Wendy Hunter | Hunter Fine Art

Last weekend saw the opportunity for me to cash in a Groupon voucher which I had bought way back in, erm, January.  Yes, it had expired, but the kind people at Academy Class put on an extra date for us and so we went along to the Pentagon Centre, Glasgow to become digital photography ‘masters’.

Well, maybe not ‘masters’ as such but Alistair Keddie loaded us up with information; just look at that flip chart (eh?) and photo jargon so, in theory, we know all about ISO’s and bracketing and histograms and other photo nonsense!  He also introduced us to Lightroom which is a great photo editing program – simple enough even for me to figure out.  For less than £200 I could possibly even get it, legitimately.

So now you can look forward to some major photography skills on the blog!

On a Thursday I have a job – yes, a proper job.  The kind of job that an artist dreams of to be honest; 3 hours a week, well paid and long holidays!   I am a tutor for a local(ish) art club and have been so for almost a year.   We do loads of different things at the class which I might cover in another post one day but once a year we take a trip and this time it was to Crieff.

So why the grief?   Well, food poisoning was just beginning to get it’s nasty grip on my insides after a bad restaurant choice the night before so this little artist was not feeling on top form.  Apologies in advance but I can’t resist – I really was arty farty.   Anyway lots of medication got me out the door and on the coach to Crieff where we first stopped for a coffee and scone – gotta love pensioner priorities.

We had a look round the centre after but the gallery wasn’t up to much, in fact from what I remember there were no originals, just prints.  I took some photos of the glass they make at the centre and we joked about what a horrible subject for an art class demo it would be – but you know I might just!

Next we journeyed on to the main street of Crieff where we stopped in to check out the Studio Gallery – a great looking space run by artist Tom Barron who has a small studio at the back where he somehow manages to paint and run the gallery from simultaneously.  There was a good variety of work and also a nice variety of prices so definitely worth a look.  (That’s one of Tom’s in the bottom right).

After getting some air on a bench, I conquered the feeling that I might imminently pass out and caught up with the rest of the group in the Strathearn Gallery which was featuring the artist Rowena Laing, lover of sheep, but it was the sculptures which captured my attention.

Then it was time for lunch… and it all went downhill for me.  The food looked amazing and what I had tasted good but my stomach was waging a war and I was losing.

Think I’ll need to go back to Delvino to get to enjoy it because it looked really, really good!  By the way, the ladies in the art club think I’m completely mad for taking photos of food, and everything else.

We went on to Auchterarder but sadly I couldn’t even make it off the coach and then I slept the whole way home.

It took me over a week to recover but I’m all good now and I learnt never to eat at a certain ‘visually impaired porky’ on Byers Road ever again.  Seriously, warn others!

It’s hardly a Hollywood blockbuster but it sure is a world exclusive premiere.  I thought it might be interesting for you to see the process of my work so here’s a short movie of the beginnings of something I’m working on right now -

I (read – the husband, super computer nerd genius) edited out the many blurry shots of me completely blocking the drawing and made this little time lapse movie for me.  That was Part I and I guess now I’ll have to finish it so you can see Part II before Christmas!

Coincidence that it’s my birthday in a week and a half?  Absolutely not.  For the artist in your life and because it’s the thought that counts, welcome to the HunterFineArt Gift Guide!

1.  Tate’s Artist Mug, £8.95

2.  Brewhaha Rose Tea, £2.40 – the perfect pair for a relaxing break from all that hard work in the studio

3.  Daylight light bulb, £9.99

4.  Keep Calm poster, $10.00 - a quiet reminder

5.  The Masters Brush Cleaner, 75ml, £8.95

6.  Starbucks gift card, available from any Starbucks coffee house – also known as Megabucks, most artists can’t afford posh Mocha Frappachino Lights and have to make do with murky paint water triple boiled

7. The Body Shop aloe and soft linen scented candle, £10.00 – because usually a studio is not a party for your nose

8.  L’Occitaine’s shea butter hand cream, 30ml, £7.00 – a must for chapped, overworked hands

9.  Wrap Me Up In Golden Ochre Limited Edition Print by Wendy Hunter, £130 – no idea how that got in here…  oh, that’s right, it’s the perfect gift

10.  Winsor Newton Artists’ Hog Brushes, from £2.84 – any shape, any size, oil painters love these

11.  Nikon AF-S 50mm f1.4G lens, £288.95 – ok, this one should probably be on the wish list but I will gift it to myself one day, just as soon as I sell this

12.  Ikea Slom jars, from £0.91

13.  Moleskine cahier plain notebook, 3 pack, from £9.80 – large or x-large please, cough cough

14. Bluebellgray’s Modernity cushion, £80.00 – inspiration indeed (also handy to suffocate yourself with on the off days)

15.  Modern Painters magazine subscription, £18.91

As you all know, however, in the words of JLo (another artist) “My love don’t cost a thing” so you are welcome to just Facebook me a birthday message or send me a text, both very personal gestures… but let’s face it – nothing quite says I love you like number 11!

