Drawing Horses workshop with Diana Hand Charcoal drawing by student

Drawing Horses workshop in Gargunnock 29th September, 2018

I had a great day on Saturday with the group of dedicated and enthusiastic students at the Drawing Horses workshop.  We began by using charcoal very freely,  and everyone, including some people who had never felt comfortable with or even tried…
Plum tree in light oil painting by Diana Hand

A Green Thought – Exhibition of Drawings and Paintings 22nd to 27th September, 2018

   Whitespace Gallery,  76, East Crosscauseway, Edinburgh EH8 8HQ 22nd to 27th September, 2018      12pm to 5pm Private view Friday, 21st September, 2018          The…
Venice Biennale 2017 near the Giardini

The Perfect Horse

"The horse that a master miniaturist has drawn tens of thousands of times eventually comes close to God's vision of a horse, and the artist knows this through experience and deep in his soul.  The horse that his hand draws quickly from memory…
Freud portrait All Too Human Tate

All Too Human Exhibition at Tate Britain , London 28th February to 27th August, 2018.

ALL TOO HUMAN  TATE BRITAIN APRIL 20         A  PERSONAL ACCOUNT This exhibition was a perspective on British figurative art over the past 100 years, the focus being on painters who worked with the human figure as…
Woman in a tub pastel Degas
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Drawn in colour Degas from the Burrell Collection at the National Gallery, London

Degas and his use of pastels  National Gallery London This was a fascinating exhibition of Degas drawings, which showed  how working methods change with fashion and with available materials. During the second half of the 19th century,…
Knabstrup charcoal drawing Diana Hand
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How to work with an exhibition brief

 There is nothing like an exhibition brief for developing ideas.  It is the fulcrum for focussing on what one's real energy and interests currently are.  For this exhibition "Wild Spaces" at the Whitehouse Gallery, Kircudbright,…
Findhorn Horse sense and soul

“Horse, Sense and Soul” at Findhorn Foundation July 2017

"Horse, Sense and Soul" at Findhorn Foundation      In July 2017 I visited northern Scotland for  a course entitled Horse, Sense and Soul at Findhorn Foundation led by Pam Billinge…
Ali smith Autumn

Working from the heart

Working from the heart can be a difficult leap of faith when one is on a learning curve.  At the end of 2017, after a year of studying, including  social media marketing and goal setting, I began to feel like an automaton, or, more topically,…
Oil painting of nude model

My life as an artist

My life as an artist During my life as an artist, a passion for the act of drawing and painting has led me through a long winding road of psychological twists and turns, emotional bumps in the road, some unexpected diversions and very many…
Venice Biennale 2017 near the Giardini

Venice Biennale 2017

Venice Biennale 2017A great trip to Venice in October to catch the 2017 Venice Biennale in the Giardini and the Arsenale.  The Giardini is a long established exhibition site and many countries have a permanent pavilion here.  There is…