We started out using a thin brush and ochre coloured acrylic paint to draw an outline of our work onto the canvas. I still wasn’t 100% sure how I wanted it to look when I started but I knew I wanted it to include foxgloves. You can just about see the outline of the foxgloves in the picture above. We then applied a wash of background colours.

Once that was dry we added background colour to the foxgloves themselves in various shades of light and dark to add depth to the work. Before we knew it two hours had passed and we were ready to finish for the day.

In Lesson 3 I added further details to the foxgloves but unfortunately I forgot my camera so I don’t have any pictures to show you.

Next week we are leaving these paintings for a while and will have a go at painting still life! Ek! :O)

It’s been such a long time since I painted anything and I had forgotten how much fun it is!

It turns out that there are a few other ladies interested in improving their brush strokes as well and so we started lessons.

Our teacher is a very lovely Russian artist called Lena. She has been painting for many years. Her husband, who passed away about 5 years ago, was also a brilliant painter and they shared the studio we are working in within the famous ‘house of painters’ area in Baku. Their son is also a painter, however he is currently serving his military service in the army.

Our first lesson was an introduction to Lena and her work. She showed as many of her paintings all using acrylic and other additions such as fabric and gold foil to add texture and interest to the work.

Lena then introduced us to our canvases…..

They are huge! It was a little bit daunting at first but after a while I really liked the idea of having so much space to work on. Lena explained that she wanted us to have freedom to paint whatever was inside of us. :O)

Next, we added plaster of paris to the blank canvas. This was to add texture to the surface so that the work has depth when we eventually paint over it.

Lastly, Lena showed us how she adds gold foil to her art work. I really loved the results we got on these scrap canvases. I would love to use this technique on my work.

More pictures from lesson 2 soon….

We had a very comprehensive tour of the different art studios including clay, oil painting, carpet weaving and the student exhibitions that will be opening very soon.

Each piece starts out as a pencil drawing and is then turned into a painting or clay model.

It was really interesting to see how each student painted the same subject.

Each room was full of colour! I really like this picture of a students easel and work space.

This room was full of students and their looms working on their graduate submissions.

The finished works of previous graduates are displayed throughout the halls of the academy.

I have just started painting lessons myself. I had my introductory lesson this week and next week we start painting! I’m really looking forward to it.

We managed to track down the offending vehicle and waited outside for the owner to return. Thankfully he was very nice and happy to pay for the damage. Below you can see the damage to his car.

Things work a little bit differently here when it comes to car repairs. In the UK it would be normal to replace the bumper and this would normally cost quite a lot. In Azerbaijan, they don’t replace bumpers and panels but instead bang the damage out and re-spray it. I was a bit dubious I have to say but it’s all fixed now and i’m amazed and really pleased with the result. It’s looks like a brand new bumper and the colour match is perfect! We are just waiting for the new light fitting to arrive as it has to be imported and then we will be back to normal.

We got many curious looks from the local community. The majority of people thought we were media, I guess they don’t see many people taking pictures just because they like taking them.

Spring is definitely on the way!

The fruit and vegetable stands are already starting to sell some of my favourite spring/summer fruits. I brought a pineapple the other day that was so juicy and delicious I ate the whole thing to myself!

I want to come back here at night and take a picture of this fountain when it is aglow with colourful lights.

The remains of years past.

Sheep grazing in the local park. I tried to forget that they will soon be sold for slaughter.

I really like the city mosques, the stone work is so ornate and make a great picture against the backdrop of modern skyscrapers.

And lastly, my day of picture taking wouldn’t be complete without a photo of one of the many neighbourhood cats!

Novruz in Azerbaijan (Azeri: Novruz) refers to the celebration of the traditional Iranic new year holiday of Nowruz in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Novruz is celebrated throughout the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia such as in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and among Kurds in Turkey. Novruz is also celebrated by some communities in Pakistan. (Wikipedia)

Our cleaner gave us some holiday desserts this week. The diamond shaped one is definitely Baklava which is made out of dough and nuts. We are not sure what the other one is… It looks a bit like a cornish pasty but it actually has a sugar filling.

There will be many different celebrations over the city during the holiday. We have heard that there will be a traditional music and dance show in the Old City tomorrow so I think we will go and see that.

Many other hotels, residential buildings and business centres are being built all over Baku, you can see some of the pictures here.

They are currently in a big concrete pile on the floor which they have started to clear away. Note the digger in the background of the picture below, i’m not sure what it is balancing on?!

If you look closely at the picture below you can see the side of a yellow digger. This one had a bit of an accident. Apparently it toppled over onto it’s side and it’s been laying there amongst the rubble ever since. I’m not sure how they will right it again? I have visions of lots of men on the pulling end of many ropes… actually I don’t want to think about it! :O)

Sorry for the bad quality pictures, they were taken though some very dirty windows. There’s no point cleaning them until the demolition is completely finished.

It seems this guy was out for an early morning stroll and thought he’d see what this oil & gas plant malarkey was all about.

He loitered around for a little bit waiting for food which he gratefully received and then he was on his way! :O)

It rarely rains here but occasionally a thick fog creeps in across the bay and everything goes eerily white.

I took these pictures no more than 5 minutes apart today, normally we can see right across the bay.

I don’t know about you, but my idea of demolition consists of a series of controlled explosions which reduces the building to a dusty heap of rubble on the floor. Instead they have decided to use big cranes to lift JCB diggers onto the roof which are slowly demolishing it floor by floor. As a result our apartment block periodically shakes when they knock a little bit too much down at once! The main entrance to our building has been moved to the far side and pedestrian access limited at the front of the building due to the danger of falling debris, mainly concrete. Parking is also no longer allowed there because rumour has it some debris fell from the top of the hotel onto the cars below which resulted in broken windscreens and dented paint work!

The demolition work is being carried out 24 hours a day and due to be finished by April 2009. Thankfully our apartment is on the far side of the block so we are not too affected by the noise. We do see the occasional dust cloud passing the window, it’s safe to say we won’t be opening the windows for a while.