End of Year Plans

'Escape from Winter,' (2) oil and acrylic on board, 60 x 45cm

The exhibition at the Art Pull gallery, Tunbridge Wells, opens on Tuesday night. I still have to collect my painting from the framer, varnish it, and type my biography to go next to it on the wall. There will be 50 artists in this exhibition, and I am really looking forward to the Private View. It is the first time I have shown locally for many years. This year, I've also exhibited in London, Latvia and Belarus (these last two shows had my large painting from my Mark Rothko residency on display). It had been a fairly good year but currently I'm planning to take part in the South East Open Studios next summer, I'm trying to arrange a show in Nicosia, Cyprus, and there are many other exhibition opportunities to be applied for. There is only a month left of 2013 and I am full of plans for 2014!

My final edit of my book is nearing the end. I have fiddled with it a lot, and to its benefit I believe. I am hoping to submit it to Kindle within the next two weeks.

My painting has really reacted against the dull dreary days of winter, and the painting posted is in reality brighter, more vibrant than the image suggests. I'm very excited about the direction of these flowing colours and shapes, but may introduce some more figurative elements as time goes by!

Escape From Winter

'Escape From Winter,' oil and acrylic on board, 60 x 45cm

This painting, still wet, is my response to the darkening days of early winter. I long for sunshine and warmth! In the UK, winter days can be quite inspiring when they are sunny, and sunlight colours skeletal branches red and gold, and wonderful shadows race across the land. But these dull, dusk-like days are a drag!

So I recreated a piece of sunshine! This is painted quite thickly, with a painting knife and brush, and - as with many of my recent work - I let the paint lead me along.

Stairs




'Excursion,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45cm

 

At the beginning of December, one of my paintings is going into a group show at the Art Pull gallery (Tunbridge Wells), and I have just applied for a group show in London, also for December. This is by selection committee, so again I'm waiting with my fingers crossed! There are very few spaces so there will be a lot of competition. In the meantime, I am working on new paintings. The two I'm posting are new - the one above is finished, the one below is 'under consideration.'

I like these 'long' shapes, as they take into account the element of 'time,' in the way that listening to music does. I like being able to direct the viewer's eye along the shape, using colours and marks like musical notes. It is important to keep a feeling of freshness, and almost to catch a sense of the movement of the brush as it travels along and up the shape - so it captures time, and takes time to read.

'Stairs to Heaven,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 40cm

Incidents

'Incidents,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 40cm

When I first began this blog, some three years ago, I planned to write at least twice a week. Life has not allowed for that! I took the advice of another blogger, who said that in the case of not being able to write anything interesting, it was better just to post images - until there was something worth saying!

I'm rushing to finish my final draft of my book, and in between preparing work for exhibition, and painting new works - this is a new painting.