We had our first visitor before we had even opened – whilst we were setting up a gentleman came in and asked if he could look round – he said he wanted to come early so that he could be our first customer!

We have lots of new things for people to enjoy – including some new bright and colourful acrylic paintings

Dave has a bigger selection of A3 and A4 prints of his wonderful photographs for you to browse through too:

And don’t forget our new ‘Print While-you-wait’ Service – if there is a photograph or Limited Edition Print that you would like – we can print it for you in A3 or A4 size – and you can choose whether to have it mounted like the ones in the picture above ready to frame – or rolled up in a tube ready to travel.

If there is a painting that you like from my website that has already sold – you can probably find a signed Limited Edition print instead – these hand-signed and mounted prints are unique to our shows – and there will only ever be 25 copies of each for sale.

This time we also have lots of smaller gifts on sale too – you can buy a colourful key-ring for only 1 Euro, or a large fridge magnet for only 2.50 Euros. Small Framed prints  complete the range for only 10 Euros – all perfect as little gifts or mementoes of your time on the Algarve.

All of the paintings are displayed on our own easels – they are all at the perfect height for you to view them properly – and you might be surprised at just how reasonably priced they are – we even have a ‘bargain corner’ with original paintings for sale for only 50 Euros

The hotel has lots of comfy sofas – so you can have a rest while you fill in a Free Prize Draw form – someone will be winning the beautiful framed photograph you can see in the shot below – it might be you!

We even have a ‘kid’s corner’ with crayons, pencils and lots of ‘how to draw’ guides for children to enjoy – and that’s children of all ages of course (you’ll spot me down there if we are quiet!!)

We are open every day from 12 – 8pm – our last day is next Wednesday 29th May – but don’t leave it too long – we have already had one disappointed couple who came in as they had seen a painting they had admired through the window before we opened – and I felt so awful at putting a red dot on it as it had already sold!

The hotel is easy to find – it is right beside the main square in front of the beach – you might well find me handing out leaflets and chatting to people outside – well it’s a good excuse to get out into the glorious sunshine!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the newspapers, on-line sites and magazines that have supported us in this venture and given us some amazing articles and features – here’s just a selection:

Algarve Daily News 090513

Inspirations Algarve luxury on-line travel club site

The Portugal News 250513

Tomorrow Carvoeiro May newsletter

Algarve Resident 170513

So why not come and see us – and please share this with anyone else that you think might be interested – we have already had the pleasure of meeting some old friends from previous exhibitions – and also making some new friends too – which is one of the best things about running our own show!

To see more of our work you can also visit our websites – just click the links below:

and Dave’s work is on his new Photo Journal blog:

Thank you to everyone that has supported us – and a special thank you to Vicki and Julio at the hotel and the Holiday Inn for all their continued support. You are amazing!

‘Pride of Alvor’ original acrylic painting © Alyson Sheldrake

There’s always a centrepiece at an exhibition – the one that makes you go ‘wow’ when you walk in and that draws you in – well I’m hoping this will be the one!

We are almost ready to go now – we’ll be there next Friday all set up and ready to meet everyone – if you are in the Algarve why not come along and say hello?!

You can also enjoy more of my art on my website – just click the logo below:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Describing my world in six words

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‘Reflections’ original acrylic painting © Alyson Sheldrake

© Dave Sheldrake Photography

The light out here is amazingly clear and bright – which gives me fantastic reflections for my paintings.

It has also inspired Dave’s latest blog post about the ‘golden hour’ of light and the changes you see happen so quickly in the sky. One of the shots is reproduced above for you and you can read his latest post and see the progression of shots via this link here:

Changing Light

You can also enjoy more of my art on my website if you like! Click the logo below:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Describing my world in six words

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‘Joy’ acrylic painting © 2013 Alyson Sheldrake

© 2013 Dave Sheldrake Photography

The top painting is called ‘Joy’ because it reminded me of summer and sunshine and made me smile! As soon as I saw Dave’s photograph of this flower I knew the painting would be called ‘Joy’

And the White Storks are back again – with babies of course! Dave has been busy photographing and journalling about them – you can read his latest post via this link here:

Shooting Storks in the Algarve

And for those of you from last week who remember my work in progress ‘Girls on the beach’ – it’s now finished – the client loved it – and it’s already packed and posted off to them!

If you want to see the finished piece – you can click the link here:

Art by Alyson Sheldrake

Have a great weekend everyone!

