All is calm.

Hello and welcome to my Monday Blog.

'Blue Stream'   Oils on canvas 16 x 16 inches

There is a sense of calm in this painting.

It is a re-work just finished and put into this float frame.

Here is the first 'draft'.  

I liked the right side but the left needed softening...

I poured solvent onto the surface and scrubbed with a brush,

 blotted with paper towel and scraped until a ghost image appeared.

Part of the old work is now there which gives a mysterious feeling.

The little scratch marks on the right were made with the pointed end of a brush.

This softened image gives me the impression of water.

All is now calm.

Atmosphere.

Below is a new piece on an old canvas with a dark underpainting.

The green area was left-over paint on my palette, spread randomly over the surface. 

 I used a squeegee and roller to move it about, scraping to reveal the dark underneath.

The used paper palette was used to blot the canvas leaving traces of blue and other colours. It now resembled grass and earth which gave me an idea for more marks.

Warmer colour was rubbed over the 'skyline' with a broad streak

of yellow to add light. Scribbles and scratches into the oils give a tangled effect.

This was painted very quickly resisting any tinkering.

It has a fresh, untroubled look of a wild landscape.

'Tangled'   Oils on canvas  16 x 16 inches. 

On with the show...

I now have three paintings to submit to the Lincolnshire Artists' Society

for the Summer Show in June.  If selected they will be in Sam Scorer Gallery, Lincoln.

   

They are from my new series of abstracted landscapes with a wild theme.

Now it is back to the easel to prepare for another show in July.

Until next week...

Thank you for visiting.

This road is bumpy.

Hello and welcome to my Monday Blog

Caution in the wind

Oils and cold wax medium on panel and frame.

Last week I showed a photo of some paintings with their frames being painted. 

 They went from cream to dark grey brown, and back again.

  I still couldn't decide on their future so I threw caution to the wind

 and loosely painted the abstracted landscape onto the frame.

A few scribbles and scuffs were added for good measure.

It seems to work and I shall let the piece dry.

The painting road is a bumpy one...I have learned to take the rough

with the smooth and not get too emotional about the potholes.

Change of attire...

Framing is always difficult.

I am aware that viewers will have their own opinions and preferences.

Some of my work isn't framed at all.

The gallery wrap box canvases can look right without.

I paint the sides of a box canvas.

Sometimes continuing the image around the edge.

Others have the sides painted in a dark colour.

Dilemma...which one?

Tuesday afternoon  Oils on canvas board  10 x 12 inches

A new painting this week.

The off-white frame is looking a bit stark...

The same painting is in another painted frame.

I think the darker one is better.   

Taking the easy road...

Moor  Oils on canvas  8 x 8 inches

Another little landscape study painted at the weekend to take to the

  Lincolnshire Artisan's Market in Market Rasen on Saturday 30th June.

These small studies are a joy to make. I paint them quickly

and keep them loose and abstracted for a sense of place.

No real place however, just my own thoughts.

In the studio this week...

The painting on the table is still on the rocky road...hopefully not to ruin. 

It is the second experimental one using the frame as part of the image.

A long way to go yet but it is an exciting journey.

Time to go home...

The road home is a short one.

Our garden is turning green now the sun is shining.

Until next week...

Thank you for visiting.

Moving on in abstraction.

Hello and welcome to my Monday blog

Sketching a painting

This is a work in progress.

  A re-work over a piece painted in 2013.

I am using oils and a little cold wax medium here and there.

Using the end of a thin brush I have drawn into the paint making scratches and doodles.

This gives the impression of a sketch book on board.

It adds interest and a little intrigue.

Land or sea? 

 Another re-work on board in progress.

This is actually on the reverse of another painting.

Again, I have scratched marks in the wet paint to reveal the underpainting.

The frame will be re-painted too...possibly a dark almost black finish.

Making abstracted paintings

Abstraction is my favourite way to paint.

I love the surprises along the way which can determine the outcome.

Cold wax medium was mixed with the creamy green oils and knifed

over the already textured surface.  Paint clings to the raised bits like sparkles.

As soon as I had placed the cream paint and pulled it down the surface

I knew the painting was finished.  Stop now!

This was painted today and is drying in my studio.

I like the colour combinations of violet and soft greens with some warm yellows.

A watery shore?   Maybe.

All shapes and sizes

Colour and shapes.

This canvas begins another life.

My big clearance last week has certainly brought on a flurry of new work.

I feel as if I am in the flow and will keep painting whilst the feeling lasts.

The weather has not been kind for gardening but it is ideal for my studio work.

