Studio Days

2011-10-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

Still exploring the void. I'm starting to see something of what I want in here but am I too familiar with what I want to see?

2011-08-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

I have returned to using a simple 6-colour palette to see if it triggers some different colour combinations. I've noticed that I'm really quick at mixing parcel tape brown, which is handy as its a colour I'm quite partial to.

2011-07-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

Charcoal and acrylic paint seem to be an unlikely pairing but quick to work with and a pleasing contrast between the old and the new. I'm drawn to the contrast between the opacity of the acrylic and the nebulous half-tones of the charcoal.

2011-05-05T02:23:00.000-07:00

This painting has unexpected presence, given that it is relatively underworked - for me! I'm going to think on it.

2011-04-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

I'm loving working on stretched paper again - its a fuss to prepare but joyfully cheap and thereby carte blanche to do whatever.

2011-04-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

Its early days with the new work for me to decide where its going. It twists and turns in ways that I hadn't anticipated. Occasionally I get a glimpse of something I like, but how to get at it?

2011-04-07T03:41:00.000-07:00

Cars are quite the hardest thing to draw. I think its the combination of man-made curves, and precision engineering that makes them at once organic and geometric. Whenever I draw a car it looks like a 80's Ford Cortina.

2010-09-30T03:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first construction site painting I did, and I think its more interesting than the subsequent ones I've worked on. Possibly because there's more focus on the abstract, more perceived space? Could be why it works. Its not exactly finished but it serves its purpose as a stepping stone.

2010-07-22T04:36:00.000-07:00

Urban Art was heavenly last weekend, sun sun sun all the way and really great atmosphere. I met some really nice people and saw some great work. Treated myself to a print by Dan Hillier and a small watercolour by Kate Pritchard. Very good.

We thought there should be a Pimms stand, which could adapt to sell hot chocoloate according to the weather.

2010-05-06T01:44:00.000-07:00

April, May, June are exploratory months. I try and push ahead with the work and see what comes up.

I made a deliberate choice this week to look at the work of two artists, Richter and Tuymans. Then set myself the task of applying what they do to my own work. Its an uneasy task, and it feels all a bit wrong, but then I remind myself that artists always look to the masters in their field for knowledge.

The most pleasing outcome was the section of vase at the foot of the flower painting. This has the minimal touch of Tuymans, the blur of Richter, and yet it was the area that came most spontaneously from myself. I have been alluding to this treatment of a glass vase for over a year now. This time I got somewere close.

2010-03-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Decided to start a new painting today. Got my energy back after the Affordable Art Fair. This was my 5th year with Stark Gallery and as always, exciting to be part of this huge event.

Not sure if blogs are superfluous these days : ) but I would like to say thank you to my customers at AAF and Stark.

2010-03-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

It doesn't always seem obvious what I am doing with my palette, and its true I like to explore my options. On the whole though I find myself drawn towards warm/cool shifts in hue, but across a narrow tonal range. I also like big hits of colour. I wonder if I can label this as my style??

I can't really take much credit for this painting as I was ready to scrape it all off at the end of the life-class. I sometimes can't see beyond the wetness of the paint, I like my oils DRY : )

Very glad our tutor Wendy made me keep it!

2010-02-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some 'alla prima' work recently to see if I can speed myself up! The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. On the whole I prefer the appearance of a more indirect process, but the challenge of moving an image forward more quickly is good for me.

2010-01-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

Before & after together! Poor squash looks a bit like Humpty, all taped up, but I want to paint him again so the inside needs to stay good. Was going to bring it home and put it in the fridge, but then remembered that the studio is colder than my fridge ; )

2010-01-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

Brush & ink studies of phormium seedheads. Mainly with a view to doing a large painting, but also for a few seasonal greetings cards!

I like the severity of the shapes, which appear to be accentuated by the tonal contrast of the studies. But in fact this is quite literal as the seedheads are raven black, and even the stalks are black, with a mauve-grey bloom.

2009-12-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the art of Rousseau, these fabulous collages were created by young visitors to the Lee Green Open Studios event (Nov 09).

Great pieces of team work, well done all who took part - I was impressed by your self-direction and enthusiasm! Maybe see you again next year?

