http://www.samsart.co.uk en-gb samsart.co.uk 2010-7-27T00:00:00Z samsart.co.uk http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#71424 Hi folks Well today I turn 24 years old. Unfortunately spending the day at home as no one has any money going to wait until payday then do something fun. If there is one thing I hate about birthdays is that they make you think about your life so far and what you have achieved.I definately cannot say I am where I imagined myself to be at this stage in my life I definately did not expect to still be working at BampQ but if I sit down and think about it I consider myself to be very lucky.I am independant I pay all my own bills earn all my own money do all my own cooking and washing.I am in a steady secure job where I am confident and get along well with the staff and management.I am in a long term relationship with a man that I love.I am lucky enough to be able to produce my paintings and know that people like them and have got enjoyment from them. Even though I feel like I have not achieved very much I do feel blessed for all these things. Lets hope being 24 brings me joy and happines... 2010-7-27 12:42:12 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#69078 Hi folks Had a little painting break after completing my commission where I have relaxed playing computer games and watching the very disappointing football and the tennis.Decided it is now time to get back into the swing of things so here is my new painting so far which features the very interesting Baobab Tree from Madagascar. I remember seeing them for the first time on telly when I was watching a program with Steven Fry about endangered animals I cant remember the name. Ever since then I have been aching to do a painting of them. I love their unusual shape and their interesting characteristics. Apologies for the poor quality picture and the horrible glare.I am not sure about this painting so far I think I am just distracted by the bare tree trunks on the left I think once I get the branches on I will be a lot happier but you never know how a piece is going to turn out.I am also trying out my Acrylics with this one I usually only use oils and to honest think I will be sticking ... 2010-6-28 21:00:32 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#66028 Hi folks I am pleased to announce my painting is now finished. I cant believe how long it has taken me I really need to learn to paint more quickly. I will most probably be selling prints it depends how well it prints out so I will have to do a test print before I can say whether I will sell them or not but I will make a post and send out a newsletter if I will be making prints. Feel free to comment I would love to hear the feedback. Make sure you check back for the WIP of my next painting which I am thinking will feature some cherry blossom trees in some way. Bye for nowSam 2010-5-24 20:58:57 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#64753 Hi folks Here is update number 7 of my commission im getting pretty close to the end now I estimate about another 2 weeks work and ill be done which im sure my client will be extremely pleased about as he has been waiting for this painting for a while. I must thank him for being so patient with me. As you can see work on the midground trees appears to be finished in fact there is still a little work to do on the far right tree but all the fiddly branches are complete HOORAYI have added the black base coat at the bottom of the canvas this is for a hedge which is going to be the most predominant part of the whole painting. I have added two little hedges at the bottom of two of the trees but I am really not happy with these so I am either going to start them all over again or just not have them at all I have not decided yet. I hope you are enjoying this WIP and please add your comments I really like to hear any feedback you may have. Bye for now Sam 2010-5-7 10:34:32 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#63363 Here is the next update for my commission I am currently working on. These trees are really slow work this is why I am not really keen on painting trees in winter as it is a real pain painting all the branches although it is worth it in the end as they look so much better with the extra detail. After I have completed the third tree there is two more similar trees to paint then I can start work on the foreground which I hoping will not take me long to complete. The only trouble I will have is having to wait for the paint to dry inbetween the layers of colour. I am extremely happy with it so far. I think I am going to be upset to let it go when it is finished but unfortunately I have to.I always welcome any comments you may have that is how I learn my mistakes. Thats all for today folksBye for now. 2010-4-19 21:13:44 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#62864 Hi folks Here is the long awaited next update on my commission I am currently working on. Progress is a lot slower than I would like but I think it is really starting to come together now. I am currently working on the middle part of the piece which means I have a lot of trees to do which all have lots of annoying little branches on them therefore this part is taking me a bit of time. I am really happy with the tree on the right hand side but I am not too sure about its shadow I am going to wait until I have painted the other trees before I decide if I am going to leave it as it is or not. As you can see I have added shadows to the middle part as I felt this area needed darkening I am pleased with the effect this has achieved. Bye for now. 2010-4-12 20:45:41 