Art Clases

At - last - I have decided to organise Art Classes here in the studio!

 Thursday mornings from 10 until 12 beginning on the 26 January.

Should anyone be interested - ring for details:-

Tel: 07903 502625

Finished and gone!

My painting is finally complete and though the photo above isn't too brilliant it's not too far from what was on the easel.

My friends that commissioned the piece came to collect it this morning and were  pleased. It had been an anxious morning - I always worry whenever I do a commission - it's a bit like exposing your baby to the harsh glare of the real world....

The final title became

EVENT HORIZON.

 I am unable to explain this title I fear - titles just appear when I am working. This was no different and it wormed its way into my consciousness.

Finished.....

Well - my big piece is finished but as those who commissioned it have not yet seen it - no photos......

Day 5

 

Getting near the end now I think. The colour is not quite true in the photo. There are some wonderful things happening between the boundaries of the colours at the top. It will be AGES before it dries and I can get more detailed photos. I enjoy seeing what the pigment does when I leave it to its own devices........

Day 4

Well - it's coming along...........

Day 3 painting

Am beginning to put on colour but have been rather seduced by a very dense, light-absorbing black. Interesting..........

The work begins...........

I begin by swamping the canvas in pigment. This is a very satisfying thing to do, watching how the colours melt into each other creating a foundation on which to build.

That's all for now - it needs to be dry............

A Commission

Here we have a lovely sparkling white canvas waiting for me to reveal something wonderful. I find this stage of my work almost unbearably exciting and not at all intimidating. Who knows what's there and what I will find?This is a large canvas - 36" x 48" - and is for a commission. I intend to cover it with great blocks of colour but it could turn into anything as I work.  I shall keep posting updates as I work.

Watch this space...............

Exposure at last...!

At last, our local paper has put in a mention of my exhibition in Heckmondwike. Shame they used an awful old photograph of me but I was very happy to have anything in the paper.

Work online.

I now have 8 pieces of work on the website: - www.taketoart.co.uk.  If only I was able to take a decent photograph ...... oh well - at least people can see what I have done and what is available to buy.

New selling website.

I have just posted 8 pieces of work on a relatively new website - www.taketoart.co.uk. It would be nice if there was some interest - but I am not too hopeful. However - I need to keep trying.......

Exhibition at Heckmondwike

Here is my big poppy picture on the wall and looking good. It makes quite an impact as you walk into the cafe and I am very pleased with its position.

One of my large water colours faces the door and also makes an impact. 

Oh dear - here I am in front of my three small abstracts looking a bit fed up. I never know when Mick will take the picture so I am never prepared and never appear at my best!!!

But the pictures look good.

That is not a small furry animal round my neck - it is in fact a bunch of hair showing the red streak, rather nicely I think....

The abstracts without any distraction...........

All in all, I am very pleased with the way my work is being displayed so many thanks to Pam Lonsdale who did all the hards work.

The Gallery at the Tapas Bar and Grill, Heckmondwike.

We chose this piece to go into my first solo exhibition. I would be unbelievably happy to sell it though it's pretty unlikely but never mind a lot of people wills see it as they sit drinking their coffee.

Here we have a rather poor photograph of a large water colour which is based on the repeating pattern of a tulip head. 

I have tried to involve transparency in this piece which gives it a pleasing kinetic quality I hope.

There are prints of my big poppy available here as well as a selection of cards. 

Perhaps someone may buy a card..............

Slaithwaite Vintage and Craft Emporium

My friend Heather has opened this brilliant unit in a mill up the canal.

There are several artists and crafts people with work in there who man the shop on a rota basis. 

I am in there on a Thursday morning

I have two of my large pieces there on the wall as well as some water colours behind the counter along with cards and prints of the big pieces.

The unit is open Thursday through Sunday - same opening hours as the Handmade Bakery Cafe - absolutely stunning bread, cakes and croissants which they make fresh every day.

The walk by the canal yesterday morning was quite blissful in the golden light of a quiet autumn morning.

A September Sunday in Slaithwaite.

On September 18 in the round car park I was part of a local food fair.

The idea was to show people what food can be found in the Colne Valley.

Although the weather look a bit grey we did have sunshine and it didn't rain which was the main thing.

There was a nice buzz for most of the afternoon and there were plenty of people wandering around.

The ladies of the Women's Institute manned the cake stall and sold raffle tickets for the quilt in aid of the village Christmas Lights. We raised about £100 and we were all very pleased.

I brought plants and cards to sell as well as my 'signature dish' of treacly flapjack which always goes down well and I sold most of it.

Marion completes her work before clearing up and packing. 

I left my painting lying flat on the table so that the exciting dribbly bits don't go awol. I want them in specific areas. 

I have a lot of pieces ready to work on over the next few weeks but I must put my studio back into some kind of order before I allow myself such indulgence.

I have packed all my pieces for the exhibition next month and feel as though that is at least a bit under control - only time will tell......

The painting continues...........

This is not the most flattering of pictures.......!!!

A very dismal Monday afternoon sees us working in the studio with the door open even though the rain is torrential - we have no wish to suffer from inhaling turps and goodness knows what else we are using!

I have decided to work with great slabs of colour that have boundaries which blur and bleed. I find this really very exciting but I'm not quite sure where it is taking me. However, it is an interesting journey which I am enjoying hugely.

