Sneak peek in the studio

I am at last having an exhibition of my paintings and I am really enjoying the challenge of creating a whole body of work, even though at the moment it seems to be turning me into a bit of a hermit. My exhibition will be in September which really isn't that far of when I only have two full days to paint, I think that housework may suffer a bit, what a shame!! Here's a sneak peek.

Work in Progress

I am currently working on a series of paintings so am pretty busy at the moment. I only have two or three days free to get into the studio so that leaves little time for anything else, I haven't done any photography in ages so I might have a painting break next week just to gather some inspirational material. Here are a few detailed photos of the paintings, I don't feel ready to share the whole paintings yet.

Small Paintings

Currently working on some small affordable paintings to put in my shop that I am hoping to open in the new year.

Oil, Pastel and Graphite on Paper

One problem I am having is photographing the work, the colours are not quite right, so if anyone has any tips I would be really grateful. The above painting is a little softer and more green.

New Paintings

Feeling a little more inspired, Summers End 2012 series.

Changing Times.

I must confess that not much painting has been done recently, only three more night paintings and each of them quite different.

I have also done a little bit of painting in my larger sketchbook and have photographed sections of this larger work, all of them are potential paintings.

Times are changing however, and from next week I will probably have less time to paint, my daughter is going back to work, and I will be looking after my Granddaughter three days a week. I am really looking forward to it and am ready for the challenges ahead.
Recently I have been attending a painting and drawing class just to brush up on my skills, I have found it really useful going over things that I had forgotten, it has also helped me to really look at what I am painting and to really see where my inspiration is coming from. I don't want to loose momentum so have decided to do an e course, Bloom True with Flora Bowley which starts next week, I am really excited because hopefully I will get to do some bigger paintings, my three large canvasses are ready and waiting. Not sure how much time I will have for blogging, but hopefully I will be able to do some quick visual posts.  

Night and Day

A visual post, with a little peek of what has been happening in the sketchbooks this week.

Inspiration

Just a few artists that I have found inspiring recently.

Marti Somers, beautiful mixed media paintings exploring the fragility of nature, see her most recent exhibition here

Nicholas Wilton  multi layered paintings in oil and mixed media, he also writes a blog which I found really interesting to read and his method of working is fascinating, constantly painting and then sanding back to reveal the layers underneath.

Ceramicist Elke Sada  has a very painterly style and a fabulous use of colour, each object looks like a mini abstract painting.

Abstracting the Abstract

Here are some photographs taken today of a new work in progress. Using the night paintings as inspiration I am hoping to make some much larger paintings, but not sure if it's going to work yet. As usual I always get distracted by other thoughts and felt like I wanted to add some collage to the piece but not sure about that either so a bit of an indecisive day. I have taken quite a few photographs from different angles and I really like the abstract nature of them.

Another Palette

More sketching and just having fun, not trying to think to much about the actual paintings but trying to get the colours and composition right. I am working on some paintings and will post some photos soon.

Kurt Jackson: The Trees of Cornwall

Whilst I was in Cornwall over the summer I visited the lovely Lemon Street Gallery in Truro. They were getting ready for the new Kurt Jackson exhibition TREE: GWEDHEN The Trees of Cornwall, unfortunately I will not get to see it, however there were a few paintings stacked up against a wall and I did have a little peek. I decided to buy the catalogue and it arrived in the post this weekend. Kurt Jackson is a prolific painter and I admire the enthusiasm and joy for painting that he has, if I could produce a fraction of the paintings he does I would be very happy. For this latest exhibition he has focused on the tree population of Cornwall, it is not an encyclopaedic survey it is more an observation of favourite trees which have been followed through the seasons, some are the rarest trees in Britain and some the oldest planted by his own family in the orchard. The exhibition is on now and finishes on the 8th October 2011.

Maggie Matthews

I have long been a fan of the welsh artist Maggie Matthews. Now based in Cornwall she is one of the areas leading abstract painters. Inspired by the coastline, indigenous and exotic plant life, and collections of pebbles and shells, Maggie sketches while out on cliff walks, recording the shapes and patterns below her. Returning to the studio she works on abstracting her experience reducing her sketches down to flat areas of space and colour. You can see more of Maggie's work at Cornwall Contemporary Penzance.