Boat at Hengistbury Head

This painting's progress has been slow, however I've signed it, and for now I'm finished but I intend to review it in the New Year.
Have a Merry Xmas, and Happy New Year, I'm looking forward to a new challenge in 2014!

Slow progress

I decided to have another play with this painting, the sea still needs some further highlights adding once dry, I wanted it to look calmer. I've changed the boat colour as it was too over-powering. I've yet to do much to the background, apart from soften the shore line.

This is still very much a work in progress, I've not really got into the swing of things. I've found the move to Dorset very distracting and my art has had to take a back seat behind the practical stuff like house hunting. I'm waiting to join some local art groups and societies, and I hope that meeting some local artists will get me painting and hopefully exhibiting again.

Getting to grips with waves, W.I.P.

I've only painted a couple of seascapes previously, the sea is a magical thing, ever changing. A few years back I painted a surfers beach in Portugal, as you can imagine the waves there were big and wild. This seascape is a very different scene, here the waves are gently rolling onto the shoreline, leaving a fluffy froth on the beach. I've recently relocated to Bournemouth so the sea is my new inspiration and I have much to learn! This is a small painting, oil on canvas, its very much an experimental painting that has plenty more work needed. 

I visited Hengistbury Head, Christchurch back in September, and made a start on a new painting which has sat on my easel ever since. I think I was hesitant to do more work to it as I found the sea such a challanging subject. The last month or so I've been out just watching the waves and the water as it comes up the beach. The sea is always unpredictable and just in the few months that I've lived by the coast we've seen the sea in it's many forms, from as still as a mill pond to the recent storms with winds up to 90mph. Light is consistently changing with the weather and the seasons, and I've got the Winter to look forward to and discover the new changes in the coming months. Anyway must get on with this painting first!

Relocation

w.i.p a boat moored at Hengistbury Head

I've had a long break from my blog, during this time a lot of things have happened in my life, as a consequence my art had to be put on hold. My last exhibition was back in May, after which my studio was packed into storage in order to reveal our 4th bedroom, to aid the sell our house.

A big move for the family from Kingston which had been our home for 12 years, returning back to Dorset a place I called home some 20 plus years ago.

My new home and studio is in Bournemouth, and after being here a month or so I finally have unpacked my studio, and begun to work. The obvious change is the change of local scenes to inspire me. I really miss my walks into Richmond Park to watch the deer, however now I have the sea on my doorstep.

Hengistbury Head is a short drive away, or a beautiful cycle along the promenade, it is known for its colourful beach huts. This is my w.i.p so far, to get back into the swing of things I have keep the painting to a small scale. I'm only a couple of hours in and my painting doesn't feel very fluid yet, I guess that's due to my time out.

Tranquility

A few summers ago I stopped off in a small Greek fishing village for lunch, the whole place had a lovely calm to it, including the harbour. Fishing boats moored up barely moving in the still sea. After a long British Winter I'd like to back there now!

The Rutting Season

In the rutting season the Red Deer become very vocal and bellow a roar accross Richmond Park. The Park echoed with these strange calls when I visited last October. This is a small A4 pastel painting, helping me to ease myself back into my work. I have a small oil painting lined up for my next work, again a red deer stag.

Fallow deer in Richmond Park

Back in the Autumn I went to up to one of my favourite places, Richmond Park with the hope to photograph the rutting deer. I unfortunately didn't catch them in action, however all the deer were looking magnificent hoping to impress the ladies!
This is a small pastel painting of a fallow deer, these guys are much shyer then the red deer, often hiding in the wooded areas of the park. In October however, all the deer get much braver coming out into open to rut, which gave me lots of great opportunities to get photos of this usually timid deer.

Stage 4 - linocut

Yes its a penguin! I'm now at stage 4, my inexperience is showing in my dodgy registration! I quite like the irregularities of the printing on their bodies, it gives them a nice texture. I definitely have one more stage, I'm also thinking more texture in the white on his chest.

A new skill for a New Year

Can you tell what it is yet...! Well this is a my attempt to get to grips with linocut. I'm printing from multiple lino pieces using a key lino block to transfer an identical image onto each piece of lino.

So far we are two stages in, already I have some slight registration problems on the left hand side.

I plumped for this technique over the reduction linocut (a technique where you use one piece of lino print a stage and cut out, print again, cut out more etc, until most of the lino is gone), as I like the idea that I can have unlimited goes at the print using different colours reusing my multiple pieces of lino. The down-side was more cutting to create the different stages of lino.

So I'm keeping the subject a secret my only clue is that it is a creature, hopefully all will become clear in time!

Happy 2013!

I've had a lovely start to the year, I've just heard my squirrel pastel painting 'Watching" has neen selected for an animal open exhibition, Noah's Art.

For more information here's a link.

https://www.facebook.com/OrleansHouseGallery/posts/430713453665537

Getting ready to rut

I got up into Richmond Park a few weeks back, during rutting season. This is the time to catch the stag looking magnificant. I would have liked to captured the stag actually rutting, but didn't get lucky this year. This handsome stag had been practising his rutting moves in the long grasses, you can see the tangled grass still in his antlers. 

I thought I was in luck and a rut was about to happen between this guy and another stag, he charged towards his rival, and I pointed my camera, but then he ducked out at the last moment. 

I can only wonder if on closer inspection of this rival he thought better of it!

KAOS Fair Art Fair is back!

Yes we're back for Xmas, has really a whole year gone by already!

We'll be selling affordable Art all under £100, so a great gift for Xmas. The exhibition opens every day from November 25th until December 8th in the Market House, Kingston.

Squirrel!

It's the right time of year to catch these up close, they're all busy finding nuts, the ground in Richmond Park is teeming with these guys! I've also used them as a challenge for my new camera to see how well it shoots action shots! This is an A4 pastel painting.

Schnauzer commission

It's been a while since I've taken on a commission, I've been busy with all the exhibitions.This was a surprise present for a 70th Birthday. He's got the maddest ears I've ever drawn on a dog! I've got a month off exhibitions, then the Xmas build up begins......

Getting ready for my next exhibition opening this Monday....

Ham Art Group's Autumn Exhibition

This has come around quickly! I'm looking forward to seeing all the new work, when we hang it on Friday.

KAOS Autumn Exhibition 2012

Lots of exciting work in this exhibition, we've some new artists and ceramists, I think this exhibition looks great! 

Open daily 10-5pm at the Market House, The Market Place, Kingston, KT1 1JS.

On Guard

There's nothing going on that these two don't know about! It amused me, the absolute commitment to  their duty to keep watch. I think I wouldn't take my chances with them!

On Guard w.i.p

A new painting, jut a small A4 pastel painting. I came across these two characters on a walk by the Thames near Teddington Lock. I think their owner's house is in safe hands, nothing will get past these two!

Pastel study of the Ponte Vecchio

Fnished my A4 pastel study, my aim was to capture the sunlit facades. Pastel worked well previously I have used gouache,pastel pencil, and oils for other paintings of this, but found using these soft pastels most satisfying.