New painting ‘Porth Nanven – Reflected Light’

Porth Nanven reflected light oil on Canvas 112x132 cm £3100

Porth Nanven reflected light oil on Canvas 112×132 cm £3100

The second of the stormy sea series of paintings. Painted at Porth Nanven and finished at home. The storms at Porth Nanven can be terrific……terrifying too. Bur it is a fantastic experience to paint these storms. It is different from moment to moment and through every storm I could paint hundreds of paintings…..Well in fact this is what happens on every canvas as the painting changes and evolves through repeated visits to witness the cycle of winter storms

New painting ‘Dawn No.2’

Dawn No.2 oil on canvas 122x107 cm 2016 £3268

Dawn No.2 oil on canvas 122×107 cm 2016 £3268

Since the spring of 2016 I have been working towards a series of paintings about the ancient standing stones and stone circles of West Penwith, for myself this is a long process requiring lot’s of visits, lot’s of drawings, and lot’s of time spent in and around these places. Often with projects like this I will start by painting close to the main subject, slowly through painting, different views in different seasons I will get to know the place. So this is one of those paintings in a series about this particular place, though this painting is focusing on the sunrise and bluebells near to Tregeseal stone circle rather than the stone circle itself……the Tregeseal stone circle painting is in progress and is somewhat larger…….

Here I am just yesterday Saturday 29th Oct 2016…….putting the last finishing touches to the painting. This is the most exciting part of painting for me…..all the months of drawing and painting and thinking and contemplating…..the mistakes…..yep….. lot’s of them.

me finishing the painting

me finishing the painting

All the processes  that a work of art goes through lead to these last moments. In many ways what you are left with at the end is just a final single image but what lies behind that is so much more……the  result of  months or sometimes years long project, throughout which the artwork changes and evolves with every new visit every change in circumstance to the place where it all started…..It might have begun in the summer, spring winter autumn or winter…..it might have been raining, snowing, windy, sunny, or a combination and then there’s the emotional and psychological state of mind…..all these things contribute…the memories the experiences, everything.

Rothko said it best when he was once asked how long his paintings took….he answered with his age. From beginning to end it might take months or years but in terms of experience and knowledge to arrive at that point……It takes a lifetime……

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Where do my paintings end up

Over the years I often wonder where all the paintings I do end up. The vast majority of the paintings I do, at least up until recent years have always sold through galleries. Over the past couple of years I have been selling more direct to the public and anyone is welcome to contact me to come and view my paintings.

But for the most part once a painting is sold through a gallery that is often the last I will ever see of it. So it is a great surprise and a very welcome one when occasionally I will be sent an image of my paintings in there new home. On this occasion from a lovely couple who visit Cornwall each year and somehow always find a bit more wall space for a new painting. This is an image of 5 of my paintings in there new home…..

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New painting just finished. ‘By The Sea’

By The Sea. Oil on canvas. 80x80 cm 2016 £1600

By The Sea. Oil on canvas. 80×80 cm 2016 £1600

Started in the spring just as the wild flowers, bluebells and campions are beginning to show there colour. Most of this summer has been filled with early morning mists and fogs that fall from the Cornish cliffs near where I live, and this is another in that series of early morning paintings started after cycling with sketchbooks along the coast just after dawn, drawing this coastline and then back to the studio to start painting….

Oh and it is painted close to Tregeseal stone circle.

Drawing trees

I love drawing trees, it’s that simple and it’s that difficult. It’s difficult to keep track of the seeming chaotic growth of different trees. I like the character of trees, sometimes they take on personalities of there own, that is a conceit of course, but a positive one I hope…… a trick of the human mind that tries to impose a familiarity with the shapes and growth of particular trees. Useful enough to the artist for exploring different atmospheres and weathers .

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These drawings are fun, yet they can take hours and hours to achieve. That is when you find one that you wish to draw, that can also take hours and hours……thats fun to because usually it means I am cycling with sketchbooks and exploring the world. here I can make a parallel with stone balancing……it’s not like you are looking for a stone that you think you can balance, it’s more like you notice something out of the corner of your eye….something that there are no words for……or rather it’s more like its that the creative part of your mind that does not use this kind of language that see’s something.

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All the same you know when you find that stone…..or when you see that particular tree that almost asks to be drawn.

 

 

Oddly I have never felt the need to paint them…..they lend themselves perfectly to drawing. Usually I am using 9b graphite pencils and although I do not paint them in oils I do use graphite washes to add atmosphere and texture

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This one – ‘Willow Tree’ (left) is one I did many years ago in a park in Krakow Poland not far from the student halls of residence. Just across the road in fact. On the whole I spent 2 years on and off visiting Krakow and 10 months doing a postgraduate in fine art at the academy of fine arts in Krakow.

A favorite place to draw trees is Australia. I do not get there as often as I would like……I particularly like the ghost gums and the paper bark eucalyptus trees. And the scent of the eucalyptus forests is quite wonderful. I think again it is the messiness of these forests that attracts me. But also with the ghost gums the contrast in bright sunlight is extreme.

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At some point in the future…..for plans are afoot…… I will return but on that occasion I will be with my bike cycling and exploring with my sketchbooks.

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