Oxford Day Trip -- Annie Sloan's shop

Well, sorry to be so long to post since last time.  The time since returning home from the latest biz travel has positively been a blur.  I arrived on a Monday, the worst possible arrival day, because it means longest time until I get a really good rest to recover from jet lag.  And the weeks have been busy.  But here I am, closing June with an update post on what I have been up to.

I was in the UK at beginning of June and courtesy my good friend Luk, I got a lift on Saturday morning from Farnborough to Oxford.  I have never been to Oxford before.  I was keen to see the city, and also was seeking a particular shop there, Annie Sloan Interiors.  To learn more about the shop and also the awesome paint products Annie Sloan has created and sells.  These aren't yet available in Australia, but since I was close enough to go visit her shop and learn more, I thought, why not.  And such a great excuse for a lovely Saturday day trip.

It was a bit of a cloudy day, with a bit of drizzle.  But everything everywhere in Oxford and the whole country was festively dressed up for the Diamond Jubilee weekend and all about were in high spirits.  We found the Annie Sloan store without much trouble.  And had a lovely time checking it out.  Annie Sloan sells 'The Best Paint in the World' and I am so keen to try it out.  I did not buy it all there, because I knew the next day I would fly to Washington DC and I planned to get some at a stockist there, near where I used to live in Falls Church City (Stylish Patina on West Broad Street).  But I did buy some samples of a new colour I read on the Annie Sloan website had not been launched in America yet.  Stunning dark green colour called Florence.  I saw a photo posted online of small table that she painted in Florence with dark wax (follow link to check out the table).  And I fell in love with this colour.  And that little table was in the shop--Gorgeous, gorgeous !!


The shop was absolutely charming.  A small shop, but chock full of lovely displays of paints, fabrics, and painted items.   I really loved their patriotic displays, buntings for the jubilee and a stunning dresser painted in a union jack motif.  While there, I met and talked with Annie's husband David, who was really lovely to meet.  I bought also a number of the paint brushes for sale and the last wax brush the store had on hand at the time.  And a book. And a number of Annie Sloan fabrics.  Wow, I did pretty well out of this !

 I had a great day in Oxford and looked around in the High Street and eventually walked myself back to the train station.  I bought a ticket back to Farnborough and that evening had a nice dinner in the Aviator Hotel where I was staying (highly recommend this, nice place !!).  Spent time enjoying a glass of red and making notes on the inspirations I had gathered on my day trip.

Snapping forward in time.  In Falls Church Virginia (outside Washington DC), I called in at Stylish Patina, to buy up some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint samples.  Owner Kelly later in the week helped me, filling an order for more paint and wax, which was shipped to my parents home in Nevada, to await me after my business meetings.  I also was very pleased to have an opportunity when I was in New Orleans to meet the proprietors of Annie Sloan Unfolded--Lisa, Scott and Jason.  (I was looking forward to learn more about when the product will be available in Australia !)  By the time I got to Nevada, Kelly's shipment had arrived in time for me to pack it into my checked bags, to bring it home to Australia.  I was really wanting to try it all out on some timber furniture and learn how well it works to paint it...just like all the rave reviews about using this paint that I have read on HEAPS of blogs, (especially USA bloggers, who can actually get their hands on the product) !

The Rest of the Story.  Trust me--don't bother trying to take the wax back in your checked bags.  TSA removed it.  At the first opportunity after I checked the bag.  And left a note in the bag, chiding me for my folly.  What about the tins of paint you ask ?  Well, these did make it through.  And so did all the sample jars I bought from Stylish Patina in Falls Church and Annie Sloan's in Oxford.  Though, TSA did open the big tins of paint packed in my bag.  And managed to mangle the cans (not sure what happened there--did these get put on some machinery to test them ?!).  But thankfully, the were not punctured and did not leak, and it seems TSA was kind enough to tape them up (a lot !) before putting back in the bag.  They just did not look as nice as when I got them in Nevada from Kelly's shipping.  But the paint is OK (the important bit).

