <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/looking-out-my-window-winter.html" target="_blank">Winter</a>. Well, not so long ago I went to the Sonia Delaunay exhibition at the Tate Modern and these paintings are the result of that visit. It was a fascinating exhibition to walk round and I loved watching how her work evolved from her early portraits through to fabric design and fashion. She was a talented and versatile artist and I particularly liked the bold colours.<br />
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So taking inspiration from this, I used the view of London as seen from my desk at work to get some practice in. I would like to add a disclaimer at this point just in case my boss is reading - these pictures are based on a quick post-it note sketch and I haven't been wasting away hours at work secretly producing artwork when I was supposed to be doing the budget.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCr9NTL0DLRfyYd0Z_1d7BjDhLfvkbUHZ8PpyeF7RHWeqLaPZidV-2GUTW71y2tco5Rv7q9e-KEI-euXH6OxWKBX2XzL7G7lAwJnuLWc8wlr2S_IRyZ_QiyHkG1yTDTTF3vj5Ohg3bvs/s1600/LondonFromWorkBlue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCr9NTL0DLRfyYd0Z_1d7BjDhLfvkbUHZ8PpyeF7RHWeqLaPZidV-2GUTW71y2tco5Rv7q9e-KEI-euXH6OxWKBX2XzL7G7lAwJnuLWc8wlr2S_IRyZ_QiyHkG1yTDTTF3vj5Ohg3bvs/s400/LondonFromWorkBlue.jpg" width="400" /></a>This is not a style of painting I've done before so this was a bit of an experiment. I started by drawing out the buildings and the river then used the shapes I'd created to extend the blocks of colour into the sky. Delaunay probably abstracted some of her images more than I have but these are ultimately Keeley paintings. The colours themselves were just colours that took my fancy and I didn't give much thought as to what went where as I started out. This was deliberate. I needed to be producing something in order to decide what it was I wanted to produce. As I worked, I started to get a better idea in my head of what I wanted and that's where version two comes in. I limited the palette more for this one and out more thought into what went where. I like both paintings but I was happier with my approach to the second one because I felt like I put more thought into it. It's probably not going to come as much of a surprise that I finished that second picture with a bundle of ideas of things I want to do next. So although this is a deviation from my normal style of painting, watch this space for more to come.<br />
<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com2Canary Wharf, London E14, UK51.5054306 -0.02353330000005371451.495547099999996 -0.043703300000053714 51.5153141 -0.0033633000000537136tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-25370478993491163032015-07-19T17:52:00.001+01:002015-10-18T12:39:36.760+01:00When Bollywood came to Basingstoke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7bZWqwEzbaZPqYvkhSGcV2TE4cN3FzilyYzQHfFhiG-R-f_v8tNod14VEd3OEDucTUK1y71DTMrc25YKcI_lVSWotKfMlokBuNAo3f9T3b5NEH-VG0k_ezYpp6cAVb2rj8aMfDz1AUk/s1600/Bollywood1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7bZWqwEzbaZPqYvkhSGcV2TE4cN3FzilyYzQHfFhiG-R-f_v8tNod14VEd3OEDucTUK1y71DTMrc25YKcI_lVSWotKfMlokBuNAo3f9T3b5NEH-VG0k_ezYpp6cAVb2rj8aMfDz1AUk/s400/Bollywood1.jpg" width="275" /></a></div>
It's been far too long since I wrote anything there but I have still been busy. Last year I went to a friend's wedding in Oakley hall near Basingstoke. It was a lovely day which ended with a troop of Bollywood dancers bursting into the marquee and putting on a fantastic show for the guests. When I went to the <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-figure-in-dance.html" target="_blank">Figure in Dance</a> workshop later in the year, I left with the thought that I would attempt to paint the dancers from the wedding. Needless to say, it took a while. For a start, I packed my paints away for a couple of months while I had some work done on the house. Then it took me a little while to get going again. I started with a single dancer, trying to think back to the techniques we used in the workshop. I used acrylics for the background so would like to add a quick thank you to everyone who gave me Jackson's art vouchers for my birthday last year - this is the output of your present. Then the dancer herself was added in pastel. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1s4VDnZWldSh4aFVKXCQZtNvpaDV_lcYLdfO6qf7ViTzeYsyOKl1Qnz5vhcHsbDgjyD7NEngkkMxCZ0MebY7nd8aPRr8VtyF734dYCmzjwUc5xsP0fFE_LPoc0HkESApLCgVEY3d_3Q/s1600/Bollywood2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1s4VDnZWldSh4aFVKXCQZtNvpaDV_lcYLdfO6qf7ViTzeYsyOKl1Qnz5vhcHsbDgjyD7NEngkkMxCZ0MebY7nd8aPRr8VtyF734dYCmzjwUc5xsP0fFE_LPoc0HkESApLCgVEY3d_3Q/s400/Bollywood2.jpg" width="400" /></a>I was quite please with the end result but it didn't quite capture the drama of the whole troop of dancers in the way I was looking for. The next version had 3 dancers in and was abandoned half way through out of sheer frustration so I'm afraid you don't get to see that one. I stopped again for a little while after that, unable to quite focus myself and figure out what I wanted. In the end, I decided to treat this as an exercise in learning about acrylics instead of worrying too much about getting the picture "right". So I drew out this which is based on the dancers from several different photographs all blended into one. There is one lady who appears at least twice if you can spot her. If I was going to do this one again, I might rethink my approach to the dance floor but overall, I was happy that it captured more of the occasion than the first picture. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVcXXYCPrDQp9lDfm3V4-Gas-x3wrJ5msBqVvegRUVOl3YmEd7eOc01eUoeGSaEwNMkg4rZ-JQVlzJWZhVrwVg13DgeQpFe-RPegqrRWB6rRgg4w1A1_6dzT8sEDg0BvqAHFH0LF-GLM/s1600/Bollywood3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVcXXYCPrDQp9lDfm3V4-Gas-x3wrJ5msBqVvegRUVOl3YmEd7eOc01eUoeGSaEwNMkg4rZ-JQVlzJWZhVrwVg13DgeQpFe-RPegqrRWB6rRgg4w1A1_6dzT8sEDg0BvqAHFH0LF-GLM/s400/Bollywood3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GMPdNKwWrCHsWGLeeSHnhO5epLzXwsFP22HfHNGBsayiBE98mUZe1MhU902dpZZhxYZuMuaFWu5zDCjPgUebaztUN89jNDhuJytlCqZQmX644Bphc_dieqQgcdYKcbCCbcZPD29LtdQ/s1600/Bollywood4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GMPdNKwWrCHsWGLeeSHnhO5epLzXwsFP22HfHNGBsayiBE98mUZe1MhU902dpZZhxYZuMuaFWu5zDCjPgUebaztUN89jNDhuJytlCqZQmX644Bphc_dieqQgcdYKcbCCbcZPD29LtdQ/s400/Bollywood4.jpg" width="316" /></a>Moving on, I continued my experiment in acrylics and changed the colours of the dancers dresses for the next version. There was no real reason behind this, except I was getting a bit bored of blue and pink by this stage and wanted to do something different. I liked the butterfly shapes they made in this dance so that was my main focus in this picture. So that was it. I figured I'd made a pretty good attempt at capturing the feel of Bollywood and starting thinking about what to move onto next. <br />