2009-10-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

I had to include this painting in my blog, first because the sunflowers were an unexpected gift - which always adds resolve to my endeavours! Second, I'm so very pleased with the goldfinch...a tribute to my childhood idol, Raymond Harris Ching who illustrated the Readers Digest Book of Birds. I still look at those illustrations and think that they are stunning.

2009-08-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

The demise of the still-life; I like the way the subject crumbles away as the painting takes form. It helps me not get too caught up in detail.... although watching 6 episodes of Desperate Romantics has given me a temporary longing to paint individual blades of grass. It will pass I think....

2009-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Ella getting busy at the studio! Nice choice of subject....errr.....what else is there to paint but flowers?!

2009-08-11T00:09:00.000-07:00

... its those small abstract spaces inbetween the leaves, and cast by the light, that I like most!

2009-08-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

After finishing a portraiture summer school, I kept my painting at home for a few days to get the feel of it. I'm just not used to painting people! Today I took 'Marianne' to the studio, where she seemed more at home under the fluorescent lighting!

2009-07-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

On the whole I like this image. The colours are a bit brutal, but it has a pleasing rhythm. I think the colours are nearly there.

Needless to say the lilac rose is no more, but I think I captured it. I have tried so many times to paint a rose, and this time I think I have something possible.

2009-07-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

I read recently that the still-life painter Soutine often had rotting carcasses in his studio, and he refused to paint without this visual source in front of him... although it was unclear exactly how much he looked at his subject and how much it was a kind of 'talisman'....

2009-06-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

Some interesting progress today. After much re-working, I finally reached the kind of image I was hoping for with this painting. I should probably see this as the first attempt, and have another go with these colours ...

2009-05-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

First stages of the same painting. I find it interesting how the objects seem to move as the picture develops even though most of the essential lines remain unchanged.

2009-05-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

.... don't ask me 'how'? I don't know, it just went that way! Could be something to do with my colour-mixing course that I'm taking at the moment!

It looks quite pretty here in small, but its quite eye-popping at full size!

2009-05-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

After not seeming to finish anything for weeks, today suddenly two paintings felt like they were practically finished... I say 'practically' because you just never know...

2009-04-27T02:34:00.000-07:00

It felt like a long winter this year, so I decided to paint from home for a few weeks while I was working on the artichoke painting. I wanted the mood to be sunny and 'Provencal', I thought the comforts of home would lift my spirits suitably!

2009-04-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

This week I have been eating rhubarb and painting rhubarb - there is plenty growing in the garden and its such a fabulous colour. I like the holes in the leaves. Funny that the snails would rather eat the leaves, and we eat the stalks!

2009-03-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Paintings said cheerio today to their favourite venue, You Don't Bring Me Flowers cafe in Hither Green!

2009-02-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

A snap from my studio today; getting ready for the Affordable Art Fair at Battersea.

Its great to see some results after months of work...don't I love it when the frames are finished!

2009-02-26T13:49:00.000-08:00

Here he is... 'Tortoise'! I hope I captured his comical spirit?

2008-11-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

Open Studios was great fun this year, thank you to everyone who visited. It was great to see customers and friends who visit annually... that connection with the local community is fabulous.

Once again I only remembered to take photos late in the day when everyone had gone home. Suffice to say I well & truly missed the moment! Here is an example of the hanging though!

2008-05-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today I found it quite helpful to have these two smaller paintings alongside the large one that I am working on.

I want the large paintings to have the same colour vibrancy as the small ones, but this can be difficult as the temptation is to work in looser brushstrokes. This, by its very nature, breaks up the colour application.

2008-05-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

I seem to be experiencing a bit of an ideas frenzy at the moment. I've started 4 new paintings in the space of a week!

This one is a development of the ranunculus painting I started last month. The composition is quite tight. The challenge will be to keep the treatment loose.

2008-05-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I always enjoy taking a photo of the oil sketch with the still life in situ. Maybe because it shows both the similarities and the differences? The need for observation and the leap of the imagination.

2008-05-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

A kind of overview of works in progress!
Its nice when work is in full flow - you don't have to think about 'what' to paint and you can concentrate on the pursuit of the image.

I'm really pleased with spirit bottle here.
I've developed a fascination for painting glass,
even if its just a plain old 'Sansodor' bottle!