 Marion is working with shades of grey and has used no colour today at all. She is very disciplined and hasn't been deterred from her investigation of grey tones at all. Commendable.

Painting week.

I met Marion last year when working at the Slade in London. She is a ceramicist of tremendous talent creating the most lovely Raku pottery and smoke-fired work. Her website is www.crabbytaylor.com. Check it out people.

Anyway, she has joined me here in Slaithwaite and we are concentrating on our painting this week. Mick has gone off to see his brother in Toronto so we have no-one to worry about or get in the way. It's rather nice.

Another Monday.

Monday again and the day dawned pretty cold and grey. At the end of the afternoon out comes the sun which is nice....

Picked up 2 unsold paintings from an exhibition. This gets a bit depressing. The only high point was when the traffic warden told me to hurry up instead of giving me a ticket. I was going to smile and say something amazingly witty and clever which would make his day (!) but as he remained stony-faced and glared at the pavement I thought I'd better not in case he changed his mind!

Another exhibition to hang tomorrow at Tunnel End. Fingers crossed again although rather hopelessly.

My Grandad Mac stellar geranium won a first prize at York yesterday but just failed to get the best in show for the second time this week! There seems to be a pattern emerging here............ Anyway, on arriving home I popped him in a 'bath' to perk him up from all the travelling and promptly forgot about him. I remembered him at four in the morning! Couldn't leave him there to get waterlogged so I leaped  out of bed and rescued him to drain and dry off. Fortunately there was no-one about to see me ferreting about in the greenhouse at such an unearthly hour!!!

Allotment images.

A sunny Sunday morning on the allotment.  Although very untidy, it does look  rather lovely and the colours just lift the spirits.

Mick does his strimming in the sun. 

 Please note the wonderfully blue sky we very occasionally see here in Slaithwaite! If only we saw it more often.............

Every gardener need a shed - this is mine seen through the bean poles.........

Aspects of summer.

My tank full of surfinia - the fish were found a new home and I decided to plant up the tank for the summer. This has been jolly successful I think and when the sun shines on it in the morning it is an uplifting sight. The colours positively glow.

I have had a good harvest of gooseberries this year having  picked three lots so far and they are now safely in the freezer for fools and pies. I just had to take a photo of these because the colours are so lovely - every shade of green and pink.

And here I have the first tiny, delicate broad beans in my salad which contains my own lettuce and cucumber as well.

I always grow cornflowers and cosmos - what wonderful, glorious colours! Such unassuming little flowers which give so much pleasure albeit for a short time.

Holmfirth Art Week

 I struggled along to 'taking in day' at the Civic Hall in Holmfirth today with my three pieces for the exhibition next week. Why do I always have to enter three big pieces??? Mick is happily wandering around Cornwall in shorts and a Tshirt and I am wrestling with bubblewrap in uncomfortable humid heat! I requested that my 'Toucan' be hung at the top of the screens. In the past couple of years, my big ones have been at the bottom of the screens and they really don't look good. I do feel that a bit better hanging is in order - we'll see.

New work.

Am quite excited by this. Haven't yet discovered what it's called though. In my experience at some stage in the creative process whatever it is that I am working on reveals its name. I am looking forward to learning what this is called.

The other night when half asleep in bed, I was thinking about some tiny pieces that I am working on and thinking that I wasn't too happy with the texture of the paint. It suddenly came to me that I should mix my paint with sand. I did this and find that it solves several problems that I occasionally run across. The resulting texture is just wonderful and creates whole new ways of looking at a painting, for me. I can only hope that others find this interesting - it always helps if someone is kind............

I sold a small unframed oil today and had the winner of the Northumberland Plate up at Newcastle to top it all as well. Not a life-changing win - I rarely bet more than 50p - but that was nice especially as Tominator started off right at the back of the race but steamed through all the other runners. My jaw was dropping by the end of the race - it was quite something.

The painting I sold was a postSlade one. I've sold 5 of those now. Very pleasing.

Back again so soon..........

Was seduced by this most beautiful of poppies.........

And also have finally raised my 'Glastonbury' flag! It was being saved  for the wedding and I am now allowed to have it back.........

Welcome return of Google!!!

Have had trouble accessing all things Google recently but the wonderful Simon has ministered to the PC and all is right with the world again. If anyone ever has problems I recommend Simon - he is absolutely brilliant when it comes to ferreting about in your computer's innards! Contact me for details if you ever need him.

I am actually going to paint this afternoon - first time in a few weeks. The wedding did take over rather.

I am working on a series of small - tiny actually - abstract oils which I intend to mount together on a board. I find that I am quite excited by this and am looking forward to getting on - so off I go.....................

Back on Google...

Well - at last my constipated computer has been fixed  by the wonderful Simon and I am back on Google. Haven't been able to access Google since the beginning of May - no idea why but jolly irritating all the same.

I really need to spend a while creating new information for this blog but as we are now in serious training for -THE WEDDING - it will all have to wait for another couple of weeks.


"I'll be back..........."

Spring in Slaithwaite

The weather continues to be unusually stunning and my little garden looks lovely in the sunshine. It may sound churlish to complain but I fear that everything is going to be over very quickly and blossoms and blooms will soon fade. 

But oh - what glory........

The bees are all over my little crab apple.

Slaithwaite couldn't be more picturesque if it tried...

The neighbours!

Jolly useful early border perennial.

And to top it all, I have a blackbird nesting amongst the rambling rose above my studio door...