ArtinBrittany

Spring? 'In every wood, in every Spring There is a different green' - I Sit Beside the Fire and Think, JRR Tolkien   The first quarter of the year is gone and the lengthening days are changing the landscape. I'm just prepping some worksheets for an upcoming workshop on the Spring landscape and thinking about the colour green. I was speaking recently about the importance of a limited palette; how mixing colour from a few key pigments will produce a more cohesive and authentic result - especially with landscape/natural subjects. There are many premixed pigments available and it is easy to be distracted by the range available but if you take the time to mix your own you will not only achieve better paintings but also develop a solid understanding of how colour works. It is only when your knowledge and experience of mixing colour is well honed that the interjection of mixed hues is truly effective....Lecture over!  Enjoy some outdoor green today!

I've authored a few blogs. The first was about our progress in France and was written for friends and family but somehow it got out into the wide world so I closed it. Then I started afresh trying to replicate the first, (Meanblackdogblog) in a less personal way but I found it hard to write to a non specific audience. I am not a diary keeper for this very reason. Then this blog evolved and has stumbled along in fits and starts for a while - perhaps because I'm not sure who is reading it.  I have been really busy for a while now and time for writing has eluded me. I am in the process of radically restructuring my time so that I may be able to get some thoughts down from time to time - but we will see how that works out!  I like the idea of blogging. I think it is potentially a very useful tool for artists, I'm thinking of my students in particular, a way to record progress on projects. A digital sketchbook. That said, there is much concern over the 'stealing' of