The dancer photos were sitting on my coffee table while I was mulling over this decision. I thought I'd quite like to to something using coloured pencil as I haven't used them much recently and sometimes it's nice to come back to something you haven't tried for a while. So I started one last picture. This time I wasn't looking for the bold colours and drama and instead wanted to take a more delicate approach. With a bit more practice, I can see this style working well with ballet dancers or even for a picture of the bride herself. it was a very enjoyable picture to draw and reminded me how versatile a simple pencil is.<br />
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Ellie and Ravi celebrated their 1 year anniversary in May. I didn't quite have these pictures ready in time for that but even so, I'd like to wish them a very belated congratulations and thank them both for a fabulous day. <br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Oakley Hall, Oakley, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG23 7EL, UK51.2456346 -1.2020706000000725.723600100000002 -42.510664600000069 76.7676691 40.106523399999929tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-49288353359639489082014-11-16T17:32:00.001+00:002015-10-18T12:39:54.018+01:00The Figure in DanceIn a bid to add a bit of variety to my paintings and move on from the usual landscapes, I've been to a number of portrait and life drawing classes over the last year. I've spent many an evening sat in front of a model trying to get their limbs and features in the right place which is not as easy as it sounds. The nature of these classes has meant I've come away with very few finished pieces to share with you but I have learned a lot. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sJeAcGZcmLko0EV-bb5TmBcYNq8UcuhcgTFlDDR2B0ZiRk1sNqg0JFOCSJUHpetLyK5UwAzHW8zN8wiv2cmuoZPltZ805B4MkEHBy4Yjvefe1Mjv0RmWCrOWximFSPBhQB8ZsqD1mbo/s1600/Dancer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sJeAcGZcmLko0EV-bb5TmBcYNq8UcuhcgTFlDDR2B0ZiRk1sNqg0JFOCSJUHpetLyK5UwAzHW8zN8wiv2cmuoZPltZ805B4MkEHBy4Yjvefe1Mjv0RmWCrOWximFSPBhQB8ZsqD1mbo/s1600/Dancer1.jpg" width="321" /></a>When I joined <a href="http://www.farnhamart.org/" target="_blank">Farnham Art Society</a> and read through the program of events, "the Figure in Dance" caught my eye and I put my name down for this workshop with <a href="http://www.jamelakib.com/" target="_blank">Jamel Akib</a>. We worked from photographs with a focus on bringing movement into the picture, something I don't do at all with a life model for obvious reasons. After a couple of warm up sketches we moved onto our first picture. The aim here was to use the background to help introduce that movement before we had even started on the figure herself. As my other teachers will tell you, backgrounds are often a bit of an afterthought. I may add a chair leg to stop my model from floating in mid air but I rarely give it much more thought than that so this was a very useful exercise. The background here is done using acrylics with the figure then added in pastel. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7bCMSdD-Zn8WzpX5tJ4XQyBUXUpjtLfpPpq36WrkIxr4QYIvgrklogwk91m1cxQ_RLjrg86drLe9yomo98SAtPb-K8YVgoLy1nCrxFJbB2PMVBkikZueHgVYALKy1GocJ_rIzkoUj18/s1600/Dancer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7bCMSdD-Zn8WzpX5tJ4XQyBUXUpjtLfpPpq36WrkIxr4QYIvgrklogwk91m1cxQ_RLjrg86drLe9yomo98SAtPb-K8YVgoLy1nCrxFJbB2PMVBkikZueHgVYALKy1GocJ_rIzkoUj18/s1600/Dancer2.jpg" width="400" /></a>In the afternoon, some of my fellow artists moved onto pictures of birds in flight with some amazing results. I was enjoying the dancers though so decided to stick with that theme. I love the shapes that they make and I was particularly taken by the photo of these two where the lighting made it hard to tell where the dancer ends and the background starts. I decided to give it a shot for my second painting. I used acrylic and pastel again. I didn't manage to finish this one during the workshop but took it home and continued working on it. I'm pleased with the end result as both pictures are quite different from anything I've done before. I think the first one is my favourite. I came away from the workshop with hundreds of ideas so watch this space. I would like to say a big thank you to Jamel and to Farnham Art Society for organising a thoroughly enjoyable day.Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1Farnham, Surrey, UK51.214321 -0.7988020000000233351.13474 -0.96016350000002326 51.293901999999996 -0.63744050000002339tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-52706107915434319732014-10-05T18:38:00.003+01:002015-10-18T12:57:05.347+01:00Battersea Power StationThis one was a special request from a friend at work. He wanted Battersea Power Station looking "industrial and derelict with a hint of a future to come". I've got to admit, I didn't quite know where to begin so I started by reading a bit about the history of this London landmark. When the power station was first proposed in the late 1920s, the idea provoked protests from Londoners who felt it would be an eyesore and who worried about the effects of pollution. In an attempt to address some of these concerns, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was commissioned to design the exterior of the building. This is the same guy who also designed the red telephone boxes we all know and love so he clearly had a talent for producing iconic designs. I think the tactic worked because at some point in the last 85 years, we fell in love with the place. Where once people protested at the idea of it being built, now they protest at the idea it could be pulled down and developers wanted to make use of the site are forced to invest millions of pounds in its restoration.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQ8rG_K7-pKtJ9ypaTlyg3bIvugjXVRk-5aZjJoU39f-YzxJ63YE9D1cv5ldS5s42vo-avDDZJ7XcssGf2SsxRoOKgsQY4s1UsoiMkq__IrLH0tRy6w8V2iItnZGhR8EBQJ8UbbG-Clc/s1600/Battersea1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQ8rG_K7-pKtJ9ypaTlyg3bIvugjXVRk-5aZjJoU39f-YzxJ63YE9D1cv5ldS5s42vo-avDDZJ7XcssGf2SsxRoOKgsQY4s1UsoiMkq__IrLH0tRy6w8V2iItnZGhR8EBQJ8UbbG-Clc/s400/Battersea1.jpg" width="400" /></a>Having learnt a bit more about the place and completed a few sketches in the process, I started on a drawing. I thought this view with the railway line in front of it could help add to the industrial feel of the finished picture and the scaffolding would give a hint of future redevelopment. It works to a certain extent but I don't think it really conveys the sheer scale of the place. This is an enormous Power Station. It's Europe's biggest brick building and it dwarfs everything around it and somehow that's not quite happening here. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzPVn4JDnr1_WRQJoh5pVx_cw8qDZwwPAGTKEJYncDuuSoSLMldqNzNy9-yP-SVXPlvLdxJjd2_j6n7F3tE1Cd1gvpqLqfMPQJwheWmt9Lf66Rnl_UB7DocGT6m63WshoriNFpMLtvNg/s1600/Battersea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVzPVn4JDnr1_WRQJoh5pVx_cw8qDZwwPAGTKEJYncDuuSoSLMldqNzNy9-yP-SVXPlvLdxJjd2_j6n7F3tE1Cd1gvpqLqfMPQJwheWmt9Lf66Rnl_UB7DocGT6m63WshoriNFpMLtvNg/s400/Battersea2.jpg" width="400" /></a>So for my final painting, I chose a view from the other side of the building. Here we're looking up instead of across and there is no real foreground to distract us. The blocks of flats in the background are big ugly buildings in their own right but they look almost insignificant next to the power station. I used watercolours and pastels because I felt that with watercolours alone, I couldn't quite get the industrial look I was aiming for. There was a point about 3/4 of the way through the painting where I wasn't at all happy with it and I started drawing out a new version, bringing the building forward and towards the middle of the page. It wasn't quite right there though and when I looked back an hour or so later at the first version, I could see where my mistakes were. They were mostly around the horizon so I went back to correct them and the building sits a bit better in it's surroundings now. I'm pretty happy with the end result - let's hope my colleague is too. <br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Battersea, London SW11, UK51.473796 -0.1617290000000366525.9517615 -41.470323000000036 76.9958305 41.146864999999963tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-22788550762421928902014-07-28T22:05:00.000+01:002015-10-18T13:03:07.197+01:00A Sense of Place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was my parents Ruby Wedding Anniversary last week and the whole family met up in Ambleside for a bit of a celebration. I will write more about those few days once I've produced some pictures to tell our story but in the mean time, I'd like to share with you the second part of my holiday. I decided that the Lake District is quite a long way to go for only 3 nights so, once we were all booked up, I had a look around for something I could do for the remainder of the week. I came across this course at <a href="http://www.highamhall.com/" target="_blank">Higham Hall</a> and thought I'd give it a try. Our tutor for the week was <a href="http://www.stevehumble.co.uk/" target="_blank">Steve Humble</a> and I've got to say, I learnt a lot from him. You can probably guess the title of the course. Usually my paintings are a by-product of my holidays. They're something that happens weeks, months or sometimes years later as I scroll my way through my photographs looking for a scene I want to draw or paint. This was the first time I've actually used my time away to focus on painting so I thought I'd share the results with you. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeNT7xY3O3IDO7U6OS1ByM_HmAvve5wSuczkxLWEh3oXsaKKXMe9ow3Zi9ERkhABWnlXUAkVYxLlbgGosRYmspzqEelN6T1vWKsQd1EGcY8FucnvlJXn6gXTXhGNlBcUQGfhTf1JZvUY/s1600/ViewFromHighamCompressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeNT7xY3O3IDO7U6OS1ByM_HmAvve5wSuczkxLWEh3oXsaKKXMe9ow3Zi9ERkhABWnlXUAkVYxLlbgGosRYmspzqEelN6T1vWKsQd1EGcY8FucnvlJXn6gXTXhGNlBcUQGfhTf1JZvUY/s400/ViewFromHighamCompressed.jpg" width="400" /></a>On the first day we stayed within the grounds of Higham and started our week with a variety of warm up and sketching exercises before moving onto longer paintings later in the day. I struggled on this day. For some reason I felt out of place and unsure of myself. I think my generally grumpy mood was reflected in the work I produced and by the end of the day there was very little that I was happy with. This little sketch from the morning was one of the few passable pieces of the day. It was done sitting on the front lawn looking out toward the mountains. For this particular exercise we were only allowed a limited palette of 2 or 3 colours and maybe that helped focus me on keeping my picture simple. It was also early enough in the day that I hadn't yet got frustrated and cross with myself. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw88aNVL_P_H6lEEBvcieusFRTgpJXzO7gSt__xsU8NnH8Pq5OEEctNKY8iHrlyJWUXKKsrDHMiTl4i5NBijk8TGJgw1A8V9ptiWvhKeQuA4QeuEQLACjVyfyFtBo7LnlOftm549rT3Xc/s1600/BlencathraCompressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw88aNVL_P_H6lEEBvcieusFRTgpJXzO7gSt__xsU8NnH8Pq5OEEctNKY8iHrlyJWUXKKsrDHMiTl4i5NBijk8TGJgw1A8V9ptiWvhKeQuA4QeuEQLACjVyfyFtBo7LnlOftm549rT3Xc/s400/BlencathraCompressed.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
On to day 2 and an early night, a fresh sheet of paper and a new location put me in a considerably better mood. Our morning was spent sketching in several locations in St John in the Vale (I think) looking up towards Blencathra. I started to enjoy myself here. This is how I often work when I'm using photos, building up a composition using several different images from around the area, so taking the same approach to building a painting from sketches worked for me. This is the pastel painting I did in the studio in the afternoon using my sketches. It's not perfect. I could do with making the stream wider at the bottom to give a better sense of perspective and I possibly need to focus more on the base of the mountains behind the wall but otherwise I'm pretty happy with this. It's a lesson in not giving up when you have a rubbish day - things will get better.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HLUIiXW0YA0GdwEWiGkWQ2TFdRChm2zFT_dg-h1kCbaB0E4Y2Oa6ff1tGq_R4Qh-HGBHCaJBCtoykdP8XcX83r_tyzqyjaeEw9opNMmLIiIxL3LCTtSKtKZjQgysL8N_8e_6tKHkRfI/s1600/PebblesCompressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HLUIiXW0YA0GdwEWiGkWQ2TFdRChm2zFT_dg-h1kCbaB0E4Y2Oa6ff1tGq_R4Qh-HGBHCaJBCtoykdP8XcX83r_tyzqyjaeEw9opNMmLIiIxL3LCTtSKtKZjQgysL8N_8e_6tKHkRfI/s400/PebblesCompressed.jpg" width="400" /></a>The morning of day 3 was spent by Crummock Water. I found a little spot under a bridge and started with a sketch of the trees hanging over the stream before getting somewhat distracted by pebbles. I've never managed to paint them under water and I've seen some lovely paintings on line or in galleries where people have got it right. I figured now was as good a time as any to learn and the rest of my day became dedicated to a study of pebbles. This piece was done in the studio in the afternoon and it was intended to be an experiment in techniques rather than a finished painting. I have the finished picture in my head. It may take a while for me to produce it and when it's done I'll share it with you, but for now I'm quite happy with my experiments and I hope you like them too. </div>
