My apologies for no blog for a couple of weeks. I have ongoing back problems which are affecting my ability to paint as much as I did. I was also away in Cape Town on a working holiday and have come back inspired by the colours, warmth and enthusiasm of Africa as always. Cape Town is a vibrant melting pot of art, and I met some wonderful talented artists on my trip. I have a mass of photos to work from and the first is shown here. It is larger than previous works (80 x 80cm) and I am painting it for the gallery in Cape Town that takes my work, State Of The Art, http://stateoftheart-gallery.com. It is mainly a successful online gallery but now has a physical presence on Shortmarket Street. If you are in CT, go in and have a look at the great work on show there, a lot of figurative art which is always good to see. This photo is taken from the gallery looking across to the local cafe opposite called House of Machines. There will be more reflections in the window of the cafe as I work the painting up. The woman in…
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Well, I asked and got so many suggestions for titles for this piece, so thank you to all on Twitter for your ideas. A difficult choice to make, but in the end I liked the contemporary feel of this title. Thank you Mark Pearson! You can make of this composition whatever you like. It could be a woman looking out to see seeing storm clouds on the horizon and comparing it to her life. Or she could be seeing the calm waters and flat horizon and she at lasts feel at peace. Or she could just be hot and cooling off under the parasol! This is why I so love painting narrative works, as the viewer makes up his or her mind as to what is happening. What I may intend to happen is probably completely different to what the viewer sees. I have a wealth of new images from my stay in Cape Town and can’t wait to get started; but will probably paint something completely different initially to give me a change from painting water…. http://stateoftheart-gallery.com in Cape Town are now showing my latest street art Graffiti Line Art. They are a great online gallery with a physical…
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Making good progress now, next week should see it finished and available. Still not sure of a title, so any ideas please? I think I will still liven up the bikini colour somewhat and the skin tones need more depth and development before I shall be satisfied it is finished. However, I have never yet met another artist who is completely sure they have finished a piece; there is always something small that needs adjusting. Artists are perfectionists by nature, forever searching and developing their skills and talents. Or so I believe! Loving being back in Cape Town and am grateful for my beloved IPhone to point and shoot at some interesting scene, be it on a beach, in a cafe, or half way up Table Mountain…..my daughter has been out to stay and has, as always, been an inspiring muse for me. I can’t wait to get started on a series of Cape Town paintings on my return to Bristol, but in my style though. I would not wish to try and copy some of the amazing African artists here. All I can do is use my own perspective and ideas to hopefully produce some great paintings, but with…
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