Blog

Oil painting needing restoration and a new frame

What is that "dingy picture"?When the grand-kids ask what the dingy picture on your wall represents it might be time to consider getting the old...

Picture framing

Picture Framing is fulfilling! Some jobs are more satisfying than others. Framing pictures can be very fulfilling if you take the view that your...

Oil painting to be cleaned

Oil painting to be cleaned and reframedGood artists might have the pleasure of seeing people's face light up when they see their paintings for the...

Brush cleaning products

In this blog Jane takes a second look at cleaning your brushes - focussing on some of the products available. Read the first article Cleaning...

Picture frame repairs

Some simple jobs, others are more involvedSometimes picture frames get badly damaged in one 'big' accident. More commonly, the frame is damaged a...

Frame damaged and hole in oil

Family favourite with damaged frame and a hole in the oil paintingWear and tear on a picture can take many forms. For this nude, the frame has been...

Using decoupage to make a greeting card

Decoupage was a popular pastime in the Victorian era. It involved the cutting out of printed decorative paper and applying the cut paper pieces onto...

Damaged painting and frame

Restoring a horse oil painting and frameHere we show before images of a damaged oil painting of a horse and the frame which was also damaged. And...

Saving the Tiger (painting)

Restoring a painting of a tigerA few before and after images of a recent restoration/cleaning commission on a painting of a tiger. It was an oil...

Pink Pig Sketchbooks

Popular sketchbooks Jane says a few words about the popular range of Pink Pig sketchbooks - prompted by a new delivery to the Market Place shop.Silk...

Pebeo Marbling Inks

Jane looks at Pebeo Marbling Inks.What do I need to achieve a marbling effect on paper? I’m going to look at Pebeo’s marbling inks. There are nine...

Gesso – buy or make?

Last week Jane looked at making and using egg tempera. In a similar vein, this week she looks at gesso - making your own or buying it.What is gesso...

Egg tempera

Jane takes a look at using tempera (or egg tempera) as a medium for painting. It was replaced by oil paints centuries ago but, for aspiring artists,...

Cleaning brushes

In this blog Jane takes a look at cleaning your brushes. She uses acrylics and has found that soapy warm water does the trick and then a good rinse...

Using gold leaf for your art or craftwork

Adding a touch of luxury to your work Using gold leaf, whether it’s the real thing at 23ct or imitation gold leaf, will add luxury to your art or...

Neocolor wax crayons

Rather good wax pastels Neocolor wax crayons - these rather good wax pastels are available in permanent or water soluble.Water soluble colours...

Page layouts

Jane shares a page layout project from her college days where she practiced the art of laying out a page for various purposes. Largley a...

Using tracing paper

Jane said "I have used tracing paper for a few projects and I thought it would be a good medium to take a closer look at."What is tracing paper?...

Self portraits – why do artists do them?

I screamed inwardly... A question that has been on my mind for many years has been - Why do artists do self portraits? I thought this may be an...

Texture paste – adding body to your artwork

Adding a heavy body feel to your work This week Jane uses Texture paste on a few pieces of her art.Texture paste is a great medium when you want to...

Using acetate for drawing

Acetate is a great medium Recently Jane has talked us through using different papers for acrylics & oils, watercolours, pastels & chalk. She...

Drawing Buildings

Love drawing buildings Jane loves drawing buildings and here shows, and talks about, some examples she has done over the years.Using perspective is...