winter solstice - HAPPY CHRISTMAS ! BUON NATALE !

wishing you all .....

HAPPY CHRISTMAS !  BUON NATALE !  tanti auguri  



"winter"



"autumn"





"winter solstice" - "solstizio d'inverno".......collages by my youngest daughter Gloria aged 5



watercolour and gouache certificate

sweetcorn
lifting -out
watercolour study

At the beginning of this week I was delighted to finish after two years home study with London Art College  my Watercolour & Gouache Cerficate course with distinction. A huge thankyou to Maggy Roberts my tutor for all your encouragement and continuous support .
I also wanted to thankyou all for your comments on my coursework which i have posted on my blog ..here are a couple of studies I did earlier on in the course exploring various techniques.

http://www.londonartcollege.co.uk/

chesnuts
scratching with knife
watercolour study from life

teazles

© JANE MINTER

"teazles"

a page of watercolour washes

1/4 sheet cansons fontenay 

ARTISTI DEL CUORE - Mostra pro - alluvionati Caldogno

"ARTISTI DEL CUORE" - Mostra pro - alluvionati Caldogno

degli annessi Villa Caldogno a Caldogno (Vicenza)

inzierà venerdì 10 Dicembre 2010 alle ore 18:00

finirà domenica 12 Dicembre 2010 alle ore 18:00

"VILLA CALDOGNO"
Villa Veneto - Andrea Palladio

.... I wanted to mention this exhibition here...i hope anyone who lives nearby will visit the exhibition this week-end  ... I was happy to donate with many other artists a painting today for this exhibition after my  local watercolour association  Associazione Veneta Acquarello  asked members on behalve of Michela Gruppach if they could help  .....funds raised from the exhibition will be for the benefit of citizens who lost their homes when the Bacchiglione river flooded in the region of Veneto last month.

Christmas Lights - La Torre Bissara - Piazza Signoria - Vicenza

© JANE MINTER

La Torre Bissara

"christmas lights"

inital wash

1/2 sheet Arches 300g

The Tower Bissara "Tower Square"  is situated alongside the Palliadian Basilica in Piazza dei Signori in the historical centre of Vicenza....it looks incredible at this time of year with all the christmas lights  ......this is an intial wash experimenting with "Christmas lights" and night-time view .   

night-time scene - view from Isola di Giorgio Maggiore across to San Marco

 view from Isola di San Giorgo Maggiore  "Baccino" across to San Marco - Venice

A4 initial watercolour study "night-time" scene

  

chinese lattern

© JANE MINTER

"chinese lattern" 

work in progress 

"an initial wash"      +     " chinese lattern"

1/4 sheet Arches cold press 300g

......as part of my course work i've been experimenting with bright washes and night time scenes
here's an intial study i've made of a chinese lattern .  

wash # 6 - one hundred washes challenge

 © JANE MINTER

wash # 6

http://onehundredwashes.blogspot.com/

Radicchio Rosso di Chioggia - Chicory

© JANE MINTER

"Radicchio Rosso di Chioggia"

watercolour study i

© JANE MINTER

"Radicco Rosso di Chiogga "

watercolourstudy ii

work in progress

The "Radicco Rosso di Chiogga"  have a wonderful bitter spicy taste to eat simply as salad or grill ...delicious with  pasta and  rissotto ....here are two studies i painted last night whilst cooking ..the red leaves with the white veins are really striking .  

autumn colours - leaf study ii

© JANE MINTER

"maple leaf"

leaf study ii

moleskine watercolour  sketchbook

skies

sky i

sky ii

sky iii

this week at my watercolour class we were practicing painting just skies .. here are a few of the " wet in wet " studies of  skies i've painted after the class ...lots of practice needed  ! .

