Parting ways.

‘Thoughts on Fire’

Oils and cold wax on Arches oil paper 

A new painting 10x12 inches

I cropped the painting to fit this 8x8 inch float frame.

It sits happily near my Lyn Lovitt ceramic vessel.   

Lyn has an exhibition opening on 

Tuesday 17 September in Sam Scorer Gallery, Lincoln.

Out of sight, out of mind.

It never ceases to amaze me how often 

I read something in my emails which 

is appropriate for my art journey.

Here are two quotes from last week...

The first rule of storytelling is that something must die in order for something else to be born. 

In your art story, this means that if you want your work to grow, you’ll need to kill something. 

The good news is that you probably have something to sacrifice lying around your studio 

(Sara Genn -  Painter’s Keys)

When you get rid of old material, 

you push yourself further and 

come up with something better.” (Austin Kleon)

Getting rid of art which may be 

holding me back is a habit I try

to practice in my studio.

There is a sense of relief and freedom.

I like to have paintings around me which

are fresh and new as these can

trigger an idea or become part of a series.

Shapes and colours 

Work on Arches oil paper 

Part of my paper-painting collection.

Back to the process of parting of ways...

Sometimes it is just a case of putting 

unwanted paintings aside, out of sight so they

do not influence the current work.

My out of the way place is here...

The old caravan.

Taking a break from making pictures,

here are some of Nature’s landscapes...

Beauty in old age

This oak tree was planted 165 years ago

I hope it lives here for many more.

Here is a place for new planting...

Maybe some Mountain Ash saplings 

to provide berries for our birds.

A home for wildlife...

A little track through the wild garden.

The fox visits us most nights.  

A quiet place for contemplation...

Timber housing.

That’s all for now...

Until next time.

Thank you for visiting.

Mellow September

September is my favourite month.

My birthday.

I love the mellow warmth of days relaxing into autumn.

My studio palette seems to reflect the wild tangled 

hedgerows in our nature garden.

A small canvas 8x8 inches

It’s partner...

Oils and cold wax medium on 8x8 canvas.

When I look across the fields around our home 

these colours are everywhere.

      

Detail from a larger picture...

Rose hips, Rowan berries, apples and blackberries.

Sun streaking across the stubble fields.

It’s a glorious time.

Making plans...

    

I am preparing my work for the 

Gainsborough Artisan Fair in October.  

These small abstract paintings on Arches Oil Paper 

are my demonstration studies for workshops.

I use transparent oils mixed with some 

cold wax medium and ‘sculpt’ the

paint on the paper.  After scraping and rolling, 

scribbling and scratching...a picture appears.

They can be used as pictures to frame, 

or made into greetings cards.

Also, these one-off original paintings 

could be hostess gifts, birthday presents 

and ‘stocking fillers’ for art lovers.   

A selection of small oil paintings 

ready for my table at the Fair.

6 x 6 inch paintings in natural wood box frames.

On the second Saturday each month this

Artisan Fair is in the Town Hall, Lord Street,

Gainsborough from 10am to 3pm....

I have booked a table for 

October, November and December.

Louth Exhibition 

My Show in the Riverhead Theatre Gallery 

continues until the end of September.

September is a busy month 

for artists and art lovers.   

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.  

 

Journeys.

Every picture tells a story...

I have finished a painting.

Last night I decided the end had come

and I had reached my destination.

After 6 reworkings.

‘Where the Sea meets the Moon’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 16 x 32 inches.  

The collage above tells the story...

each image moving on to the final one. 

It’s a rare occasion to have so many reminders 

of the journey as I normally forget to take a photo.

It wasn’t an easy journey, there were many

‘scraping backs’ and fresh layers of oils 

applied over several weeks. 

Many times I wondered if it was a waste of

time and paint.  Just one more try...

Suddenly it all came together...

It was a special moment .  

Easier routes...

There are occasions when a painting journey is short.

This picture began with an under painting of yellow 

and burnt sienna with some cold wax medium.

I scraped a loaded palette knife across the canvas 

and with a rubber squeegee, sculpted the colour,

making marks and scraping away 

to reveal paler parts. 

Here and there I added some transparent blue

which turned turquoise when scraped back.

When it was dry I added more burnt sienna and 

dark red mix with a brayer.  More scraping

followed with some scratched drawing into the paint.

Darker parts at the bottom give weight 

to the composition.

Finally, I loaded my large brayer with blue and gave

two fast ‘passes’ across the canvas.

‘Upon my soul, this scene of rest’.

Oils and cold wax medium on 16x16 inch canvas.

Studio time...

Some days my studio time is in short bursts,

particularly when other jobs are to be done. 

The wild garden is now in a state of dereliction.

Turning my back on it is not an option.

I have set myself a daily ‘3 barrow load’ 

regime for autumn and winter 

to bring some order to the situation.

So far, I am keeping up with it.

The advantage...

