Shout out loud.

Finding a personal voice.

‘Rising with the sun’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas.

A re-worked painting in my studio.

This is the picture before I worked on it.  

There wasn’t really anything wrong but

I felt it was divided into three parts.  

The new painting has more interest.

Voices...

I was reading an article today by Austin Kleon...

This image below came from his newsletter.

Dan Harmon’s quote on the left urges us 

to find our voice and then shout it from the rooftops. 

 Dan says keep doing it until the ‘right’ people find us.  

In his book, Austin Kleon tells us to show our work. 

I am now thinking that ‘Showing = Shouting’

If we keep our work hidden, no-one will see it.

Social media such as Facebook and Instagram 

can be a place to show our work, although I 

prefer not to literally shout...a gentle mention is nicer.  

I share and post my pictures on both. 

Not just the finished ones but some 

of my struggles, re-works and failures too.

They are all part of my painting life.  

I saw something else in Austin’s newsletter...

‘I was thinking that there’s no reason to ever 

participate in an art-making process unless 

there’s some chance for happy accidents 

and moments of serendipity’.   

I love a happy accident.

This painting had the ‘happy’ treatment. 

One mark of yellow changed everything.

It was pre-planned and not accidental 

but it could have gone wrong.

Instead, I feel there is a new focus in the work.

The art-making process is what drives me to paint.

Taking risks and experimenting with colour.

‘Every day I will give you a colour’

This is a re-worked picture.

It was a struggle with a lot of scraping back.

Then I saw fragments of my wild garden emerging.

Oils and cold wax medium on 

20 x 20 inch box canvas.

Thank you Austin Kleon for your advice...

I found my voice,

I will go to the rooftops.

Austin’s newsletters may be seen by visiting his website.

https://austinkleon.com

Ps...this is my unfinished picture

 from the last Blog post -

‘The best of all times’

Oils and cold wax medium on 16 x 16 inch box canvas 

(The picture before I changed it)

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

 

Investing time.

Making marks...

‘Sapphire sky on a hot summer day’

 

Oils and cold wax medium on Arches oil paper.

Today I read an article by Nicholas Wilton,

an artist in California USA.

Nicholas wrote...

‘Painting is a process of call and response.

You make a mark, step back and then

evaluate what to do next. Over time, your ability to

discern the next best mark improves.

And when it does, your art practice

becomes less stressful, and more joyful’.

Nicholas used some important words...

‘over time, your ability, improves’

I take that to mean...

(Time = Ability = Improvement = Satisfaction)

Investing time really is the key to success.

Stepping back to evaluate.

Below is a painting which is at the ugly stage.

It needs me to step back and evaluate

 before I move on.  

I do like the colours and the scribbles.

It will rest in the studio and dry a little

as I decide about making the next marks. 

The painting below is possibly finished.

It was a battle to reach a stage of acceptance

but I like the spontaneous mark making

 and choice of colours. 

‘Sun’s fiery kiss’

Oils, cold wax and oil pastels on 12 x 12 inch canvas.

Here is a detail of the picture...

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

  

Grab it and run.

Look quickly before it’s gone...

‘Beyond the reach of night’

Recently I had a panel with a red under painting 

then I added some blue and black, scratching out 

some shapes and scribbles.  

It sat in my studio for about three weeks.

Then one day I decided to add some more colour...

‘Bang the drum, Summer is next’

You can see it has changed considerably.

Some marks remain visible to tell it is the one before.

However, my picture didn’t last long.

Off we go again...it went through another re-work

which covered all the previous paint.

Several layers of oil and cold wax were applied,

then smoothed, rolled, scraped and scratched.

The painting was turned around and placed in a

heavy gilt type wood frame which was in my studio.

Here it is...

the only evidence of its previous life

is just visible.  A tiny red fragment top right. 

‘Quietly open the woodland door’

Oils and cold wax medium on panel.

The moral of the story?

If you visit an artist’s studio and see 

something you would like to own...

Buy it quickly and run.

Before it disappears.


Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

All change.

Hello and welcome to my Blog 

‘Sapphire blue on a Summer’s day’

Oils and cold wax medium on 20 x 20 inch canvas 

I am happy to say my painting disaster 

last week has now turned a corner.

