Sunday 27 October 2019

Alignment.




Forming alignment with life’
Creating coherence.

Nicholas Wilton Art2Life



‘Carried away by a moonlight shadow’

A new painting from old.
Worn but carefree.




Nicholas Wilton’s Art2Life weekly newsletter 
arrived in my email inbox this morning.   
 
It gave me some serious thought.
I copied these suggested ideas from his text...




Create Coherence between your Art and Life....


Your Art becomes stronger the 

more it reflects you.


Coherence between your art and life makes 

your art practice unstoppable.


Focus....discernment 


Your ability to choose what to keep or 

eliminate in your art and life is a practice. 


Your improvement occurs over time.


The evidence of this is seen in 

the evolution of your art.





To illustrate,

I am using this painting to see how 

the advice fits with my own art practice.





‘Twilight fades the blue’


Oils on canvas board 10 x 12 inches. 



Often I will use an existing picture to make a new one.

   I decided to make a few changes here.


The picture was turned upside down 

and some bright oil colour was added.





It certainly made a difference and

I was ready to keep it....



However, after reading about ‘discernment’,

choosing what to keep and what to eliminate 

I realised there was too much ‘noise’ 

in the painting.   It wasn’t harmonious.

It was busy and tiring.


It was time to think about change.


To bring the painting back to what I like in my life.

Simplicity and a clutter-free environment.



Aligning my work with my life...



I began scraping the colour off and added blue, 

magenta and black with some cold wax medium.

The paint was spread with a knife.


This effect calmed the painting and gave me

a few ideas.   Turning the picture round 

again I scraped paint off and scratched 

some marks in the oils.  Bits of dried 

paint underneath appeared adding interest.  







I rubbed paint off with a rag revealing 

the streak of pale blue dry paint underneath.

This looked ethereal as if in moonlight

giving me the idea for the title.  





Suddenly I felt I was achieving my aim.

Linking my art practice with my personality.


I wondered if some of this was intuitive.


An example of this is how I design my home.  

If something begins to look cluttered I

remove items until I feel a sense of harmony.



Here again is the ‘new’ picture.







‘Carried away by a moonlight shadow’



Here is Nicholas Wilton’s website:   https://www.nicholaswilton.com


To see my website: 







Here is Nicholas Wilton’s website: 


Friday 25 October 2019

Solitude


Hello and welcome to my Blog...




‘Say it with Orange’

Oils and cold wax medium on panel 
in a hand-painted black wood frame.




....Today I read some encouraging quotes
which inspired me to write this blog.

They are all from Sara Genn,
 The Painter’s Keys Newsletter.
She selected these to include in her letter this week.
I have copied them here to share with you. 



Alone, and without any reference to his neighbours, without any interference, the artist can fashion a beautiful thing;” 

wrote Oscar Wilde.


“In solitude, we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us,” 

wrote Virginia Woolf


“If you are alone,” wrote Leonardo da Vinci, “you belong entirely to yourself.”





After giving this some thought I must agree.

Solitude is important for my own working practice.


I am fortunate to have a space of my own 

for making my art. This is essential for me to 

abandon all outside influences and concentrate 

on moving paint around, making marks.  


‘Belonging entirely to myself’...I lose track of time

when entering my world of imagination.





‘Every turn of the tide’


Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 


An example of an imaginative view of the shore.  

Simple marks and texture give an abstract view.  

The picture has a feeling of solitude.



More studio musings....




Below are parts of a recent painting...

Zooming in and cropping reveal

a few intriguing images.   


They could all be paintings in their own right. 

These little images are possible ideas for 

another piece of work.   












They are all taken from this painting...





‘Eight days a week’


Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 


I love this picture.   It currently hangs in my home.



That’s all for now...

Until next time,

thank you for visiting.
















Wednesday 23 October 2019

Advance notice.





Hello and welcome to Wild at Heart Studio.


I am happy to tell you about my plans for
Oil painting workshops next year.





These are some of the little oils and cold wax
studies drying on the line.  







Details of the occasion are below...





2020 Oil Painting Demonstrations/Workshops

 

In my studio, set in a wild garden in the Lincolnshire countryside, these one day workshops are an introduction to working with Oils and Cold Wax Medium.

 Students will learn and experiment on Arches oil paper creating some small paintings to take home.   Working with oils, oil pastels and other mark-making tools, this workshop is suitable for beginners as well as experienced artists.

It is designed to be a fun day...relaxed and friendly.

Lunchtime may be inside or out in the wild garden.

  There are plenty of picnic areas, seats and mown grass tracks in the paddocks. 

  Waterproof footwear is handy.

 

2020 MAY TO OCTOBER  

  1st THURSDAY & 1st SATURDAY EACH MONTH

Four places, working on tables will be available on each day....from 10am to 3pm.    

 

 FEE £ 50 PER PERSON

This includes your painting materials and equipment...

tea/coffee/cake/biscuits are provided.