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As we approached the final day I found myself wondering what to do next. Most the group had something they wanted to continue working on and I wasn't quite sure how to use my last day. After some discussion, I decided to come back to the stream that I sketched the previous day before I got distracted by my pebbles. This is my first ever venture into the world of mixed media and I've got to say I'm hooked. I started with watercolours in the morning then left them to dry over lunch. In the afternoon, I got my pastels back out and produced what has to be my favourite picture of the week. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXICLcD9T6j1qlsn7vmoJoVVKJFMMQTlkixFsjRJW5tvDocFJze2A6B8YWrptjAQMvHt9oDx2tD-EWNPFfCSBY9ezaXAWa4fHZmrXUGoPXgXadJdToYojLn3rccdnSGELrt6Mh6gFAjWI/s1600/StreamAtCrummockWaterCompressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXICLcD9T6j1qlsn7vmoJoVVKJFMMQTlkixFsjRJW5tvDocFJze2A6B8YWrptjAQMvHt9oDx2tD-EWNPFfCSBY9ezaXAWa4fHZmrXUGoPXgXadJdToYojLn3rccdnSGELrt6Mh6gFAjWI/s400/StreamAtCrummockWaterCompressed.jpg" width="400" /></a>I met some lovely people at Higham Hall and I found it to be a useful and productive week. I've come away with a little collection of paintings and hundreds of ideas for more. Probably my biggest lesson of the week was the value of sketching. I'm not a dedicated photographer so when I take a photograph to use for a painting, I may only spend a moment or two actually looking at the scene as I point, click and move on. With a sketch book I may spend 20 minutes or half an hour observing the same scene. It becomes an almost meditative process (spot the ex Yoga teacher...) as the time is spent contemplating how you might paint it later. By doing that you see so much more. I will still use photographs while I'm painting but I will definitely be combining that with a sketch book in future. Thank you Steve.</div>
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1Cockermouth, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA13 9SH, UK54.672157899999988 -3.264473500000008254.653794899999987 -3.3048140000000084 54.690520899999989 -3.2241330000000081tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-87449844867631362492014-07-13T15:10:00.001+01:002015-10-18T13:05:43.171+01:00Fleet Pond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AWmwzPnY7BHm01h5BU1-qYZhZbMOX2QjUNepw5rOHOs9pPhQ9JUJL5eD9x6opJDDc3SDNdkBYL8nPaYbO348_dmA5fVDWqbij_jtX9Tfsx1cATSy_288FEmo0yhxwlEPCUAI9AriFwU/s1600/Fleet+Pond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AWmwzPnY7BHm01h5BU1-qYZhZbMOX2QjUNepw5rOHOs9pPhQ9JUJL5eD9x6opJDDc3SDNdkBYL8nPaYbO348_dmA5fVDWqbij_jtX9Tfsx1cATSy_288FEmo0yhxwlEPCUAI9AriFwU/s640/Fleet+Pond.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Fleet pond is Hampshire's largest freshwater lake. It's located next to the station and along with the surrounding area of heath-land and marshland forms a nature reserve that the residents of Fleet are justifiably proud of. My parents live a couple of minutes walk from Fleet Pond and my Dad is an active member of the <a href="http://www.fleetpond.fccs.org.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Fleet Pond Society</a>. When my parents go on holiday I park my car at their house so I can water the garden on my way home from work. A couple of years ago, as I was walking back to their house after work a rainbow could be seen from the jetty at the end of their road. I couldn't resist stopping for a few photos thinking that one day, this would make a nice painting. It's taken me a while to actually paint this. Rainbows aren't easy and I never quite figured out how I could make it work in watercolour. In the end, I decided to try with pastels instead and I'm reasonably happy with the results. It's one of those pictures that I think looks better in real life than it does in a photograph but that's probably a reflection on my photography skills more than anything else. It took a long time to get the clouds right and once I'd finished the picture, there were several weeks worth of tweaks added before I was happy enough to put it in a frame. Part of the reason for eventually putting it in a frame was to stop myself from fiddling with it any further as I was in danger of over-doing it. <br />
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The jetty wasn't in my original photo as that's where I stood to take my pictures. I went back another day to take those pictures as I thought it would make for a more interesting picture. The person with his camera wasn't there either. Someone did walk past a moment or two after I took my photos and took his phone out of his pocket to try and catch the same picture. Just as he did that, the rainbow vanished and the rain started. I decided to rewrite history a little in my painting and allow him the opportunity to arrive a minute earlier and catch the picture. It was quite a lovely sight and it's a shame he missed out.Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Fleet Pond, Fleet, Hampshire GU51, UK51.2884432 -0.82367769999996251.283478200000005 -0.833762699999962 51.2934082 -0.813592699999962tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-72814247863652771842014-06-07T16:15:00.000+01:002015-10-18T13:07:01.971+01:00Commuting<br />
Much as I would like to, I don't earn my living through painting. Instead, I get up at 6 o'clock every morning and make my way up to the bright lights of the city. Everyone I know who does this journey, complains about it as some time or another (I'm including myself in that list). But even commuting has it's moments and my next two paintings were my attempt at capturing some of them. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CQ9fPCAzadQn_3QHbWz3G7DZqKl6Fg7IKzWhdFcS_8ZK_sRiN0lTEZzMa6RoLI2au6wI1GXpAhsy8cPPb0XeQNTwznIQXWeOzFN1d_Rlj98CthHqKNAgjq5QYpzorWwDUV9tJZxpWCA/s1600/Fleet+Station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CQ9fPCAzadQn_3QHbWz3G7DZqKl6Fg7IKzWhdFcS_8ZK_sRiN0lTEZzMa6RoLI2au6wI1GXpAhsy8cPPb0XeQNTwznIQXWeOzFN1d_Rlj98CthHqKNAgjq5QYpzorWwDUV9tJZxpWCA/s400/Fleet+Station.jpg" width="400" /></a>I walk or bus to the station (depending on the weather) and arrive in time to catch the 7:22 train. There is a point around late October / early November when this part of my commute coincides with sunrise. I remember when I was in Fiji, I got up early one morning and climbed to the top of a nearby hill to watch the sun rise and it was one of those magical moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Sunrise at Fleet station on a cold November morning is somewhat less magical but I do like the way the light of the sky reflects off the rails. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIq_2-mSqWQ0aSpaeA-Mb9KwzB6IPDCjMpKLSiSYhm6AgCPPkhbbEla-qZo5YDFtM8oYgYJOiGWleXGyiXzXMmLoblt_Td5qruNwkBxyJ38NsRCokbDtM6XCgVJPhKY_1dCDbFpl191hQ/s1600/Canary+Wharf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIq_2-mSqWQ0aSpaeA-Mb9KwzB6IPDCjMpKLSiSYhm6AgCPPkhbbEla-qZo5YDFtM8oYgYJOiGWleXGyiXzXMmLoblt_Td5qruNwkBxyJ38NsRCokbDtM6XCgVJPhKY_1dCDbFpl191hQ/s400/Canary+Wharf.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