Just to remind you...

This was the beginning...

Then there was this ‘ugly stage’’

after trying anything to move it on.

I decided to lock the studio door and walk away.

Turning the canvas round I added more vibrant blue 

and some soft creamy yellow. 

 Little fragments of green here and there 

are a reminder of my previous struggle.

It is reminiscent of the coastline in summer.  

I like it.

Today was a good day.

Several new small pieces are drying on my tables.

‘Passage into Night’

Oils and cold wax medium on 6 x 6 inch canvas board 

This little picture only took minutes to make. 

It was a reject from the studio cupboard

with a black under-painting and a 

few left-over colours from my palette.  

Sometimes I think the faster I work brings more 

success than toiling over a difficult piece and fussing.  

On a roll, I decided to give this little picture a re-vamp.

Using some Burnt Sienna and Indian Yellow 

I swept it over the surface and 

then scraped some away. 

Finally, a mix of Indian Yellow and Titanium White

was used for the swirl of cream.

Some scratching into the wet paint

 completed the picture.

‘Bang the drum, Summer is next’

Oils and cold wax medium on panel.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

Sometimes it rains.

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

The view from my studio.

A tranquil scene on a sunny day in May.

I am laughing as I write today.

My last post was a cheerful one about 

two little pictures which were easy to make. 

Now I remember my Mother’s words...

“pride comes before a fall”.

Today I have two paintings on the table in my studio.

They have been worked and scraped down, reworked 

and left to dry as I decide what to do with them.

Nothing was going well...

It was just ‘one of those days’.  

I will share them with you...

A 20x20 inch canvas.

This was the first stage.

I was ‘stuck’ and needed to experiment.

Wondering where to go with it,

I added more colour...

and now it looks worse.

There are too many bits and pieces.

I do like the blue at the top and maybe the pinks,

but the yellow and green will have to go.  

When it is dry I shall rework it.  

Next I was battling with this one 

a 16 x 16 inch canvas.

It was similar to the first painting.

I added more colour and now it looks messy.

The yellow and green are not right.

Maybe I will bring the blue back and take away

the yellow and green when it is dry.

The best option is to leave them for a while

and move on to something else.

Calm is restored..

On a positive note I have another painting 

which seems to be going reasonably well.

It has a sense of calm.

I shall resist fiddling with it.

Oils and cold wax on 24 x 24 inch canvas.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.  

Sunny times.

Today was a good day at the office.

Sometimes there are days when my 

pictures almost paint themselves.

This was an improvement on yesterday’s work

which was a disaster.  Three canvases had to be

scraped down and set aside for re-working when dry.

I wanted to show you these two little oil studies 

which behaved well and were a joy to make. 

They are both oils and cold wax medium 

on 8 x 8 inch vinyl panel.

I think the success came from painting quickly 

and resisting the temptation to fuss.

Bold strokes were laid down and left.

A few scribbles in the wet paint 

revealed the colours beneath.

They are bright, happy little pictures 

and remind me of a seaside holiday.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.  

 

Learning by doing.

Taking risks and trying new ideas...

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

This picture has been in my studio for a few weeks.  

I was unsure how I wanted to proceed as there were 

strong marks and lines on the canvas.

At the time I was thinking about objects...

Cups and saucers, bowls and a jug.

Thick lines were scraped in the dark red paint 

revealing the yellow under painting.  

It was put aside to dry.

The strong reference to vessels may have

 prevented me from going further.

I was protecting them.

It was time to push forward and take risks which

might involve destroying the initial design.

Yesterday I began rolling some left-over oils on top.

I liked the way the green paint brushed over

the slightly raised initial marks. 

Later I added some creamy fawn with my brayer.

Scratching marks in the wet paint I revealed the green.

It was time to let it dry before the next step.

I know only way to move forward and grow is to try new ideas.

Today I had been working on another picture with orange red paint.

Using the left-over oils I decided to forget 

the vessels, turn the canvas round and make a new design.  

Here is the finished piece..

I was very surprised when this emerged.

I love the bright orange against the blue grey.  

I shall allow it to dry and think of a title.  

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

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.