Bluebells and grapes.
watercolour. 35x50cm. £150.

Spring came and was glorious, but grey clouds have cut it short.

I’ve been working on commissions, a painting of Whitby Piers for A.L., and a larger panoramic painting of Cleveland hills for R.H.  Both have been challenging in their way. And neither are yet completed.

I see commission work as a weaving of 3 strands: the subject, my reaction to the subject as an artist, and the wishes of the client. This must be fitted within the framework of time, as most people have a limited budget. Sometimes I wish I could paint faster, but I think that my slow contemplative approach gives a certain serenity to my work.

Commissions require thinking time, to weave my ideas, a given landscape, and the patron’s wishes into an image. So in between periods of thought and contemplation of my current commissions, I finished painting this little one.

(for sale £225.)

I often feel, when painting, as if in an ivory tower, somewhere halfway between a dream castle and an artist’s garret, the tower filled with a winding staircase leading to rooms at the top, full of sun and books, canvasses and paint…

Maybeck Window. Acrylics and oils on canvas, 50x50x4cm. £350

I haven’t been just staring out of the window recently, but the last painting of Staithes was  intense detailed work, and was all consuming for a couple of months. So it is good to stop, rest my neck, remember I have friends around me, and at least for a few days, pretend that there are things as interesting as creating an image.

I’ve started 4 new paintings: 3 small windows and a view of Sansend, and was hoping that they would be finished in June, in time for the Open Studios (it’s always nice to have brand new work to the visitors). I might put them on hold for a while, for I have now accepted 3 commissions. One of them is a simple one of Whitby Piers, the other two are panoramas, so I’m looking forward to exploring new hills.

Isn’t life just brilliant!

Staithes keeps drawing me to it…

Staithes, 2013.
oil on canvas, 60x80cm
£1850.

Staithes from Cowbar, 60x80cm (4cm deep, painted round the sides). This has taken me 5 or 6 weeks… I think I’ll paint something a bit smaller now.

PS. When I posted this, I’d forgotten I hadn’t finished to paint the sides and the bottom of the canvas… That took a bit longer, but the painting was eventually finished, and is now exhibited in the Coast Gallery, Cloughton.

I like windows, I like them as the eyes of a house, and I like the way they frame a view. Here are some recent ones.

Window 1 is now in the private collection of Mr and Mrs N.L.

Window I. Sold. Now in the private collection of Mr and Mrs NL.

As a Tree (Transmogrification I) 2013
oil on canvas, 40x80cm

This painting was started in February 2010, and was reworked this year. It seeks to portray the idea that while roots may constrain us, they also support us. As the tree grows, its branches reach for the stars and sometimes attain new and joyful skies.

February 2010 marked the end of my first year of grief, and this painting was part of my reconstruction process. But while I wanted colours, the light between the branches stayed rather dull. The painting was not exhibited in a gallery, but stayed on my wall. This year I decided to rework it, and the image above is the result (coincidentally, as I discovered when I went back to my 2010 sketchbooks, I started reworking on the same date as I had started it).

The image below shows the painting as it was for the first 3 years. I had intended to rework only the colours between the branches, but as you can see, I also reworked the background and the figure.

As A Tree, 2010

Remembering Summer: my garden. acrylics on canvas, 50x70cm. £325. Now sold.

There was a sunny day at the end of June, and I sketched in the garden. I decided to paint and prepared a canvas… I can’t remember what happened next, maybe it rained, or I was just too busy with commissions…The canvas stayed on its easel in the kitchen, until a few weeks ago, when I found the pencil sketch, and decided to “remember summer”. It was a long time since I’d used acrylics. I hope you like it too, and that it warms you.

PS. I was wondering in which gallery I could put this painting, as it is quite different from my landscapes, no moors or sea! Before I could decide, a friend came round, loved it and bought it.

“Remembering Summer”. oils, 60x80x4cm (about 24″x31″).  £650.

 The first painting (working title: Remembering Summer) is a large one, 60x80cm, finished at the beginning of 2013. But as the snow fell, I decided to paint the same view in a smaller painting. Finished just as the snow melted away…