2008-04-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

I seem to have spent an age re-working this image. Not because I didn't like the first version, but because the coral colour of the geraniums was behaving really badly! This colour seems impossible to 'capture' - but I'm getting closer!

2008-04-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

I really wasn't confident about painting these bluebells, they are quite dainty compared to the types of flowers I usually choose. Still, the colour is heavenly, and I think it is this that carries them!

2008-04-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

I like tables in windows. So that I can sit and gaze idly. I can waste hours....

2008-04-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

The background of this painting will be quite simple - this is the start of it but I don't expect it to shift too much, maybe just some more glazing for depth.

2008-04-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite parts of painting is establishing the composition. I love the way it unfolds onto the blank canvas ... something from nothing!

Once its there, you can't imagine you hadn't seen it before!

2008-04-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

The Ranunculus are starting to droop but I think I've just about got them down onto canvas. They remind me of that swirlly Italian glass that I can never remember the name of.....

2008-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Starting work on some new canvases following a little break .... for inspiration of course!

This underpainting is the tentative beginning of a study of Ranunculus. It may look idealised but in fact its really quite close to life, the flowers 'hold' the most beautiful space and its hard not to fall in love with them!

Its been a long time since I've pencil-sketched my composition but I fancied doing something quite composed so pencil was tempting. Now I've got my composition I might wash off the pencil and go in a bit more loosely....

2008-03-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Double Oval, bronze 1966, Henry Moore at Kew Gardens

2008-03-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Part of my new year's resolution was to spend less hours at the studio, and more time on the development of my work. Its been hard to put this into action as exhibition deadlines were hanging over me!

But now I've met my committments I'm raring to get out and the Henry Moore exhibition at Kew Gardens was top of my list of 'must sees'.

So today was an 'out-of-studio-day' and it was great! This piece, Double Oval, is the subject of my sketch above.

2008-03-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

Busy painting and not many diary entries, but at least here you can see the finished version of the painting started in January (see previous entry).

It generally takes me about two months to finish a canvas, big or small, it doesn't seem to matter... I obviously need two months!

2008-01-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

Its been months since I've posted a blog ... not since Open Studios in fact!

There's something about working under artificial light that slightly kills my enthusiasm for photographing works in progress during the winter... they always have to be colour corrected and it all looks a bit lurid!

Anyway, here's today's oil sketch. I love it when the objects in a still life arrangment pull together to make an interesting composition - its never a foregone conclusion! But I like this one.

2007-11-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

These gourds really amuse. Is it just me or do they really have anthropomorphic qualities?

2007-10-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Colours of Cyprus again!

This summer I saw scarlet geraniums in pebble-dashed pots, set along the roadside of a steep mountain ascent.

At one point the lovely (but predictable) scarlet theme jolted into life as the mountainous backdrop gave way to turquoise water!

Hence the colour inspiration for this piece...

2007-10-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

Open Studios was good fun this year, so many people came along! Not that you'd guess so from this photo ... I wish I had remembered to get the camera out when the studios were buzzing with visitors!

Never mind, next year!

2007-09-29T03:04:00.000-07:00

Starting to push the tonal values and balance the colours now. Intending to add a big hit of yellow-orange in the top left corner on the Pyracantha berries ... I expect this to really add a zing to the painting.

2007-09-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I'm unsure about colours I doodle on the image in Photoshop just to spark off a few ideas. You have to be a bit careful as the ideas don't necessarily translate truly well into paint ..... but its fun!

2007-09-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Snowberries and pyracantha....an autumnal combination! I have established the composition for this painting, and blocked in an underpainting. I like the vigour, but less so the colours ..... but they are only a starting point anyway.

2007-07-22T05:59:00.000-07:00

Urban Art Fair - Brixton, Saturday 21st July 07! It WAS sunny.... for about an hour! The rest of the time it rained - hard!

It was fun though! And thank you to the people who stopped by to chat, and of course to people who bought.

I spent the evening drying out my paintings and acres of soaking wet bubble wrap. After that a well-deserved glass of wine!

2007-07-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Studio: end of day... the (sometimes) pleasant task of reviewing progress!

2007-06-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

I might keep this one for myself as I can't imagine parting with it .... yet! Mind you, normally the ones I like best don't appeal widely anyway.... so its probably safe!

