Limey

Limey
Oil on Canvas Panel
4x7"

'Limey' is an old American and Canadian slang nickname for the British, originally referring to British sailors. The term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy practice of supplying lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy. The benefits of citrus juice were well known at the time thanks to the acute observations of surgeon James Lind who noticed that the cabbage eating Dutch had fewer problems with scurvy. Limes were used over lemons due to limes being more readily available from Britain's own Caribbean colonies. The term is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s. A false etymology is that it is a derivative of "Corr-blimey" ("God blind me!").

Hot Stuff

Hot Stuff
Oil on Panel
6x6"

I've been busy wrapping two big pictures to send to the Marji Gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe today - quite the task as one of them is over 4 feet long, although I'm working on an even bigger one for them right now. After applying about an acre of bubble wrap, cardboard and duck tape I think they're finally done. I think I've been in America too long..inches, acre? what happened to the metric system I grew up with?

Anyway, yesterday was an interesting day - I had a visit from a chap who wants a painting of Pyramid Lake, and he is collecting works of the same subject for a potential touring exhibition in Nevada. He brought me copies several works inspired by Pyramid Lake which have been completed in the last 100 years. These, along with my painting will be in the exhibition celebrating beautiful area north of Reno. I'm really excited to get started on this - I've never worked on something in this context before, and I think it'll be a real challenge. It's also a fab excuse to go back there, it's soooo beautiful.

The closest I've come is when I did a project with the Royal Oak Hotel in Betws y Coed, North Wales. Our aim was to resurrect the historic link between the hotel and the Betws y Coed Artists Colony, active in Victorian times. The founder was artist David Cox, and the artists used to gather at the Royal Oak Hotel after a day's painting, no doubt to drink beer and argue about aesthetics (no change in artist behaviour there). Interestingly, the old stables where my gallery was (across the road from the hotel) apparently housed the less wealthy artists, who didn't mind bedding down in the hay with the horses. I liked that idea (not just for the history) more than working in a swanky studio actually - we had cobblestone floors, vaulted ceilings and wonky stone and slate walls we would climb on quiet days. The Royal Oak purchased a great deal of my work, both for the restaurant, and for their sister hotel, The Waterloo. My prints hang in every bedroom of that 4 star hotel, and fill the restaurant walls at the Oak.

I still puff up a little with pride when I remember that.

Ray of Sunshine

Ray of Sunshine
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x6"

When I got back form Santa Fe, Taylor had bought me these lovely sunflowers! So I had to paint one...this was the most difficult subject yet, I had a really hard time with it. I'll try again soon when I've recovered!

Three Amigos

"Three Amigos"
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x6"

I loved painting this. So much so that I went out and bought 4 different chilli plants so I can watch them grow and then paint them! The turquoise plate sets off the colours so well, I'll be using that combination again. I'm also growing tomatoes, basil, cornflowers and salvia to paint (I'll be cooking with the basil too!) so the house looks like a greenhouse at the moment - and it smells good too!

Momentum

Momentum
Oil on Canvas Panel
5x7"

This is another painting from the Carol Marine workshop. The challenge was to paint entirely in rectangles - and using a flat brush, that's kind of the default mark. It's difficult to force yourself not to 'fiddle' with the marks too much (Carol called that 'noodling' - I asked her if that had anything to do with catfish noodling, apparently not!) The idea is you carefully mix the right colour, decide where it will go, put one mark down and leave it. It's a really precise, economical way of working, and it taught me a lot about accuracy and observation. Carol is amazing to watch while she's painting - I realised I've never actually watched anyone paint something from start to finish before, and it's fascinating.

The trick now is to take all this information about painting and apply it to my own style. I think it would be too easy to slip into simply aping someone else's style just because you admire it, and you've seen how it's done. Looking back at my own art education, I can see the merits and severe limits imposed by the art college stance on teaching. The emphasis at all levels of my education was on expression and ideas, not technique. This meant that there was no 'house style' as such, and we were forced to experiment a lot - but the downside, I'm realising now, is that there are big gaps in my knowledge of materials, and the specifics of using them. What Carol has taught me amongst many other things, is that mastery over your materials is crucial to achieve the effect you want.

All this learning is brilliant, but it's making my head hurt...or maybe that's just the thinners.

Convergence

Convergence (ii)
Oil on Gesso Board
6x6"

Wow, what a week it's been...I got back on Saturday night from Santa Fe, after a five day painting class with Carole Marine at the Andreeva Portrait Academy. I have learnt so much, I can't even begin to tell you how much my brain is bursting with excitement! I feel like my work did a quantum leap in New Mexico, and I'll never paint in the same way again. I'll post some of the studies later on, which will give some background to the new paintings I'll be doing this week.

More exciting news is that whilst I was in Santa Fe - the third largest art market in America - a gallery on Canyon Road took an interest in my work, and insisted I leave two wet paintings there with them! They also asked me to send them more big canvases (and I love working big) of the Cyclamen I did a few weeks ago - so the studio is being geared up for micro/macro works as I write.

Arts in Bloom

I've been mad busy this week with preparations for the outdoor art show in Sparks tomorrow - 'Arts in Bloom', so painting has been difficult this week. I'll be in booth 44, and I'll have lots of my little 4/5" painting a day oils for sale, as well as prints on canvas, small giclees on paper and larger originals. Prices start at $25...great mother's day gifts, as well as a fun day out!

What has compounded the workload is the fact that I'm flying out to New Mexico a couple of hours after the show finishes, for my 'Painting a Day' course with Carole Marine at the Andreeva Portrait Academy! I'm so excited!

Even though the course is about painting still life painting, I'm hoping to apply the lessons in colour theory, observation and value development to figure painting (as well as still life) when I return. I'm modelling for a portrait class at Lake Tahoe Community College at the moment, taught by artist Phyllis Shafer. This means for the first time in years, I'm surrounded by young artists learning about drawing, and I'm totally inspired by it all. I'm sitting there staring into space just itching to pick up some charcoal and draw. It's great, I really needed the reminder of the importance of drawing. I've been so preoccupied with painting lately, I've really neglected it.

Phyllis's technical approach to teaching this class has been a fascinating experience to witness, far removed from the emphasis on expressive markmaking and intuitive drawing I was taught at art school. I love both styles, and I think a firm grounding in technique is crucial before you can embark on more expressive renderings of human form. Phyllis a pretty amazing artist, and now I've seen her teaching I'm a bit in awe of her! I'm already in awe of Carole Marine, so I feel honoured that I am able to make contact with the people whose work I respect.

This is definately an accelerated period of learning for me - all of life is about learning, although sometimes it's more subtle. I'll be back next weekend, hopefully with about 20 new paintings to post!