Wonderfully weird.

Happy New Year to all art lovers.

New Resolutions...

I was inspired recently by a quote from

Austin Kleon’s newsletter.

December 18, 2018.

‘Stay alive, get weird’

For anyone out there who is not afraid of 

being labelled weird, here is the actual post...

‘Stay alive, get weird’

December 18, 2018

Written by Austin Kleon.

I love this little collage of Picasso self-portraits at age 15, 25, and 90, stitched together by photographer Clayton Cubitt, who captioned them, “STAY ALIVE, GET WEIRD.”

I like making the phrase two-way, so it’s “stay live, get weird,” but also, “get weird, stay alive.” Both have worked for me…

Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books.

Austin Kleon

So there we have it...

Many times I have been called weird. 

It seems I am in good company.  

My resolution for 2019 

is to ‘stay weird’.  

Back to the Studio...

Layering paint.

Another new piece is hanging in my home.

I re-worked a painting to create this many layered piece 

scraping and scratching along the way.

It is heavily textured and glows in the hallway 

which is painted a dark grey green colour.

I like to make a picture which has a sense of mystery.

Perhaps it is weird...

Perfect.  

‘Layers of Time’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas.

8 x 20 inches in a float frame.

Finally...

I have been preparing three large oil paintings 

for the Lincolnshire Artists’ Society Show in January.

They are now framed and labelled ready for off.  

‘Bright Abundance’

‘I climbed the hill to see the world’

‘Searching for the silver lining’

Good wishes to you all for 2019.

Until next time....

Thank you for visiting.

Greetings.

Good wishes to all art lovers.

Christmas Moon.

I took a photograph of the full moon 

rising on Saturday evening.

It was a large golden ball shining 

through the winter trees.

My photograph taken through the window was 

rather uninspiring so I jazzed it up a little on my iPad.

It’s great fun doodling over images.

I wonder if I can make a painting?

In the meantime... I give you my

good wishes for a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

Winter cleaning

Studio clear out...and a fresh start.

I have a tidy workspace.

A new clean canvas is on the easel 

and the oil under-painting is drying.

Transparent oil was loosely scrubbed onto 

the surface and spread around with a squeegee.

Scrapes and scribbles are part of my working process now

so a few were added before the paint dried.

 I like the rough effects and some calligraphic marks for interest.

Some will be covered over with paint as the painting progresses.

Back to clearing out...

I think a good clear out is quite satisfying.

This week I threw out three overworked canvases 

which were draining my positive energy,

 and wasting precious wax and oil paint. 

Sometimes this is the only way to progress

when paintings are too bad to save. 

The surface was too rough and unsuitable now. 

I could have sanded it down but enough was enough!

In addition I emptied my paint box, sorted

the paint tubes into colours and threw away 

lots of tubes which were flattened and empty.

I have no idea why I was keeping them. 

Now the box is ready to house the new

oil paints which have arrived today.

Christmas has come early to my workshop.

A festive picture.

I love this painting.

It has been hanging in my studio for months 

and now it is adding some colour in my home.

The work has been on a long journey, starting out as a 

still-life in summer and then it moved on to be more abstract.

I placed the board in this traditional wood frame,

and decided to extend the picture over the moulding.

I painted it black, then red, rubbed it down and

gave it a textured, worn and distressed appearance.

Any leftover paint was scrubbed on the canvas surface 

here and there in a random thoughtless way.

It gradually became more textured and colourful.

I scraped back into the layers and made scratch marks.

There was nothing precious about this painting,

it really didn’t matter what happened.

Then...after a few weeks drying...

one day I realised the picture had suddenly 

come to life.  It was time to stop.

The success of this picture is definitely due to

a loose, relaxed attitude about its progress.

I have found the more I try to protect the work,

the faster it goes downhill towards the bin.

Before I began tinkering with it, I brought my

picture inside and placed it on the window sill.

It is safe for now.

Happy ending...