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#60738 Hi folks Just a quickie to let you all know my painting Commisison Sept 09 is now available to purchase as a print on my art prints page.It comes in two sizes 8x10 and 11x14 and is available in either a Matte or Glossy finish. I am hoping to able to offer it in size 16x20 soon. Happy shopping Sam 2010-3-17 14:56:34 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#60372 Here is the next update on my commission. Not a huge amount done just the next bit of snow I have put some green underneath the snow to show a bit of grass poking through. I have tried to show the right side further in the distance but im not 100 sure I have achieved this I am going to wait until I have added the shadows in this area before I decide completely. Overall I am happy with it but still a long way to go. Bye for now. 2010-3-12 11:48:48 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#60246 Hi folks I was planning on adding a new print for you all to purchase today but alas im having trouble with my bloomin printer.I thought I would save a lot of money on my ink by buying compatibles instead of the genuine Epson ones as they are soooo expensive. The quality of them is good when you have managed to print out the image but the trouble is actually being able to print. Everytime I start a new session with my printer I am having to clean the ink heads otherwise my prints lose colours or get ghastly lines through them. When you clean the print heads this uses up a lot of ink and quite frequently I have to clean the print heads a couple of times to get a high quality print. Having to do this means that I have to change the cartridge more often so therefore end up spending more money than if I had bought the original cartridges instead. So buying compatible ink instead of originals may seem like a good idea to begin with but trust me it is not.I now will not be able to offer my... 2010-3-10 15:30:53 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#59813 Hi folks Here is an update on my commission. I have added some more shadows to the background field and have added silhouettes of the foliage in the midground. I need to wait for this to dry then I will add some highlights to this area then I can start work on the foreground. I am really pleased with the progress and how it is turning out. I am happy with my snow and it was simple and quick. Ill be back soon with the next update. Bye for now.Sam 2010-3-4 21:52:05 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#58354 Hi folks Sorry for the delay for the next update im still working on my commission slowly.Im really happy with how it is progressing still not happy with the house though I may have to add some more highlights but the snow I am really happy with so far and will look much better once I have added the shadows. I will be back soon with the next update I promise it will not be a month away. Sam 2010-2-13 22:54:53 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#55556 Hi folks I hope everyone had a very happy new year. Cant believe its 2010 already. My first post of 2010 is of my first painting of 2010 which is a commission hooray It is 30x30inches on a chunky canvas it is going to be of a beautiful wintery snow scene which I am hoping will make us have some snow down by the coast I have been very disappointed that we havent had any. As you can see I have a much simpler sky on this one as there is going to be a lot going on in the rest of the painting lots of tall trees a very strong foreground I did not want the sky to over power the piece. Ill be back soon with update 2. Bye for now. 2010-1-5 21:27:02 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#54988 Merry Christmas everyone. 2009-12-25 13:24:50 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#53823 Hey everyone. I feel like a kid again this month we have just bought ourselves 2 brand new games consoles a sexy black Wii and a even sexier Xbox 360 Elite. I literally screamed with delight when I saw everything arranged out on my bed. Only thing is I have to try not to get too addicted to them otherwise I will just be sat playing with them all the time. Just thought I would share the exciting news. Sam 2009-12-2 12:05:35 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#49742 I have had this piece sat on top of my radiator for over a year now and never got round to actually finishing it. I think now is a good time to finally get it completed. I will keep you updated on the progress here is where it is at at the moment. 2009-9-30 15:30:04 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#49196 Hello everyone Here is my final update as the painting is now completed you can view a better image of it on my homepage or in my main Gallery. As you can see I have redone the large tree as I really was not happy with the colour. Then I have toned down the buttercups a little and added more detailed grass to the foreground. I hope you have enjoyed the progress as much as I have keep checking back as I will be blogging a WIP for my next painting. Bye for now.Sam 2009-9-21 21:56:43 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#48457 Hi folks here is my next update for you all. Im getting quite excited now because I reckon I am pretty near completion now.Just got a bit more highlights to the tree then a lot of detail in the foreground grass and then just the finer details and I will be finished. Sam 2009-9-9 19:40:47 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#47654 Here is the next part completed. I have done the first layer of the grass next I will add highlights to the foreground and some detail with individual blades of grass. Then I will have buttercups in the field to the left of the painting.After that not that much more to do and I will have completed it WOO Be back soon with the next update. Sam 2009-8-27 21:40:47 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#47131 Had a couple of really busy weeks so I have not been able to do a huge amount to my new painting but here is where I am at so far. Ill be back soon with the next update. 