Conch Shell

Conch Shell
Oil on Canvas Panel
5x6" Signed Original

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This is inspired by a really beautiful seashell I have in the studio. My mother-in-law Cindy loves shells, and has an impressive collection adorning her home in Pennsylvannia. Taylor brought this one back for me last Christmas, and I've had it sitting amongst my white 'props' in the studio for a while. I really like the spiny form, and once I placed it on white paper and shone a spotlight on it...wow.

I did a series of seashells for my first 'painting a day' works - which began as an idea for a Christmas present for Cindy - and then evolved into the daily painting practice I have now. I've never been particularly motivated to work at a small scale, my natural scale is much, much bigger. What I was trying to do for Cindy was create something she'd relate to, at a size that I could either easily ship or carry on whilst flying. After I'd done a few of these as test pieces, I found some other artists on the internet doing a 'painting a day'. I read about their motivations, careers, and practices - and it seemed like a challenge which would help structure my painting time. I'm so glad I started now, I really feel like it's helped me learn a lot about painting.

Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic

Balsamic Vinegar & Garlic
Oil on Canvas Panel
12x6" Signed Original.

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Here is today's 'Painting a Day', an Italian theme! I love garlic, and use it in copious amounts in my cooking. I liked the juxtaposition of shapes in this composition, and enjoyed the challenge of differentiating between the textures of the glass bottle and the garlic cloves.

More Tangerines!

Tangerine Bowl (ii)
10x7" Oil on Gesso Panel, Signed Original.

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This is today's painting a day - yes more tangerines! I'm just really attracted to the orange colour. I'm playing with loosening up my brushstrokes, so I wanted a subject with simple forms and bold colours. The shadows really were those colours too - reflected from the fruit!

New Website!

This is why I didn't post a painting yesterday...I was busy finishing off my new website, and frankly after too many hours staring at a computer screen I never feel like painting. It just kills my creativity. 'Tis done now, thank god, and hopefully I won't have to fix it or anything - but I'm open to suggestions (keep it clean!) for improvements. I've added prices for the first time, since I've signed up with Google checkout, and PayPal so I can accept credit cards now. Sigh. Off to the studio now, no more typing!

Tangerine Bowl

Tangerine Bowl
Oil on Panel
5x5"

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Back to observational work from life today, I felt like I needed the challenge, and the reminder of real light and colour. I've been working from photographs for the past few days - for climbing work it's the only way to back up sketches with enough color information and detail to make them feasable. I don't mind but after a while I feel like I need a refresher - and what better subject than juicy tangerines bursting with goodness?

The Drab Demure of Wales

Dinas Cromlech
Mixed Media on Paper
40x50"

SOLD

A brochure arrived in the mail yesterday, for the Welsh Sale 2008 at Rogers Jones Auction House in North Wales, UK. They asked me to send them eight pieces, and I was flattered to see in the brochure that I'm keeping some esteemed company at this event. Most of the other artists I either studied under, worked with, or organised their exhibition when I was a young Exhibition Coordinator at the ogilvy & estill art gallery in Conwy many years ago - including William Selwyn, Wilf Roberts, Kyffin Williams, Mary Lloyd Jones and David Lloyd Griffith.

Looking through the paintings and drawings these artists, whose work I have admired and been influenced by over the years, I felt a nostalgic longing for the Welsh landscape - which I haven't felt since I was at university in the 90's.

My Welsh friend Joe asked me if I missed home recently, in the most poetic way: "Do you miss its drab demure? It’s sullen, brooding beauty… I’m sure America is a place filled with grand and inspiring wonders. Is there still a place in your heart for this soggy end of the world?"

Looking at these dark paintings of Snowdonia, the dramatic, passionate markmaking, the diffuse light backlighting familiar ridgelines - yes, I do. I love the American landcape, with it's infinite variety, sheer vastness and meteorological extremes - but there will always be a place in my heart for the dark, damp slate quarries, intimidating cliffs and valleys. And also the spring flowers, lush green hills, oak trees in the Autumn, and the chilly Atlantic waters I occassionally dipped my toes into.

But not the seagulls. I can live without them.


Rogers Jones & Co. Abergele Rd, Colwyn Bay, N.Wales UK

The Welsh Sale Auction: Saturday April 26th 2008 at 12.00
Viewing Friday 3-6pm and Saturday 10am-12.15pm

General Enquiries:info@rogersjones.co.uk

Tel: +44 1492 532176

Stegasaur

Stegasaur
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x12"

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This is Taylor climbing a boulder problem called Stegasaur in Hueco Tanks State Park, Texas. It is an amazing, thought provoking problem, which involves climbing wave type rock features under the roof of a cave. None of the holds are positive, and Taylor performed some incredibly gymnastic moves to emerge from the murky depths. I spied this quite revolting vantage point from the outside of the cave, and despite the copious rat and bat scat, crawled in to capture this image. I'm glad I did now, because I think it's one of the most successful climbing images I took out of our whole road trip - and that's saying something - I've got thousands of digital photographs, drawings and paintings from the 18 months or so we were traveling for.

A common theme is emerging from both my paintings and photographs...light. Dramatic light, usually from a single source, is becoming the defining feature of my work. It's strange, I've always been interested in light effects, chiaroscuro particularly, but I'm only finding now that my compositions are just organically trending 'toward the light'.

This is a study, as most of these daily paintings are, and I'll post the final painting when it's done...it's going to be HUGE!!