…far too early for a Saturday morning. The doorbell went and the dog went bananas but the postman was bearing a parcel I was eager to receive – the first limited edition print of my piece ‘Wrap Me Up In Golden Ochre’.  I had seen a couple of proofs but only in A4 size so after swithering about papers and sizing I settled for a giclee print on Hahnemuhle German Etching paper, or in other words, the most expensive one, and here is was, in my hands at last.

I’m very impressed with quality of the print – in fact when I took one of the proofs round to show Gordon, my framer, he examined it extremely carefully, trying to not smudge the charcoal because he didn’t realise it wasn’t the original piece.

I love the Fine Art Trade Guild stamp in the bottom left corner; only certain printers and certain papers which pass testing each year are allowed to print this logo.  Naturally I wanted one!  As these prints are a limited edition run of 150, each one will be numbered and signed by me, the artist.  They are only currently available to buy here but hopefully from some other outlets in the not too distant future.  I still have the original for sale here but not for long so snap it up now if you want it!

P.S.  Because I’m sure you’re wondering – I managed to get back to sleep!

Thursday night we attended the opening of Robert Lindsay’s Colourtone exhibition at Mono, Kings Court, Glasgow.  Mono’s in kind of a shady area, rough around the edges and vegan to boot but it had a good vibe and gave Glasgow a good introduction to the audio visual art of RL.

The concept of Robert’s work is unusual but hopefully not too off the wall for me to explain…  the images are produced in limited edition print and are taken as screenshots from a 3D animation and soundtrack.  The final piece is a printed canvas and audio CD duo.  The animation played throughout the evening via projector onto the ceiling – my attempts to photograph this were a bit akin to the chances of Charlie Sheen becoming an upstanding, clean, one-woman family man – not great.  I post the only decent shot I got; I know it’s still blurry and there’s a balloon in the way, but it gives you an idea – hey, I’m a painter not a photographer.

We enjoyed some wonderfully fresh and healthy canapes (no sausage rolls here – it’s vegan remember), caught up with friends and helped out by taking some of the free wine off their hands.  I was happy I got to debut my new denim dress find and hopefully Robert was happy that his first ever show rocked. For more info on Colourtone, go here - Colourtone

…Mary! Friday was a big day in my world which is mostly full of art and dogs. Friday brought with it Pastoral day at Crufts and delivery of Ilo’s portrait to Mary, the Facebook competition winner.

Many entires of pets were submitted and Mary was chosen as the overall winner with a photo of her Finnish Lapphund, Ilo. I have painted a few different animals in other portraits but so far all the charcoal portraits have been of Finnish Lapphunds – I suppose you could say they are now my speciality.

The 4 hour drive (sorry George, Scott was driving – what can I say) to Birmingham, late night washing of the dog in the hotel shower and a couple of sleepless nights were all worthwhile when I presented the portrait to Mary and got to see the emotion on her face.

So our dog, Karhu, didn’t get Best in Show this time but it was a great day catching up with old friends, making new friends and doing a bit of ‘anorakking’ with Liz. Not to mention the dogs, lots and lots of gorgeous dogs – all of whom should definitely be immortalised in an art piece by me!

Right now I’m working on completing the runner up prize for Jo – a portrait of her horse. Jo, Shazza has a face but no ears at the moment but that’s all about to change! I need to source some new ears as in the photo I have of her, Shazza looks like ‘a right moody mare’ according to Jo – who knew!

…my studio.  Big time.  It was no joke – I mean there was barely an inch of free space on the floor to admire the 60′s esque stripe Ikea rugs that were a cheap, ‘temporary’ flooring solution about 5 years ago.

Does this studio say ‘come in and work’?

Another trip to Ikea resulted in an early birthday present for me in the form of the Ikea Expedit.  So the parents’ wallet was a little lighter and I was surely bound to be a super organised, efficient artist who put everything in it’s proper home and who was on time for everything (well maybe the last one is a bit far-fetched).

The Expedit was constructed which required the entire studio to be emptied as, laid flat, it filled the place.  Numerous bin bags were filled and removed – hopefully nothing I’ll miss in the future.  A quick ask around about a prospective partner for my polythene sheet flooring uncovered a friend of a friend upgrading a room with a sage green carpet going spare – that’s a calming colour don’t you know – they use it in asylums I believe.

And now?  Everything is in it’s place (except for the husband’s things dumped under the window – he would insist they are in their place I’m sure).  I am organised and able to get into the studio with ease.  It’s actually a space to enjoy spending time in now.