autumn colours - leaf study i

autumn leaf  study i

one leaf painted from life  with two real leaves placed beside it as reference

watercolour moleskine sketchbook

ONE HUNDRED WASHES challenge blog

Maggie Latham had a wonderful idea to start  ONE HUNDRED WASHES challenge blog  along with other artists  i decided to join this challenge which started this month ..... i wanted to mention the blog here and add a link .... which i hope you visit  .....i've added a  link on my blog list  and i'll post my washes as and when i paint them on the  page "one hundred washes"  which you can find at the top of my blog......thought i'd post my first wash here with a quick "plein air" wash i painted this summer ..... if you would like to join in with the challenge please contact Maggie  http://onehundredwashes.blogspot.com/.

wash # 1

"flat wash" - colbalt blue - squirrel mop size 10

"plein air" wash

Croatian coast - summer 2010

watercolour moleskine sketchbook

swans + snow - week 4 watercolour class

"swans + snow" 

1/4 sheet canson

......painted this today following a step by step by my teacher Marina Marcolin  at watercolour class

anchorage

© JANE MINTER

"anchorage"

watercolour study 32 x 41cm

apple - still life study

"apple"

watercolour still life

...........crop of  a still life study (work in progress) ..... painted at my watercolour class today

XI Biennale Europea dell'Acquarello - Albignasego - Villa Obizzi - Padova - Italy

................. this weekend we visited a wonderful exhibition of watercolours at the  XI Biennale Europea dell'Acquarello in Villa Obizzi in Ablignasegno province of Padova ..i'm sure locally many might be familiar with this event for those who aren't  i've added a link where you can read more about the competition, the exhibition  and see the prize winners...the exhibition runs until 24th October 2010.  

windmill - Italian watercolour workshop - week 1

"windmill"

inspired by demo of  Marina Macolina   

..........yesterday i was excited to start a weekly watercolour class in Vicenza at "OSSIDIANA" Centro Cuturale e di Espressione .... Scuola di Pitture e Disegno ACQUARELLO... it's my first Italian  watercolour course having only ever attended a couple of workshops in the UK  ... the courses are run by Toni Vedù and Marina Marcolin ...... i painted this yesterday at home  after the initial lesson and demo by Marina Macolina in class ....practicing wet in wet skies and "wet on dry" foreground .

Aura S at the Villa Foscari La Malccontenta

 Aura S at the Villa Foscari La Malccontenta Venice Italy .... designed by Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher .. at the weekend I enjoyed seeing one of the two installations that Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schmacher designed as part of the architectural Biennale 2008 in occassion of the 500th  Anniversary of Palladio's Birth ...no photos were allowed so I've made a link here...hope you find it interesting .

vendemmia - vintage

© JANE MINTER

" vendemmia"

watercolour study i

© JANE MINTER

"vendemmia"

watercolour study ii

.....a couple of studies/sketches i made  in the vineyard before we vintage this week .....just two vines have red leaves which are incredibly beautiful with the purples of the red grapes 

watercolour brush - squirrel quill mop

© JANE MINTER


"squirrel quill mop"

watercolour study 24x34cm  

chinese lantern ii

© JANE MINTER

"chinese lattern"  

watercolour study ii 

chinese lantern seedhead - physalis

© JANE MINTER

"chinese lattern seedhead "

 watercolour study crop 

watching together - portrait

© JANE MINTER


"watching together"

...... over the summer i've been looking at sketches studies and portraits i've painted over the last few years i wanted to share this  portrait i painted at the beginning of  2009 of my youngest daugther and her aunt ..they are very close.... at the time i was pleased with it as it was the first time i'd tried to paint a double portrait ..... i painted it in one hit ....i used maimeri  cad red raw sienna and cerl blue ... i can see mistakes but i still like this study... i have a lot to learn and hope one day to capture the likeness of my daughters.

Portrait Practice - inspired by Jean Haines step by step

inspired by

Jean Haines "step by step"

this is my intial attempt following Jean's Haines "step by step" The Laird in her new book How to Paint COLOUR & LIGHT in watercolour
no prelimary sketch ..i didn't have white gouache with me whilst we were sailing so didn't add the finishing details .