2009-8-18 21:46:05 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#46126 Hi folks Here is the next update of my new painting. Today I have completed the background trees and have started to paint the closer ones and put in base colours for the grass areas in background. I am really enjoying it so far and am pretty pleased with how it is turning out. Sam. 2009-8-2 18:42:55 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#46013 I have recently recieved a new commission so I thought I would show everyone the progress step by step on my blog. The painting is a lot larger than I am used to 30x30 so is going to be quite a challenge for me. Although it is a good kick in the butt as I have been quite lazy and not been getting much new stuff done. Here is the first update the first image is a quick sketch so I know where everything goes the second image is of course of the sky and the third is a close up for some detail. I will keep you all updated on the progress Bye for nowSam 2009-8-1 12:35:55 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#45662 Just to let everyone know today is my 23rd birthday. Yay 2009-7-27 13:46:30 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#42137 Hello everyone I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we are currently experiencing. My apologies for not updating this blog for some time. For the last few months I seem to have had an artist block and have not had much enthusiasm to do anything.I have decided to force myself to get back into the swing of things though.I am currently finishing a painting that I have had sat on the easel for quite some time the title will be The Adventurer it is a vast mountain range that gets lighter as it gets to the foreground in shades of brown and white highlights. The majority of the canvas is taken up by the sky I love my skies which to me looks a bit like the northen lights blocks of colour of dark violet and a light titanium colour which are roughly blended together with big brush strokes.I will try to update with a photo of it soon well I expect I will probably have finished it within a week so I will hopefully be updating my main Gallery page after about 1 year of nothing new going on... 2009-5-23 21:22:50 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#36254 For the last week I have felt like a little kid all over again with the downpour of snow in the southwest. The last time I remember seeing snow in dorset was about seven years ago and even that was a tiny amount that fell in early april time. The last time I saw thick snow was when I was in primary school which was probably about 11 years ago. So naturally I went absolutely beserk throwing snowballs at everyone running across fields getting soaked. Although it does make me chuckle a little about how unprepared we all were. Even though the snow was forecast days before it arrived all but 2 schools closed leaving the kids running around the streets throwing snow at everyone the gritters were not sent out until around 10am which left the roads horrendously dangerous for the rush hour. A lot of my coworkers said it was taking them an hour to get to work when it would normally only take them 5 minutes.I luckily do not drive I have always been scared of driving I get so nervous when I get i... 2009-2-7 19:20:01 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#34366 I cant believe we are in 2009 already 2008 has slipped through my fingers so quickly and I dont see myself anywhere near where hoped I would be.I was hoping to have been able to quit my job at BampQ and be earning enough from my art to keep myself going but sadly this has not happened and does not look like it will happen for quite some time. On a lighter note 2009 seems to have kicked off to a good start. I have been contacted by a manager of a Bistro who may be interested in having about 10 paintings done to hang on his bare walls naturally I am extremely excited by this prospect but then I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that it all seems too good to be true but we will wait and see. I am hoping to be able to meet him within the next few days so fingers crossed it all goes well.I also have another commission on the horizon.I am still at Wimborne Market selling my prints and Mini Paintings I have been there 6 times now and have sold one Mini Painting and 4 prints which is... 2009-1-1 12:35:42 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#32124 Today was my first day at Wimborne Market. The day has been a little dissappointing as I did not sell any prints. Hannah sold a card so I was really pleased for her.The day has been really quiet even the regular sellers there were saying that sales were very slow. We are going to try again next weekend but set up in the actual art and craft section that they have as the position we were in probably did not do our work justice we were surrounded by a lot of the stalls that sell books and odds and sods so we were not getting much attention around our area. So I am a little disappointed but im not giving up yet. Bye for now. 2008-11-9 15:50:58 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#31864 Well ive