Busman's Holiday?

This time last week we were away in Wales, braving the Great British weather for a few days break (should've chosen this week!) and while I was there decided to seek out a day at an art studio so I could 'play'! I don't get much chance with all the commissions and art classes on at the moment, plus an imminent house move, to just get creative and experiment. So I contacted Lindsay at Studio Llwyndrain and arranged to spend the day at his studio in a beautiful setting near the Preseli Hills. These two pictures are the result of a few hours mucking about, trying new techniques and mediums. In the morning I was let loose with kid's watercolour paints, acrylic medium and tissue paper to create texture and some wildly bright colours to throw about! I'm used to painting in such a precise way that it was fun to create something much looser and impressionistic of the coastal landscape around. After a delicious lunch of home-made bread and soup and a chat with the other arty customers, I turned my hand to oils - a medium that I have little experience with. I studied photos I'd taken on a walk around Dale Head the previous day and after trying out a number of different techniques and brushes, I decided the angles and solidity of the rocks leant themselves to paint application with a palette knife, scraping back some areas to create interesting texture. I was quite pleased with the results, given the limited amount of time I'd given myself, and I would thoroughly recommend visiting this delightful art space. It is light and airy, well-equipped for use of all sorts of mediums from drawing to mixed media, oils and watercolours to print-making with bags of helpful tuition and yummy home-made grub to fuel your creativity. You can also stay there - check out http://www.artholidayspembrokeshire.co.uk for more details. Right, now back to business...!