Apples Leaves & Trees

March 9, 2013 by Erin Hill Sketching

I’ve done some demo sketch treatments of leaves and trees on the whiteboard, so you’ll see that way below, for your interest. THURSDAY MARCH 7 ’13 A bright sunny day this Thursday. Already our 6th week of this term. We simply had to have apples as a sketch still life today – all the way from the Blue Mts, and the same apples sketched over 3 days. We’re doing trees in the park, so it seems a good idea to […]

Categories: Art, Landscapes, Line & Watercolour, Manly Sketches, Sketching Classes, Sketching Gardens, Still life, watercolour • Tags: Apple, Composition & Colour, Freshly grown local produce, Line drawing with Watercolour, Sketchbook, Sketches, Travel Sketching, Tree, Vespa

The Art of Sketching – inside & out

October 31, 2011 by Erin Hill Sketching

On Thursday the warm-up sketch was a little more challenging. Handles, elipses, fruit, things sticking up and aaahhhhh……   But when one takes a breath, caaaalms – down and spend some time observing – it’s just shapes. Everything IS just shapes. Once your left brain is told to go and sit in the corner and keep quiet, it’s easy to see that. It takes practice but before long that’s how you see the subject. My mantra is…. how high, how […]

Categories: Art, Line & Watercolour, Sketching Classes, Sketching Locations, Still life • Tags: art, Ficus Macrophylla, Line drawing with Watercolour, Morton Bay Fig, Sketch, Sketches

I Can’t Say ‘No’

October 28, 2011 by Erin Hill Sketching

OMG!  It’s happened again. Not my fault of course. No no it never is. It’s Friday and the Nice Man in the big truck is pulling up. The truck is so enormous it’s shading my artwork. Golly. I just know he’ll pop his head in and say ‘Hi’. But it’s what else he’s gonna say that’s my problem. I could hide under the desk, but he’s already seen me. ‘Hi Erin, I know you don’t want an ice cream, but […]

Categories: Art, Art to Eat, Line & Watercolour, Still life • Tags: Art as food, Ice Cream, Line drawing with Watercolour, Painting the essence

Green Shutters with added Still Life

October 19, 2011 by Erin Hill Sketching

I knew there was something not quite complete about ‘Green Shutters 1’. The thing I like about having work hanging in the Studio, is that sometimes you know something needs doing but don’t know what. Everything has been moved around now that the Exhibition is over and sold paintings gone. So it was a chance to see it in another position. I’m perfectly happy to hang paintings which may not be my favourite – at that stage and observe them. I’d […]

Categories: Acrylic Painting, French windows, Still life • Tags: Acrylic paint, Acrylic Still Life, art, Beach Views, Harbour happenings, Water views

White Daisies, French Window

September 30, 2011 by Erin Hill Sketching

I actually have a painting partly done, which has been abandoned in my excitement at producing these textured canvas decoratives. Now there three. No longer hidden away unresolved. Now transformed. Very colourful. Very simple compositions. Seem to be working well and a style I’m enjoying. I just have a watercolour to do of St Roch Garden in Trausse. This one from my reference. Then back to the abandoned sea and rocks acrylic.  Maybe then some changes to two other paintings […]

Categories: Acrylic Painting, Art, Art to enchant, French windows, Still life • Tags: Acrylic paint, Decorative Acrylics, Water views

Yellow Daisies – a decorative acrylic

September 24, 2011 by Erin Hill Sketching

A little bit French. But of course. If you think you’ve seen this painting from me before – well you have –  and you haven’t! This is a textured canvas I’d created when I first had a go at some mixed media acrylics awhile back. Since then it’s probably had at least 5 paintings on top of the first one. Can you believe I’d done 3 of these very textured canvases!  I simply couldn’t feel happy with any of them, […]

Categories: Acrylic Painting, Art, Contemporary Art, Creative food, Fauvists, Still life • Tags: Beach Views, Decorative Painting, French Windows, Yellow Daisies

Organising the Drawing Gear

April 18, 2010 by Erin Hill Sketching

It started because I always forget the way the portable easel fits together. It only comes out when I travel. If I made a drawing with instructions I thought I could refer to it if I need to. Having worked it out now I’m probably fine but once you arrive at a completely unknown location and looking madly for the right  subject to start on – I may suffer one of those moments and be flapping round like a dill. […]

Categories: Line & Watercolour, Sketches, Still life • Tags: Quick Watercolours, Watercolour Wash with Line

Life on the Dressing Table

April 14, 2010 by Erin Hill Sketching

Most of the time you don’t notice what lives on your dressing table. Until one day you suddenly see it. The smile. The eyes. Every day they see you, but do you see them? The specs have a leopard living on the inside of their arms! That’s when I saw the hairbrush smile. Over on the other side the Sphinx Cat watches silently, holding the pearls and jewellery I drape round it’s shoulders till I’m ready to wear them.  Who […]

Categories: Sketches, Still life, The little things in Life • Tags: Line drawing with Watercolour, Painting the essence, watercolour