NEOS is finished!

Sunday was the last day of NEOS and it was really great last day. The sun came out and the people flocked. Lots of people came who had shown at Mill Farm on previous years; it was really nice to see them. It is always good to finish on a high.

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So as promised here are some pictures of Louise Gardener’s sculpture so that you can see how te piece has developed over the last nine days.

Sculpture by Loiuse Gardener.

Sculpture by Louise Gardener.

The fish are really beginning to come out of the stone and you can see how it is going to become a working bird bath when it is done.

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My big piece of news is that I sold one of the new pieces I was working on over the weekend. I sold one to Louise and Susie asked to have one too, which I gave to her for letting me stay for the last two weeks. It is really nice to know that other artists liked my work enough to want to have it on the wall in their home. Here is a picture of the piece half done. You can see the print and the lino side by side. In total the final print has 5 different layers.

Print in progress.

Yesterday was spent returning Susie’s studio to normal and packing every thing away.  Today I took the

opportunity to go to the beach at Balmedie and do some sketching. It was nice to get out and blow some of the cobwebs away before the monster drive back to Surrey tomorrow.

Balmedie beach.

Balmedie beach.

This is Balmedie Beach from the top of the tallest sand dune that I was able to climb up. The sea air was eactly what I needed after 9 days of open studios!

Day 6.

Today is the 6th day of NEOS. I had a really long day yesterday. A lady came in to take part in a one-on-one workshop. It was great, she made a lovely three layer reduction print, but I was completely exhausted after three hours of one-on-one. You can see a photo of the print she made below.

Image produced in lino printing demonstration.

I thought I would tell you about some of the other people that are with us at Mill Farm this year. We have Louise Gardener who is a brilliant stone sculptor. Watching her work has been a real eye opener for all of us.  The photo below shows the piece that she is currently working on.

Louise Gardener.

I will take another photo at the end of the week to show you how the work has progressed. I think you will be surprised at how different the stone looks after she has been working on it for 11 days in the barn. We also have some pieces in the studio by Alana Florence, she is a textile artist and has some beautiful hangings on display.

Textile hanging by Alana Florence.

Print from a textile hanging by Alana Florence.

The picture above shows my favourite piece of Alana’s; the fishes just appeal to me. It is a textile image that has been translated in to a wallpaper by a printmaker.

Below you can see some of my work in progress. This is what I have been working on while in Scotland in between all the demoing and lessons. I have finished this sparkler print, with the final two layers of purple and blue. (Sorry the photograph isn’t very good).

Sparkler print by Anne E Thomas

I also have been working on some small card designs. The top image will be birds sitting on a fence. The bottom card is a landscape image.

Card print (in progress).

Card print Landscape.

It has been nice to do something small so that people can see the progression from layer to layer. It definitely makes it easier to explain the techniques that I use to people when they come in.

NEOS has started.

Today is the third day of North East Open studios (NEOS) and in a few hours we will be open to the public again.

Susie Hunt.

The photo above is of Susie Hunt, my Aunt, in her studio at Mill Farm. She has very kindly given me some space in her studio at NEOS for the last 2 years and I am at mill farm again this year. Susie, originally from Kent, is the founder of the North East Open Studio Event and is a very good watercolourist. The grey hound picture in the photograph above is part of a painting demonstration Susie has been doing at NEOS. She has also been working on a life study of movement.

Study of movement.

I have set up my things at one end of the studio in front of some of Susie’s work. She has very kindly let me take some photos to show you all. I have been sitting opposite the painting below and it is one of my favourites.

With the rain, some deer.

She painted this at the end of a whole day of drawing. Just as Susie was packing up, four deer just appeared in front of her. She drew them as fast as she could before they disappeared. As you can see she only had time to draw three. Here are some more pieces of her work:

Silver birch.

Fallen tulip.

Alan Florence is also showing his work with us at Mill Farm. His work is very different, but the contrast of styles is something I really like. I think it makes people stop and look at the work more.

Blue Mihr.

That is enough of other people’s work for now. Here are some of my new pictures framed and hanging on the wall.

Bonfire. £100 framed, £75 unframed.

This is my favorite piece of my own work at the exhibition and I am really pleased with the comments I have been getting. Everyone seems to like it.

Reflection in the water (above). Light through the trees (below). £70 framed, £50 unframed.

Bumble bee (left). French Marigold (right). £65 framed, £45 unframed.

Field of daises (above -SOLD!). Parrot Tulip (below). £60 framed, £40 unframed

Right people should be starting to arrive soon time to get to work!