New Journey

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

It is time for a change in my art world. 

I am busy getting ready for going to the

 Lincolnshire Artisans Market next month. 

 I shall leave my oil paintings in the studio 

and will be taking new art things to sell. 

 For some time I have thought of

applying prints from some of my 

abstract works onto small gifts. 

Here is my plan...

These photo tiles have an image of my paintings.

More images below will also be used.  

I hope to show more of my ideas next week. 

I love abstraction. 

There is something about the mystery 

which keeps me intrigued. 

Last week I read a letter from The Painter’s Keys. 

It made me look at my own art in a fresh light...

In abstract: control the eye with your edges. 

Push back, push in, push out, pull around.

 “Get the art of controlling the observer,” 

wrote Robert Henri.

 “That is composition.” 

Quote from painters keys.com.  

Until next Monday...

Thank you for visiting 

All change.

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

My new oil paints arrived last week.

It is all change in my studio from

 landscape palette to abstract.

No more earth colours for a while.

I want to make abstract paintings in brighter hues.  

It isn’t always easy to change...I shall persevere.

It is easy to stay in a comfort zone 

using the same ones every day. 

I have had a canvas on the easel for some

 time going through changes. 

This means layering the oils scraping back 

and reorganising shapes.  I left it alone for a week 

to think about where I wanted it to go.

The base colours are dark so it is time to go brighter.  

This morning I used some of my new oils 

mixed with some cold wax medium.

I think I shall let it dry and put it away for a while.  

Here is the finished piece. 

‘Monday Morning’  

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 24 x 36 inches

Another painting had a small change.

The lower middle part had some green added.

Oils on box canvas 30 x 30 inches. 

Green has a calming influence.

The piece is finished now and is a 

companion for the above work.  

I like a series of paintings.  

Here is a little one finished this morning.

‘All Change’  14 x 16 inches  

 Oils and cold wax medium on panel and frame.

The painted frame is part of the work. 

A good start to the week. 

Until next Monday,

Thank you for visiting.

Paint box.

Hello and welcome to my Monday Blog.

Getting colourful.

Last week I decided to change my colour palette. 

  Red was my choice.  

Possibly because my oil paints are 

getting low and red is still in plentiful supply.

A change is not a bad idea. 

  Getting stuck in a colour rut can happen. 

 The same colours picked every time can lead to stagnation.   

My recent landscape colours have 

been muted so this was a big change. 

For now I have also left my land and 

seascapes behind and returned to abstraction.

Red.   What can I learn from this bright hue? 

On the colour wheel red is the opposite colour to green.

  Together they sing out loud.   

A soft ochre yellow helps to tone it down. 

 It has a subduing effect.  

I have painted on the frame too.  A recent addition to my work.  

The inclusion of the frame takes my work into a different zone. 

I don’t do this every time.

  Some paintings are placed in a light or dark frame.  

Here is another new painting over a 

previous work using primary colours....

The yellow in this picture adds light..

However, if you cover the yellow up,

 the red and blue are more subdued.  

After some re-working the painting went a little further...

I think I will leave it now.   

‘Wherever You Are’. 

 Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 30 x 30 inches.  

An autumn still life...

Grouping a painting with ceramic and fruit.  

The background is my wild garden.

The painting had a re-work from a horizontal seascape to this abstracted vertical landscape.   Reminiscent of our wild garden it looks good in this grouping of colours.  

A lemon and lime sit on a little ceramic dish 

made by my friend, ceramicist Lyn Lovitt.  

Here is the painting before I changed the format....

Nothing stands still for long in my studio. 

  Eventually everything will get a workout.  

Until next Monday...

Thank you for visiting.

Carry on.

No regrets.

‘Old nonsense’...

( here are some words by Ralph Waldo Emerson ).  

I saw this quote on Facebook this week.  It can apply to almost everything in life.  

In some ways it is a continuation of my ‘clear the clutter’ thoughts of last week. 

I shall think about some of my paintings.  

Marks made one day can look ludicrous to me the next. 

 There can be too much detail or parts of the work which 

now look absurd in the cold light of a new day.   

Once I get rid of trying to reach ‘perfection’ in my art I can have fun 

and even enjoy making mistakes.   It really doesn’t matter.  

 However, it does help if there isn’t a deadline looming for an exhibition.  

A new day brings hope and a fresh start.   

I find my best days in the studio are when I have frequent visits between other jobs.  

 Just half an hour or so making a few marks and walking away can be more 

productive than slaving away on a painting for hours.   

Each time I return, I look at the piece with fresh eyes.   

Obvious mistakes stand out and adjustments can be made.  

This might even be complete removal of something which felt right before.

There must be no regrets...no time to be ‘cumbered with old nonsense.’

This painting had parts removed.  

The first image is below...I wanted a less defined background. 

  The old painting underneath has mostly been covered over now 

and there is a softer feeling.   Paint was scraped back to reveal 

the turquoise beneath and the bold gestural stroke has been reduced.  

Today is a fresh start in my studio.  

Another week of experimenting and no regrets for work which has been repainted or scrapped.  

Until next week...

Thank you for visiting.