Once again

Sadly 'Anne Lucy' is not much better this time. She would not be flattered if she could see it now. She was obviously proud of her 'bosom' looking at her from the front so I will draw that view next time. Third time the charm including my back being better!!

Prep for the exhibition

   

Well the exhibition for my door series is approaching. So my son came with his big camera and did the quality photography that these canvases needed. These paintings are to be hung in a block according to the rainbow spectrum of colours. It was the first time I had seen them placed in the planned order. They do become something special when seen like this. it would be nice if they were sold as a complete series but reality is that the canvases will be sold individually. I spent hours sweating the 'artist statement' to go with them. I tried to make it personal and reflect the short answer I would give to a client/viewer. I confess that I do not know if it makes sense now.

Statement Edit

'Artist Statement'

The village of Eynsham  is my inspiration. I enjoy painting in series and the 'Eynsham Doors' series of twenty-one paintings is my largest to date.  My starting concept was to produce a body of work based upon the individual doors seen in my part of Eynsham. I decided that this work was to be both allegorical as well as representational. 

When white light is refracted in a rainbow it separates into a continuous spectrum of colour  that is traditionally divided into the bands of colour known as red, orange, yellow, green blue indigo and violet. The white light of the village is divided into canvases themed on rainbow colours and the resulting paintings are tempered by this underlying colour. On an  individual basis these doors are an expression of the boundary between private and public space but grouped here without the bounds of geography they have become something glorious.

Since graduating in 2000 with a 2.1  B.A. honours degree in illustration and graphic design I have been a freelance artist, graphic designer and illustrator.

Girl with 'tash

Ashmolean Museum again. Alas my back is bad again so I feel I have an excuse for the bad drawing. This is 'Anne Lucy, Baroness Nugent' (1790 - 1848) by Sir Francis Chantrey who in life almost certainly did not sport the tash but the heavy shadows give that impression.

'Fragile'

Graphite
243 x 185 mm


I am thinking of entering this drawing of my grand-daughter for the
'Threadneedle Prize'. What do you think?

Same god ...

I'm back again to the Ashmolean Museum  for another drawing. This is the same statue as last week's drawing but this time it flowed off the end of my pencil. Why is it that some times you can draw better then other times? Some days it pays to do the chores because the muse is not "at home"!

Bathed in Winter Sun

This is the postbox behind the Bartholomew Rooms. Here it glows in the little sun to reach it in this shaded area. I painted the canvas with acrylic gold following on from my success with St Leonard's House using this technique. I am still painting on the small 10.8 x 12.0 cms coarse canvas which does not allow for much detail.

Expressive Paint for 'Colour of Music'.

I am now stepping out into unknown territory with this painting. I painted the whole panel first in gold acrylic and then spread oil paint on top of the dry gold with a palette knife trying to encourage the vertical mark making as seen in the Photoshop version. Way to much paint and not enough marks so I 'tonked' i.e. took the excessive paint off by blotting with flat sheets of newspaper. So I'll allow this to dry and then scumble the rest of the colours and experiment with fluid dribbles. All very visceral!!

Still drawing the gods

Drawing the statues in the Ashmolean Museum is the closest I get to a life drawing session these days. This guy was a struggle so I will draw him again next time.

The Colour of Music

Working in Photoshop here trying out some more expressive colours and shapes with a plan to turn it into a painting eventually.

16 High Street.

 This is the last  door in my 'Eynsham Doors' series. I have had fun but it was a struggle to paint to such small canvases. I would enjoy painting a more finished larger painting of some of them in the future. The door is greener in the painting but I could not get it on the photo.

Life drawing at the Ashmolean

A perfect spring day so had my first cycle ride of the year to Oxford. The galleries were swarming with children drawing object from the displays onto their work sheets all very busy and companionable. When I switched benches to draw the other side their teacher approached me and asked if I would talk to the children about my drawing. They had been sneaking peeks behind me. So spent 20 fun filled minutes talking about both mine and their drawings.