Hello! It’s been a short while since my last post – I’ve been busy in the studio and began work on another addition to the fairy collection.  But before I talk about that, I must first apologise for the delay in posting the finished version of “Autumn Fairy”. The reason for the delay was simply down to the fact that I wasn’t sure that it was complete – This is fairly common for me to feel when nearing the completion of a painting, (and no doubt many other artist go through the same) hence the reason for leaving the painting for a little time to rest and dry.  And so after living with it for a week I’ve made a few more of those all important `completing’ brush marks and I’m now happy to say it’s ready for you all to see! – And I‘m happy very with the results!

I feel there’s a good balance between the swirling of the leaves and calmness of her form- she is the equilibrium of serenity and chaos!

I hope you enjoy the painting – You can also find a picture of her in the “Surreal Collection” Gallery….bye for now.

A great weekend in the studio –  I’m now just putting finishing touches to the `Autumn Fairy’ painting,  and very pleased with the way it’s looking – there’s just the right amount of texture and detail. 

I’ll leave it now for a day or two for the paint to settle  and dry a little, and also see if there are any final touches that need to be added.

Technical Note – you can see in the photo that I’m resting on a piece of wooden dowelling, called a Maul-stick  which has a soft ball of leather at the top (that is just out of view). It is used to help steady the hands whilst painting – which is especially useful when working on wet canvases. Normally you can rest the maul-stick on the edge of the canvas but in this instance I had to rest it the middle of the easel as the whole of the white area of the painting including the edge was still very wet.

I’ll post a photo of the final painting in a few days time – once I’m happy that it’s completed.

Bye for now

There’s so much beautiful autumnal scenery to see at the moment – I’m full of inspiration! 

Work in the studio this week has been very productive. I’ve began to work in earnest (before the season changes) on my latest addition to the Fairy collection– the Autumn Fairy (in homage to J.A.Grimshaw).  Luckily the light has been good for the most part, which is most important as I like to use natural light were possible. Here’s a photo of autumn fairy in progress.

A few words about the technical process – I started the painting with a line drawing which was then reinforced with a thin layer of diluted paint, of burnt umber mixed with lamp black and thin down with a little turpentine and liquin (a fast drying medium). This was left over night to dry and the following morning I began to add the colour; first  starting with the face as this is the most important feature of the painting and then moving on to the body and surrounding areas.

I’m now process of building up texture on the canvas, using flake white (oil paint) and a palette knife – I love this part, its great fun! This technique is more sculpting than painting. It really allows me to add movement and energy to the painting, which hopefully will show in the end result.

Ok, it’s back to work – If all goes well I’ll post something over the weekend.

Bye for now

Hello and Welcome to my new Studio diary!

As part of my new revamped website I will be sharing with you regular news about what’s going on in my studio.  I will be showing behind the scenes snippets of how my paintings are created, including such things like; the initial inspiration and ideas that I begin with, the processes and techniques used in making them, through to the finished creations themselves. Plus much more!

I hope you enjoy reading and following this studio diary ……….. bye for now