VIEW FROM MONTEPULCIANO

The longer I look at this, the more it reminds me of a deluge. There is quite a lot of symbolism in this view, if you read it in a particular way. The landscape here is constantly undulating, it almost seems to be in the process of moving. There is a strong right to left perpendicular movement and the houses seem to be overwhelmed by the landscape. In contrast the church is on high ground and rises above all this. Being made of white stone it also has the highest contrast.

This is going to be the general thrust of the painting.

View from Montepulciano. Day 1

SCHOOL OF MANTEGNA

Maybe a very distant school, one based in Northumberland. Despite that, I think this is my most successful landscape to date. I like the way the landscape has been fragmented, yet at the same time it can be read as a landscape in terms of light, undulating planes and space.

It seems my landscapes are centred on man and how he has changed the landscape. Up to now that has only meant the land. The introduction of the town is a new factor. And an interesting one.

There will be a brief interlude of a week when I am on holiday and this painting is now finished.

View from Pienza

MORE STAMINA REQUIRED

Sometimes it takes an age before you get beyond your initial fumbling’s at the start of the day. Just when the painting is beginning to flow you feel your stamina draining away. Today things were progressing so well I pushed beyond my normal limits. Quite right, with the Olympics just around the corner.

View from Pienza. Day 5

EDWARD BURRA

I keep getting drawn back to this artist. There is a brilliance to the light in his painting that I find compelling. I want to introduce this into my own work. 'View from Pienza' is the closest I have come to achieving that. There is also a fullness to his forms that is produced by an exaggerated use of colour and lighting (these things are essentially the same). The fact that most of his painting is in watercolour and mine in oil makes things doubly difficult. Also, there is a clarity and ease of expressing space. I have set myself a hard task, but that is how it should be

Overall I am encouraged by this recent painting and I don't think it is a coincidence that these ambitions have been raised by using Italy as my backdrop.

I have always held early Italian painting as the yardstick to measure myself against. This is a dangerous game!

A RURAL IDYLL?

Although the scene in real life presents itself as a rural idyll, the painting has an element of chaos. The painted landscape doesn’t quite make sense, there is a madness to the way the land has been carved up. Things are a bit chaotic. I like this, this was the intention, to keep the order and chaos in balance. Much as man has tried to do with his own ‘town planning’ and the landscape.

View from Pienza. Day 4

A MEDIEVAL VIEW

What I love about some of these unspoilt views in Italy is you are very conscious you are looking at over a 1000 years of history. Man working the land, carving into it and changing it over time. The sunset, is meant to symbolize the closing of another day, marking the passage of time. At least, that’s how I see it.

View from Pienza. Day 3

ITALIAN SCENES

I never thought I would be uploading Italian scenes to this website. I think this was a necessary move in order to expand the range and look of my painting. A prolonged period of Italianate landscapes is quite tempting. One question would be, do they have to be my own photographs?, clearly not. This would not have been my answer just a few months ago. I am unloading a lot of unnecessary prejudices about painting the longer I continue.

View from Pienza. Day 2

VIEW FROM PIENZA

I have not abandoned my beloved Northumberland, but I needed a change of scenery. A detour into Italy seemed like a good idea. I may do a Grand Tour from the comfort of my home studio. There are several destinations I may cover, all around Perugia and Tuscany. The purpose of this detour is to introduce some different elements into the painting, like the hilltop town outlined in the top right corner.

View from Pienza. Day 1

ENOUGH

Its one of those paintings that never seems to be finished and I have spent the morning chasing nuances. I like the square format, it seems to suit my style, which is slightly skewed. The paintings are slowly growing in size, and in quality. Things are looking promising, this is finally finished.

A journey of shapes

SOME MORE FIDDLING

There is often a diminishing law of returns towards the end of a painting. I had been debating whether some of the tree areas needed more detail. I knew all along the answer was yes but I was reluctant to invest the inordinate amount of time required for such a small return.

