Reworking of Hope

I've decided to rework this painting because,  I tried a colour I don't usually use for the background and I wasn't entirely happy with it. I think this works much better.

Hope
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD

Sunflower in Blue

This is another painting I completed about three weeks ago and didn't post. There is an abundance of sunflowers in the shops and they are definitely compulsive painting.
 The weather is magnificent at the moment, lots of sunshine but there is a slight chill in the air which heralds Autumn. I've been so busy with work and family and home that my painting has taken a backseat temporarily. I'm hoping to try different mediums, it was one of my resolutions, nine months have flown by, which I always say is a good thing because its in hard times, or in boredom that time stands still and every minute drags.
As far as my art journey is concerned, yes I would like things to move quicker, to improve my skills, but one thing I'm learning to do is go with the flow and enjoy it as much as I possibly can.

Sunflower in Blue
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD

Independence

The last exhibition I entered is now under way and today I shared the stewarding with a fellow artist. I enjoyed the day, met a few visitors to the gallery. Here is a selection of work that was entered, the first photo is most of my work.
I think everyone made a valiant effort to promote the exhibitions but on the whole it was not a great success. Sadly it is more to do with the economic climate at the moment, but it makes me more determined to keep trying, this is just another step on this artists journey.

My painting for today is another rose!! My husband bought me a mixed bouquet yesterday, the roses were magnificent and I had to paint one to begin with.

Independence
SOLD

Orange Roses in Blue

I painted this little one about two weeks ago but did not have time to post. Sometimes a painting comes together like a dream without any problem at all, this is one of them. Its already sold to a very nice buyer in Italy and is winging its way there as I write.

Orange Roses in Blue
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD

Hope

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never is, but always to be blessed:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

Hope
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
Available please contact me on
azraiqbal2000@hotmail.com

Golden Dreams

The essence of creating a painting for me is a golden dream. We all have hopes and dreams and I wish everyone the best of luck in achieving them.

Golden Dreams
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD

The Cliffs at Etretat After Claude Monet

This months challenge for  Painting from the Masters is a beautiful painting by Claude Monet. I thoroughly enjoyed painting this one, thanks for the challenge Karen D'Angeac Mihm.

The Cliffs at Etretat After Claude Monet
Oil on oil painting paper 6"x6"
NFS

Rays of Sunshine

Its been raining all day and the temperature is a cool 17C . This is my kind of  weather, I love the sound of rain, the damp air and the look of greenery as it gets washed. I love the puddles on the pavements and sitting in the car  watching the rain run down the windscreen...... I could go on....and on.  : )
I loved painting this sunflower today, I had fun with both brush and palette knife.

Rays Of Sunshine
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD

Sunflowers

 "And the yellow sunflower by the brook, in autumn beauty stood." ~ William Cullen Bryant

Sunflowers
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD

A Gift Freely Given and A Small Apple Painting

Our neighbours give us figs from their garden every year and they are so sweet.

 I hadn't painted since Monday and usually after a break its quite hard to get back into the frame of mind, but last night I set everything up and within a couple of hours I felt satisfied that I created two reasonable paintings. I began feeling very frazzled and dissatisfied with life, by the end of the two hours I felt like a different person, relaxed, happy and as if the cares of the world were far away.


A Gift Freely Given
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
Available please contact me on
azraiqbal2000@hotmail.com

A Small Apple Painting
Oil on canvas board 4"x4"
SOLD

Shelter

Shelter means so many things, a good friend in time of need, respite from the harsh rays of the sun at midday or a space in life where everything is calm.

Shelter
Oil on canvas board 8"x8"
Available please contact me on
azraiqbal2000@hotmail.com

I started oil painting last year without much of the equipment that is commonly used. Instead of using a panel holding easel I stick my canvas board to a piece of hardboard with blue tack. I can paint all around the edges and take photos without getting myself covered in paint.


canvas panel with blue tack

A Trio of Reds

Red delicious apples have to be the most paintable apples around, they have all the most gorgeous reds and great highlights.
Before I started blogging  it was so incredibly hard to get inspired let alone paint. Now I find myself with an endless list of subjects I would dearly love to paint if I had more time. Its a blissful state to be in. I do have the occasional wobbles, like any artist, where its hard to pick up a brush, but that's more to do with losing confidence in my own ability and wondering if I really have it in me to succeed. I'm often reminded that the journey is more important than the destination, and that is true ninety percent of the time. However there is that ten percent that says I have to make this my sole profession. For me success is to be a full time artist and to be able to pay the bills and live comfortably from my art.

What does your art mean for you my friends?

A Trio of Reds
Oil on canvas board 6"x6"
SOLD