Hi all, have you seen my new Craft Gallery I have just added.

Yes as well as painting I am now making "Love Hearts "as I like to call them. Made with with so many different prints of material,which I had imported because I could not get it in Ireland, and filled with flame retardent filling. I have also perfumed them with Rose oil,(or not if you choose)

My beautiful velvet scarfs are coming soon also.All hand embossed and lined with some lovely designes.  Colours range from  deep green,red,rusts,blue and carnetion.I'm kept so busy at this moment.

I have also  just finished a 6 week teaching course in Art. Next lot of classes start in September so I'm really looking forward to my holidays coming up the last week in August.I really need the break.Talk to you soon,Val

As of late I have been working on my garden and with the result colour is everywhere.A lot of hard work comes with the pleasure ,weeding,watering ,shaping and sweeping up the rubbish but in the end it's all worth it when your sitting in the garden with a cup of coffee or maby a glass of wine.

I also love to paint in the garden when we get a nice day,not too hot or cold.Flowers give inspirition for colour and watching the bees going about their daily work.If only it was always so peaceful and calm,and then my beautiful grandchildren arrive.Everywhere is filled with laughter and questions. What are you doing Nan?  How do you do that?  Can I do some?  Time to put away the paints. Food and drinks are  needed now.

My new Artists Studio has just been finished  and my "Beginners Art Classes" started back last Wednesday.What a great night we all had.The room is so bright and airy and my own paintings are hanging on the walls.I have also started my craft work which I will be displaying on my site soon .(when i get around to taking some photos)

The sun is shining at the moment so I'm going to have a cup of tea in the garden and relax. Bye for now.

Yes its spring again although it still feels like winter with cold winds and rain but that's Irish weather for you ,so no point in complaining.

About two weeks ago I was approached by a local newspaper "Kildare Xtra" to have an editorial done and there it was ,when I opened the paper this morning ,a full page   ,with some of my art work including (would you believe) a photo of myself. I have to say I was very pleased, so now this page is heading over to Australia to show my son Jason.

"Famous at Last" (if only in Kildare )I also received a few emails congratulating me on it.

Classes are going well. We started on a seascape and after only 3 weeks into the course the ladies turned out some very nice work, so well done ! Hopefully I will be able to show some of their paintings at a later stage.

Hello all, it's been quite a while since my   last visit, to be honest I've been so busy with my art work, lots of commissions for my Angel paintings. They are very popular for Christmas and also New Born and First Communion gifts. And of course I was  organising my own list of presents for my four beautiful grandchildren. What a happy and joyful time I had sharing this Christmas holiday with my family. I do hope you all enjoyed yourselves too.

Now the New Year has arrived and back to work I start just like everyone else. My Art classes will begin again in February and I hope to show you some of the work in progress.In the meantime if you have a question to ask me please feel free to do so.

My first task is to insure my brushes are clean and ready to use. After I wash them in warm "sudsey" water I like to put a little of my hair conditioner on, leave for a few minutes and rinse off , you will find the brushes are so much nicer to work with.

This time of the year is good for buying your sketch pads and paints as you will get a few bargains in some of the art shops, so keep your eyes open!  Will talk soon, Val

When I began painting I used canvas board and then progressed to stretched canvas,which I prefer. Of course they come in all shapes and size's deep canvas are good as they look quite well hanging, when not framed.

Although canvases come already primed I still like to give them a light coat of acrylic paint before I begin my picture.   If you get a small piece of damp sponge (any type will do) and spread a thin coat of paint on your canvas it gives a good backing before you start your work.   I like to use raw sienna for this.

Keeping Acrylics wet .

Stay wet palettes are great for this.They come like a plastic container with a sheet of blotting paper on the base and a sheet of a greesproof paper on top ,you wet this and it keeps your paint very usable for a week or more ,which means you don't waist any paint.

I am now giving acrylic art classes for beginners (adults) and one thing I stress is having good brushes,cheap ones don't work as the hairs come out on the canvas and also they leave marks or streaks in the paint. I like to start my class off with sizes, 1"flat, 1/2" flat, and no.1 or 2 round. Rigger brush is good for tree branches and grass.

Primary colours are, as everyone knows, Red,Blue,Yellow.

My favourites are Crimson,Cobalt Blue and Process Yellow. Of course red and yellow make orange,blue and yellow make green and red and blue make purple and then when you mix white to either it changes the shades, so you have to experminent yourself.

Sap Green is good to have as when you add yellow in different amounts you get a variation of greens. Purple is worth buying as you can waste a lot of paint trying to mix one. Burnt Umber is a nice warm brown and great for darkening the tone of other colours. If you use a lot of orange get yourself a tube of Cadmium Orange. Also Paynes Grey is good to have and don't forget White,mixing white is usually the cheapest and as the name suggests it blends well with other colours.

Hi all ,yes this is me at last, I put a picture to the text. As you have guessed  my first love is painting second comes gardening. As you have seen from my web site ,    http://www.valeriestephenson.com

I've been painting for the past 12yrs or so of which I will post some pictures later on....After watching my youngest son Jason, drawing from an early age and then on to painting, my interest grew. Eventually I decided to go for it and took some adult classes and it progressed from there.  A new life began!