The results from this mornings painting although small, have been worthwhile.

For those of you who continue to check in, thanks for your patience, the agony is almost over.

A journey of shapes. Day 6

A BIT MORE FIDDLING

I don’t know whether to view these 2 hour painting sessions in a positive light or not. Yes, I could do more, but then again something is better than nothing. Hardly inspiring, and not the kind of philosophy that Van Gogh would follow.

I am nearing the point where changes do not lead to improvement, therefore I must be getting close to finished.

A journey of shapes. Day 5

PIG HEADED DETERMINATION

If like myself you are not one of the fortunate few to possess real talent then you may have to rely on pig headed determination to keep yourself going.

Who knows why artists struggle for years. Maybe the work offers a hope for better things to come. Or maybe that despite disappointments, painting offers you more than any other activity.

I have called upon my PHD today, and it has not let me down.

A journey of shapes. Day 4B

A BIT MORE CLARITY

This is not a days work. I will call it start of day 4 and then have a second day 4 when I recommence. Just added a bit of clarity towards the horizon line which has improved it.

I am coming into a highly disrupted period, the start of the Tour de France. Hopefully I will be able to maintain some discipline and the painting will continue.

A journey of shapes. Day 4

AN AFTERNOON WITH BARRY MANILOW

As an ‘artist’ I recognise that I am working in the entertainment business and will endeavour to keep my titles and thoughts as fresh and as interesting as possible. The afternoon with Barry was a very pleasant one.

In my painting I am realising that although my compositions are highly edited and reduced they need the intensity of observation to make them compelling. That is, retaining the most idiosyncratic elements of the view. In this case the line of trees on the horizon and the isolated groups of trees in the mid ground.

There is also a dark tonality and Shakespearean sense of drama that suits the Northumberland landscape.

A journey of shapes. Day 3

NEVER AS PLANNED

Upon recommencing today things weren’t going too well. It seemed I was mixing poorly considered tones after poorly considered tones. However, by keeping my poorly considered tones consistent I have somehow arrived at a pleasing mid-point. The title doesn’t seem to fit quite so well but I will stay with it.

I am never opposed to getting lost as long as there is a nice view at the end of it.

A journey of shapes. Day 2

A JOURNEY OF SHAPES

There is no escape from your past. I have always kept landscape painting at a distance believing this was a tradition that could not be meddled with.
However, I find myself sliding back into a natural equilibrium. My landscapes are slowly mutating. Displaying all the oddness that has always marked my painting.
Like welcoming old friends, I am intrigued to see how these characters will emerge.

A journey of shapes. Day 1

THE SPEED OF VERMEER

Another morning of frantic activity with my number 2 sable brushes and the painting is now finished.

Shapes crawling across the landscape

DESMOND MORRIS

This is the only British surrealist that I like, or can name. I have just received his latest catalogue raisonne and I am trying to resist its influence. I think this painting has struck the right balance between realism and surrealism. If things start to get out of hand you can blame him.

Happy with the progress of this painting and its heading towards completion.

Shapes crawling across the landscape. Day 5

SLOW PAINTERS

I have seen films about people who paint slowly and people who paint fast. The ones who paint slowly use tiny sable brushes and work with great certainty. The ones who paint fast use big brushes and display a level of desperation.
As an art student I was the latter. Over a period of decades I have become the former. It seems to me that as I become slower so the work gets better.
Let’s hope the inevitable conclusion to this does not crystallise.

Shapes crawling across the landscape. Day 4

HARD WORK IS REWARDED

I know hard work is rewarded, but it can take a great deal of persistence before the scales are tipped and you begin to sense that what you are doing is truly worthwhile.

This painting is a more successful version of “The ploughed field”. The shapes are more integrated within the landscape. The colour is more subtle, and there is a better rhythm and flow between line and shape.

Shapes crawling across the landscape. Day 3