Decided I'd better post something otherwise I'll have let another New Year's resolution slip! Plus, I'm in the middle of updating the Society of Equestrian Artists customer database and bored. Can see the half-started painting sat on my easel beckoning me but suspect it will remain untouched today.

It's cake week for my daughter Gemma in schoool so we spent an hour last night trying to make some chocolate rice crispie cakes (baking is not my strong point). Managed to bundle the kids off to school this morning with (hopefully) all their bags plus cakes and was looking forward to a few hours painting. Until the postman arrived.

Anyway, time to stop moaning and get on with it!

Hannah x

Life Class

Made it back to Life class this morning after the Christmas break. It's so nice to be back at it and the two hours pass so quickly. For me at the moment I just want to work at my drawing and try and get it as accurate as possible. I work in an A4 sketchbook so it's nice to look back at previous drawings.

I can't recommend the Nottingham Society of Artists highly enough. You can join for £65 per annum and they run lots of classes: Life, Portrait, Still Life, clothed model etc. It really is a bargain.

Anyway, will soon be time for the school run so better go and get sorted.

Hannah x

What makes a striking painting?

I've been set a task this month of writing some rules to define a 'good' painting. A task I'm not sure I'm really qualified to undertake but here goes!

Over the last couple of months I've been a regular visitor down to London and have taken the opportunity to visit a number of Galleries and exhibitions. I've noticed as a viewer of paintings that artists don't have long to grab my attention (maybe a couple of seconds) before I've moved on to the next painting. Something has to 'grab' me and make me go in for a closer look. Once I have moved in for a closer look there has to be something within that painting that keeps me there. Otherwise again, I've moved on within a couple of seconds.

One of the exhibitions I attended was the ROI at the Mall Galleries. Out of an exhibition of roughly 260 paintings there were probably about 5 paintings that really caught my attention and I found myself glued to them. Even coming back to them a couple of times for another look. Two months later I can still remember these paintings - and can picture them as if they were in front of me now. Not surprisingly these were paintings done by the people I would describe as the 'Modern Masters'. So what do these paintings have that the others don't?

The Following are some notes I made yesterday and is work in progress:

Design and composition:

1. What will make a viewer come over to look at this painting?

• Abstract Design - to grab a viewers attention in a roomful of paintings


• Value plan – keep simple, space division, dominant value, contours, variety.

2. What will keep a viewer looking at this painting?

• Near design to be seen close up:


• Focal point, contours, contrasts (values, saturation, Edges, shapes, temperature etc). Directing lines to focal point, eye movement. Variety.


• Beauty in the brushwork – Variety. (Thick – thin, heavy – light, glazing, scumbling, feathering, palette knife, Descriptive – focal point, perspective).


• Edges – Variety, perspective, three dimensional, direct viewer, contrast, shadow edges, forms,

Underpinning all of this has to be the technique:

1. Drawing, Drawing, Drawing!
2. Values
3. Colour

I know it is not as simple as this and there are many more things that make a great painting - but I'm still searching!

On a completely different topic I've been continuing with my Bargue studies. This is another hand. I messed up the arm and didn't make it thick enough - Guess I still have some work to do on my drawing skills!

Anyway, time to get on with some painting.

Best wishes

Hannah x