Sharon Golding Designs

 Hey there Everyone! Italian farm in oils on canvas board Here I am back to painting in oils which I adore.  This painting was quite the challenge for me as I’m hopeless at buildings and usually avoid them at all costs as I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.  But then who is to say buildings have to have perfectly straight lines?  I think they have much more character if they are wonky ;) what do you think? I began as usual with toning the ground and this time used pale blue rather than my usual yellow ochre.  I wanted to see if it made a difference.  It might be a good experiment to do the same painting using one warm and then one cool ground and compare the two.  But that’s an experiment for another day. Drawing the buildings took longer than I usually take as it was important to get the shapes right because those buildings are going to be my centre of interest. I then got straight into the block in, which soon showed up my lack of skill with straight lines, but not to worry

 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

 Hi All This week has been busy on the craft front.  Mostly little experiments and ideas at the moment, oh yes, I’m full to bursting of ideas!  Just not enough hours in the day. This post will be about the bits and pieces I’ve been working on this week. Firstly, an update on my sewing themed linocut.  I’ve refined the design, made the needle look better and had a general tidy up. Still in need of a little more work but it’s getting there. Sewing Linocut Next I worked on the little flower rubber stamp.  It needed more definition, so I outlined the centre and marked out the petal separations.  What do you think, better? Flower stamp The sewing box is still a work in progress, but here’s the original box with a new lid cut out as the old one was rotten and beyond repair.  I have the hinges, etc to reattach.   Sewing Box Project Will bring you updates on this as they happen. Finally, some pieces from my art course:- Ink & Wash   Ink line drawing Watersoluble pencil The brief was to des

 Hello everyone, sorry I’m a little late with this post. Well this week has definitely been a printing week.  I have once again succumbed to the lure of linocut printing! I wanted a design centred around another of my hobbies, sewing.  I am upcycling a sewing box (which I will publish here later) and am considering using a linocut print to decorate. Having arranged some sewing elements - scissors, thimble, button and needle - I drew the design directly on to the Lino. Then I used my Lino gouger to cut away the area that was not part of the print - the part I cut away is the negative space around the design elements. As I am completely self taught in the art of linocutting I am not sure if my technique is correct, but it works for me.  At this stage I am reasonably happy with the result.  I had finished cutting and was happy with the linocut, so I tried a trial print to identify areas that needed more work. At this stage I felt either too much ink was used or I need to work more on the

Linocut Printing What a joy to discover something new, unique and beautiful in my craft skills.  Only a beginner at present but I'm loving what I have discovered so far.  Linocut printing.  Draw the design onto the Lino block, then cut away the negative space with the special tool, a sharp gouger which has different heads for different thicknesses. I enjoyed designing this bee and was delighted when it printed out so beautifully.  I must admit it took a couple of sessions to complete as it can be tiring on the hand and this was quite a large design.  But it was well worth it and I was very pleased with the result. I hope you like it too.  If you’re considering trying it out for yourself, go ahead, you won’t regret it! 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 painting but I always just focus on one thing (at a time). First

 Hi Everyone, Shari is back in the room!  Well, in the blog anyway, 😂. I have been trying my skills again at the handmade rubber stamps.  I have designed a flower stamp and a logo for Sharon Golding Designs… just the initials. Having bought a supply of rubbers, I got out the gouger again and set to work.  After drawing my design and transferring it to the rubber (back to front so that it comes out correct when inked), I started removing the negative space around the design with the gouger.  Care must be taken especially close to the design as one false move could destroy the whole piece.  So if you do try this yourself, remember to take your time and remove just a little at a time. Using the gouger to remove the negative space around the flower design Taking care not to remove any petals from the design. After a while I used my trusty penknife to remove more rubber enabling the design to stand out. The penknife used with care flattened out the cutaway sections and really made the desi

 Hi Everyone! Shari here again, bringing you another crafty idea. If you’re anything like me and you use a bullet journal or diary then you maybe like to decorate it with stamping.  I got to thinking why do I always use shop bought rubber stamps for my Journal?  I really would love a unique stamp that is just my own.  One of a kind! Well, as you all know I’m very creative and will have a go at anything artistic. So I found myself a bunch of erasers and set about carving my own rubber stamp. I have a carving tool with my linocut equipment and using that and a Benchhook which is the wooden tool that goes over the edge of a bench and helps keep the Lino in place whilst you carve.  The carving tool is called a gouge and there are various sizes and shapes to choose from. First of all I needed a design and for my maiden stamp I settled for something simple like my initial - S. Next I checked out lots of font styles to find one I liked the look of (and could hopefully be successful in carving

 It has long been my desire to make a lampshade for a lamp that was gifted to me and I have at last accomplished this. With no real idea of how to go about it, I ordered some lampshade backing which is stiff kind of polythene stuff on which to mount your fabric. The fabric was an easy choice as I have mountains of the stuff from my sewing obsession period!  Having chosen a pretty blue-ish country pattern, I set about making templates of the wire sections to be covered. I used stiff card and simply pressed it against a section of the wire skeleton shade.  As there are two distinct sizes on my shade, I had to make two templates. Here are the two completed templates.  I used these to draw around to make both the fabric sections and also the backing mounts.  After drawing four of each template on to my backing mounts and four of each on to the fabric, I cut out the sections.  I think cut out the pieces. The polythene backing came with a sticky side so I was able to mount my fabric very eas

 So I have been working the silver again and so far managed to make two pairs of earrings, two silver rings, and a silver pendant. My favourite the silver twist earrings, they’re just so beautiful. Thanks for dropping by. Best wishes Shari