The final painting for the wall is in for framing and should be ready for our little exhibition 'Christmas in July'. There will be almost 50 original works along with limited edition prints for sale to a few invited guests and friends. The acrylic paintings on the right of the picture are my wife's creations and the watercolours to the left, are my own. 

I am getting our home studio ready for a 'Christmas in July' exhibition. putting the larger paintings high is a challenge working alone but the scaffolding helps, it is just the lifting of them up each section.
Also I have fitted a bar on the wall to take their extra weight.
The painting to the top left is of Monet's Garden and is an acrylic completed by my wife after our 2013 trip.
It is not likely that we sell any of the larger paintings, as the celebration is for friends and colleagues with very limited public exposure, as we are on a non-commercial, rural residential block of land.
                                                                                                                I shall need to put another level of scaffolding up to site the next one and may even need the help of my son to lift it as it is a large one with a stronf frame and glass. I must admit that I will be happy to get back to painting!

My work has been in hiatus over the last few days as I have been working on a project of restoration. A friend brought someone round to the studio with a 'painting' they wanted me to restore. There were scratches to the surface and some canvas damage. I agreed to do it but it was obvious to me that the ' painting' was, in fact a very old print on canvas. I said that I would repair it but to completely repaint it was a big job and that, being a print, it would not be economical. We agreed on a cursory repair without making it look 'new'. I used oil paint to make the best match of colour and tone as I could but the deep scratches will always be visible under some angles of light without a more extensive restoration.

  Before and after (complete with iphone shadow. Tones are different because of lighting differences

I am as happy as I can be with this small painting, but will neaten up the edges before framing. Some artists use masking tape to keep their edges straight and clean. I choose not to do this, as I like the more natural edge. I have brought some of the petals out of the frame to give added dimension.
The photo below is of an article in a local paper about my painting of ladies shoes which won a category award in a local gallery competition.

I am using Winsor & Newton Artists Watercolours in the colours of Permanent Rose, Winsor Violet, Indigo and Alizarin Crimson.
Sometimes, I feel that the wet colour is much nicer than when it is dry. There seems to be some dullness once dry but, the biggest problem I face, is putting on too much colour. It is difficult, if not impossible, to have a 'lit' effect if too much colour has been applied which can not be effectively removed. This is why it is better to build up the tone gradually adding the darkest shadows last.
The water droplets on the lower flower were in that position and approximately in the size ratio, but having included them, I now feel that they look too regimented for my comfort.
Maybe, when all the flowers have been added they will not be so dominant.

Nature presented my with a day off painting yesterday and a very slow one today. High winds blew two of our trees down and our neighbour on the left had one down on their garage. Insurance will take care of theirs, but ours were further down the garden (we have 2 acres of hillside)  and across our neighbours fence on the right. My son and I, spend 9 hours with a chain saw and other implements to remove the offending trees from the neighbours property. Today I am sore and stiff!
Just managed to add some background in earthy tones which I may darken later. The intention is to suggest views of earthy soil. I have also added some masking fluid in the areas I want water drops or stamens which are a different colour to the flower.
I hope to have recovered well enough to complete this tomorrow!

 
The completed painting won the first prize in the Australian Artist Magazine competition in June 2012 and is of a Tibouchina shrub flowers. The beauty of this shrub is the variety of tones presented on different varieties, from almost pink, to a rich purple. I decided to complete a miniature of the flower, but depicting the variety in a rich purple. It is my all time favourite shrub flower, though I admit to having a strong liking for hibiscus and frangipani!