'The Ending'

graphite, pastel and gesso on paper

40cm x 50cm

'Silently, reluctantly,

Break free from tomorrow'

The contrasting layers of dark and light are less integrated and more apparent in this piece. It appears as if the white that masks the subject is dissolving away and revealing the person behind which I hope captures the sense of meaning in the line of the poem. When I'm working in this way, I have to build up quite a bit of courage at times in order to paint over what I might feel is an already successful drawing. I'm making the under drawings with as much consideration and resolve as I would if I wasn't intending to paint over them. I can't afford to 'skimp' on the preliminary drawing as it just wouldn't work. Sadly, I do have a failure or two along the way which just so's you know, go straight in the bin...!  :) 

'Subway' reborn!

Charcoal, pastel and gesso on paper

70cm x 60cm

Some of you might remember the original version of this drawing from a previous exhibition back in 2011. It was then titled 'New York Subway (Early Morning)'. I've always liked the subject and recently became inspired to rework it with the methods I'm using in my current practice. I have to tell you though it took alot to follow the courage of my convictions and paint over this drawing but once I'd started...well, that was that there was no turning back! 

Painting exercise

'Pineapple on Plate'

10" x 12"

oil on canvas panel

I finished off a painting exercise today that I began last week. In the first session, I made a rapid underpainting which I needed to dry completely before continuing. I used cadmium yellow in the underpainting along with titanium white. These pigments have a slower drying time, but luckily the pineapple survived the drying time :) and I carried on with it this afternoon. I gave myself no longer than 2 hours working time from start to finish. The first session last week took around 45 mins and the second session an hour. The result is fresh and energetic, and unlaboured, which was the kind of result I was looking for :)

'Joan'

'Joan'

120cm x 60cm

charcoal, pastel and paint on board

Meet Jeanne d'Arc or as we know her Joan of Arc! She is also known as the Maid of Orleans and represents here the archetype of 'heroine' or 'woman devoted to a noble cause'. History states that Joan denied her femininity in order to fit in with the 'boys' on the battle field There are other 'heroines' in history whose story is similar, (Camilla for one, who fought in Italy against the Trojan hero Aeneus ) which might lead you to the conclusion that heroism is a male prerogative. Now we can't have that can we!  In my version she is portrayed as a strong, determined but nonetheless very feminine woman. She wears part of her coat of arms (a lily) on a pendant around her neck symbolising her devotion to duty and her willing sacrifice to the belief that she was to be emancipator of France. 

This piece will be part of the show in September. I have just one more piece still to make to complete the body of work for the show...nearly there!

'Helen of Troy' Archetype of beauty or scapegoat?

40cm x 50cm 

charcoal, pastel and paint on board

Here is my version of a modern day Helen of Troy. Helen is a character that I find fascinating and who I tend to think has had a raw deal! Over the centuries she alone has had to shoulder the blame for the Trojan war having been arguably accused of being the sole reason for the battle. We know Helen was not squeaky clean but the accusation is just a little unfair as the Greeks and Trojans jumped at the chance to go in there and do battle with each other! They had their own political agendas, but they've been allowed to escape scot-free and haven't had to accept any responsibility!! So here is my homage to Helen as archetype of beauty yes, but also as long-suffering scapegoat who now deserves to be liberated :)

'Brigid'

50cm x 40cm

charcoal, pastel and paint on board

I'm now in the process of pursuing the feminine archetype as it appears in myth.This is Brigid. She was a powerful, if not the most powerful goddess in the Celtic pantheon. Another name for her is 'Bride'. She was a triple goddess - Maid, Mother and Crone. Her face in my painting is from imagination. All I knew when I started drawing her was that I wanted her image to be in profile.  I placed the crown of flowers on her head as a symbol of the Celtic connection to the land. 

'Eve'

charcoal , pastel and paint on board

50cm x 40cm

This is 'Eve', mother of all mankind...or as Carl Jung described her, biological woman. Jung introduced us to the anima, the unconscious feminine side of man's personality and divided the anima into four levels, one of which was Eve. Jung's Eve is a fascinating character as she is a woman of infinite faces...this is just one of them! 

Mother and Infant

paint and charcoal on paper

50cm x 70cm

Still on the theme of archetypes, this piece represents 'the nurturing mother'. Following in the footsteps of the many and varied historic Madonna and Child representations, this image illustrates our idealised concept of motherhood. My subject, I must tell you, is not from imagination but taken from life...it's my daughter-in-law and grandson. They'd eventually fallen asleep on cushions on the floor having spent one of those 'typical' never-ending nights that parents inevitably experience with infant babies! 

Next body of work

oil paint and charcoal on board

60cm x 60cm

This is the first piece of my next body of work. I began making it a while back whilst working on my mosaic drawings. It's for the exhibition in September titled 'Aspects of the Feminine', an intriguing subject and one I'm going to enjoy working with. I'm exploring the use of oil paint and charcoal together. They're my two all time favourite media so I'm finding the process very exciting! 

I'm at Caistor tomorrow making a drawing in the gallery (and probably doing alot of chatting!) And then Monday we're off to our house in Spain for a few days, spending time with family and carrying out the usual annual maintenance (that's the down side!)  Hopefully though, there won't be too much to do when we get there :)

My finished frames

Today I've been finishing the frames for two of the pieces going into the show 'Borrowed Blue' at Sam scorer Gallery, Lincoln on Monday. I ordered the frame pieces and accessories from Ashcraft Framing and put them together myself. It was simple and straightforward...brilliant! 

