Cows under a tree

I loved the pattern the dappled light painted on the tree trunk and the cows.

These cows live on the Wimpole Hall estate, which belongs to the National Trust.

Lockdown walks

We are still blessed with glorious weather and have been out on daily walks. Close to the river, we are now meeting the same animals almost daily. One of them is a female muntjac, who seems to stay in the same area and lets us get quite close before walking away through the undergrowth. Another is a cormorant who has made a tree in the lake its home to perch on and dry its feathers. Until about five years ago, I had never seen any cormorants in our area but now there are at least two.

Close to the edge of the lake, there are nests where coots are busy raising their redheaded chicks. Further out, more coots seem to spend all their time bickering with each other. And amongst them, a swan glides by, using its wings to catch the wind.

I loved how the sun lit up its feathers, which I tried to capture in my painting.

Horse statue

This is based on the stables courtyard of Waddesdon Manor, a National Trust property in England. I just loved the horse statue (by Edgar Boehm), which looks so full of vitality and energy.

Some of the proportions and architectural details are not accurate but I think it works as a painting nonetheless. I also changed the white of the sun umbrella to blue, as I thought it suited the overall colour scheme better.

Waddesdon Manor is a very elegant property, which emulates the architecture of a French chateau, and is well worth a visit.

Thoughts on achieving a likeness

This is the portrait of a chocolate labrador I painted towards the end of the summer and I am pleased with how it turned out. 

People who know the dog have commented that it is a good likeness and particularly referred to the eyes as a true reflection of the dog's character. 

On a practical level, when trying to achieve a likeness, it is not enough to focus on just painting the eyes correctly. Instead, the same attention must be paid to the attitude of the dog and all the apparently less important parts of the head, as they all contribute to an eventual likeness. This is why I finish the eyes last in my painting process (be it in humans or animals). 

Portraits need reference photos with good lighting to be successful and I find natural light without strong shadows the most pleasing.

Two cats by the window

Two cats, watercolour

I looked after these two cats for my son while they moved house and really enjoyed having them. They are two siblings, Athena (on the left) and Hercules.

They are still quite young and playful and enjoyed sitting on the window sill, catching insect (real and imaginary) and watching whatever was going on outside.

I painted this on khadi paper, mixing the black tones from ultramarine blue mixed with raw sienna and permanent crimson alizarin. The red tones on Athena were mostly pure burnt sienna.

A Turkey

Truthahn Aquarell

The model for this painting lives in an animal park in Zofingen, Switzerland. I have photographed him before but never captured him, just as he was strutting and showing his awesome display of brightly patterned feathers.

I knew I wanted to paint the bird in an expressive rather than realistic way and therefore chose not to include a background, other than a few washes.

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Das Vorbild für diesen Truthahn lebt in einem Tierpark auf dem Heiteren in Zofingen. Ich habe ihn schon einmal im vorjährigen Herbst fotografiert, aber dieses Jahr war ich rechtzeitig mit dem Apparat zur Hand, als er ein Rad schlug. Dabei zeigen sich die Formen und Farben seines Gefieders erst recht. Mit meinem Aquarell versuchte ich eine Interpretation davon und war nicht an einer realistischen Wiedergabe interessiert.

Three Cows

I saw these beauties in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) in August and knew I had to paint them. As artists, I suppose we are always looking for pattern and variety, which we find here in that they are all cows but differently coloured.

Fish in a pond

Watercolour of Koi, 30cm x 40cm

I took some reference photos of fish in a pond at Wimpole Hall, with a view to trying out the watercolour methods of Cheng-Khee Chee. This masterful painter starts with an abstract background and then lifts out the lighter areas of the koi.

The first stage of dropping in paint and letting the colours mingle was really quite enjoyable. When next placing my fish, I was looking for a circular movement and let the composition happen organically.

Of course, my effort does not even come close to Cheng-Khee Chee's masterpieces, but I am nonetheless quite pleased with the result.

Urban Fox

Have you noticed how many more urban foxes there are now than there were a few years ago? They have become regular visitors to my back garden, where on one summer night, I watched three fox cubs chasing each other around the lawn.

My husband spotted this one earlier last year, basking in the sunshine in the middle of the day. It made a great painting subject.