Current and future events

There is quite a bit happening at the moment! This coming Saturday 18th July I will be at the Methodist Church Hall in Harpenden at a craft event supporting Welwyn Harmony Chorus. I will have all the usual prints, mini-originals, cards and small painted wooden hearts for sale. I will also have prints and cards of my new painting, Unicorn, with me! The event opens from 10am until 4pm and, of course, Wesleys Cafe is just next door for that all important tea and cake.

Unicorn by Sue Wookey

Welwyn Harmony Craft Fair 

Saturday 18 July 2015

Methodist Church Hall, Harpenden

Also, at the moment, there is a taster exhibition for Herts Open Studios at the New Maynard Gallery in Welwyn Garden City. The exhibition will run until 5th September and contains work by most participating artists. It includes my owl paining: 'Hunting at Dusk' and is a great chance to get a preview of all the Hertfordshire artists you will be able to visit throughout September:

Open Studios Preview Exhibition
New Maynard Gallery

Welwyn Garden City
10 July - 5 September

Then last but by no means least, Open Studios is coming up fast! Herts Open Studios runs throughout September and I will be sharing the home of fellow artist Teresa Newham. We will have a mixture of  paintings, prints, photography, linocuts and cards, and will also be demonstrating our work. All our Open dates are given below. You can also have that all important (at least to me) cup of tea and cake! More details at the HVA site here.

Herts Open Studios
Wensley Arts
Exhibiting and demonstrating with
Teresa Newham 
  4 Wensley Close, Harpenden AL5 1RZ

Saturday - Sunday, 5th - 6th September 2015
Saturday - Sunday, 12th - 13th Sept
Wednesday 16th Sept
Saturday - Sunday, 19th - 20th Sept
11am - 5pm

Painting Kerry

View towards Bray Head

I indulged in a spot of plein air painting with fellow artist Teresa Newham while on holiday in Kerry last week. It was somewhat challenging in a strong wind, with random passers-by and with the sun blazing in our eyes (not something either of us are used to in Kerry!!!). But we both managed to produce something passable despite the difficulties. My effort at Bray Head from Portmagee is below - not my usual style but good to do some quick landscape paintings for a change.

The result!

I would have loved to have done more plein air painting in Kerry, but we were too busy enjoying ourselves with other things! Having bought a gorgeous sketch book of different paper samples from Two Rivers Paper Company at Childwickbury Arts Fair on Friday, I decided to use it to loosen up my watercolour landscape skills (it's been a while...) by using my Kerry photos for reference. As we have only just come back the atmosphere is still fresh in my mind - hence a series of 'fast and loose' sketches where I set myself a 30 minute time limit. I decided that that was the only way to stop myself doing too much to them! With watercolour landscape, overworking it can be death to a good painting so anything to make me call a halt is good. I used some wax resist in the highlights to avoid the dreaded rubber solution (to the relief of my older brushes who bristle at the thought) and because it is quick and easy. Here are some of the results from over the last two days, showing just how beautiful West Kerry is. It was hard to chose what to paint out of the ton of photos I took!

View of Canuig from Ballinskelligs

Rossbeigh Beach with incoming rain

Old cross, St Brendan's Well, Valentia

Peat drying, Emlaghpeartia, Kerry