January Jonquilles

January Jonquilles

8" x  8"

Oil on Panel

Framed

£150

Click Here to Purchase

I do like to have daffodils around the house at this time of year. They hold a promise of Spring which right now seems a long way off. These were bought but even the bulbs I planted in the garden a few weeks ago have just begun to break the surface of the soil. Soon some of the fields locally, where commercial growers have planted out acres of bulbs, will be bursting with green daffodil shoots as the days begin to lengthen once again.

I am also enjoying working on this bigger format. Although it means that I might not quite get to finish the piece in one day the bigger scale affords me more options with composition. 

  

The Route Back

'The Route Back'

8"x 8"

Oil on Linen Panel

I count myself very lucky to live close to areas of natural habitat. Here in North Norfolk we have large stretches of unspoilt coast and marshes and pockets of non agricultural countryside, rivers and woods. At times of personal crises, stress and malady spending time in nature has sustained me and seem me through. My belief (and experience) is that the closer we are to the rhythm of nature the healthier we are in mind body and soul. Its my route back. Nowadays my routine is to steal a march on the day and rise early to walk to the dogs in the countryside whatever the weather - I am rarely disappointed that I did. Here is a short video taken at dawn this morning, what a way to start the day . . . . Lucky Old Me.

And then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?

Vincent van Gogh

On the Mend

On the Mend

8"x 6"

Oil on Canvas Panel

These African Daisies or Germini Gerbera are spreading some visual warmth in the studio. I am enjoying working on compositions with the strong oranges, off whites and greens. Warmth is just what we need right now here in North Norfolk as the chilly wind comes in off the north sea. However the days are beginning to get a little longer and I keep reminding myself that its only ten weeks until the clocks go forward . . . thinking about spring.

Clem Cornish Stack

Clem Cornish Stack

7"x 5"

Oil on Panel

SOLD

I simply cant resist painting these cornishware mugs - It is such fun . . . 

Latte and Espresso

Latte and Espresso

8" x 8"

 Oil on Linen

SOLD

Composition can be frustrating or it can be fun. It can be painlessly brief or painfully laboured and drawn out. In stark contrast to my previous painting on here "Orange Bowl" this piece is a composition that I fussed over and fiddled with for an age. A huge time commitment that when you think you have it just right you don't want to jog it or knock it so that the flowers fall out of place. I've done that a few times in the past . . . exercising the extremes of my vocabulary.

Back in the saddle . . . again

Orange Bowl

7" x  5"

Oil on Linen

Framed

£105

Click Here to Purchase

I am getting back into a routine following my operation last month as the aches pains and puffiness all gradually subside. I am so very grateful for this reconstructive surgery. Its all a bit surreal at the moment - I feel like a new person and have rediscovered some of my lost confidence. This is a new beginning falling in timely fashion to coincide with a new year. Thank you for your support messages and cards, they mean a lot to me.

Sometimes subjects and ideas for a painting will present themselves from everyday life and work equally well, if not better, than compositions that I might spend hours fussing and fiddling over. An example of this is a glass bowl of oranges that sat on a blue place mat on my coffee table which caught my eye as I went back and forth past it on the way to the studio. I have tried to capture it with the same immediacy that struck me when I first caught it in the periphery of my vision.