ITS A YEW TREE

It would be a major fail on my part if the tree was recognisable as anything else. I made sure at least that the silhouette against the sky could not be mistaken. Some artistic license within the body of the tree but I was responding to the mad shapes that existed. I don’t know if I have crossed the line stylistically, I seem to have been pushing in this direction for some time so there is no going back. Next painting is from the garden but the subject contains so much information I needed a bigger board to paint on. Not sure if it is going to be dry enough to start tomorrow.

Yew tree

AS PLANNED?

Probably yes, as planned as any painting can be. I think the hope is always to go ‘off piste’ and be lead by the painting as it develops. It has probably sent me more towards a naturally modelled form that I was intending. I like a modelled form, I don’t think I could ever reduce it to a Matisse paper cut out. I must follow my intentions and make the next painting of some garden hedges, the forms are much less complicated and it will be interesting to see how I can pack the same level of intensity into them that I have here.

Yew tree. Day 7

A DAY DEDICATED TO LEISURE ACTIVITIES

Cycling, painting and checking the roses for greenfly. A summers day that was deemed too hot for manual labour. The way this Yew tree is going I am quite motivated to turn to the garden for a few paintings. I have found in the past that subjects that seem too banal for painting always yield far better results than expected. This painting has required intense looking and slow painting. Whether this is the right approach I don’t know but I am liking the way it is progressing.

Yew tree. Day 6

A GRABBED HOUR

All these non painting distractions will be over in 4-6 weeks after two years of hard labour on the house and garden. Anyone interested in why I am struggling for painting time check out my ‘Landscaped Garden’ page, it will start to feature in my paintings. This includes the discovery of the only thing of interest, two plant fossils on a rock. Doing this post because I am quite liking how this painting is progressing. I should be able to get a proper painting session in the next few days.

Yew tree. Day 5

SHIFTING TONS OF MUD AND VEGETATION

is a good use of my time. This is what I have been telling myself for the last two years. It has all come out of my garden and I am on the final project of a pathway and patio. The garden has been transformed and will start to feature in these paintings. I see this Yew Tree painting as a test piece, although it is not in my garden, only a 1 minute walk from where I live. I can see a lot of potential and I have created quite a formal, landscaped design, some of it looks French chateauesque, with shaped beech trees and beautifully manicured old hedges. All coming soon.

Yew tree. Day 4

SOME INTERESTING SHAPES

That doesn’t sound like an ingredient to produce a compelling painting but I can see there is a stronger focus towards shape that has been ongoing over the last few months. It makes me wonder what kind of paintings I would make using the same subjects that I have been using. They must be different paintings. There is almost like a stained glass effect where the shadow around the forms is like the lead in the window. I am finding that this focus has only been realized properly in this and the previous painting. Interesting times.

Yew tree. Day 3

GAUDIS CATHEDRAL

Thats what this reminds me of, I wonder if Gaudi took inspiration from a Yew Tree, I really like the structure of it. Within the form there are three or four main columns of growth and hopefully I can make these clear as it is an important and impressive part of the trees shape. Its going well but the tree is so intricate and complex that following the photo takes a lot of concentration. I often lose the point at which I am painting.

Yew tree. Day 2

THE END OF ILLUSTRATION

Not that my type of illustration was too literal but I am going to remain fairly faithful to the drawing with big simplified shapes, especially for the foreground which is a mixture of various types of grasses. How tedious and dull.

Yew Tree. Day 1

A FOREST WITHIN A TREE

Thats the peculiarity of the Yew tree, it has the appearance of a mountain side densely forested with pine trees. This tree also has some other darker trees growing through it which create an interesting constrast. I like the drawing it has really emphasized all the random and crazy shapes within the tree, this is something I want to keep.

Yew tree. Day 1

LESS ILLUSTRATION

I like this bolder more graphic approach it has an energy that reminds me of early Hockney landscapes around the Hollywood hills. I think I have been trying to wrestle myself free of the more illustrative landscapes of 2024 and this is probably the first one that I think has done that successfully. I still like to retain the character of the place, to the point that it is still recognisable but to paint the rhythms and light of the landscape but in a more powerful and simplified way. This painting does rely on the these big shapes being present and I will seek out more of the same, maybe a few more forest paintings coming, there is no end to them around here.

