A complete change from my recent paintings. Much as I love my quiet domestic scenes, women doing just ordinary tasks like drying their hair or chopping vegetables, I was itching to get back to my Mediterranean colours, the blues, purples pinks and yellows that lift the heart. So……I began with a beach babe in her bikini in the sunshine and then decided to add a twist. She would have her hat over her face and hands slightly clenched with tension. She is a beautiful woman with a lovely figure, the whole world at her feet. But….. She is wondering where here husband/partner is. Is he with his new woman as she suspects he is having an affair? Has he tired of this wife of his? I wanted to convey that you can be the perfect woman, but you can still lack self-confidence and have gut wrenching doubts about your relationship. Or this woman could be just fast asleep in the sunshine! This is oil on canvas and is 24 x 18″. If you would like to be kept up to date with what I am up to, please sign up for my Newsletter at the top of the Home…
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This work is now completed and is oil on board, 14 x 10″. I have had fun the last couple of days linking in colours to bring the piece together. A touch of red from the peppers and toaster has been added to the girl’s hair as has a touch of the brilliant turquoise that is in her dress. I don’t normally spend so much time on the details as with this painting, but have truly loved painting in all the fresh colours of the peppers and the toaster. The two bottles as well have come alive now all the highlights no shadows are in. Decided against adding in any more objects on the work surface as I think it would have made the composition too cluttered. Overall, having wanted to abandon this piece twice, I have become increasingly fond of this painting and am so glad I persevered. I wish I made my life easier sometimes… Next week I think it is time for another blonde, so watch this space. Please sign up for my Newsletter at the top of the Home page if you would like to be kept up to date with what I am up to.
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‘Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep’. Scott Adams I have to confess I had to look up Scott Adams as had no idea who he was but liked the quote. He is an American cartoonist and creator of the Dilbert comic strip apparently. I make mistakes in my art all the time, but as I gain in confidence in my work I think I agree with Mr Adams in knowing which ones to keep. This painting was nearly abandoned twice through my impatience, but am growing increasingly fond of it as I work through the problems. Patience is not one of my virtues unfortunately. The peppers are now coming to life clearly as are the two bottles and the toaster. Still some work needed on getting all the perspectives correct but getting there. The skin tones have proved more difficult as the girl’s face is in shadow whereas her hands are not, so have been battling to get the shadows and tones right; not completely there yet, but on the right track at last. Next week the details in the hair and dress. The oranges and tea towel mentioned in last week’s blog…
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Having twice wanted to abandon this work, I am suddenly feeling my way into the painting, deciding it WILL work, and getting excited about the details next week. A supporter on Twitter (and buyer, thank you David) of my work, suggested the composition was too cluttered and that it looked more like a Bedsit – et voila, a title came into my head. From my experience of living in bedsits, life is indeed cluttered and rather than paint an elegant dinner party I would rather portray what is perhaps more real for most of us these days, smaller homes, clutter and familiarity. I am still thinking of adding something more at the front to the work, possibly some oranges and/or a blue and white teatowel as Mediterranean colours always work for me. On the other hand that might just be too cluttered…. The toaster will stay after all (nearly got axed last week!) but it is now smaller and slimmer. Will probably be redder too as time goes on. Lastly, I will be painting a burnt sienna glaze over the skin tones when the paint is drier as at the moment the poor young woman has the look of a…
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A new piece, relatively small (14 x 10″) to compliment Should I Stay Or Should I Go and Waiting, Wishing,Wanting which are both on the website. Again, a quieter work after the excitement of the water in The Pink Hat! I need a bit of a rest before I contemplate painting water again, much as I loved tackling that subject. I think I need an object in the foreground of this painting as the area in the right hand corner is a bit dead at the moment. I don’t want to overcrowd the composition but think perhaps a bowl with a couple of oranges in it to add colour. I was toying with putting a glass of wine there but realised I have quite a wine theme going on with a lot of my work, so perhaps not with this work…. I feel this girl is making a special effort with the preparation of meal, hence the title but am open to any suggestions as always for titles. Really looking forward to getting in the bright Mediterranean of the peppers and the toaster … Will probably add some red to the hair too to link the work. A lot of…
