Summer has arrived at last
I’VE BEEN PAINTING COLOUR - and lots of it. The early morning, low peachy sunlight has been so bright after the long dark days of Winter. The paintings started to resemble tiny Bonnards with their dotted yellows, pinks and purples. This year of painting so far has been a deep dive into exploring new materials, surfaces - paper vs board, stretched canvas vs supported canvas and working through a direction and purpose for painting. I know this is controversial - but painting for the sake of painting is boring for me. I need to know the why, what and the wherefores. I’ve been painting still lifes (something I am curious about), landcapes (my safe comfort zone), interior scenes (also familiar territory), flowers (way out of my comfort zone but fascinating for exploring metaphorical narratives in the work) and this week, a self portrait has emerged - perhaps because I am turning 60 years old this year and do not have many paintings of myself that have survived.
If you’ve been following these journal entries, you may notice that there is now a requirement to sign in for access. This is because, I am reassessing the whole ‘lost in space’ that Instagram has become for me. I am picky about who follows me and I edit that list regularly. I do not want thousands of nosey parkers or insta bots, I really am only interested in sharing to friends, collectors and genuinely interested followers. Besides that, the time it sucks out of my painting time was becoming impossible to sustain. I can safely commit to writing here at least once a month - with images that I have not published anywhere else. You will also be the first to learn of updates to the online shop (HINT: there’s going to be a few oil paintings available for sale on the site later today) as well as news of workshops and exhibitions that pop up in the future. For the new academic year, around September/October - I’m planning on offering small painting retreats and 1:1 tutorials from my home in the stunning Welsh countryside. Let me know if you’d be interested in joining me.
The paintings I’m sharing this month are from early April when there was a week of blue sky and sunshine which compelled me to paint the view from my living room window . The crab apple tree was full and white with blossom, throwing shimmering shadows on the courtyard paving stones and the cottage. I usually paint in the studio from sketches and memory but these paintings and a couple of pastel drawings were made on the easel or table, set up in the living room right in front of the beautiful view. The low morning sunlight cast violet and blue shadows, as well as lighting up the dry lichen and grass so that it looked almost as though it were on fire. Sunlight transforms everything and painting it in a subdued subtle way was impossible. I hope you enjoy the behind the scenes set ups and pastel drawings. Do follow my Pinterest if you have an account, there is much more activity and interest shown for my work on that space and I’m sharing more detailed views of my work there also.
