Sharon Golding Designs

 Hello everyone! When I’m stuck or in need of motivation I always look for a challenge.  It gets me off my butt and making.  It’s great fun too. So with this in mind I signed up to take part in the Find Your Joy challenge this year. So far I’ve only done assignment 1, but my goodness, it’s such fun! Take a large piece of paper.  Using masking tape divide it up into either 4 or 6 sections.  Then using just 3 colours plus black and white, play, make marks, mix colours, have fun.  Paint over the tape disregarding it.  The only limit is to keep within 30 minutes. When finished, peel off the masking tape and magic happens! I enjoyed it so much it became almost addictive and I now have lots of little paintings to use in my journal or as collage or book covers, whatever. I decided to use yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and magenta as my 3 colours plus mars black and titanium white. First try:- Old masking tape gripped paper so hard and ripped it when removed! ...

 I’m revisiting painting landscapes in acrylics and here is the start of my process. 1. Rough sketch 2. Block-in  3. Refine 4. Detail. 5. One thing!  (What’s the one thing I can do to improve this painting?) My set up with acrylic paints - limited palette Rough sketch Sorry forgot to photograph the block in stage! Refine the painting Still got the detail to do, but I’m pleased with how it’s going. Have a great day! Best wishes Shari 💕

Artistically, I am blocked, my mojo has deserted me and I can’t seem to bring myself to do any of my hobbies.  Recent events have contributed to this, but I really want to get out of this funk. I decided to try small steps, no major works… just playing. After the doll obsession (which seems to be ongoing!), I feel the need to get back to my art.  Drawing, watercolour, pen & wash.  These are where I started and where I want to go now… to soothe my soul. Quirky house in moleskine sketchbook  These are just for fun, nothing serious, nothing finished, just quick sketches.  It feels so soothing.  I’m getting some practice without letting myself get caught up in detail or stressing over how it should look.   Contour drawing  I took part in some online workshops in Sketchbook Revival and it helped enormously.  Now it’s finished it’s hard to get the same enthusiasm back.  But I’m determined to try. If you have any tips on how to smash throug...

 Hi everyone It’s hard to stay focussed when you feel so alone. This month has been extremely difficult for me as my husband has been in hospital for an operation and then recently there were complications so he was taken back in.  Obviously, the worry of it all has been extremely stressful and as a result, my mental health has plummeted.  My husband is my rock and without him being his usual strong self, my world is very bleak. In order to keep my sanity I turn to painting or creative work of some description.  It doesn’t really matter as long as I am creating something.  It’s very soothing for the soul. This has been difficult due to all the trips to hospital and the more mundane matters of keeping house.  My family are a constant source of support and give me strength, but I also need my creativity to keep sane.  I have always been that way.   I’m normally a very private person and don’t often share my problems, always putting on a brave face. ...

 Hello All! Back to painting again.  Acrylics on canvas board - a view of the town clock against a very dramatic sky.  Started with a simple drawing followed by block in of main shapes.  Then in to refine and add detail. Not quite finished, but I’m getting there. Have a great week, see you soon! Best wishes Shari 👍

 Sorry for my recent absence from the blog, I have been incredibly busy with my painting and other creative works that I will post on the blog shortly.  But first, I just wanted to talk about painting fantasy paintings.  This is really outside my comfort zone but always eager to get to grips with a challenge, I decided to have a go with some moon paintings. Firstly, “Harvest Moon” painted in acrylics on canvas. “Harvest Moon” acrylics on canvas I began by a simple drawing of the pathway, tree area and moon on black canvas. Using a limited palette, I set about blocking in the main shapes - And then I began to refine: Adding in more detail: I hope you enjoy the pictures of my process.  The second fantasy painting was “Lovers’ Moon” again painted in acrylics.  I’m really starting to enjoy using acrylics, even though I normally  use oils.  Not sure this one was as successful as Harvest Moon, but I enjoyed painting it.  The only thing with this one was...

 Really getting back into my painting now.  Love this little painting and using a limited palette has really improved my colour mixing skills.  Hillside Cottage I intend to start getting together some step-by-step projects soon online, maybe on YouTube or something similar.  The idea is that you can follow along and actually create your own painting.  They will be aimed at beginner painters, so if you’ve always wanted to paint but not sure where to start these videos will show you.  Please let me know if you would be interested in these videos. Best wishes Shaz

 Back to panting!  Using one of the photos taken earlier, and after the imprimatura layer was in place I set about drawing on canvas using acrylic paints.  Then blocking in the main shapes, the painting started to take shape. First pass in acrylics Once the block in was complete I began to refine using oils (my favourite medium), getting in the detail and adjusting as needed.   Then, leaving the painting for a day or two, I came back to look for the One Thing to improve my painting.  That was the cliffs needed adjusting to make them less flat and give them a fuller look. Morning Walk in Hunstanton (completed in oils) Hunstanton is one  of my favourite beaches and I don’t think I will ever tire of painting it.  I hope you enjoy the end result and I will be back soon with my next completed project. Such fun! 🤩.  Best wishes Shari

Hello again,  Shari has been busy once again with painting a landscape.  It’s as easy as 1-2-3 … 1. Draw 2. Block in and 3 refine.   Of course after the refine there is something else needed and that is finding the One Thing.  That’s where we review the painting and look for the one thing that will improve the painting.  Live with the painting, keep it in sight each day and keep looking for the One Thing.  Eventually, it will jump out at you and niggle you so much that you have to fix it.  That’s when you figure out how to fix it and voila! Your painting is finished. Waterlily Lake   With this painting I had used a photo reference as a starting point.  I had drawn out my shapes on the canvas with thinned oil paint.  Then I blocked in the big shapes.  Having refined and put in the detail I was not really happy with the result.  So I set about finding the One Thing.  Of course there is more than one thing needed to fix this ...

 Now here’s something interesting.  I was playing around with polymer clay with my grandchildren, just showing them how you can make things like jewellery and Christmas decorations then bake them in the oven and hey presto! You have something that lasts. I then started getting out some scraps of sterling silver and here’s what I came up with.  To make it even more resilient and hopefully long lasting I coated the clay with clear resin.  I’m quite pleased with this and will make it into a pendant. This is the front with the diamond cut into the silver And here is the back with the polymer clay coated in clear resin. What do you think?  Any ideas that could help?

Today I did some enamelling using copper and brass blanks.  Have you tried the Efcolor enamels?  They’re lovely.  You just sift powder onto your metal blanks and bake in the oven on a low heat for about 5-10 minutes.  Here are some of the items I have enamelled.  I’m going to make them into jewellery, earrings etc. It didn’t take long and it’s possible to add layers and rebake. This is a closeup of the yellow and red.  It’s quite enjoyable to try different colour combos and I shall definitely be trying more of this. I wonder what is involved in proper enamelling?  It would be fun to try it if I could, although I believe a kiln is needed which is quite an expensive item.I may look into courses for after lockdown.  It’s always fun to try new things. All the best Shari x

  Recently I have got back into my jewellery making.  I love silver work and have made a number of sterling silver rings (see pic) and am now trying to get to grips with something a little different, kinetic jewellery.  There must be a way of making small items that move and I am starting experiments to do just that.  What are your thoughts?  Any ideas are welcome. I’m going to try something using copper first as it’s cheaper so if all goes pear shaped I won’t lose any precious silver.  If it works with copper then I will try it with silver. I will upload some pics of the ideas I’ve been playing around with.  When I get time I would like to upload a video or even some step by step photos of how I make my jewellery if you are interested. Stay safe.  All the best, Shari x