It takes about 45 minutes to get to Waterloo then it's onto the tube to complete my journey to Canary Wharf. All through history the religions of the world have built giant temples and cathedrals to remind us of the power and dominance of whichever God it is they want us to worship and I sometimes think the buildings in Canary Wharf are temples to the God of Money. Love it or hate it, this is an imposing place and I've been wanting to do a painting of it f for a while. So I was probably the only person on the Isle of Dogs who was quite pleased to walk out of my office one day last week and see big dark storm clouds gathering behind the tower. The sun was still shining behind me and it reflected of the Citibank building to produce quite an impressive scene. It wasn't easy to paint though. This is my second attempt which I'm reasonably happy with although if I was to do it again I might make the sky a bit darker. Those of you who have used masking fluid will appreciate the number of paintbrushes I got through painting this twice and will understand why I'm unlikely to try a third version.<br />
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But dramatic skies are just that, dramatic skies and they can happen anywhere. What actually makes my commute bearable and at times even enjoyable is the people who share the pain with me. If you're on this list then these pictures are for you:<br />
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<li>You judge if you're running late by how far down Fleet Road you've got before I overtake you in the morning.</li>
<li>You're one of the butchers who waves at me when I walk past your shop.</li>
<li>You catch the same bus as me on the days when I can't be bothered walking.</li>
<li>You were with me back in October when I suddenly stopped half way across the bridge to take the photo that went on to become picture number one.</li>
<li>You have identified yourself in picture number one because, well, that's where you always stand so it must be you.</li>
<li>You meet me on the platform every morning and we put the world to rights on our journey up to Waterloo.</li>
<li>You are one of the people who sits near us and pretends not to listen in.</li>
<li>You catch the tube with me every time there is a strike and then spend the rest of your life doing something to do with security in Africa. I don't believe that you work for Barclays, I think you're a spy.</li>
<li>You work in my office and occasionally appear on the escalator behind me at Waterloo. It was a team effort working out who you are.</li>
<li>You catch the bus home with me in the evening and you think I'm some kind of millionaire...who travels on Fleet Buzz.</li>
<li>You're wondering where I put the carpark - it's big and ugly and I don't like it so I deleted it along with the people who ride their bikes along the platform in the morning.</li>
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Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Fleet, Hampshire, UK51.277283 -0.8426550000000361351.2375555 -0.92333600000003613 51.317010499999995 -0.76197400000003612tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-1167429938688911672014-05-12T11:45:00.000+01:002015-10-18T13:08:03.235+01:00Suffolk<br />
It was my Dad's 70th birthday last year. We spent some time thinking through what we could do as a family and were hoping to find a holiday let somewhere that we could all enjoy. Around the time of his 69th birthday a friend from work went for a long weekend to The Balancing Barn in Suffolk and sent me a link to the website when he got back. I was quite impressed and after a bit if discussion with Mum, we decided to go ahead and book. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZQ5FOm7TaIjCeIWTfNU2fBw7wR12P4fkskkQfTuq-4GX6h4gIRWVGEgtA7QXx2KMRTNKrmOzZBMlqFgFyTR6vhcWVW8aoi0wbrMSswogEhNzTZZN_S2VVsO6cKMKMmPuCxIo-xrlDkk/s1600/Balancing+Barn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZQ5FOm7TaIjCeIWTfNU2fBw7wR12P4fkskkQfTuq-4GX6h4gIRWVGEgtA7QXx2KMRTNKrmOzZBMlqFgFyTR6vhcWVW8aoi0wbrMSswogEhNzTZZN_S2VVsO6cKMKMmPuCxIo-xrlDkk/s400/Balancing+Barn.jpg" width="400" /></a>It looked like such an unusual place in the photographs and when we arrived, it didn't disappoint. You approach the building from the opposite end to this picture up a long driveway and it looks like quite an unassuming little place on the drive up. The pitched roof and patio doors look pleasant enough but they don't prepare you for the rest of the place. It really does hang off the side of the hill like this and it is possibly the most amazing building I've ever stayed in. The room closest to you in this picture is the living room which has a glass floor. There is a swing hanging off the bottom of the building and you can watch people on the swing through the floor. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwu004sw5sMc9hRcMi-fi1zKjB0npanA1LMdYD1loVDqsNCLy5Jaxge4vvJIr1xrxGuwI78w4iY8XagJPYIIje4s5qVzRT-v71BPNgjEmi-HObDTn4jMQxJOVi0dmxmvk9GiCe7se4J4/s1600/Boats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwu004sw5sMc9hRcMi-fi1zKjB0npanA1LMdYD1loVDqsNCLy5Jaxge4vvJIr1xrxGuwI78w4iY8XagJPYIIje4s5qVzRT-v71BPNgjEmi-HObDTn4jMQxJOVi0dmxmvk9GiCe7se4J4/s400/Boats.jpg" width="400" /></a>We stayed for 4 nights so had plenty of time to explore the area as well as appreciating the building itself. Those of you who have read previous entries will remember my <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/beach-hut-bicycle.html" target="">Beach Hut Bicycle</a> post from last year which was based on the beach huts in nearby Southwold. That picture made the place look considerably warmer and sunnier than it actually was. Being February, the biting wind meant it was too cold to spend much time out on the beach. I remember sheltering behind a building to get a photo of these boats in the hope that I could do a painting of them at a later stage. I ended up opting for a coloured pencil drawing although I'm half tempted to try another version in watercolour at some point. <br />
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My parents are now looking forward to their Ruby wedding anniversary so another family holiday is imminent. This time will be the Lake District so I have no doubt you'll be seeing a few pictures from that trip coming up soon.<br />
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Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Southwold, Suffolk, UK52.325627999999988 1.680180999999947752.286806999999989 1.5994999999999477 52.364448999999986 1.7608619999999477tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-57390527020996202962014-02-04T22:55:00.001+00:002015-10-18T13:09:10.853+01:00Inner Hebrides<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOdUaz8L4_mBpCUGn06JMVap3QT3H2_VNVojzoTkfqb50_EtC57yVsT6mlLiwHQIIeyW97F9S28o0BGK3l-JvbiHdvMXcp01sIC_FxrEVVg1o_5RZhtW9MPd2jetbXVKwlV5watXwQAE/s1600/IonaNunnery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOdUaz8L4_mBpCUGn06JMVap3QT3H2_VNVojzoTkfqb50_EtC57yVsT6mlLiwHQIIeyW97F9S28o0BGK3l-JvbiHdvMXcp01sIC_FxrEVVg1o_5RZhtW9MPd2jetbXVKwlV5watXwQAE/s400/IonaNunnery.jpg" width="276" /></a> In September I boarded the night train at Euston in the pouring rain, ready to make my way up to Scotland to visit my sister. Those of you who have read my <a href="http://jillkeeley.blogspot.com/2013/04/oban.html">Oban</a> post will understand why I expect the horrendous weather to follow me up the country. Imagine my surprise then when I woke up the next morning to beautiful sunshine. Waking up on the sleeper train is always a bit of a treat and I enjoyed my breakfast in bed while watching the world go by and it made a great start to a lovely holiday. <br />
