Sharon Golding Designs

 I’m revisiting painting landscapes in acrylics and here is the start of my process. 1. Rough sketch 2. Block-in  3. Refine 4. Detail. 5. One thing!  (What’s the one thing I can do to improve this painting?) My set up with acrylic paints - limited palette Rough sketch Sorry forgot to photograph the block in stage! Refine the painting Still got the detail to do, but I’m pleased with how it’s going. Have a great day! Best wishes Shari 💕

 Hi everyone It’s hard to stay focussed when you feel so alone. This month has been extremely difficult for me as my husband has been in hospital for an operation and then recently there were complications so he was taken back in.  Obviously, the worry of it all has been extremely stressful and as a result, my mental health has plummeted.  My husband is my rock and without him being his usual strong self, my world is very bleak. In order to keep my sanity I turn to painting or creative work of some description.  It doesn’t really matter as long as I am creating something.  It’s very soothing for the soul. This has been difficult due to all the trips to hospital and the more mundane matters of keeping house.  My family are a constant source of support and give me strength, but I also need my creativity to keep sane.  I have always been that way.   I’m normally a very private person and don’t often share my problems, always putting on a brave face.  It’s what we do, isn’t it? Us that suf

  “Twilight Wolf” 16” x 12” acrylic on canvas board This was painted about 3 weeks ago as I have had a lot going on in my life recently and have not been able to paint, but I want to share something with you.   The fears we fail to face become our limits.  I am wolf, quietly I will endure, silently I will suffer, patiently I will wait, for I am a warrior and I will survive. Back to painting what I love, animals.  Enjoyed painting this wolf, although he looks more like a friendly dog.  That’s ok, I loved doing it and for me it’s the process that is of most value.  How painting makes me feel. When I’m painting I get so absorbed everything else is forgotten, all my troubles melt away and it’s just me and the paint.  It boosts my mood and helps me get things in perspective.  It’s why I would love to teach others the remarkable benefits of painting.  It’s more than the end result.  It’s a calming process that gives a feeling of serenity, which is so good for your mental health I hope you en

 Acrylic painting on canvas board, Straw bales. This reminds me so much of home, our old house, where we were surrounded by fields and after the harvest the straw bales in the fields.  It was such a lovely peaceful place and we had a clear view over the fields to watch the beautiful sunsets. Anyway, back to the painting.  With this one again, I did the simplistic drawing, then blocked in, followed by the refining and detail. “Hay Bales“ acrylic on canvas board 16” x 12” Not quite finished yet as I need to lighten the background bales a tad and strengthen the foreground shrubbery on the right. Feeling quite happy with this one. Hope I have inspired you to have a go at painting.  Remember, three colours, three brushes and three steps.  It’s so easy.  The colours I used are Ultramarine blue, Alizarin crimson and Yellow ochre, plus Titanium white.  You can mix all the colours you need from these and create a very harmonic painting.  Look out for my painting classes coming soon, where I wil

 Hello All! Back to painting again.  Acrylics on canvas board - a view of the town clock against a very dramatic sky.  Started with a simple drawing followed by block in of main shapes.  Then in to refine and add detail. Not quite finished, but I’m getting there. Have a great week, see you soon! Best wishes Shari 👍

 Sorry for my recent absence from the blog, I have been incredibly busy with my painting and other creative works that I will post on the blog shortly.  But first, I just wanted to talk about painting fantasy paintings.  This is really outside my comfort zone but always eager to get to grips with a challenge, I decided to have a go with some moon paintings. Firstly, “Harvest Moon” painted in acrylics on canvas. “Harvest Moon” acrylics on canvas I began by a simple drawing of the pathway, tree area and moon on black canvas. Using a limited palette, I set about blocking in the main shapes - And then I began to refine: Adding in more detail: I hope you enjoy the pictures of my process.  The second fantasy painting was “Lovers’ Moon” again painted in acrylics.  I’m really starting to enjoy using acrylics, even though I normally  use oils.  Not sure this one was as successful as Harvest Moon, but I enjoyed painting it.  The only thing with this one was getting the darkness right. The third

 Really getting back into my painting now.  Love this little painting and using a limited palette has really improved my colour mixing skills.  Hillside Cottage I intend to start getting together some step-by-step projects soon online, maybe on YouTube or something similar.  The idea is that you can follow along and actually create your own painting.  They will be aimed at beginner painters, so if you’ve always wanted to paint but not sure where to start these videos will show you.  Please let me know if you would be interested in these videos. Best wishes Shaz

 Hey there Everyone! Italian farm in oils on canvas board Here I am back to painting in oils which I adore.  This painting was quite the challenge for me as I’m hopeless at buildings and usually avoid them at all costs as I can’t draw a straight line to save my life.  But then who is to say buildings have to have perfectly straight lines?  I think they have much more character if they are wonky ;) what do you think? I began as usual with toning the ground and this time used pale blue rather than my usual yellow ochre.  I wanted to see if it made a difference.  It might be a good experiment to do the same painting using one warm and then one cool ground and compare the two.  But that’s an experiment for another day. Drawing the buildings took longer than I usually take as it was important to get the shapes right because those buildings are going to be my centre of interest. I then got straight into the block in, which soon showed up my lack of skill with straight lines, but not to worry

 Back to panting!  Using one of the photos taken earlier, and after the imprimatura layer was in place I set about drawing on canvas using acrylic paints.  Then blocking in the main shapes, the painting started to take shape. First pass in acrylics Once the block in was complete I began to refine using oils (my favourite medium), getting in the detail and adjusting as needed.   Then, leaving the painting for a day or two, I came back to look for the One Thing to improve my painting.  That was the cliffs needed adjusting to make them less flat and give them a fuller look. Morning Walk in Hunstanton (completed in oils) Hunstanton is one  of my favourite beaches and I don’t think I will ever tire of painting it.  I hope you enjoy the end result and I will be back soon with my next completed project. Such fun! 🤩.  Best wishes Shari

Hello again,  Shari has been busy once again with painting a landscape.  It’s as easy as 1-2-3 … 1. Draw 2. Block in and 3 refine.   Of course after the refine there is something else needed and that is finding the One Thing.  That’s where we review the painting and look for the one thing that will improve the painting.  Live with the painting, keep it in sight each day and keep looking for the One Thing.  Eventually, it will jump out at you and niggle you so much that you have to fix it.  That’s when you figure out how to fix it and voila! Your painting is finished. Waterlily Lake   With this painting I had used a photo reference as a starting point.  I had drawn out my shapes on the canvas with thinned oil paint.  Then I blocked in the big shapes.  Having refined and put in the detail I was not really happy with the result.  So I set about finding the One Thing.  Of course there is more than one thing needed to fix this painting but I always just focus on one thing (at a time). First

 Hello again, So many people have told me that they can’t paint and they wish they could.  My answer is Yes you can paint you just need to start.  So I’ve decided to show all you beginners and doubters how to do it.  It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.... 3 paints, 3 brushes and 3 steps.  Just follow my lead. For the purpose of this demonstration I will use acrylic paints, but I will be using them like oils.  That is virtually straight from the tube with minimum water.  It’s easier using acrylics because you only need water to mix and they dry quicker than oils (sometimes too quickly!). To prepare the basics you will need are:- 3 paints:  Ultramarine Blue; Alizarin Crimson and Raw Sienna   (We will also be using Titanium White And  our Hero colour, Cadmium Yellow - use sparingly, this is the colour that will give our painting oomph!) 3 brushes: Large, Medium and small 3 steps: Draw; Block in; Refine. Two jars of water... one for mixing and one for brush washing. A palette for mixing (or an old wh