'Girl in Blue Jumper'

40cm x 30cm

oil on stretched canvas

I've been working on this piece this afternoon, getting it ready to put in 'Borrowed Blue' at Sam Scorer Gallery in Lincoln. It's an interesting show to take part in because the requirements for the show are as follows: four pieces in total from each artist - one has to be an older piece, one a new work, one borrowed from someone else and one containing a blue element. I couldn't resist when I was invited to participate! The painting above is my 'blue' piece and the drawing in the painting that you can see on the wall on the right of the girl will be my 'borrowed' piece. It's a charcoal drawing by a friend and artist Rosie Burke. I love the drawing and was delighted when Rosie agreed to hang it in the exhibition!

'Borrowed Blue' 

Sam Scorer Gallery

Drury Lane 

Lincoln

2nd September - 15th September  

All those who can get along to the 'invitation do' on Sunday 8th September 2.00pm - 4.00pm are very welcome. Please come if you can. There will be yummy tubs of ice cream (dairy and non-dairy) and lots of soft drinks too. Should be a fun afternoon! :) 

'Market - Saturday Morning' finished

20" x 30"

oil on canvas panel

Click to buy

I think I've pretty much finished this painting now. I'll check again tomorrow incase there's something I've missed.  I've spent three sessions working on it. You could probably carry on forever with a studio painting like this but you have to call a halt at some point and sooner rather than later before it becomes overworked and laboured. Some of the fruit and veg are invented because the boxes that were visible were mostly filled with vegetables in plastic bags and I wanted more colour. That's the magic of being an artist...if you don't much like the reality around you, then you can change it!! 

'The Rage of Juno'

60cm x 60cm

Oil and charcoal on board

This piece is part of my on going line of enquiry into Roman culture and myth. I've been working on this painting for the last two days. This morning I wiped it off completely and began again! Drastic I know but, when I'd wiped it off I found I was left with a ghost of the original image with its interesting marks and which made a brilliant surface to work on. I'm experimenting with combining charcoal and paint and the difficulty is controlling the amount of paint to apply, so easy to overdo it which was the reason I wiped it off this morning. This version I'm happier with and feel I'm getting closer to where I want to be.

'Girl in Blue Jumper'

'Girl in Blue Jumper'

40cm x 30cm

oil on stretched canvas

I gave this painting a burnt orange ground which has given the work a lovely rich glow. I completed the painting in a relatively short time this afternoon and I find that a coloured ground works well when you need to work quickly. If some of the ground colour is left showing through the top layers of paint, it pulls the painting together nicely. 

'Man Studying Painting'

'Man Studying Painting'

12" x 10"

oil on board

This painting took me most of the day to complete, only because I seemed to be on a go-slow today! I took my time, enjoyed the paint, stopped for a cup of tea or two, hardly looked at the clock because I knew I had all day...brilliant!  I'm enjoying these gallery paintings, I have one more planned. The subject in this painting is one of my class members and this was just after we had hung the work. 

'Man Studying Drawing'

'Man Studying Drawing'

10" x 12"

oil on board

 Click to bid

 One of the first visitors at the exhibition when we opened on Monday, was the man in my painting. He took alot of time going round and studied each piece with great interest and intent. I loved the way he was standing with his foot turned inwards and head tipped to the side at the same angle as the image in the drawing. I decided then and there that he would become my next subject! 

'Two Pots and a Mirror'

'Two Pots and a Mirror'

6" x 6"

oil on board

My grandaughter bought me this little pot out of her own pocket money :)

Then she asked me if I would paint it! So here it is, just for her, two pots for the price of one! I like using mirrors for the abstract shapes they can create, but not round ones I've decided...they're very tricky! It's been an interesting exercise exploring once again all the different tones and colours of grey you have to use to achieve white. Half closing the eyes is an invaluable way of identifying values, I can't recommend it enough.

'Tomatoes and Pan'

10" x 12"

oil on board

Click to bid

I painted 'Tomatoes and Pan' this afternoon. It took approximately two and a half hours to complete. I imposed a time limit again and didn't go over it and I'm happy with the result. It's certainly not overworked and that's the way it's going to stay, and to make sure, the things have been put away and the tomatoes will be eaten within an hour! 

'Pots with Pear in Dish'

10" x 12"

oil on board

Click to bid

I set a strict time limit for this painting. I didn't want to spend too much time on any one part and end up putting in too much information and subsequently tightening up. My time limit was two hours which was easy to set as two hours was the only amount of time I had to work so I couldn't go beyond it even if I wanted to...this seemed a good plan. All went well and I was just giving myself a pat on the back for achieving what I'd set out to do when I realised I'd left out the reflection of the blue and white pot! Duh...! That was yesterday afternoon. Today I painted in the weird and distorted abstract reflection and strengthened some of the values. 

I don't think it's important what objects you paint, the importance lies in the way in which the light falls on them. Sometimes you can suddenly notice something that you've passed many times previously which had stayed invisible until that moment just because the light is falling on it in a different way. Changing light alters our perception of what is around us and provides an opportunity to translate that visual excitement into paint. Sometimes I feel very privileged and lucky being an artist.

'Alexander' revisited

8" x 8"

oil on board

SOLD

The last few days I've been busy on a commission in between working on a painting for a future exhibition. This morning I've been varnishing paintings and I've reworked the right eye and eyebrow (on the right as you look at the painting) in 'Alexander'. It's something that's been bugging me for a while so today I decided to put it right and be done with it!