 

WHAT TO BRING:

A packed lunch.  

(Cups/utensils/plates and a fridge are in the studio).

I recommend wearing an apron or some painting clothes.

A tray or similar is useful to safely transport your wet oil painting home.

 

Programme...

10am Refreshments and introduction 

10.30 - 12  Demonstration and painting time

12 - 1pm   Lunch 

1pm - 2.30  Painting and experimenting 

2.30 - 3pm  Refreshments and preparing your work for transporting home.

 

Contact Anne Wood if you need more information...

Provisional bookings can be taken now - the full fee is payable one month before the chosen date.   

(PayPal, bank transfer or cheque payable to Mrs A.Larder)

 

REFUNDS/CANCELLATION 

Refunds can be given if the booking is cancelled by you but must be no later than 2 weeks before the date to allow time for another person booking.

A full refund is given if the workshop is cancelled by me due to unforeseen circumstances.

 

THE VENUE;

Wild at Heart Studio

Green Acres

Broxholme

Lincoln

LN1 2NG

E:    annewoodpaintings@gmail.com

W:  www.wildartdesigns.com

 

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS to buildings with assistance.

The wild garden is also accessible with a wheelchair with care in dry weather.


🅿️   ðŸš¾   ♿️   ☕️

 

 

 ~~~~



Next week there is an exhibition featuring art by 

members of the Nadin Group.


Here is the invitation to the Opening.

My painting was chosen for the flyer.




          

‘Passing Moments’.   

Oils and cold wax medium on 12 x 16 inch canvas.

(This picture can be hung both ways).


That’s all for now...
Thank  you for visiting.  


To browse my painting website...






www.wildartdesigns.com

Saturday 12 October 2019

Over the edge.



Pushing on...




Dark and mysterious...

This painting was made from leftovers on my palette.
I left it to dry thinking it was finished. 


Not so...

A few days later I decided to push it further.
There is nothing to lose from trying.
I will return to this in a while.


I was already making changes to another picture...
It was a ‘busy’ composition and it was annoying me.  

Here it is...




A red/plum colour was mixed and added to calm it down.
The picture had too many ‘things’.
It needed taming.


Here it is after my changes...
immediately there is a sense of rest, yet 
there is still plenty going on.

My eye can quickly travel around the picture 
taking in the shapes and brighter colours.

Then I can settle on the duller red to pause 
before moving on.



‘Touched by the sun’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas.

....There may be a little change yet 🤔🎨



Returning to the first painting...

This leftover red/plum colour was used with a roller 
Pressing hard to make sweeping marks at the bottom.

I left the top alone as I liked the dark marks against 
the jade green/blue of the background.   
The broad marks are simple, just two
running in different directions.



I have titled it ‘Passage into night’.

It reminds me of the ethereal colours in a garden at dusk.
It remains dark and mysterious but has a stronger appearance. 





What has this to do with jumping over the edge?

Everything.

I could have played it safe and left the works alone.
They were not really very bad paintings.
However, going beyond safety is exciting.

Venturing into the unknown we can win or lose...
Sometimes the painting doesn’t survive.



Nicholas Wilton (USA painter) says...

“We need to step up, even if it is scary”

“How far can you go?”

“Don’t settle”





Nicholas Wilton
Art2Life


Until next time...
Thank you for visiting.













Tuesday 8 October 2019

A Millionaire’s Palette


How much?



‘Turquoise trails of timeless flow’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 


This week I read an article by
USA painter Carol Marine.


Here are her words...

“I was thinking today (for some strange reason) about stingy paint putter outers. I'm talking about artists who put tiny little dabs of paint on their palette because ... well, paint is expensive, right?! I can say this because I was one of you once.


Imagine if piano players had to pay a penny for every key they struck. It wouldn't cost a fortune to play one song, but it would sure add up to practice, huh?! Can you imagine the emotional turmoil while practicing? But that's essentially what we're going through as artists. We pay for every dab, whether it works out or not.


Someone told me once, "Paint like you're a millionaire." I didn't understand it really, but I did put more paint on my palette. And because it was there, I used it. And because my palette didn't feel stingy, I was more confident, and eventually I DID understand.


Put more paint on your palette. It makes a difference. No longer will you make the decision not to mix that last color you need because your blue has run out, and you mix a color that isn't quite right, but whatever. You'll have plenty of blue. And paint every day too, so that you can use the rest tomorrow. And if you can't paint tomorrow, put your paint in the freezer so it lasts longer”.


Carol Marine.    




I agree with Carol, there is something exciting 

about having generous piles of paint to work with. 


My paintings are layered with thick oils...



If you would like to read more about 

my use of oil paint...


Visit my website:  


www.wildartdesigns.com





Until next time...

Thank you for visiting 





Here is Carol’s website address:


https://www.carolmarine.com