LESS IS MORE

Thats what I am beginning to believe. In fact I have always believed this, I can see it in my style since a student, I blame Milton Avery. The problem with reduction is trying to retain the maximum sophistication and impact, so design is becoming more important along with a more sophisticated understanding of colour and space. Its a very slow process but I can see it coming through in my work. This painting is going well, I particularly like the top left corner with is quite graphic and punchy and has some Guston cartoon qualities.

An imagined landscape, Northumberland. Day 5

A STRANGE ATMOSHPERE

The forms and the light in the sky and across the landscape reminds me of the twilight zone of the later Paul Nash landscapes. The weather is hard to pin down, its definitely daylight but it is a strange light. It seems to work, and I like it so I will continue to follow the where painting is leading me.

An imagined landscape, Northumberland. Day 4

I HAD NO IDEA

Funny what you get used to but this pink cast of the old camera is so obvious to me now. Me toiling away in the studio to get precisely the right tone and only for my old camera to screw everything up! Now my labours will not be wasted, looking forward to presenting a more faithful representation of my work. I think things will take a step forward and should lead to better paintings. This one is going well, now I just need to re photograph and repost every painting on my website!

An imagined landscape, Northumberland. Day 3

NO EXPENSE SPARED

Upping the production values on this website. All photos will be shot on my newly arrived Leica camera and if any of you know your photography they are the Rolls Royce of cameras. Early indications are that the camera is much better at faithfully recording the precise colours and tonal contrasts. My old Nikon camera gives everything a pink cast, something I hadn’t realised. The main reason for buying was to get me out more into the countryside and get better locations and photos for my painting. Just including the last finished painting although I will slowly update the others over time.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. LEICA

A Titian sky, Eglingham. NIKON

EL GRECO COMES TO NORTHUMBERLAND

A dramatic headline for a dramatic start to this painting which I am liking. When I was in the area taking photos there was a reasonable level of tonal drama but it was restricted to whites and greys in the sky. I have upped the colour saturation as per the previous painting and I am liking how things are looking with these changes. The patterns in the hills are present as fields and heather but I am trying to increase the contrasts and simplify areas across the painting.

An imagined landscape, Northumberland. Day 2

FLUCTUATING MOTIVATION

I don’t suppose I am different to anyone else in this. On Sunday I sat in front of my painting with not an ounce of enthusiasm, knowing it wasn’t finished but also knowing how much work was needed to finish it. Today I was mentally prepared and the enthusiasm was back. I always know its not the painting or subjects that are at fault but me. Anyway, this is finished and it has turned out well, now onto the next one. I have started to include the original drawing when all is done as I find the comparison interesting. In my opinion I have pulled off a ‘Titian sky’ and it has tuned up a brighter palette and I think I prefer it.

A Titian sky, Eglingham

OUT OF SYNC

The previous painting is not finished but I didn’t have the mental energy to tackle it today. This new painting is not entirely invented, but there has been a lot of artistic license applied to construct the image. The two hills were in the centre of the painting, now moved to the right and three smaller hills added in its place. The right side of the horizon has been moved to the left. There are some odd distortions in the sky from my editing which I am going to exaggerate. The single tree in the foreground has been reshaped and then copy and pasted and now there are three. The scene is still unmistakable from the actual one, nature has just been enhanced. The big cloud on the right is a result of a swipe on my dirty tv screen.

An imagined landscape, Northumberland. Day 1

A HIDDEN GEM

I have found a hidden gem in this road to Eglingham. Its on a high plateau and looks across the valley to the spectacular range of hills to the north. I am beginning to realize that weather conditions are playing a more important part of my painting so I need to get out more with the camera on dramatic sky days. This painting is almost finished. I like the more brilliant palette and thats something else I want to think about.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. Day 6

PAINTING BY NUMBERS

What I like about how these paintings are developing is that the under drawing does not change. I may add a tree or two in the process but essentially its a case of following the outlines. What that means to me is that I have got the composition ‘right’ and there are not any areas that do not work. That also means that I just need to focus on using colour to create form and space. This painting is another one of those pictures that I paint from the top down. I use the finished sky to judge the tone for the rest of the landscape.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. Day 5

A MODERN INTERPRETATION

I think my modern interpretation of a Titian sky is close enough. That was the gamble and there is enough of a passing resemblance to justify the title. The sky is not quite finished but it won’t change much. Now for the rest of the picture, which should follow the pastel palette that I have adopted for this painting.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. Day 4

THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE

More DeKooning than Titian, either will do. I have allowed myself plenty of slack to go off on my usual journey of discovery. Thats how it should be. What I didn’t want to do was lose the brilliant chromatic intensity of the original scene. Not only have I not lost it I have pushed beyond the original idea. I think I have got most of it down now and have a good tonal framework in place for the rest of the painting.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. Day 3

THE HAND OF TITIAN

Is upon the landscape, but sadly not upon my brushes. I seem to be going off on a tangent, which is quite normal and something I always encourage. The sky has been lifted up several notches on the tonal range. The dark grey/purples have been replaced by warmer purples and ditto for the dark bands of blue. The overall effect is quite pleasing and whether there is any similarity to a Titian sky is debatable. I had to get out a very rarely used tube of Manganese Blue for the occasion, Ultramarine Blue being my default choice. I will not change the title, as I am not a million miles away from the original. The brilliance of the sky is close to the horizon and this has not been painted yet.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. Day 2

TITIAN AND EGLINGHAM

Titian has never been to Eglingham, I am pretty sure of that. Its around 3 miles from any main road and even I was unaware of it until a friend told me of its existence. A brooding silvery sky on the horizon, with a line of pure blue. I am hoping I can get some sense of the tonal values which make this sky quite unusual. The single road that takes you to Eglingham is winding and meandering and gives great views across a valley to the hills in the distant north.

A Titian sky, Eglingham. Day 1

EMBRACE THE STRUGGLE

This is a tricky concept for me. I always looked to art as a refuge and a comfort blanket from the crazy world we live in. My studio was supposed to be a sanctuary from troubled thoughts and the stresses and strains of life. Now in my comfortable retirement I am finding that the biggest struggles and challenges are coming from my painting. All self inflicted of course. Now I need to reset my mindset. The longer I am prepared to struggle with these paintings the better they become. This one has turned out much better than expected, but like I said in the previous post, I’m not sure what I am expecting to find any more. Painting must continue, this one is finished.

Nature and order

A CONVOLUTED JOURNEY

Its curious, you would expect that someone who has painted for four decades would know exactly what they were doing and would arrive to a finished painting in double quick time. Seems to me, that I don’t know what I am doing and my paintings are taking longer but I eventually do arrive at a point that I consider finished. Its certainly testing my patience, but these paintings are getting better so there is the reward at the end of the rainbow. Still not finished with this one.

Nature and order. Day 7

SUFFERING IS MANDATORY

I would much prefer that painting provided only pleasure, after all that’s why I got into it, little did I know. It has taken a long time to get to what I would call the tipping point of this painting. That’s when the right decisions outweigh the wrong decisions and it becomes more likely that more right decisions will follow. The lower right quarter for me is starting to work well, other areas need bringing up to that level of clarity. Enthusiasm restored though I suspect its not going to get any easier.

Nature and order. Day 6

KEEP THE FAITH

An autumnal mood has fallen over me, it has nothing to do with the painting, that’s not the problem. I am sure I will snap out of it but this mornings painting session was an uninspired grind. There are some isolated bits of painting I can see appearing that I really like and I can see a lot of potential in this painting, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it, hopefully a small personal reset is all that is required.

Nature and order. Day 5

BASHED IN

I may have destroyed a couple of brushes in the process but fine tips and detail were not required today. My idea was just to get the placement of trees and tonal values more or less where I wanted them. I don’t believe that detailed illustration has ever been a real consideration for me. Pleased with the way it is progressing and I like the warmth of the colour coming through. My aim to avoid painting landscapes in various shades of green is looking successful in this painting.

Nature and order. Day 4

PAINTING WINS EVERY TIME

In a world that is flooded with billions of photos everything appears too familiar. I am trying to push away from what would be regarded as a familiar contemporary approach to landscape that I see, which is often semi abstract and gestural. I am more drawn towards the surreal or dreamlike re-imaging of a scene, or even an entirely invented scene. How or if I get there only time will tell. Starting to like what is appearing here.

Nature and order. Day 3

JUST A START

A very leisurely start to this painting, 1 hour on a Sunday morning but I just wanted to get things kicked off. My simple aim with these paintings going forward is not to present a room full of green landscapes, I seem to have a brown landscape appearing, that is also not an aim.

Nature and order. Day 2