made up all my mounts and we are all booked in to start selling at Wimborne Market a week today. I am going to be selling prints of Silhouette Perfect Reflections Bamboo Forest Wilma and my untitled commission piece. I am also going to try to sell my mini paintings I have been doing as they have not been selling very well on Ebay.Im really excited hopefully I will make quite a bit of money while I am there. I am going to be there every Sunday so if you are ever visiting Wimborne Market on a Sunday I hope to see you there. Bye for now. 2008-11-2 17:37:53 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#29823 Just an update to keep you all up to date on what I have been getting up to. My mini Ebay paintings have been doing well 3 out of the 5 paintings have sold and I will be adding my newest addition Misty Mountains to Ebay later today. I have not been painting nearly as many of them as I would like as I originally stated that I would be listing 12 of them every week but I am happy with what I have accomplished so far and may be taking inspiration from a couple of them to make larger main Gallery pieces. I have always said that I want to set up a stall to sell my prints and I am pleased to announce that this is going to turn into a reality. Hopefully starting in November to catch the Christmas rush I am going to be selling every Sunday at Wimborne Market which is a very popular market that sells pretty much everything it is huge and has been going on for years it is a very popular attraction for Dorset and attracts a lot of buyers. Needless to say then I am very excited about this opportu... 2008-9-17 16:42:56 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#27529 Today is my 22nd birthday. Hasnt been that exciting to be honest due to no one having any money. I was hoping to at least be able to get a chinese but sadly I did not. Oh well its just another day. For some good news my first mini painting has sold on Ebay today Misty Forest. The Lost City has been relisted as this did not sell the first time but it already has a watcher.Thats about all I have to say today.Bye for now. 2008-7-27 23:15:33 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#26767 I have just added my first painting to the mini painting gallery page which can be found if you hover over artwork on the menu.I have already added it onto Ebay and if all goes well I will be adding 12 new ones each week. Starting bid on Ebay is 1632.99 postage is free to UK buyers and 1632.00 for international buyers. So if you want to grab yourself a bargain there is a widget showing what paintings are currently for sale on my Mini Painting Gallery page or my Ebay username is chkychmp so you can see everything I currently have for sale on there.These paintings are only going to be sold on Ebay and no reproductions are going to be made of them so they truly are one of a kind paintings. Bye for nowSam 2008-7-10 21:52:53 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#26249 Sorry for all my readers for not updating here in a while. I thought I would share with you all what I am up to. Sales have been a little slow lately not many prints sold either so I have had a little break and have not really been getting much painting done.I am now starting to get back into the swing of things I have two paintings sat on the easel I will share the progress when I find my camera.I am also going to be starting to try to sell on Ebay again if you have noticed I have added a new sub page into The Artwork section on my site this is going to be solely for my Ebay paintings which are all going to be painted onto canvas boards and will be small only 5x7 in size.So when this all starts up it will hopefully be beneficial to you as you will be able to grab a bargain original oil painting by me it will also be beneficial to me as I will recieve a lot more exposure from having my work up on ebay again well this is the plan anyway. I will keep you informed when this all goes liv... 2008-6-29 18:24:34 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#18601 I have finally completed my commission it was picked up this morning and he seemed really pleased by it. Hooray The image is displayed on my homepage and you can see it in my Gallery. Bye for now. 2008-1-14 13:19:07 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#18468 Things are starting to look up for my prints.After many failed attempts at selling them I came up the idea of having a portfolio of them in the staff room where I work. After the go ahead from the management I made up a folder and this morning I placed it in the Staff room and already there has been a lot of interest in them everyone has commented how nice they are a few people have stated they would maybe like to buy one and two other people say they may want me to do a commissioned painting for them. This is all after just one day so obviously I could not be happier. Hopefully this will mean a few sales coming my way fingers crossed. Bye for now. 2008-1-10 21:55:13 http://www.samsart.co.uk/page6.htm#18087 Due to some errors to my previous blog I have had to completely delete it and start a new one. To any readers of my blog I apologise about this. Currently I am still working on my commission I have been doing it since August last year but am pleased to announce that it is very nearly completed so it will be appearing on my website soon. I still have not sold any prints have had a few failed attempts at selling them at car shows and car boot sales. I am still planning on opening a stall down Poole High Street I just do not have enough money to start this up yet. Bye for now. 2008-1-2 18:00:56