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A quote for today : ‘Art is the only way to run away without leaving home’ . When I am in my studio space I completely cut myself off from the world, with or without music in the background. I need this space for myself, my body space, my privacy. Without it, I can’t really function properly and find it almost impossible to start a new work, let alone finish it. But then to mention another quote by Frida Kahlo: ‘At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can’. Hmmmm, not sure about that one at the moment … It’s a difficult balance sometimes getting it right as an artist; we need to be alone in order to create, but we also need the social interaction with other artists/people, otherwise we can feel very isolated and go into a downward spiral of negativity. To The Pink Hat now. I felt the blues of the pool were overwhelming the painting too much and the wall our lady was leaning on was too grey in tone. The hat looked bland and generally speaking, I wanted to throw the work out the window… However, I have battled…
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This is a slightly larger piece, 24 x 18″ (60 x 45 cm) than my recent works and space permitting I would like to paint larger still in this style. The swimming pool water is crying out for a large 5 x 5 ft (150 X 150 cm) canvas in the bright Mediterranean colours I love so much, but living in a one bedroom end flat makes this well nigh impossible …. For now! When I finally get discovered and am selling all over the world, well David Hockney eat your heart out. But for now I am so enjoying painting the water in this painting; the different shades of blue, the white highlights which bring out the effect of the rippling water and the lighter blue lines of the paintwork. Can’t wait to do all the coloured highlights next week, the paler blue turquoise etc. I will be adding different shades of red/pink and orange to the hat to make it sing out more, as at the moment it looks too flat and two dimensional. Likewise I have to find a way to make the feet really look as if they are under the water, probably toning down the…
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Having finished my quiet piece ‘Should I stay or should I go’ I wanted to paint a similar work, and failed totally. I realised, yet again, that I have to be spontaneous when I paint, and to paint another painting in similar vein so soon after the original just doesn’t do it for me. I wasted several hours working out compositions, blocking in the work etc, getting increasingly frustrated. I left the work overnight and the next morning could see that I was going wrong. All is not lost, as I do like the final composition and will come back to this work at a later date. So to this piece, which is going to be completely different and I love the good feeling I get when I feel a painting is going the right direction. Instead of a quiet piece, this will be bright and lively with Meditarranean colours. Can’t wait to get into all the detail of the swimming pool with different shades of turquoise and blue and splashes of white; you can see the start in the right hand corner of the painting. A hot and sunny artwork… The pink hat will be brighter as time goes…
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Finally a title! I had a great response from Twitter followers for a name for this painting which I had struggled with. Once I had added in the phone, this title just did it for me, so thank you Mark and to all who came up with such great ideas. Again you, the viewer, can decide what is happening here. The blue light from the phone reflects an incoming message and the girl has to decide what to do next, hence the title. Is it from a lover? Does she need a glass of wine to help her decide? Or is it just a random call from No Caller ID ….. At present this is unframed and I had wanted to pair it up with the framed Waiting, Wishing, Wanting which is in a beautiful dark wood frame, but am open to offers on either or both of them. I am at last getting a bit of help with the admin side of my work from an independent assistant, so things might look a little more organised in the future and I can concentrate on the painting… Please sign up for my Newsletter at the top of my Home Page…
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This work is 14 x 10″ and will I think be completed next week. There is a painting called Wishing, Waiting, Wanting on my website which is framed in a cool, contemporary dark wood frame (email me for photo image), which was to be included in my work at the Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead. However, the gallery I am with in London has now decided to take my work to Miami Art Fair instead and for this they require larger paintings. So the work is now available on my website to buy. The reason for mentioning the above is that I thought it would be great to paint another work to compliment ‘WWW’. The blonde young woman fits with the dark brunette putting her hair up; they are both quiet, peaceful works and I am looking forward to seeing them side by side. If you are interested in purchasing one or both of these works, please get in touch – I am open to offers on one or either. I have had great feedback on titles this piece, but am still not totally decided. Since adding in the phone I am getting closer, but please let me know if…
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