It began life as a painting of vessels and has now 

returned to form part of a new still-life arrangement.

‘Memories’.  

Oils on canvas board and frame 

22x26 inches overall.

Finally...

I have painted over more photo tiles this week.

The previous ones have dried well and become little oil studies.

Here are two new ones.

‘Free Fall’




‘Escape’

 8x8 inch oil studies 

on self-adhesive plastic tile

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting 

Being an artist.

My painting life is full of surprises

and ‘happy accidents’.

When I rework a canvas I never know the

outcome in advance.  Some take weeks of 

scraping back and changing course whilst others

come together quickly without too much stress.

This painting is now finished and drying.

It came together well and I think the secret 

really lies in keeping loose and relaxed.

With hints of a summer landscape 

I have titled it ‘When all is Summer’

‘When all is Summer’.   Oils on canvas 20x20 inches

Taking risks...

Recently I had some photographic images 

printed on several self-adhesive plastic tiles.

Some were a bit boring so I decided to take 

a risk and paint over the top with oils.

I have finished 5 so far and the results are pleasing.

They might be described as loose landscapes.

If they dry well I shall put them on sale for £ 35.

Two are below...

‘Bright Day’.   Oils 8x8 inches 

‘Exuberance’.  Oils 8x8 inches 


I read a statement online last week by artist 

Louise Fletcher.

It sums up pretty much how I feel too.

Here are Louise’s words....

“Artists are not like everyone else. 

We think differently. We see the world differently.

 We notice things that others do not. 

We feel things that others do not.

That doesn’t make us better than anyone else – just different. 

But that difference can be hard until you realise why it’s there. 

I know it was for me.

But when I finally accepted myself as a born artist,

 I was able to accept all the things that once bothered me.

I used to think I was overly sensitive. 

Now I think of myself as perfectly sensitive.

I used to worry that I lived so much in my head. 

Now I know that’s where I have to be.

I used to be suspicious of the ideas that appeared from nowhere. 

Now I feel grateful to have a powerful intuition.

These “flaws” are actually gifts.

 I am sensitive, day-dreamy, introverted and intuitive 

because I am an artist. 

And being an artist is still 

– to my mind – 

the best thing I could possibly be.

Louise Fletcher.  2018

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting 

Rescue and rework.

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

‘Whilst the sun shines’.  

 Oils on box canvas 20x20 inches. 

I am on a rescue mission in my studio.

After weeks of making the equivalent of mud pies

I have resurfaced and rescued a few paintings destined for the bin.

They are all significantly heavier after adding more layers of oils.

There are some improvements and some are set aside to dry before 

deciding where to go next.  Some might call it ‘painter’s block’.

One painting has been particularly difficult to reach a conclusion.

It is a stretched canvas measuring 40x30 inches.

I painted it early in the year and it has been hanging in my bedroom.

It was one of those ‘alright but a bit boring’ pieces.

Time to liven it up a little.  Add a bit of colour.

My plan went downhill rapidly.

Yes, I added some colour...then a bit more.

It was not looking good. 

Time to leave it to dry and assess the damage.  

The next day I decided to leave it alone.

There is something mysterious about the image.

As though looking through a portal.

‘Searching for the silver lining’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 

40x30 inches 

Another piece in a waiting stage is this one below...

I like the warm glow underneath the grey blue oils.

I have called it ‘North Face’.

Back in the studio today and two more paintings on the way. 

Oils on box canvas 16x16 inches. 

This piece has been worked over several weeks. 

I like them hanging on my studio wall.

Gradually a composition is teased out until I am happy.  

This has been a battle of wills.

Nearly scrapped, it suddenly came together

when I got into a loose gestural mood.  

Now it has strength and purpose.

Oils on canvas 32 x 16 inches. 

This painting has moved on from a 

piece I thought was finished in summer.   

Although I liked it I was in the mood for change. 

Oils on box canvas 20 x 20 inches. 

(Before the revamp)

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.