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We decided that this time round we would explore some of the islands. We took the boat over to Mull and then on to Iona. I was spoiled for choice when it came to finding pictures that could later be turned into drawings or paintings. The ruins of the abandoned nunnery did catch my attention though and when I got home, I didn't waste much time in getting started on this picture. It's a pencil and chalk drawing done on pastel paper. The level of detail meant it took ages and there were times when I sat down after work to draw the next layer of bricks and found myself wondering why I thought it was such a good idea to start this in the first place. I'm glad I persevered though as I am quite pleased with the end result and I hope it captures the beautiful but isolated feel of Iona. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAb1rikey_YLFjo_cm_MhlENaOqyXyEbdLfEpzei47Y4HUSQODOkGot_6IPK0u1b7SvXPSc1MD-vpBE0dbwq5uxbnKFQHfqeqzUS-xZxvpnz9-dCaepcgFduG56C6PDtkf6-37Us6NnQ/s1600/easdale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAb1rikey_YLFjo_cm_MhlENaOqyXyEbdLfEpzei47Y4HUSQODOkGot_6IPK0u1b7SvXPSc1MD-vpBE0dbwq5uxbnKFQHfqeqzUS-xZxvpnz9-dCaepcgFduG56C6PDtkf6-37Us6NnQ/s400/easdale.jpg" width="400" /></a>Sue lives on Seil Island and the next day we stayed a bit closer to home and headed over to the neighbouring island of Easdale. This was one of the biggest days in the Easdale calendar as stone skimmers from around the world gathered for the <a href="http://www.stoneskimming.com/index.htm" target="_blank">World Stone Skimming championships</a>. I'm told that Easdale is normally a quiet little place with no cars and a close knit community. Everyone was there on September 29th though, including all three Blue Peter presenters and a full film crew. It would have been rude not to join in so we signed up and I'm proud(ish) to announce that I came 43rd out of 71 women. I've got to say, I was amazed at how seriously some of the competitors take this event. I watched one man sit for hours filing away at his stone so that it could be reduced to regulation size and he would then be allowed to skim it. Actually, I watched him for about a minute but one of our Blue Peter friends assured me that he had been chipping away at it for hours and who am I to dispute the word of Blue Peter. All in all, it was a fun day out and a very friendly and sociable place. Even when it was overrun with people, you could see the peacefulness of Easdale with it's little rows of cottages all centered around a village green. I'd like to go back some day and see what it's like when the stone skimmers have gone home and life is just happening at it's normal pace. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLOS-QJiml0_OlvoozqcNOeqabYX8lSZfU9gLIWeIsBUpXl8Nw4EdojFuw27u_tzFFaDzjCepWvzMbNDi5IEfY_H9_NL8DgaY5auRQfb70OlPFWjhNOtGmZvifIQnISYJwN292fBqtQc/s1600/Mull.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLOS-QJiml0_OlvoozqcNOeqabYX8lSZfU9gLIWeIsBUpXl8Nw4EdojFuw27u_tzFFaDzjCepWvzMbNDi5IEfY_H9_NL8DgaY5auRQfb70OlPFWjhNOtGmZvifIQnISYJwN292fBqtQc/s400/Mull.jpg" width="400" /></a>This final picture is also from Easdale but looking back out across the sea. Sue tells me this is looking back towards the mainland. It's from a photo I took towards the end of the day so the sun was quite low in the sky. After spending so long on the first picture I quite enjoyed doing this one quickly and feels like more of a sketch than a finished painting. It reminds me of that last evening before I left when we sat in a pub back on Seil enjoying a nice glass of wine and looking at those stunning views. I don't suppose you could ever get bored of a view like this.<br />
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<span id="goog_600909864"></span><span id="goog_600909865"></span><br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Argyll and Bute, UK56.292156685076478 -5.658645629882812556.274535185076481 -5.6989861298828126 56.309778185076475 -5.6183051298828124tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-15093884969865498152014-01-05T18:26:00.000+00:002015-10-18T13:13:22.541+01:00Christmas with the Fleet Keeleys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In November I got a new set of pastels for my birthday. They sat largely unused on my desk for the first few weeks until I found myself with a bit of spare time in the days between Christmas and New Year. I decided it was time to get my pastels out and learn to use them by, er well - painting Christmas. This was more about experimenting with a new medium than it was about producing finished pieces of art but I thought I'd share the results with you anyway.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JGpvzasL3SAVHXwkFeDL7UpbS8p_wbElP7g-rSc2MFqOoM0CZq16-z2LdFaTXCipgosS6sH_F1e99R0U5yjfHNPAkIehS4CYsrYAdt34OJoZSHPUG1NViaVK5YaFJTTWsVSsdvDxfkI/s1600/IMG_3266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JGpvzasL3SAVHXwkFeDL7UpbS8p_wbElP7g-rSc2MFqOoM0CZq16-z2LdFaTXCipgosS6sH_F1e99R0U5yjfHNPAkIehS4CYsrYAdt34OJoZSHPUG1NViaVK5YaFJTTWsVSsdvDxfkI/s400/IMG_3266.jpg" width="400" /></a>Christmas started for us this year with a trip to see the Nutcracker at the London Colliseum on 23rd. I remember Anne trying to get tickets for this last year but they were already sold out so we were quite pleased when we managed to get it booked this time. It is such a lovely festive story and the production was beautiful so it made for the perfect start to Christmas. You're obviously not allowed to take photos during the show so I based this picture on one of the photos off the web site. I went on to add a background after taking this picture and I think I spoiled it a bit by doing that so I may actually re-do this one at some point. Note to self - learn when to stop!</div>