Describing my world in six words

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You might recognise the photo from my recent article Why I like painting commissions

Hoping to finish this one today – have painted the girls in since these photos were taken – but you’ll have to wait and see!!

If you want to enjoy the finished piece – it’s finished and up on my site now for you! Click the link here:

Art by Alyson Sheldrake

Have a great weekend everyone!

Describing my world in six words

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There are some artists who would run a mile rather than accept a commission for a painting, however I really like the challenge this presents. For the client, they have the extra bonus of knowing they will own a piece of art that has been created specifically for them, and for me, a commission gives me an opportunity to stretch myself in different ways.

A commission often stretches my palette

Often a client will ask for a particular colour or set of colours to be incorporated into a piece. Whilst I always ask a client to give me their ideas and any specific requirements, I also advise them that the final decisions and colour palette have to be mine, in order for me to be able to ensure that a painting ‘flows’ and ‘balances’ well.

A good example of this is the commissioned painting ‘Lighthouse at Dusk’ where the clients asked for burgundy and cream colours to be incorporated into a sunset coloured sky – they also wanted a lighthouse – more about that later! The sunset colours were new to me, and seemed to work really well in my ‘New Wave’ style, and also inspired further ‘sunset palette’ pieces too.

A commission often stretches my location

I was already a fan of Armação de Pêra on the Algarve with its palm tree lined walkways and inviting views of the sea and beach, but I had never thought of painting it until some clients of mine suggested it. They had a big wall space in their dining room, and invited me to come round, look at the space, chat through some ideas and measure up.

They had photos and a clear idea of wanting to see the walkway, with the palm trees with the sea glinting in the background – and a space of 1 metre wide to fill!

This one also stretched my easel too as I had to rig up a larger support to encompass the board!

I went back to the location with Dave once I had a clear idea of what they wanted so that I could take my own reference photographs, and then set to work. The result was a crisp, clean and bright painting on a theme I wouldn’t have thought of – even though I had walked past it so many times! ‘Promenade’ has become one of my favourite ‘New Wave’ pieces, and has also inspired me to create more paintings with this Panoramic Format too.

A commission often stretches a theme

A friend asked me if I could paint a picture that had one of my ‘African daisies’ featured – she loved the painting ‘Magenta’ but wanted to know if I could paint a similar flower with a ‘teal’ coloured theme. Her business branding and office had this colour as a theme – and would this work for a painting?

The resulting ‘Fabulous’ took the Daisy and gave it a new spin – and it worked really well!

A commission often stretches my vocabulary!

The title of the painting ‘Fabulous’ was also inspired by the above client’s business and upcoming book title – I will often ask a client to help me ‘name’ a painting once it is completed.

For this flower ‘Eve’ shown below – named after the client’s mother for whom it was painted – I have also learnt new flower names and plants too – I had never heard of an Alstromeria before – luckily they are quite prolific growers here on the Algarve!

A commission often stretches my imagination

At a recent exhibition, a client came and expressed his delight at my ‘New Wave’ style – and then showed me a photo he had taken – and asked whether he thought it could be painted in my style. I instantly knew it would work well, and as with all my paintings, could ‘see’ the finished piece in my mind straight away.

You’ll have to visit my website in about a week’s time for this one as it is currently sketched out and started on my easel – but here’s the reference photograph he sent me:

A commission often stretches my library of reference material

The ‘Lighthouse at Dusk’ painting mentioned at the start required me to do some research to find a lighthouse picture that I could use as a reference. The clients had liked my ‘Breakwater Lighthouse’ piece but wanted a different lighthouse. I am always at great pains to ensure that if I cannot use one of my own photographs (which is nearly always the case) then I will always seek the owner’s permission before using another person’s photograph. For this painting I actually used two references, and as you will see on my website, fully credited them alongside the painting.

For the painting ‘Rita’ shown below, I needed to paint a rose – so I went to my favourite Facebook Artists United group and asked fellow artists if they had any reference photographs of roses that I could use – I was sent 14 amazing different photographs; and alongside a fellow blogger’s site The Serenity Space who also gave me permission to use some lovely shots on a recent blog post, I had a great collection of images to send to the client to choose from.

The chosen flower – a beautiful red rose – was lovely to paint, and I made sure that the photographer and fellow artist Sarah Perry was credited too:

A commission often stretches Dave’s camera

I often ask Dave to go out with his camera with a specific request for photographs of ‘x y or z’ depending on what I need! The next painting on my books for a client is going to be two poppies – and although I already have some poppy photographs, you can never have too many!

