Open Studios 2013

Last weekend was the second of two weekends of the Saffron Walden Open Studios.  My first ever event of this kind, as I haven't had a proper 'studio' until last year, I was very curious to see if anyone would venture out into the wilds of my little hamlet to see me.

I decided that it was time to paint the inside a light colour as it is a bit dark in there, so the week before the event saw me frantically painting the walls with cream wood paint...

Inside unpainted and messy studio

Problem was I didn't have a tin big enough, I realised in the middle of it, to paint all four walls with the required two coats...

Bare walls

The solution was to paint the main back wall with two and the side walls with one, the doors and surrounding wall remain natural wood for the time being...

Painted back wall hung with pictures

Once I'd finished and let the paint dry, I put all the furniture back in and put up my framed pictures...

I also wanted to make it into the home of The Spinney Witch, so in the corner sits her besom, hat...

...and a witch's cat!

So the first day dawned and I was out putting up signs along my road, hoping that at least a few people would find me...and happily they did!

Flossie stands guard!

Despite wild winds and rain showers I was visited by 30 lovely people, many I hadn't met before, all of whom were wonderfully encouraging and enthusiastic. I was asked several times if my illustrations were in books, sadly no but I feel inspired to try!

One of my favourite times was with a family who piled into the studio, 7 of us in all, and spent ages looking for Red Riding Hood's wolf and listening to the fairy tales and stories behind the paintings. 

They had some fantastic ideas for things I should do, such as a button for people to press next to each picture so they can hear the story :-) I wish I'd thought to take a photo of them all there!

In between visitors I painted...three finished and one nearly.  It was wonderful to feel that I could be in the studio all day and not have to be anywhere else. I had time to think and plan where to go with all of this. My feeling is that the period of 'giving it a go' is now over, I've had a great response to my work and I know that people like it so perhaps it's time to take the next step...

View of an Exhibition

Cards Available on Etsy!

Pack of 5 cards available

I now have a selection of cards available singly and in packs in my Etsy shop. They are brightly coloured and can be framed as a gift. Perfect for children and not so grown-up grown ups! 

Remember that a Witch is for Life, not just Hallowe'en!

The Birth of a Painting - Part II

Untangling the Tangle

Continued from Part I. Once the composition is transferred onto the watercolour paper, I will usually draw the image out in pencil and develop it further then paint and finally use a pen.  However with this painting, after drawing out the figure more clearly and working out the top middle section, I dived straight into the pen-work...mainly because the briars were so entwined that I needed to make sure I had got them right... I had to be careful not to go over bits that were supposed to go under the figure...and I wanted them to go over and under and around each other like celtic knot work...

The Tangle Revealed

...the next bit was great fun and reminded me of colouring in as a child... First I painted the roses, hips, buds and leaves, to remind me that this is where the fresh growth is. I wanted to paint the briars leading up to those bits a lighter green to show they are still alive... I painted up from the roots, as if the paint was the sap is rising...

The Sap is Rising

...eventually the image grew and entwined around the girl...

Entwined and Entwirled

I decided to leave the girl in pencil as much as possible to show her softness against the sharp briars, the background grew into a landscape of a dream and her hair became birds flying free as she longs to be...

Green Girl Dreaming

I painted the girls dress grass green with large daisies emblazoned upon it to represent her life force and innocence. Her hair grows lush and long and entwirls with the briars in strawberry blonde strands....

Finally the landscape and birds are picked out with a light wash of paint around the edges to enhance the hills and trees.

In a Tangle (Briar Rose) by Sarah Turpin

An Exhibition - Fairy Tales and Magical Realms

This month I am exhibiting with Amanda Clark and Amanda Sheldrake at Saffron Walden Town Library. Showing a selection of paintings and prints...