A Brand New Start!

I know I know….April last year was the last time I wrote this blog, but I have been active all over Facebook and we have recently launched our Twitter hashtag (is that the right way to annouce it???)  Bixxy@bandouille1, so please join us on there too.  And if you feel that I am not communicating send me a message to give me a kick!!!  I also belong to various watercolour groups on the web…so I have not been idle by any means.

 So here we are in 2014 and my main resolution is to get to grips with this blog and we have an exciting year in store. Many of you already have seen our diary for this year so far but here is the line up which is also advertised in January’s Artists and Illustrators magazine.  We are so priviledged to have back Keiko Tanabe, Eugen Chisnicean, Joanne Boon Thomas and Jane Minter who all have had workshops here at Bandouille and already have had some of our former guest book with these artists for this year.  A compliment all round I think you would agree.  So exciting stuff and we are adding to this wonderful array the stunning work of both Amanda Spencer and Stephie Butler, all of whom work in pricipally watercolour.  All details to be found on our website.

To find out more about us and what we do and what is here please read this article written by one of our guests (Nikki Griffiths) we had in October!    http://www.seos-art.org/news/125    

This is another article written on the blog of Doron Art

Lovely to know that we are someones guilty pleasure!!!! To those outside the UK our house has been dressed like the Bourneville brand of chocolate. We are now someones guilty pleasure.  How wonderful!

Doron writes

 "I am sure you remember my painting holiday to France last year at Bandouille… I had some nice painting time after the Christmas holiday and I wanted to paint special thank you message. The holiday was so good that it remind me another good thing… Yes a great chocolate I am sure we all know!

Happy New Year Bix and Drew and thank you for a great holiday"

To read his full article Click here....Lovely read!
http://doronart.com/2013/06/02/bandouille/
 It was such a wonderful thing to know how much Bandouille is enjoyed by our guests and that is what we are striving for.  Also take a peek at the testimonials on our FB page and on our website too..

Please follow this blog for further news on future guest tutors and of course on Twitter too…..and always feel free to comment too.

ART

My artistic year started towards the end of the the Christmas break and I

have been busy putting together ideas for my textures and techniques (see above) classes and creating a small book to help me format a good balanced layout for exercises.  Whilst playing I created a few little gems and these dancers were just a happy accident.  But that’s the beauty of watercolour.  Sometimes things happen that you just don’t expect and the results can be fantastic.

From here I have also promised my self that this year I will paint more pictures for me from my reference library and the Pomegrantes just screamed at me (or Grenade in French) and I just had to try them.  I always seem to choose things that I know are out of my depth but I like the challenge and felt that I met this one full on. I was pleased with the result but regretted that it was so small (just under A4).  So now I want to revisit and do a larger version, perhaps with less fiddling too.

A site that I have joined in the last couple of weeks (United by watercolour – check it out) challenged us to doing our own self portraits, so here is mine in the 3 stages that it took me to do.  Great fun and my first.  Im not a great fan of the camera, or my face, but wanted to be a bit different and quirky and show something that was ME.

 I liked the results and that’s saying something!  Great fun! 



Next challenge from that site is to paint a piece of work from your favourite Artist.  So one of mine is John Singer Sargeant these are the ones I am juggling between Hard choice!  So pop by next time and see what I decided!!!  I'm think the Shadows on the house, or The Lesson. 

 Which would you choose?

I also enjoy just sitting down in front of the telly and sketching and drawing of an evening.  Especially at this time of year.  My children at Christmas bought me this gorgeous selection of drawer knobs, which I adore.  But instead of all being screwed into designated pieces of furniture, I have many other plans for  them before that.

At present I am just painting and drawing them in different ways with different mediums and on different papers too, but would also like to try collage, fabric and maybe mount some in a box frame.

We shall see!

  

That's it for the time being.  I don't want to bore you all.  I shall be posting items as I get them from now on rather than grouping it all together like this and see if that works better for us. 

So keep in touch and see more posts on Chippy and how he is getting on, the renovation on the Chapel and gardening if the weather allows.  Also I will be posting regularly on various crafty items that I have been creating too.

See you next time.

Bx