A Gypsy Life For Me

Stop knocking yourself Thea, I would be proud to have produced a watercolour as good as this one:) Yes, there is more detail in this than usual for you but it is a gypsy caravan, which are not known for being "quiet" and are more often "in your face". You've struck a very happy medium with this, and I love those horses!

Like this one Thea ,like the horse at the rear .The colour of the roof works well also.The points you raise just show that painting is'nt easy,and I would be wary of anyone who said it was. This one works for me.

Thank you very much Val and David - you've lifted my mood a lot with those nice comments. The thing is that I finished the painting just before I photographed it and posted it. I think I was in that state of knashing teeth about why didn't it turn out quite as I wanted it to and the frustration bubbled to the surface. I know that I beat myself up about what I do in painting, but then without ambition driving the process, I suspect none of would move forward, so it is what spurs us on to do better next time. The problem starts when the level of ambition outstrips the level of competence!

Hi Thea, your perspective and construction of the subject is spot on, but no matter how hard you try, you can't always take a step forward. Sometimes a painting does not always work the way you planned it, other times you get those little mistakes which seem to bring the whole thing alive. This doesn't mean to say that you are not a good artist, on the contrary your work for me is alway delicate, free, light and bright.

If the above comments don't make sense, I have re-written my intro piece above. I felt a bit doom and gloom when I first posted the painting, but I seem to have recovered my equilibrium and mood after a nice cup of tea and a bit of cake!

Thank you very much Peter - you are absolutely right about paintings not always working out the way you want. Just all part of the joy of painting!

I am not generally a lover of detailed photorealism and usually seek to simplify any scenes I paint - I can't do fiddly. But this does not fall into that category - there is only as much detail as the scene calls but it is not overdone - and ther result is a charming well executed picture

Beautiful watercolour Thea, I love the detail

Thank you very much Michael (especially for the bit about the detail not being overdone!) and also thank you, Glennis, also for loving the detail, which has been the tricky bit for me so very glad that people aren't finding it too much.

Well done you.

Thank you very much, Sylvia.

lovely work Thea

It is an absolutely charming watercolour Thea! The horses and the gipsy are so well and beautifully drawn and painted with all those lovely details and gentle colours. The hard work was worth it,wasn't it ?

Thank you very much, Alan and Satu. It was actually very hard work!! I don't know why it took so long or proved to be so tricky - just one of those ones I think - we all have them. I am now going on to something which is an even bigger challenge for me - pen and wash. Although I have done a bit, I still haven't quite found my feet with it. Anyway, It'll keep me out of mischief.

This is a really nice composition, good balance of light, detail, animation and vibrancy. Really nice composition. After staring at it for a while, I really like the absence of a background to the right side of the picture, while framing it nicely by the verge. I have learned something from that.

This is a really lovely watercolour capturing of this wonderful travelling traditional gypsy caravan, what a cheerful scene it is with the super colours on the van and the horses are excellent, lovely figurework on the man as well, it works superbly Thea!

It's all been said Thea, a lovely fresh and charming painting.

Charming scene with just the right amount of detail, love the chimney pot which acts almost like an exclamation mark - Voila!

Another lovely watercolour Thea in your own distinctive style, certainly not over detailed.

I love this , its simple and beautiful, all at the same time.

Thea, it's perfect.......despite the doubts!

Very appealing painting Thea, you are so good at painting horses.

Thank you so much Norman, Christine, Stephen and Karyl for such a variety of really encouraging comments. What a boost in confidence all the kind people on POL regularly give me - eternally grateful. Debs, I hadn't seen the chimney pot as an exclamation mark, but you are right! It is always interesting when a viewer sees something in a painting (even your own) that you have missed. Thank you for your nice comment.

Thank you very much, Carole and Fiona. I do enjoy painting horses - not sure why as the last one we owned kicked me and put me in hospital for a week! Fiona, as I said in my comment on your last painting - I'm a fine one to talk about having confidence. Very kind of you not to take me to task for that one, lol!

