Another new painting which is in the exhibition “An Eye to Cornwall” at The Willoughby Gallery, The Castle Bude. EX23 8LG
This painting has been totally reworked as I was not happy with the original. But some of the old painting has been allowed to show through and created wonderful scratched out lights and texture. Peek- a – blue is a bit of a pun on peek-a-boo as it was quite a grey day and just a little blue sky was peeking through.
After all the organisation of the Royal Wedding street Party, I am able to relax, get back to a bit of house tidying and gardening and Painting! I finished a large painting which I am sure is my best to date! I am not going to post pictures of latest work as I am keeping it for its first show at my Exhibition in June. More details will follow, but I have 10 pieces of work to submit which I am very pleased with. 5 are awaiting framing and need to dry before that can be done, but I have at least booked a slot with the framers. So I now only have 2 canvases in my studio. One is large and the other is gigantic. Am I brave enough to start it. Part of me can’t wait. But for me this is always part of the problem….. I don’t want to rush into it. Do I plan and it becomes tight or do I just instinctively paint. I like to do the latter, but sometimes think a little forethought doesn’t go amiss. Will let you know how its going in the next post.
As a postnote, if anyone wants to see our fantastic street party on facebook, I think the photos can be viewed at www.facebook.com/victoriaroad
As promised from my Brilliance of Cornish Gorse post, here is the finished painting. It was actually finished two weeks ago, but as always I like to put my paintings away and then review them to look at it with fresh eyes. This revealed a need for more colour in the foreground to give more depth to the underside of the gorse bush.
THE BRILLIANCE OF CORNISH GORSE - CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE TO SEE DETAIL
My inspiration was taken from a day in March when there was low light through a light cornish fog which made the yellow of the gorse really jump out at you. To get this effect, my underpainting was purply pink overlaid with a opaque pale cobalt blue . It became a real exploration and adventure in colour with pinks and yellows being laid over dull greens and burnt siennas. Hope you like it. It will one of my paintings for the exhibition in June.
I have now finished three new paintings for a forthcoming exhibition in June. I had always wanted a studio/shed to paint in where I could make as much mess as I wanted and treat it almost like going to work. But for me this doesn’t work. I can’t afford to rent a workspace, so since I have realized my eldest son has definately flown the nest, his bedroom has become my studio. And…. I have realised that my concentration comes in short bursts. Whilst a purpose made workspace would be great, the advantage of working at home is that I can dip in and out whenever I want. If I suddenly have the urge to make a mark, put a colour down, I can in an instant. And…. I can also get the dinner done in between, weed the garden and hang out the washing!
New Painting. Oil on Paper
March brings warmer skies and the mid sun icy blues on the sea. This is the perfect foil for the magnificent gorse we have at this time of the year. As brilliant as any yellow in a wild flower you will ever see. At this time of year there is little other colour in the coastal hedges after a winters pelting of rain and driving winds, so the prickly grey-greened stem gorse gives us uplifting yellows at a perfect time.
Gorse flower, Morwenstow
Inspired by this, I am able to paint with cadmium yellow. A deep strong warm yellow, exactly the colour of the gorse when combined with highlights of lemon yellow. Two paintings are underway, allowing me to experiment with different techniques and colours, as one is painted in oil on a deep crimson canvas and the other using acrylics on paper. Works in progress, I will post the finished work here in the near future.
Millook Beach
My latest finished painting is of a small cove down the coast. Not a tourist hotspot because of its abundance of round bolders . It is a storm beach on the Atlantic coast of North Cornwall at the end of deep wooded valley. My style is loose, and I have tried to depict the depth of sky and sea with lots of layered colour. The sea changes colour every second and this colour was embedded in my memory, a beautiful turquoise reflected from the stony seabed.
