Another year already!

I do not find January a good month for setting difficult goals but I always feel it is time for a refresh, clear the clutter and start with a clean slate….or canvas. I am tempted by some brighter colours and bold compositions to get me excited. I have started by playing with some simple shapes and working with some brighter colours, aiming for a balanced but bold composition.

It’s a start!

”’Tis the season to be merry.”…

Warm wishes for a festive Christmas, full of delights and a happy and healthy New Year.

More rain! But it will be bright and colourful in the Dorking Group of Artists exhibition at Denbies Wine Estate starting with a Private view on Thursday evening 24th October 6-8pm. I look forward to meeting visitors and friends on what is usually a busy evening.

Autumn seems to have started before the summer really got into gear this year!

I am being drawn to a more comforting warm palette for my paintings, rich reds and browns which are luscious to paint. I have two exhibitions coming up where I will have lots of new work on display. Details below. Both are in the lovely venue of Denbies Wine Estate.

It’s always good to have a bit of a break from my usual art classes workshops and exhibitions. Time to think what direction I want to go in next. I am currently drawn to more modern and stylised compositions, so I will try a couple out and see if it suits me. I find it difficult to ignore detail so it’s a bit of a challenge.

There are so many tempting fruits and vegetables in the garden so there is no shortage of luscious subjects to paint! I have just finished this fresh apple and tried a more stylised tomato and asparagus in watercolour.

Delicious! Oil Painting.

This inspiring exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester was a real joy to visit. It is beautifully displayed and curated, showing varied and intriguing Still life paintings by leading modern and contemporary artists set in a lovely building. The focus is on the significance of objects to human beings as expressions of symbolism and meaning. It is on until 20th September.

Exhibitions are a great way to escape from the busy world, take a deep breath and just enjoy the sensory pleasures of looking at beautiful things , beautifully made, feeling the patina of a finely finished sculpture or sensing the utility of a perfectly balanced handmade cup or bowl.

The Fircroft Exhibition in Albury Heath GU9DD has all these, and finishes this weekend on Sunday 23rd June. Open 11-5 daily. See map on website http://www.fircroft.info

Fircroft

I am excitedly looking forward to the Fircroft exhibition which opens on the Saturday 8th June for two weeks.

I have about 20 new paintings in the exhibition which takes place in The lovely house and garden of the artist Frank Taylor in Albury Surrey. There will also be sculpture, glass,ceramics and jewellery by various talented artists for sale.

I came across this punchy expression yesterday. It apparently means “a defiant stroke” or strike, and has been used to describe that final dash of paint applied upon completing a painting. It expresses a flourish, a bold and casual stroke that is the finishing touch. I like this idea! Although my paintings do not usually show brushstrokes I think a flourishing lick of paint to finish could be just what is needed to enliven my works.

I have used it in my latest painting of a silver chocolate pot in the reflected light. Baby steps. It’s subtle I know!