Do Stay Tuned.  I will be painting up colour charts with the 10 or so colours of sample pots and tins I managed to get into Australia in my checked bags !  And !! I will be painting some furniture, plus an AMAZING vintage metal bird cage I got this week at a country auction, for a song (if I told you, you wouldn't believe the price.  Truly.  An amazing find).  All subjects for another post.  As you read about my journey into creative ventures, maybe not all paintings.  But yes and yet--all part of the same journey I am on.  Hoping you will check in time to time and see where it takes me and what I am up to :)

Fast Work

monochrome underpainting

I am getting ready to hit the road, another business trip departure.  I have been getting things organised and packing too.  My friend jacqueline Coates invited me to join a one day Blooms workshop today.  I have done all the Three day Blooms workshops, and seen her doing the one day format, but haven't done one and it sounded like a nice way to spend part of Saturday before several weeks of travel.  Still, I was not sure I could find time for it, but agreed to come in for half the day and leave after lunch.  I stopped on the way out of Angaston, at the Barossa Farmer's market and picked up catering Jac had arranged from a baker there, Eleni of Eleni's pies.  She had several bags with the pies and also a dessert ready for me to put into my market bag and I headed onwards to Kapunda, to Salon Rouge Gallery, http://www.salonrougegallery.com/.  Jac had a fire started in the small firebox there to chase off some winter chill.

At the workshop, we all found photo references ready to choose from.  I picked a composition I have admired, a photo of red pears in a tree, with lots of green leaves.  We had 45 cm square canvases to paint onto.  First we transferred the composition to it, using charcoal and pencil transfer--a quick way to get the sketch and boundary parts onto the canvas.  Then a tonal underpainting in monochrome, about 4-5 steps between black and white and those too.  I have not done a painting in first in monochrome for a while, so this was a nice practice.  I was not sure I would finish my painting today either, but wanted to get enough done for it to be easy touch ups to finish it on my return.

colour layer of painting in progress
palettes, reference, and a cup of tea

After working on the tonal underpainting, I began to apply colour.  Working quickly and with as much confidence as I could.  It all came together pretty quickly.  First getting a lot of the darker greens and then adding some of the red and burgundy hues for the pears.

Some work after lunch got the painting to a good stopping point.  It needs a bit of fine tuning on my return, but not much.  All in all, for 4 hours work, I am pretty happy with it.  It seems a lot of what I have done before has come together and this was not too hard.

The day's stopping point, about 4 hours work,
 needs fine tuning to complete

After I got this far it was well and truly time to go, and I packed up, bid everyone goodbye and headed home to finish my travel preparation and packing.  We have a party to attend tonight, so wrapping up and getting ready to go to that.

Bon voyage, more from the road and on my return.

Un-blocked

Sometime ago, not quite a year ago, I started painting again, from our new home.  Looking back in my blog, it was in late June.  From then, it took awhile for things to "come right" though.  I had no good space to paint, I ended up with "painter's block"...and was really dissatisfied with works I started then.  In fact, until the end of February this year, on the anniversary of our moving into this house, I thought I had completely lost the ability to enjoy and like my work.

Something happened then, funny to be to the day a year from moving in.  My work turned a corner, or my mind did, or something !  I posted the work I did then, check out One Day post.

So back to last June.  I started a lovely composition, an image inspired by a very old cover from sheet music.  I love old sheet music and have been collecting pieces and books of it awhile.  Sometimes I use the sheet music for collages, or paper art.  I prefer to find names and verses  of songs that have uplifting or positive words, about love, happiness, dancing.  Good affirmations.  And the booklets with pretty covers get kept, at least the covers do.  I have several I would like to use or draw from for some artistic compositions.  See my start on Couleur de Rose, Pinky post.

And so I have been working on Couleur de Rose off and on, probably more off than on though.  In the end, it finally got done, about 2 weeks ago.  Background has been antiqued, like old vintage sheet music covers can be.  But gleeful to report it done.  Now I can work on completing the next composition, inspired by a small vintage valentines card, with bluebirds of happiness and a wreath of blue posies.  When they are done, I will be starting some new abstract work.  More next post !