Short bursts can be an advantage.

Working faster and not labouring over

a picture prevents the work from tightening up.

This little painting was an example of my

fast and loose process.

‘Passing by’

Oils and cold wax medium on 12 x 16 inch canvas 

Making geometric marks and removing paint 

here and there, I sculpted an abstract scene.

I like the colours and shapes with random lines.

It was made over three days...allowing 

the paint to dry before adding to the work.

Each time was brief...possibly only 30 minutes.

Larger paintings will need more time.

For now I shall keep my painting muscles

exercised with these little studies.

That’s all for now...

Until next time,

thank you for visiting.

Showtime in September

Louth, here we are...

‘Lincolnshire in the Wild’

Abstracted Oil Paintings 

A show for September by

Anne Wood - Oil painter

It’s all there...from today 

My selection of 10 oil paintings for the 

Riverhead Theatre Gallery.

A small wall but they fit nicely...

Also, a selection of small framed 

landscape oil studies 

at special prices. 

On the desk in the booking office.  

Times of opening...

The Show continues until 

Sunday 29 September.

Plans for 2020

My plans for having oil painting 

workshops next year 

are going ahead now.  

I am preparing the studio and 

surrounding areas for access.

There will be places for 4 artists to work.

A new ‘Posh Privy’ is being built nearby 

and a kitchen/diner area in the cabin.  

‘Posh Privy’

Here is the advance poster.

Dates may be provisionally booked...

2020....Oils & Cold Wax 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.  

Working with oils, oil pastels and other 

mark-making tools, Students will learn 

and experiment on Arches oil paper.

It is designed to be a relaxed, fun day...

creating some small paintings to take home.   

This workshop is suitable for beginners 

as well as experienced artists.  

Painting materials, and 

tea/coffee/cake

are included in the price.

Please bring a packed lunch 

A fridge, cups/plates & utensils are in the studio.

Off road parking

Wheelchair access 

   April to October   

The 1st Thursday & 1st Saturday of each month 

Four places will be available on each day....

from 10am to 3pm     

Fee £ 50 per person.  

Contact Anne Wood for more information

 if you are interested in taking part...

Wild at Heart Studio 

Green Acres 

Broxholme

Lincoln 

LN1 2NG

E:  annewoodpaintings@gmail.com

The studio ready for a workshop...

Little oil studies will be made.

Here are some demonstration pieces.

You will have something 

you have made to take home.  

If you are interested in taking part,

just email me to provisionally add 

your name to my list.  

The full fee is payable one month before the chosen date.

E:  annewoodpaintings@gmail.com

Well, that’s it for now.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.  

Showtime

Hello and welcome to my Blog...

This week I am preparing 10 paintings for a solo show

in Louth Riverhead Theatre Gallery, Lincolnshire.

The paintings will be on display from 

Tuesday 3 September until the end of the month.

More details will be posted nearer the time.  

The title of the show is...

 Oil paintings of Lincolnshire in the Wild

A selection of oil paintings about

 wild places in Lincolnshire 

from the Coast to the Wolds.  

Created in my Studio, 

these abstractions rekindle 

fleeting memories as I work.  

 This is a journey beyond reality; 

an imaginative ‘sense of place’.  

It has been fun to make this selection 

as I wanted to have a group of paintings 

which reflect my love of the wild.  

 I feel happiest when I am surrounded 

by nature in its relaxed sense.  

Outside my studio door

It’s all in the paint.

My pictures are made from marks...

mostly spontaneous and free.  

 As I work, the shapes and colours begin 

to form ‘abstract landscapes’.  

  The re-kindling of memories comes 

from this painting process.  

Sometimes the painting is purely 

about colours and shapes...

Although there isn’t any direct reference 

to the landscape, the colours are 

around me in my garden.

I have a liking for industrial shapes too...

Skyline shapes, cranes and 

chimneys sometimes appear.

They are imaginary ones here.

This picture has a resemblance of a steelworks.

As a child I remember my father taking 

me at night to Scunthorpe Steelworks 

and watching the red hot slag 

tipping from the little rail trucks. 

Moving on.

My painting is always evolving.  

This is a recent one...

making the bright marks centre of attention.

Oil paint from the tube has 

been used for the red swirl.  

It was purely fun.

Three more pictures followed...

Also using oil pastels for rubbing on 

some of the marks and oil paint 

squeezed straight from the tube.  

Random marks and shapes emerged.

They all have a similar theme.

‘Fairground’

Moving on again.

This week the weather has changed.  

Suddenly it feels like autumn.

Oddly, my painting changed at the 

same time although not deliberately.

These two pictures have a 

definite autumn colour palette.

A journey through the year in my studio.

Where to next?  Adventure awaits.

Here is a quote from Nicholas Wilton...

“In art often you have to start before

you know where you are going.

There are no roadmaps for each of our

creative paths if they are truly our own”.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

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.