Unfolding forces.

As the year ends...

I read this yesterday...

“How does one predict the future 

of the unfolding force of one’s life?”

Thoughts from Sara Genn, 2019

painterskeys.com  

Sara says...”My Quest only reveals herself 

to me when I pick up my brush. 

So I won’t ask you about your 

plans for your work in 2020. 

Instead, I’ll invite you to ponder with me some ideas 

for creative development, with a preference 

for behavioural tweaking.

Sara goes on to suggest...

Experiment more.

 Try adding or omitting one stage 

in your existing process.

Change your ground colour for two months.

Cut your palette in half.

Leave paintings 10% unfinished as a gift 

to yourself for the following day, 

with the idea that you’ll decide 

if it’s actually already finished, tomorrow.

Stronger design.

One neat area.

Two mysterious areas.

Three material areas — 

surface quality, edgemanship and brushwork, 

because you are making a painting.

There were some more suggestions but I 

felt these could be useful for me to try 

as I begin a new year of creating my art.  

Before I get too carried away with resolutions,

 a quotation by Marc Chagall

reminds me to stay close to my heart...

Until next year...

Thank you for visiting 

and good wishes for a

painterly 2020.

Read more of my story here...

Wildartdesigns.com

Wild at Heart Studio.

Open Studio in 2020

Wild at Heart Studio 

Green Acres,

Broxholme,

Nr Lincoln 

LN1 2NG

Here is my studio and workshop

in a Lincolnshire wild garden.

This is where I make my oil paintings.

A few years ago I opened my studio 

each year for ‘Art on the Map’,

Lincolnshire Open Studios.

I have decided to open again for 

a few days in 2020 after several 

people asked if they could visit.

The little summer house will have my

 collection of small oil paintings

and cards on Arches oil paper.

Small framed oil paintings 

Oil painting cards and bookmarks 

In my workshop visitors can see work 

in progress and larger finished oil paintings.

Work tables and painting equipment 

Little oil studies drying 

Work in progress 

Some finished pictures in the Studio...

Studio opening times...

The first Sunday of the month 

 May to September 

Open 11am until 3pm

I look forward to seeing you...

2020 Oils and cold wax painting workshops

1st Thursday & 1st Saturday 

from May to October

Bookings by arrangement - 

Email:   annewoodpaintings@gmail.com

Visit my website for more details...

Click on the picture 

Listen and learn.

Pastures new.

After yesterday’s Blog about intuitive listening,

I set to work on these two paintings.

I didn’t want to tighten up so I worked quickly 

and stopped when I felt they were balanced.

They have new titles now.  

‘The world that time forgot’

‘As one door closes’

Oils were mixed with Cold Wax Medium 

and applied thickly over the previous paint.  

I smoothed over with a Messermeister scraper,

rollered a few strokes and added 

a few scratched scribbles.

Here are the pictures before I began...

This one was quite busy.

I felt it needed calming.

This painting was discussed on my Blog.

The intuitive ‘gut feeling’ was the reason 

for making all the changes.  

I shall leave them to dry.

What a fun experience.

Life in my workshop is never boring.

All for now,

thank you for visiting.

www.wildartdesigns.com

When to listen.

Listening to our art...

I read this online today.

Nicholas Wilton says-

“How can we learn to recognize and 

use our intuition when making art?

I believe intuition is the cornerstone 

of all powerful, authentic art.

But even so, it can be hard to not only

recognize but to trust our intuition.

How do we know, what we intuitively 

know is right?

One way is to simply listen to

what your art is telling you”.

Nicholas Wilton - Art2Life.com

Nicholas believes 

‘listening‘ can hold the key to

making our art more powerful.

He believes our intuition can 

be described as a form of listening.

I gave his words some thought

so I shall use my painting 

‘Balancing Act’

as an example.

This painting has returned to

my studio from an exhibition.

It’s now time to decide whether to keep 

it or rework part or all of the work.

We can all have a ‘gut feeling’ that 

something is right or wrong.

I have a ‘gut feeling’ (with intuitive 

listening), that this canvas needs 

some re-working at the top left.

Naturally it can go wrong...

There is a danger that I may go rapidly 

down the road of total destruction.

