Members Art

Anyone else in the situation where for every one you put a frame on you have a dozen that are not and never will be finished and a dozen more that go straight in the recycling? I need to spend more time at it.

Oh yes!

One of mine hit the skip when we moved house.

I love the bird soaring in your picture rockgran.

Lovely work rockgran , you are a talented lady

Looking at these lovely paintings makes me remember why I gave up

I was hopeless!

I havn't a painting to show..but it's so lovely to see pics on GN and others talents..keep them coming ..

You are very kind. I've just spent a pleasant afternoon trying out a new idea and the results will be binned but I had great fun (and made quite a mess!) I don't think everything has to be a masterpiece - I'd say just get a few cheap paints and have a go. There are lots of online tutorials free on youtube. it's very therapeutic.

rockgran How very true. Just have a go, most of my stuff gets binned but I have great fun. Some really good work on here.

thats lovely well done

These pictures are lovely - thank you for posting them.

All of you are very talented wonderful work!

My auntie was an artist and used to sell a lot of her paintings at local exhibitions and markets.

such talent keep showing them off!

I was told at school that I was rubbish at art. When I retired I experienced depression and joined an art group at Mind in Tower Hamlets. I realised that being immersed in a creative activity helped me overcome depression, especially as no one was judgmental. It became apparent that for me the process was more important than the product. If you think you can't paint, join a local art group and give it a go. Remember that nothing comes without practice and if you tell yourself you can't do something it becomes self-fulfilling.

Inspiring post, EleniRich Although I think it would take some sort of miracle to enable me to paint something worthy of display!

I have met people who say "oh, I'm no good at drawing so I won't be able to paint." In some respects it's probably an advantage. The actual physical act of putting paint - particularly watercolour - on wet paper, watching how it behaves, seeing how you can employ simple techniques to achieve the effect you want, is very therapeutic. You may not have a set 'picture' in mind, but that doesn't matter. A few washes and simple brush strokes can produce surprising results. Oil and acrylic are even better - you can cover up a multitude of sins!

I'm trying to master "Art Studio" on my iPad. You can use it to paint with a real (touch sensitive) brush. It's great fun and there is no waste paper!

What lovely paintings. I have never got past stick men

I might have a go at that..... Only trouble is I spend too much time on my iPad as it is. I'd never put it down!

I have been painting since I retired, sometimes with success and sometimes producing rubbish . This is from a painting by Terry Harrison who has lots of books that would help anyone who wants to learn to paint

I like Greyduster's boats picture. Wish I could draw boats, the shape always seems to elude me

The shadows on the door are terrific , really get a sense of depth in your painting

Sometimes they elude me! I like that picture, Cheshirecat. It's a bit like one I have (not one of mine - I can't paint flowers) which is a window with geraniums and lots of shadow. When I first started painting (too long ago to remember) if I painted a shadow, it was either dark grey or black. In fact, I used a lot of black! I was working at the time for a retired Royal Artillery Colonel who I knew used to paint in his spare time. I showed him one of my paintings and he said, in clipped military tones, "Good effort! But there are no blacks in nature!" That was it; but next day, he left a document on my desk, laid out for all the world like military orders, which set out what I had to do to improve the picture, and of course it worked. I never showed him another though!

I find a pale purple gives a realistic shadow in many situations.

I only started painting last summer, was getting on to my satisfaction for a while, total rubbish lately, very depressing. Considering taking some lessons in pastels.