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Christmas Eve usually takes place at my house. I invite friends and family round for mince pies and mulled wine. It's generally a pretty good evening and this year was no exception. Looking back through Christmas photos there are very few pictures from Christmas Eve so I've skipped a day in my illustrated guide to Christmas and have moved onto Christmas day itself.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw7nBIcgij4GZXh0OGZDwNDqrI2FPMks0KcDguKqHasJoAFxE0MLbGDD2Vljejj66sDYxvjKKsFgr1IMMKkUaVsQxiny56uBz43hc8hDaAeJ5ov3NUgMvo5FeMMNn09tVdiYVj5lBRnE/s1600/IMG_3272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbw7nBIcgij4GZXh0OGZDwNDqrI2FPMks0KcDguKqHasJoAFxE0MLbGDD2Vljejj66sDYxvjKKsFgr1IMMKkUaVsQxiny56uBz43hc8hDaAeJ5ov3NUgMvo5FeMMNn09tVdiYVj5lBRnE/s400/IMG_3272.jpg" width="400" /></a>Having cleared up from Christmas Eve, I head round to Mum and Dad's house for breakfast. This is usually accompanied by a glass of bucks fizz although we somehow managed to forget that this year and drinks were postponed to lunch time. Not entirely sure what got into us there but never mind! After breakfast we open our stockings and then head out with Dylan for a walk around Fleet pond. Every year we stop for a photo in the same spot and every year we tell the same joke about how we should line up all the photos so we can watch ourselves getting older. Sue and Ian were missing this year which seems wrong, so in order to produce my interpretation of the Christmas photo I have borrowed them from last year's picture. While I enjoyed doing this picture, I probably wouldn't chose pastels if I was to do it again as it was very hard to get enough detail to give each individual features. Either that or I would use an enormous sheet of paper instead of A3. Still, I hope there's enough there for you to be ab<br />
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le to identify each person. Once we're back from the walk it's time for a cup of tea and more presents then the rest of the day is spent either preparing or eating food and consuming far too much alcohol.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9D3R_-px7L_qONRY_9DztE3dJQh2Ulf7U9eB2qks3zvCEB_xOhAU-LidOPcWtgziGJlWc_wQFMcIEauDtTaLjEpaGsLXJP2izx45BmAbmLzwsG1dW4DtWsfA7bfs-7Moxiywkfs5tKM/s1600/Dylan+and+Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9D3R_-px7L_qONRY_9DztE3dJQh2Ulf7U9eB2qks3zvCEB_xOhAU-LidOPcWtgziGJlWc_wQFMcIEauDtTaLjEpaGsLXJP2izx45BmAbmLzwsG1dW4DtWsfA7bfs-7Moxiywkfs5tKM/s400/Dylan+and+Dad.jpg" width="300" /></a>Boxing day is all about the walk. We spend half of Christmas day debating where to go and then eventually, on Boxing Day morning we pile into the car and head off to our chosen location. This year it was Frensham Pond. It was a lovely misty day and I took loads of photos of trees in the mist. I have no doubt that some of those will end up as paintings too some day. This is is a picture from Boxing Day of Dylan pretending to sit so he can get a treat from Dad. Of the three pictures I've done over the last week, it is my favourite so I hope you like it too. Happy New Year and thanks for reading.</div>
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0Fleet Pond, Fleet, Hampshire GU51, UK51.2884432 -0.82367769999996251.283478200000005 -0.833762699999962 51.2934082 -0.813592699999962tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-5627801924781883192013-12-01T16:07:00.001+00:002015-10-18T13:15:13.162+01:00Festive Favourites<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTPc_n241WWsVeMFUTkm9XmvCBZwjJW6gqc0u162E6nUEB6hcrG-QWa7mpRerkufKU5xswIwSupMoMvJY7-Wvi1MfbF0c5V4uHI-WGwSbmqM3tXWRB6hrmros-o2bWcCYf71AQupgmiE/s1600/Yosemite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTPc_n241WWsVeMFUTkm9XmvCBZwjJW6gqc0u162E6nUEB6hcrG-QWa7mpRerkufKU5xswIwSupMoMvJY7-Wvi1MfbF0c5V4uHI-WGwSbmqM3tXWRB6hrmros-o2bWcCYf71AQupgmiE/s400/Yosemite.jpg" width="400" /></a>So, the advent calendar is out and Facebook is littered with photographs of people decorating their trees. We are about to rediscover our annual month long obsession with Slade and Wizzard and I'm sitting with a big pile of Christmas cards in front of me ready to be written. I'm not going to share the designs here until you've all actually receive your cards so instead, I thought I'd get in the mood by revisiting a few old favourites. <br />
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These pictures are different to most pictures on my blog because they're not actually places I've been to so they don't have stories associated with them. Instead, they came from those books people buy you when they come back from a particularly scenic holiday. Or the ones they get you for Christmas sometimes that list out thousands of places you're supposed to visit before you die. Although they represent an immense challenge, I do actually quite like those books because they have some lovely pictures in them. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUXEZNvW1CFtsl83aw1vWgL1Qlvl5VrqDOa-LFBN18ECCJr8RPTfjMU02Pm8yCShgjDurUMvsgvIhNVBS5R0W0ajfH5s6a9Sp8ny_pRyOnLor8-ZB8NAJZkeVk0Ps-WI6F9ljdJKfY2U/s1600/Cabin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUXEZNvW1CFtsl83aw1vWgL1Qlvl5VrqDOa-LFBN18ECCJr8RPTfjMU02Pm8yCShgjDurUMvsgvIhNVBS5R0W0ajfH5s6a9Sp8ny_pRyOnLor8-ZB8NAJZkeVk0Ps-WI6F9ljdJKfY2U/s400/Cabin.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5mNWCMtIp_-3VLj-iGtqjF9xRmprGtA7KWQnBiqlvJLged-vC_v-pLKZon6lYIN7Syyex5yvPNwg0HR5_4bBwb_1MlJ51N_dDNw42j2WCwoF4KvdhrRG1W5psiOSwvaH2moNpI938y0/s1600/Sunset+Mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ5mNWCMtIp_-3VLj-iGtqjF9xRmprGtA7KWQnBiqlvJLged-vC_v-pLKZon6lYIN7Syyex5yvPNwg0HR5_4bBwb_1MlJ51N_dDNw42j2WCwoF4KvdhrRG1W5psiOSwvaH2moNpI938y0/s400/Sunset+Mountain.jpg" width="400" /></a>The first picture is (I think) Yosemite which is right at the top of my travel wishlist. The second one is Banff which is actually somewhere I've been but I never saw this place. I always think it looks like such a cosy little cabin tucked away in the mountains and a great place to spend Christmas. I've no idea where the third one is but it looks like lovely snow to ski on - maybe popping back to that cabin afterwards for a vin chaud. <br />
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I've reprinted each of these pictures a couple of times over the years because they're three of my personal favourites so I'm sure some of you will recognise them. I hope you like them as much as I do and enjoy the countdown to Christmas wherever you are.<br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-90999613043725609712013-09-24T19:19:00.000+01:002015-10-18T13:15:57.483+01:00Angkor Wat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJCKCB2-HsYzJkPa_IXKibd7bEoI9Aw56B_CqGtNEa1wLetzvWcR5M5s1AUDGLVCgKlJdgTaOD_QkqfKcvwEzmvEIQT1PqjJlFdzLTzlGKJinBlNvkBRkXST1IItNtgBt9EzCZVxnUyQ/s1600/cambodia2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJCKCB2-HsYzJkPa_IXKibd7bEoI9Aw56B_CqGtNEa1wLetzvWcR5M5s1AUDGLVCgKlJdgTaOD_QkqfKcvwEzmvEIQT1PqjJlFdzLTzlGKJinBlNvkBRkXST1IItNtgBt9EzCZVxnUyQ/s400/cambodia2.jpg" width="302" /></a>Now I'd love to tell you that my trip to Angkor Wat was driven by a desire to see for myself this truly spectacular piece of history but I'm going to hold my hands up and say that wasn't the case. In fact I never actually planned to go there at all. The last stop on my backpacking trip was Thailand. I had planned to be there for about 4 weeks and then fly back home in time for Christmas. I thought a few weeks soaking up the sun would be just what I needed before facing the delights of a British winter. However, I was clearly misguided and my preconception that Thailand is a sunny country was quickly set straight. Sitting in my guesthouse in Bangkok trying to figure out if there was any part of the country where it wasn't raining, I soon came to the conclusion that a change of plan was in order. There was a poster on the wall of the travel center showing the Angkor Wat temples and a quick check of the corresponding weather forecast confirmed to me that this would be a much sunnier option than the Thai Island resorts. So seeking out sun rather than culture, I hopped on a plane to Cambodia and the next day I found myself in one of the most incredible places I have ever visited. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYJbfkbO9l8M8u4Ucr5lVeO917-PpoTfpIPhaC6Aw-ZAjMBQrQKtGkkVWdtnTe2S0fkbq-y23W1IRmaCGNJhAKJiHF3zUTUbH2SdcP_JQi743iQvUb0D5_ygUnSbmVKqOil21FRw_iRk/s1600/cambodia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYJbfkbO9l8M8u4Ucr5lVeO917-PpoTfpIPhaC6Aw-ZAjMBQrQKtGkkVWdtnTe2S0fkbq-y23W1IRmaCGNJhAKJiHF3zUTUbH2SdcP_JQi743iQvUb0D5_ygUnSbmVKqOil21FRw_iRk/s400/cambodia.jpg" width="292" /></a>Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world and the 2 days I'd given myself to see it was nowhere near enough. As you make your way around, it seems like the place is never ending. Watching the sunset over the main temple at the end of the first day was beautiful but it wasn't the defining moment for me as it is for many people. It was these little pockets of peacefulness which creep up on you as you come round a corner and find the roots of a tree growing over, around and into a building. They're slowly destroying the temples these trees, reminding us that no matter how much of a mark we make on this world, nature will wait for us to turn our backs (or fight our wars) and sneak in to reclaim it. The trees are a part of this place and so far, the preservation efforts appear to strike the right balance retaining the historical monuments and recognizing the beauty of this destructive force of nature. These drawing were done after I got home based on photographs I took at the time. Although I'm not particularly experienced in plein air art, I can see the appeal in a place like this. The idea of spending my day sitting in one of these forgotten little corners with a sketch book and a few pencils is quite an attractive one.<br />
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Those of you who have been to Seam Reap will know that it is a place of contrasts. The aftermath of a brutal war is visible everywhere. While rich westerners explore this beautiful monument, children chase them around begging for some money to help feed their families. Victims of landmines watch you from the street as you walk into your air conditioned hotel without a care in the world. And what really struck me about all of this was how self righteous we all get about it. Even at the budget end of the hotel market I had a clean room with a fan and mosquito nets but as I sat down for my (substantial) evening meal I heard so many complaints from my fellow travelers about the children at the temple. Everywhere you went, wealthy tourists (and however much the hard up backpackers dispute this, we were all comparatively wealthy) would warn you not to give them anything as "it only encourages them". I didn't give them all money - nobody could do that. But I did buy little bracelets and trinkets from them. And I played along with one girls highly imaginative exchange rate scam. She approached us over lunch on our first day and asked my friend where she was from. "France" was the reply. "Do you have any coins from France?" said the girl, "I've never seen one". "Sure" said my friend and gave her a Euro. Next she turned to me and asked the same questions. I told her I was from England but I didn't have any English money on me. "Could you change this for me?" she says, producing a 20p coin. "Someone gave it to me and I can't spend it here". I was amused by this little money making scheme and gave her a good rate of exchange for her efforts. She was a bright girl who had memorised where each coin came from and who, with a different start in life, could do very well for herself on an FX Trading desk! <br />
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1Siem Reap, Cambodia13.36866 103.86440300000004-12.1533745 62.555809000000039 38.8906945 145.17299700000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9058358195613144185.post-6331393554283286342013-07-10T19:46:00.000+01:002015-10-18T13:18:30.773+01:00Beach Hut Bicycle<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
In celebration of his 70th year, my Dad recently undertook the epic challenge of cycling 1000 kilometers in a tour of Lakes and Cakes that lasted 2 1/2 weeks and took him from Hampshire through Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire. I'm not going to write the full story as he documented his progress in his own blog which you can read here: <a href="http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/nick.keeley43/1/tpod.html">http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/nick.keeley43/1/tpod.html</a></div>
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In honour of this tremendous achievement, I decided a picture was in order so here's his bike leaning against one of the Southwold beach huts. Southwold was a particularly significant stop along the way. This is where we celebrated his birthday as a family earlier in the year (more pictures of that trip to follow) and it's also where my Mum met him for a well earned rest day. </div>
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The beach hut itself came from one of my photos from our family holiday. I liked the way this hut was painted and I thought it would be particularly pretty on a nice sunny day so I've modified the weather a little from the freezing cold February day when we were there. The bike is Dad's bike from one of his photos on his trip.</div>
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I'm breaking with tradition a little here as I don't normally share these pictures until after they've been printed as Christmas cards at the end of the year but I want your feedback on this one so you're getting a preview. It's a coloured pencil drawing which didn't scan particularly well so I've photographed it instead. I set out to do this as a pen and pencil drawing but I found that I quite liked the half way stage before I had added the ink details and now I can't decide which version I'll print. So my question to you is which do you prefer - version one which is the pencil only one or version two which is pen and pencil?</div>
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<br />Jill Keeley Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15581345306879424872noreply@blogger.com1Southwold, Suffolk, UK52.325627999999988 1.680180999999947752.286806999999989 1.5994999999999477 52.364448999999986 1.7608619999999477