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  1. Showtime

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    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 has been used for the red swirl.  

    Oil pastels were also used for rubbing on marks   

    It was purely fun.




    Three more pictures followed...

    Also using oil pastels 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.

     







     

     

     

     

  2. Time to shout

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    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.