You've tackled this admirably, Thea, and the whole painting bears your inimitable style. I wouldn't think it too detailed for a subject like this. It's just right, you've left just enough for the imagination and held the viewer's eye on the focal point. It's very beautifully done!

Thank you very much, seok, for those kind words. I have to admit that, for the life of me, I couldn't see how you could simplify a gypsy caravan as it might lose the bits and pieces that define it as such. I am sure a better artist than me could do it, but I had to make do with showing a lot more detail than I really wanted to. If I haven't mentioned it before - I was pleased with the man and strangely enough the tree, which I just kind of hinted at. It is funny which bits of a painting one regards as successful, isn't it!

I know it's lazy, but it's been said. It's a lovely painting.

Hi Thea, many thanks for your reply, I found it very helpful. I often wonder why I strive to paint in a relatively loose style, even sometimes to the point of 'messyness' when, like you, I am fairly obsessive about things around me being orderly. Perhaps it's my way of rebeling against my normally structured thoughts and actions. Who know's? I certainly do not find painting easy or relaxing, why I put myself through it I don't know. I should stick to gardening, but there again, I don't always get that right either!! I'll post you a painting that normally wouldn't make the gallery and show you just how wrong I get it.....which is most of the time!

So you're pacing the room, desperate to produce something. But what? The weather's uninspiring so plein air's not a option. You look through the reference material you've collected over the years, but what once appealed to you leaves you completely cold this afternoon. It's maddenly frustrating. And then, what's this? How intriguing. Where did that come from? Nah, too complicated, too much going on, men and beasts, and greens too..! But it's too late. Smitten. The alchemy crunches into gear: a colour scheme suggests itself unbidden; subtle modifications of the original....; your experience hints at technical solutions to specific problems... OK, let's give it a whirl. Keep it simple. And hey presto, the results of an inspired session are always indelibly stamped with your personality. Instantly recognizable. Magic. You're an artist!

Thank you, Kim. With encouragement (and understanding) like that I must go on regardless of the discontent and fretting over my approach. I have to be honest and say that this painting has bits in it that I do like and bits that I really wish I had the inspiration to tackle differently. I do always have to remember, though, that I only started painting 5 years ago and although that sounds a long time, it is a drop in the ocean of a timescale to gain experience. Usually my mind races ahead of my skill level and expertise which probably accounts for the amount of brow beating I seem to go through every time I produce a painting. Still, I suppose this degree of ambition will drive me on, so I have to be happy about feeling like that.

Fiona - I have quite a few that didn't make it to anyone's screen, I can tell you. I binned a pen and wash only last night. Annoyingly, it was actually going ok and then I lost concentration and got careless. Although a lot of people feel differently, I don't think that loose painting is about painting quickly, carelessly or dashing a piece off. You might want a painting to look as if you have casually thrown it together but nothing could be further from the truth. From what I know of it, it is a painting where every brush stroke, colour and tone are carefully considered and placed. I watched the master of loose painting, Charles Reid, working and I can tell you that the thought and care that went into his loose painting was legend. He also says that he can't complete a work in under two and a half to three hours, often much longer. So I think you can capitalise the careful and ordered side of your personality to organise your painting. I think the tricky bit is trying to remember to allow the paint it's own time to do it's own thing - a sit on your hands moment - in fact. It stops being a loose painting when it is obvious that the artist has tried to push, shove and micro-manage the paint until it completely loses heart and dies. Anyway, not that I know that much about it but that is my take on it.

Well, obviously not too many distractions this week for you to be able to produce this painting! I assume that you used a photo as reference as there aren't too many of these caravans about these days, not here anyway, and you've managed to include just enough detail without over doing it. My favourite part is actually the tree, it's a beauty. The rest of it is pretty good as well!

Thank you very much, Louise, for such a kind comment. Yes, it was from a photo as you just don't see these caravans on the road much these days. I think this photo was taken in Ireland. So glad you like the tree as I think you know that I am scared stiff of anything green but have tried to be a bit braver and include the odd tree now and again.