Readers of my Blog may recall this.

But...some destruction can bring

forth a greater opportunity.

I think it is worth the risk.

Playtime 

Using digital doodling I played 

with the image, adding more colour,

re-shaping the area and scribbled

the pale yellow squiggle.

Suddenly, I think the image has 

more impact.  Shall I do it for real? 

I will tell you next week.  

Just a reminder...

The Gainsborough Artisan Fair

is on Saturday 14 December.

I shall have a stall in the

 Town Hall from 10am until 3pm.

Lots of small oil painting gifts 

painted on Arches heavy oil paper.

 

Bookmarks

Oil painting Cards...

Send it or frame it.

Prices from £2 

Framed pictures 

6x6 inches £ 20
 

8x8 inches £ 40

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

My website has more studio musings

and oil painting stories.

Wildartdesigns.com

New day.

In high spirits.

Reading this quotation 

I am filled with hope.

My ‘old nonsense’ has been removed 

from the workshop and two new 

clean canvases are on my table.  

Tomorrow I shall open the door 

to begin a new painting day. 

‘Uncharted territory’

Oils and cold wax medium 

on 20 x 20 inch canvas

2016 (Sold)

My work is always uncharted territory.

I like it that way so I am not trapped

into following a definite plan.

There is a sense of the unexpected each time I paint.

A feeling of being unbounded.

‘Boundless’

Oils on 20 x 20 inch canvas  

2013 (private collection)

‘Little blue pot’

Oils on 12 x 12 inch box canvas 

2013 (private collection)

These two pictures evolved as I worked.

I began with an under-painting of 

loosely applied transparent oils.

When dry I overpainted leaving 

fragments of under painting visible.

Abstract shapes emerged and I worked

until the picture felt balanced.

I kept these as a reminder of my painting story.

‘Carried away by a moonlight shadow’

Oils and cold wax medium on 

10 x 12 inch panel and frame.

A recently reworked picture.

Just marks and scratchings.

Worn but carefree.

That’s all for now...

Until next time,

thank you for visiting.

Click on the image for my website 

 www.wildartdesigns.com

Exits

When to say goodbye.

This picture has been on a long journey.

Now it has gone.

There is a time for everything

and it is the end of a struggle.

To be fair...it was coming together 

after several attempts to save it.

But I just couldn’t leave it alone.

It was becoming an obsession.

Finally, after another two hours work 

and wasted oil paint this morning,

I decided enough was enough and

out of the door it went, along

with two more troublemakers.

No regrets.  

I have found the way out of being

‘stuck’ with a painting is having 

 a complete change.

Tomorrow I shall do some quick oil 

studies on paper to loosen up.

Making small pieces can be fun

and is a time to experiment.

To end on a good note...

This little painting is on Arches oil paper.

A quick abstract 6x6 inch sketch 

It reminds me of the colours in my garden.

Painted on the same day

with similar colours were 

three little bookmarks on paper.

They will be cut apart when dry.  

I shall have them all on my stall

at the Gainsborough Artisan Fair 

on 14 December.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

www.wildartdesigns.com

Entertainment.

Begin with no agenda except to entertain yourself. 

Studio playtime 

Oils and cold wax medium on 8x8 inch canvas 

Musings....

I love to play with paint.

Making experimental marks 

can give surprising results.

I enjoy the pleasure of just putting colour

on a surface...any surface.

Any colours.

Anyone who reads my Blog 

will remember how I have 

played around with this picture.

To be honest it has become 

a little obsessive.

The picture is getting heavy with

many layers of paint.

Previously...

The temptation to tamper

was too great and I decided to play. 

It doesn’t matter if the picture is ‘ruined’,

the benefits of play outweigh any

feelings of sorrow.

Yellow was the choice.

I mixed a pile of paint and wax

and whizzed the oils across

the top of the canvas with a large roller.

Goodness!

Now the whole dynamic has changed.  

Having fun I turned to a little 

8x8 canvas which was on my table.

I could use up the leftover oils here.

The play continued and this one

morphed into the picture below.

Bold marks and a few scribbles in the

wet paint have given the painting some life.

A little picture with personality.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

More musings are on my website.

Click on this picture to read my story