Edge of the forest, Northumberland

WHERES THE ROAD?

It may be a tiny detail but I like the way the road rises vertically left to right but at the moment it is lost in the landscape. This is also the case with the photo, in fact it disappears altogether but I want to make it much more obvious. It won’t be hard to achieve, and will still be a subtle difference. One thing I like about the road is that it emphasizes how big and undulating the landscape is, it gives the landscape a sense of scale. Picture going well, heading for a finish.

Edge of the forest, Northumberland. Day 4

A SLICE OF CAKE

My joke about the forest, on the left, looking like a slice of cake got me thinking. If that’s the way I see it then that’s the way I should paint it. I like the flatness of the shape and the big uniform dark green triangle and how it sits in the painting. Again, the colours are pretty true to the reality of the scene. Not that I should stick to it, but these elements are what attracts me to certain scenes in the landscape.

Edge of the forest, Northumberland. Day 3

THINGS ARE GETTING WEIRD

My particular interest in flat hard edged shape is probably the influence of early Italian painting. This sometimes leads to an odd looking landscape that is quite graphic and not naturalistic. I like that effect of shapes clashing into each other but it can lead to odd effects. If you combine that with an odd looking landscape then you have to hold your nerve as this scene materializes. The thing is this painting is quite close to the actual scene and it is something that I find fascinating. I will continue to pursue this lone and eccentric point of view, as I really believe there is something to it.

Edge of the forest, Northumberland. Day 2

HAS THE PENNY DROPPED YET?

I feel it has been falling from a very high height for the last 6 months but hasn’t landed yet, and I will be saying that for the rest of my life. I think it has been realised on a few occasions over that time but of course I believe it could be a lot better, that’s what is keeping me interested. The composition is pretty crucial and this painting has really set the scene perfectly. The rest is up to me. A good start.

Edge of the forest, Northumberland. Day 1

A MANAGED LANDSCAPE

This is a curious scene. The forest on the left is triangular and resembles a slice of cake. All the land around has these strange furrows following the contours of the hills. I think they are from previous planting. I also like the road as it rises diagonally following the steep hills. The whole scene looks like an Edward Burra late landscape, minus the lorries.

Edge of the forest, Northumberland. Day 1

A STRUGGLE REWARDED

Why does it always have to be a struggle?. Wouldn’t it be better to be a YouTube content creator who seems to make their ‘art’ effortlessly than a Frank Aurebach who scrapes off his days work day after day until he finally arrives at an image that doesn’t disappoint? Maybe their is some value in the struggle, I am always suspicious of an image that arrives too quickly. With the struggle comes a worked quality and a richness and subtlety to the paint which is some compensation. Anyway, this painting has eventually turned out the way I had imagined, and there is satisfaction in that. This painting is finished.

A forest, Northumberland

A RETURN TO FORM

A return at least. The problem with having to divide my time between painting and the rest of my life is that it gives me too much time to think about painting, and that is not a good thing for me. A week of digging holes and mixing concrete has damaged my delicate and sensitive artistic sensibilities. A deserved weekend break has allowed a return to painting and a significant improvement and reworking of this painting. It is heading towards a finish, the sky and foreground need more work but it is looking good.

A forest, Northumberland. Day 5

BOLD AND DETERMINED

Or p*****d off, with the way things were looking. Another moment of destroy or turn things around because the current state of the painting was not doing anything for me. Now its been moved in the direction of Expressionism rather than soft focus late Renoir, which would have been a tragedy. The painting is starting to work and the trees in the foreground are a kaleidoscope of colour which will lift the painting further. Sky is also looking good.

A forest, Northumberland. Day 4

COMING INTO FOCUS

Still looks like a soft focus at the moment which I am not sure about. Making small paintings has advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that I have to cut out a lot of detail and this landscape is like a jewel. It doesn’t show in this painting.

A forest, Northumberland. Day 3

LOSING FOCUS

in painting and not in life, that’s important. A couple of necessary garden projects has shifted my attention. Putting in a patio and a long fence. As long as the focus is there, it will be re-directed back to painting once these are finished. Trying to maintain some kind of momentum with the painting as this is a reasonable start.

A forest, Northumberland. Day 2