Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Skyscape


“Slieve Croob Skyscape”, October 2011.
Oils on canvas, 101.5 cm x 81 cm.

This is quite a large painting. The intention is to draw your view into looking at the mountain, but leaving you with the sensation of the sky over your head.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Two new paintings!


West Street, Castle Coombe, Wiltshire”, 2008-2011.
Oils on canvas, 70 cm x 50 cm.

I sketched this scene, to scale, when I was in Wiltshire from a nephew’s wedding, It was then completed from photos and a colour reference sketch.
"Mountain Landscape", September 2011.
Oils on canvas, 61 cm x 46 cm.

Not of a specific place, this sums up a number of my memories and experiences.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Market Square, Lisburn

"Market Square, Lisburn", August 2011.
Oils on canvas,  61 cm x 45.5 cm

Just finished this painting. The Island Arts Centre in Lisburn has invited submissions for an exhibition, so I thought I would try for it with a scene of local interest. Apparently, the city is building up a permanent Collection, linked to The Anna Cheyne Visual Award. But even if they do not purchase my painting, there will be an exhibition of as many of the submissions as they have room for, so there is a good chance it will be exhibited at least.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Teaching’s end!

Last night I had a dream. Many dreams are very confused and it is difficult to read them in a meaningful way, but this was different and it appears to me to have had a clear message for me!

I was an art teacher for 26 years. On the whole, I loved teaching. Sometimes pupils, and even whole classes, could be difficult and this created problems to be overcome. But it was a wonderful feeling when you felt that pupils were actually learning – particularly if they were not promising material and you had had to overcome their own lack of self-belief. But the last few years were difficult for me and I was suffering from a great deal of stress, which eventually forced me to retire on the grounds of ill-health. Nevertheless, a part of me was always very reluctant to let go of being a teacher.

In the dream, although still employed as a teacher in my old school, I was being offered a new post as art teacher in the school in which I had been educated myself. The school was an extremely good one and had an excellent Art Department, which I would have been very keen to work within. But, in the end, I found myself going to the Principal and apologising for wasting his time. I explained that I had been suffering from stress and that I now realised that I would be unable to fulfil the post in the way that I would have wished and would have been required.

Since I retired, I have occasionally had nightmares about teaching, but I always knew that I had to put this part of my life behind me and concentrate on making a new one for myself as an artist. As part of this process I even created a painting, which I called, "An Art Teacher’s Memento Mori", which was intended to sum up my experience as an art teacher, both the good and bad. I think that the dream was telling me that it is now time to let go of the last vestiges of myself as teacher, that this part of my life is finally over!
"An Art Teacher’s Memento Mori", February-May 2008.
Oils on canvas, 70 cm x 50 cm.

This painting and much of the rest of my art work is on display in my web site at http://www.artmagic.uk.com/

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Fauvist leanings


This is an early painting of mine, from 1974 when I was in my first year of my B.A. course at Art College. At the time I was having considerable difficulties with the head tutor of the first year students, who did not like my work and seemed incapable of understanding three-point perspective (where the picture plane is tilted either downwards or upwards). My interest in this painting was primarily in investigating how the diverging vertical lines created the sensation of looking downwards into the painting. I deliberately shaped the edges of the canvas to match the perspective (although in later work I found that slanting the edges in the opposite way actually enhanced the perspective effects more).

However, a secondary interest was in the use of colour, the colours becoming naturally exaggerated as I concentrated on noticing the minor variations of shades. What I did not realise at the time, pre-occupied as I was with the perspective and my tutor difficulties, was that there is a strong connection with what I was doing and some Fauvist work. For example, several of AndrĂ© Derain's paintings, notably London Bridge, winter 1906, incorporate a wide angle of view, including some perspective effects created by the spectator looking downwards. However, the colouring of the French Fauvist work is generally so extreme that I think that was what prevented me from making the connection at the time. More recently, I encountered the work of some of the Belgian Fauvists, such as that by Willem Paerels and Rik Wouters, where the control of colour is much closer to that which would interest me.

I do not believe that it would be correct to say that my concept of Experiential Realism was influenced by Fauvism. It is more that I recognise some common concerns, for example, recording perspective as experienced, rather than as required by formal rules. Also that my colour, whilst not as intense as that of the Fauvists, nevertheless becomes intensified through the process of concentrated observation.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

New Art Gallery!

To call this an Art Gallery may be a bit of an over-statement! What we are doing is using the area of the landings and stairs as a gallery space, open to the public.
This is just the way you come up from the ground floor. The blue door leads up to Dennis Crawford's picture framing premises, "Simply Frames", and the studios of Clinton Kirkpatrick and Pat Callaghan. The painting at the left is one of mine, then one of Pat's and a couple of Clinton's.
Coming up to the main, broad landing area, these are another two of my paintings. A door here leads to Jill Graham's jewellery business.
Next to the large window overlooking Market Square, three more of Clinton's paintings.
Next long wall, a couple of Pat's.
Heading up towards the second floor, this is some of Andrew Cranley's work.
Further up the flight of stairs to the second floor there is quite a bit of potential display space still being developed.
This is along the final stretch of corridor, to Andrew Cranley's studio and my own. These are a couple of my own paintings.

At the moment, the display of work is a bit haphazard, but this should improve. When we are properly organized, it could be a good idea to have some sort of open day, when members of the public could visit our studios, as well as the exhibition.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Painting in my studio at 49 Market Square, Lisburn


I feel really happy and relaxed working in my new studio. There is a really good atmosphere there which is very conducive to being creative. There is an informal gallery area in the building which is open to the public. I will publish some photos of that soon.
"The Long Lake", finished March 2011.
Oils on canvas, 101.5 cm x 75.5 cm.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

New painting, just finished!

"View from Saintfield Road, near Lisburn", March 2011.
Oils on canvas, 101.5 cm x 75.5 cm.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

My New Studio in Lisburn

I am now working in a new studio, in Market Square Studios, 49 Market Square, Lisburn. I have a great view of the square and its statue.

I have finished getting the room fixed up and have settled down to work. Just completed one painting, "The Offering of Flowers", that I actually started years ago and then left aside. It's good to get back to art work, for most of last year I let myself get side-tracked into building a canoe!