2007-06-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

Recently I've started a few paintings and not bothered to take them through to completion because I've felt confined by the formality of the works.

However I think this painting marks a positive move towards a more expressive, yet naturalistic stance...I'll keep going with it!

2007-04-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm really enjoying working on this small painting, it represents a move towards a bolder, slightly 'fauvist' approach (to coin a term). I began this composition in black line, and worked purely from memory - pushing the form of the plant as hard as I could to fill the space of the canvas.

2007-02-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Not a lot of painting news to post at the moment, as I'm working on finishing touches. However, I thought it would be nice to post a photo of my new studio. Its been said that I have it looking like a green-house already!

2007-01-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

This painting SO reminds me of my holiday to Cyprus. I guess that was the intention, but I didn't realise quite how evocative this painting would turn out! The mosaics on the table are a kind of 'tribute' to those that I saw in the ancient ruins at Paphos. I find this level of detail quite demanding to paint and I have to tackle it in small chunks! I shudder even to think of the patience required (and working conditions endured) by the mosaic artists of Ancient Greece.

2007-01-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

This painting has been in my sketchbook for 8 months - its taken me a while to come around to it!

The composition features more interior than I usually include, so it marks a shift in perspective - literally and metaphorically! The leaves were drawn from memory. I saw these leaves on a bush locally and I admired them every day when I walked past. I have since learned that the bush is called a 'smoke bush'. The leaves glow bright red when the sun shines through them, but without the sun they are a matte purpley colour.

2007-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

Its the New Year, and I'm in the mood for some bright and cheerful paintings! I think my Christmas trip to Cyprus has also sent me home with sunny ideas from the Meditteranean!

2006-12-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

The finished painting, purple accents and all!

I'm very pleased with the rhythms in this painting, it is a little mesmerising - in the true sense of the word!

I love the shadow colours too - purples and ochres combine really well here.

2006-12-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today I worked on pulling out the earth tones. The painting is wet now, which makes it hard to photograph as its shiny....
About 5 days are needed for it to dry, after which I will pull out tiny areas of accent colour and possibly boost the light areas if they dry dull.

2006-11-30T11:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, when mid-way through a painting, its hard to see where you're at - even if you are pleased with it!

The 'desert' has kept me busy all day today, and I'm hoping that the couple of days it needs to dry will give me time to decide how I draw this painting together and complete the finishing touches.

2006-11-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

I've fallen in love with these abstracts, even in their early stages.

Based on sand-dunes and desert-rock formations, these paintings have probably been 'in me' since my visit to Tent Rocks in Santa Fe, almost 7 years ago!

2006-11-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

The protea is really coming together now and I'm pleased with the stormy grey-blue background - the perfect colour to set off this delicate pink and orange flower. So, just a little bit more work pulling out the definition and it will be finished.

Meanwhile the actual flower has dried to a crisp - and it's held all it's leaves, exactly as in the painting!

2006-11-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

A quick snap of today's work in progress. If you skip back a couple of blog entries, you will see this same painting in its earliest stages....and also the real King Protea that I worked from.

2006-10-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed painting this chrysanth, it was so overblown that it took on an abstract appearance.
I managed to complete most of the painting in one pass - alla prima or wet-in-wet - one of my favourite ways to work as it retains the immediacy of the brushwork.

2006-10-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

A snapshot of paintings in progress at the end of play today. Flowers: a return to old territory maybe, but also the opportunity to test and stretch my ability to use oil paints.

2006-10-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Its rapidly approaching six months now that I've been working from the studio (as opposed to working from home) and I'm just beginning to make sense of the changes it has brought about in my paintings.

Having the studio has made it possible to work in oil again - something that I can't trust myself to do at home because of the mess - or at least the potential for mess! So, changing medium from acrylic back to oil has been my first challenge. Its interrupted my flow a little and its taken me more than a few months to get into my stride, but I've turned the corner now - so that's the first hurdle over.

The more subtle challenge (brought to my work by having the studio) is the newfound opportunity to do absolutely whatever I want. I've never had that option: gently protected from the challenges of creative freedom by the limits of my working environment. SO .... I'm very keen to see what I can achieve this year, in my new space, and you are very welcome to follow!