Sali - Island Dugi Otok - Croatia

spinnaker - downwind

sailing - photo

"sailing" 

......for the last few weeks we sailed from Italy to the Kronati Islands in Croatia and back

again ...i love being at sea ...i've always enjoyed sketching and taking lots of photos whilst we travel ... wanted to share a few photos here ....will add more

Thistles

"Thistles"

watercolour 2009

.....with the long 3 months school summer holidays of my daughters ...i haven't been sketching everyday as i love to do . .. i have had less time for blogging  ... just wanted to thank everyone for all your comments and encouragement to  date ...and wish you all a wonderful summer (for some winter !)

Ca'D'Oro - Gothic facade - sketch

"Ca'D'Oro"

 view from Grand canal 

a quick watercolour  sketch of a section of the incredibly beautiful  Gothic façade of Ca'D'Oro  in Venice

canto d'estate ...cicade song

 

"canto d'estate"..cicade song (cicale) 

the grapes are growing.....we're surrounded by the cicade singing dawn to dusk .... bird song and the sound of crickets by night ...a glipse of our summer.

passion flower

© JANE MINTER

"passion flower"

watercolour study summer 2009 ... painted from life ... no pencil  

sandals

"sandals"

watercolour summer 2009

cherry tomatoes - sketch

"cherry tomatoes"

watercolour sketch painted from life

a  small sketch of the first cherry tomatoes from our garden ... they are so sweet ...delicious

Time Lapses - Punta della Dogana and Tadao Ando

"MAPPING THE STUDIO" exhibition - PUNTA DELLA DOGANA - VENICE

Boy with Frog , CHARLES RAY

cast stainless steel and acrylic polyurethane

" MAPPING THE STUDIO - Artist from the Françios Pinault Collect "

exhibition - PUNTA della DOGNA - Contemporary Art Center

 

"Punta della Dogana"
sculpted by Bernardo Falconi

..... i've wanted to go to this since it opened last year to see the work of Tando Ando and the New Contemporary Art Gallery ...finally managed to see the exhibition last weekend ...

i've added a  video above of the restoration work which i liked......i hope you might it find interesting ............

you can see a couple of videos of the exhibition here    MAPPING THE STUDIO - Punta Della Dogana part 1  and MAPPING THE STUDIO - Punta Della Dogana part 2

Fish Market - Venice - study ii

"Fish Market" Venice

watercolour study ii of the Pescheria

The Pescheria - Fish Market - Venice

"Fish Market"  - Venice

initial watercolour study of the Pescheria 

Salt Warehouses - Skladišče soli Monfort Portorož - Oblane Gallerie Piran

   

 

last w-e we sailed  across the Gulf of Trieste  to Slovenia ....we walked from Portoroz to  Piran.... i wanted to share a few photos of the beautiful old salt warehouses Monfort  which stored salt produced in the salines ...  ( i hope in the near future to return to see the museum of salt making and the old salines saltpans which are now a nature park )....  one of the warehouses is currently used as gallery space by Oblane Gallerie Piran  

we were lucky to see an Exhibition of Tone Lapajne Zemilja v Nebu  Oblane Gallerie Piran /  Gallerie  Costerie  Pirano ... ...i was kindly given permission to take a few photos of the exhibition  and interior which i loved  and was completed unexpected.

 

......i'll post a few photos of Piran later .

reds - initial wash

"reds"

geraniums in a copper pot

this is a crop of an initial watercolour wash on a full sheet i painted last week... it's unfinished ... working at this scale is new for me ..i'm experimenting ...i like the freedom it gives ...i need alot of practice .

ADRIANA BUGGINO - Mostra di Fiori in Acquarello - Padenghe del Garda

"......... L'aqua porta a galla la nostra creatività , emozioni ed intuizione ."

"....The water brings/carries to the surface our creativity emotions and intuition. " 

Andriana Buggino

 At the weekend we visited an exhibition of watercolour flowers by Adrianna Buggino at Lake Garda . Her  transparent watercolours are  so very beautiful so loose and free ......  here is a link to her site ,

http://www.adriana-buggino.it/

wild yellow daisy

"wild yellow daisy"

crop of watercolour sketch painted from life