Cockerel miniature painting

'Picasso' (a lucky cockerel) © Tracy Hall 2009

1.75" x 2.25" watercolour miniature on board

(enlarged view - penny shown for scale)

This is the third time I have painted our cockerel, Picasso, and I think it may be the last for a while as he is quite vain enough already. Its been a busy week or so; a lot of work that didn't involve a paint brush, but necessary all the same. It's that time of year. Apart from two miniatures, I have a large flower garden painting in the drawing stage which will hopefully be approved and started in the next few days. Planning can sometimes take me almost as long as painting.

Oriental Lily © Tracy Hall 2009

I was also really pleased to hear that the painting I submitted for the Society of Botanical Artists exhibition in London was selected, as this is one I have been meaning to enter for many many years but never got around to. The show runs from April 24th to May 3rd at Westminster Central Hall. Which is coincidentally almost exactly the same dates as the Society of Women Artists annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries from 23rd April to 2nd May. I am hoping the paintings I sent down for it will get in but won't hear for a little while yet - please cross fingers and toes for me !

Zooming in...

Having seen Robert Caldwell's post yesterday about Zoomify, I couldn't resist trying it out on some miniatures. There is no comparison to seeing these tiny paintings in real life, but click here to see a couple of my paintings given the magnification treatment : Miniatures Magnified. Fun!

Jenny Wren © Tracy Hall 2009 Actual size:1.75" x 2.25" watercolour

Now I really must stop playing and get back to work.

Superb Starling Miniature Painting

Superb Starling © Tracy Hall 2009

2.25" x 3.25" watercolour on board

This is my latest miniature painting of a Superb Starling. Apparently these birds are very common in their native NE Africa, behaving in much the same way as our starlings in the UK including mimicking other birds and sounds which is one of my favourite starling quirks. I would love to be able to say I had seen them in Kenya (wouldn't we all) but they still looked incredibly impressive in the sunshine at London Zoo where they fly in large outdoor aviaries that you walk through.

Catching up

I started this blog in October 2006, and like many people I wasn't sure I would be able to find the time to keep it up or find anything much to say. I'm not the most talkative person, my work is pretty self-explanatory and I don't use the blog as a sales tool, but for ease and speed of use it beats my website hands down, and it tends to be the latter that I forget to update!

The most unexpected and welcome pleasure from the blog however has been the doors of communication it flings open, including the instant connection with other artists many of whom like me lead a fairly solitary working life behind their easels. I guess it's the cyber equivalent of stopping by their studios to see what they're up to! And I can still have a cuppa at the same time.

Its very flattering to receive an award from your peers isn't it, and I must apologise for being so very bad at getting around to responding. A recent flurry has given me a boot up the backside, and I'm really sorry if I have left anyone out. I hope its ok to put them all together...they all appear to have rules, but I'm just going to have to do it my way :)

Thank you to Gayle Mason for the Art Y Pico Award last August. Gayle is an superb artist working in pencil, pastel and acrylic, and always very generous in sharing her work in progress and techniques over at Fur in the Paint. Thanks also to Theresa Miller for tagging me a while back. Theresa is a very talented watercolour artist in Switzerland.

Thank you very much to Chris Beck for her award. Chris is a brilliant watercolourist over at I'm Painting as Fast As I Can who also hosts a wonderful new showcase blog Brush Paper Water. Also to Lene Daugaard - Lene specialises in animals working in pencils, pastels and watermedia at A Zoo. A belated thankyou as well for her award to Sally Lancaster, an outstanding equine artist.

And finally thank you to Kim Ratigan for her Passion For Painting Award. Kim does gorgeous watercolour portraits, and also some great minis. She is one of the artists who originally steered me towards miniatures. (Kim's son deserves a mention I think for holding the fort recently while mum had surgery!)

For some of these awards I am asked to list seven things I love, and what better day to do it. I plan to enjoy them all today (except the pigs sadly). Could easily have gone on....and on...but these were the first things to pop into my head:

1. My Family
2. Orchids
3. A peat fire
4. Tea
5. Belgian Chocolate
6. The Sea
7. Pigs

I am to nominate other blogs and since Kim's was the most recent, I am passing on her Passion for Painting Award. It isn't easy to pick only seven and I would rather just suggest everyone on the list on the right; actually it was very hard and I won't be doing it again! They may or may not have the time to join in or pass this on, but I do hope you will take a moment to visit them:

Lesley Ann Hartman; Judy Schrader; Pablo Villicana Lara; Jeanette Jobson; Doris Joa; Terry Banderas; April Jarocka

Playroom commission

© Tracy Hall 2009

28" x 20" watercolour and gouache

Something of a change of pace, but just to prove I am still here; this one is for a jigsaw company and will be a 1000 piece puzzle in their next range. Colourful and busy. I think its certainly that. Back with some new minis and some flowers soon though :)

Related links: The Puzzles!

Goldcrest Miniature Painting

'Goldcrest' © Tracy Hall 2009

1.75" x 2.25" watercolour miniature (shown much enlarged)

Goldcrests are the smallest UK birds at about 3 - 3.5", and although they are more associated with woodland we still get to see them in Orkney. I photographed this little fellow in the garden a few years back and, although he did model for me in the Orkney Book of Birds, I knew I would do another painting of him eventually if I could decide on the surroundings. I was looking at lichen this week and thought the colours seem to mimic the bird, then added the primrose and nettles to try and put his minute size in perspective. I hope you think it works (and again, the penny is only there for scale - I didn't paint it in.)