New Work

I have been working on something new, here are a few glimpses.

Sale Waterside Open

I am very pleased that I have had a piece of my work accepted for this years Waterside Open exhibition. I submitted a small work on paper and I am delighted with how it looks in the exhibition.

It was quite difficult to photograph because the light was behind me, side views seemed to work the best.

The exhibition is diverse as usual, although there is not much sculpture this year, the prize winners this year were mainly painters.

First prize went to Ewa Konior for her painting Garden.

Second prize went to Tilly Dagnall for her painting Maybelline.

The best in Trafford prize went to Julia Milns for her painting Three Trees.
The exhibition is on untill 24th May

Kurt Jackson The Thames Revisited

A short film of Kurt Jackson talking about his latest exhibition The Thames Revisited which was on at The Redfern Gallery.

Happy New Year

Searching For Spring Oil on Canvas 90cm x 90cm

Well it's January 2014 already, I am sure the years go faster and faster the older I get, 2013 was a good year for me creativity wise so I hope it continues in 2014.
I get a lot of my art Supplies from Jackson's and a few week ago on there blog they requested submissions from artists to take part in Reviews of the Year, I applied and fortunately was selected you can read my review of 2013 here and reviews by other artists here.
I thought the above painting was quite appropriate as Spring will probably be upon us before we have had time to recover from the New Year celebrations!! Wishing everyone a wonderful 2014 x

Breathing Space

I had hoped that once my exhibition was up and running that I would be able to spend time on my neglected blog but this doesn't seem to be happening. I am however starting to think about what I do next and as space is limited in my studio I think I need to either work smaller or maybe work on paper for a while, however it is nice to have just a little time to think, a little bit of breathing space. Here are a few inspiring things that I have come across over the past few months, starting with an artist new to me Hannelore Baron, I don't know why I have not come across her before but I find these small works and her life really poignant.

Hannelore Baron used a wide range of materials but, using predominantly textiles she made collages and box constructions. You can see more of her work at  Leslie Feely Fine Art.
Whilst researching Hannelore Baron at Leslie Feely I came across painter Kikuo Saito.

I love these freely painted abstract works, brightly coloured yet still balanced, looking at these paintings I was reminded of the beautiful works of Joan Mitchell who is one of my favourite painters.

It's well worth looking at the Joan Mitchell foundation website, it's full of information about her life and lots of good images of her work including her wonderful pastel drawings.

I will finish with a few photographs taken one evening on one of our gloriously hot days back in July.

And one of the paintings inspired by the walk. Have a good week everyone.

The Colour of Ideas

It has been a long time coming but at last I have a solo exhibition which has opened today at the Sale Waterside Arts Centre. It's a small collection of twenty paintings, and I am really delighted with the way the exhibition looks. It is titled The Colour of Ideas which seemed fitting as it has been this blog and the encouragement of my kind commenters, and the blogging community who have inspired me to continue to paint. Also I must give a huge thank you to the Sale Waterside Arts Centre especially Julia Milns who has organised everything for me and Jenny Waterson who encouraged me to apply for the space. And a massive thank you to family and friends who have supported me and being so understanding over the last few months when there has been no housework done, and my constant refusals to coffee invitations (although I have managed a few) and days out.

I also have a website which is now live, thanks to my wonderful husband. There are still some pictures to add to it so it's still a work in progress but nearly finished.

Nearly There

There are two weeks to go to the start of my exhibition at The Sale Waterside, all the paintings are done, just a little tweaking to do on a couple of them (I have a problem with this, just don't know when to stop). All the small paintings are framed and I have started to photograph everything for my website which will be live soon!! Here is a better photo of the green painting (no title yet!) and one of the smaller paintings.

In the Studio

Paintings are building up in the studio, getting a little bit excited and a little bit worried!!

A closer look at one of the small paintings, they are 30cm x 30cm. Have a great weekend everyone and hope it's sunny where you are.

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.

The Last Gasp of Winter

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.

Callum Innes

I have been a fan of the Scottish abstract painter Callum Innes since my University days so was very excited to here about his forthcomong exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, starting on the 2nd March and finishing on the 16th June.

He will be showing a number of paintings from his ongoing series of Exposed Paintings which are made by a process of addition and subtraction. All the paintings start of as solid black oil paint, he then uses turpentine to remove the black then adds colour and removes this. He also paints in watercolour using the same process of adding and subtracting, this exhibition will show a selection of new watercolours made especially for the Whitworth.

The following Tate Shots studio visit shows the process of making the watercolours, his studio looks amazing, I wish it was mine.

If anyone is local to Manchester you might be interested in his artists talk which is at the Whitworth on the 2nd March at 2.30. You can also see more work here.

Josef Albers

Josef Albers en Amérique - du 8 février au 30... by centrepompidou

Love this short video of Josef Albers colour studies taken from a touring exhibition that started at The Pompidou Centre in 2012, Josef Albers in America: Paintings on Paper. See more here.

The Language of Thought

' The problems of inventing a new language are staggering............
The interest in language so dominant in modern art is not an interest in semantics per se:
it is a continual interest in making language ( whatever the medium )
to fit our real feelings better...........'

Robert Motherwell 1965.

When I am working I always have a sheet of paper at hand to test out colours, marks and scribbles, how to harness this I don't know!!

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.

Painting

A few things that have been happening recently, excitingly I have a few paintings in a small exhibition at the Waterside Arts Centre in Sale. The exhibition is in the gallery bar and is on until early December, all work is for sale. I have also finished three large paintings, started a series of watercolours based on my night paintings sketchbook and another series inspired by the seasons, and at last I have been on a printing course at Hot Bed Press in Manchester called Painterly Screenprinting, photos to follow in subsequent posts, but for know here is a little sneak peak.

Exhibitions

Elaine Pamphilon has a new exhibition starting on the 20th October at the Adam Gallery in Bath, it finishes on the 12th November.

Edmund de Waals latest exhibition at Alan Cristea is getting good reviews, a thousand hours is on now and finishes on the 10th of November.

                           Edmund de Waal: a thousand hours from Alan Cristea Gallery on Vimeo.