He really did excel himself with these photographs though – here’s a taster of one – which I am sure will lead to more than one painting in the future!

If you would like to commission a painting from me – there are two things you need to know!

The first is explained on my FAQs page of my website:

Ultimately the painting will be my interpretation of a view or scene – I always ask a client to give me their ideas and then trust me!

The second thing is that I do not charge anything up front – and if you do not like the finished piece – then you do not have to buy it! This might seem a little strange in the current climate, but it is how I prefer to work – there is no pressure on you to have to purchase something if you are not 100% happy with it – and I can work knowing that I am free to create the best work I can for you. I am very proud of the fact that so far – everyone has been delighted with their commissioned pieces – and as you can see from this article – I have learned something new with every piece I have completed.

In a future article I will talk more specifically about my Pet Portrait commissions, and what a wonderful challenge and delight these are too. If you can’t wait to find out more about them – you can click this logo here:

I hope that you have enjoyed this insight into my world – if you have you might also enjoy reading Painting a Flower in Stages which will give you a peak into how I complete a painting.

We are thrilled to be featured in this quarter’s edition of the glossy Inside Magazine on the Algarve – and stunned by the fantastic write-up – and coverage over FOUR whole pages!

You can click the front cover of the magazine here to read it online – we’re on pages 24 – 28!
We also had a brilliant Exhibition and Sale at the Hotel Carvoeiro Sol this week – we had so many visitors and met some old – and new – friends along the way.

It was a very successful week for us too – I have now sold 7 paintings in 7 days – and I have 6 commissions lined up for clients to get cracking on – and a studio that needs tidying up first!

Thank you to everyone that sent us messages of support and have encouraged and supported me along this path – I am loving every minute of this journey.

Thought you might enjoy some of our fab messages in our Comments book at the Exhibition too:

and

And as it’s Saturday – there’s just time for a quick ‘Six Word Saturday’ too:

You’ll have to read the magazine article to find out what that is all about!!

We’ve had some great press coverage already – here are two of our favourite articles…

You can click on the articles to read them in full on their respective news sites:

So – why ‘New Beginnings’? Well we are proud to be part of the March re-opening programme for the Hotel Carvoeiro Sol; this is a new venue and location for us to exhibit in; and we both have brand new websites for our work. As you already know, you can view my work on my ‘Art by Alyson Sheldrake’ website  and Dave has a brand new Photo Journal and Gallery site ‘Dave Sheldrake Photography’

 There is another reason for the name as well – but you’ll have to come along to the show and ask us to find out what it is!

If you want to know more, or follow what we are doing – including all of our upcoming shows and exhibitions this year (we are going to be busy!) then why not subscribe to our newsletter. We only send it once a month, we promise not to pester or spam you – and if you are already a subscriber (and lots of you are – thank you!) then why not tell a friend too! You can just click the link below to go straight to the sign-up form:

Subscribe here!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Describing my world in six words

Click here for more ’6WS’ information:

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Come back for more next Saturday!

It’s been a very busy few weeks – but finally I can escape back to my studio and get painting again!

Here’s one of the shots I am working on at the moment of some fabulous bright boats with their colourful umbrellas – I’ll hopefully finish it this weekend.

We have now confirmed all of our dates for this year’s exhibitions and shows … and we have some very exciting news coming soon (smiles and dances the happy dance!!) … but we will be sharing it all with our lovely newsletter subscribers first!

(What’s that I hear … you’re not a subscriber yet??!?! … just click the link below and we’ll add you to the list!!)

Subscribe here!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Describing my world in six words

Click here for more ’6WS’ information:

Why not leave a comment below

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Come back for more next Saturday!

For some time now we have felt that a shared website for both my art and my husband’s photography was not really fulfilling our needs – and coupled with the appalling quality of the images that Facebook reproduces, we felt that Dave in particular needed his own website.

So… now I have my own website showcasing my art – you can view my work and find out more about me and my art here:

Click the image above or the link below to visit my site:

Art by Alyson Sheldrake

And… Dave also now has his own Photo Journal website which you can view here:

Again – just click the image above or the link below to view his site:

Dave Sheldrake Photography

We are really pleased with both sites – but now it’s over to you – what do you think?!

‘Golden Patterns’ acrylic painting © Alyson Sheldrake

Thanks for looking and we hope that you enjoy our work.

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