Evidence 

Tools of the trade

To keep my hands clean I wear vinyl gloves as I handle the oils.

This protects my skin from exposure to the paint but they get very messy

and each time I squeeze paint from the tubes I transfer the 'mud' as you can see.

The box is getting very low on materials so it must be evidence of my working day.

Moving stuff around

Little groups

My studio is always on the move.

I like to have my work around for encouragement and company.

Old canvases are also stacked here facing the wall ready for re-painting.

The large canvas in front was finished recently for a show later this year.  

Experimenting

Three under construction...

I am experimenting with paint finish on frames.

These have had a preliminary coat of oils using some of the colours from my palette.

    At present they are looking very scruffy as I am distressing them. 

 They will have several more coats and I am not sure how they will be in the end.

The exciting part is playing with them.

I might have them ready for showing you next week.

  

Until next Monday...

Thank you for visiting

Reworking.

Hello and welcome to my Monday blog

Last week I had a big spring clean in my studio.

It was getting very cluttered with paintings of all sizes.

I was ruthless.  

Now I have many empty frames and a crate of rejected work.

I shall re-work them into new paintings.

Getting near the edge  Oils on box canvas 16 x 16 inches

This one has been re-worked and is hanging on the studio wall.

I have left a few marks from the previous one peeping through.

A black and white image shows the value range.

This is a handy way of knowing if the painting has balance.

Taking a deep breath.

Sometimes a complete overhaul is required.

I began making marks and thick paint to cover the original image.

After scraping back several layers to reveal the colours beneath

I added some Naples yellow.  I have left it to dry before moving on.

Repairing damage...

This is a stretched canvas which had a split at the top.

I nearly put it out for scrap but I removed the canvas from the stretcher 

and cut off the damaged part.  Then a coat of turquiose oil was brushed over the

image in a loose way.  I left parts of the first painting to show through.

A hand-painted frame completes the picture.

I propped it against the wall near an orange jug of old brushes.

Saving the day...

River walk   Oils on gessoed watercolour paper

This image was posted on my Blog last week.

It all went wrong when I wanted to add colour on the right side of the work.

A sea of mud emerged so I decided to crop that part off and resize it.

This is the finished adapted piece.  

Something old, something new...

Creek   Oils on panel  

Previously, this was a landscape featuring a lake.

Using loose brush strokes and a knife I turned it into another image with water.

Detail of the work

A close up view of some gestural brush strokes.

The Studio...

Work in progress.

Work is on easels and tables waiting for the next stage.

The large painting on the wall is a painting from 2007.

It will remain untouched...

Until next Monday...

Thank you for visiting.

Experimenting.

Hello and welcome to my Monday Blog

'Going out with the tide'   Oils on panel  8 x 8 inches

You may have noticed I am very interested in painting the coastline.

I like the changing textures and shapes on the shore made by the tide.

This small study is about the shore.

 The tide is out and light is reflected in the thin layer of water over the sand.

This of course, is how I imagine it to be.

I am in my studio and not standing on the beach.

The small panel is actually my palette at the end of my day.

I noticed the colours and marks appeared to resemble a scene so I began

 teasing out this composition.  It was just a bit of fun but it works and I like it.

All change...

Wild Place   Oils on canvas board 10 x 12 inches

This piece has been on a long journey.

Several weeks ago it was put on one side to rest

 whilst I thought about what I wanted to do with it.

I began experimenting with cold wax medium mixed with the oils.

After a few layers and a bit of scraping back this was the result.

However, after a little tampering the following day I had completely

lost the painting and a totally different scene emerged.

All is not lost   Oils and cold wax medium 

Now the painting has dried I decided to place it in a frame.

I used a hand-painted wood frame which seems to work with 

the colours.  I think it reminds me of dunes with drifting sand.

All is not lost after all...

As long as it takes...

This is a piece of work on gessoed watercolour paper.

The gesso strengthens the surface and can withstand a

surprising amount of scraping and rough treatment.

My experiments with the cold wax and oils are taking me into

new territory and I have to say I am enjoying myself.

After drying a little, I began adding more layers and scraping back.

Here is the painting as I finished working on Saturday.

It is coming together and will be left to dry.

I might add some colour to the right of the red mark.

Scratching lines and patterns to reveal the underneath is part of the fun.

Finally...

 Oils and cold wax on canvas board  10 x 12 inches

This painting is about abstracted shapes and colour.

I extended the background paint onto the frame.

It seems a gentle painting, easy on the eye.

I will leave this one and try not to tamper.

Until next Monday...

Thank you for visiting.