New Paintings

I haven't written this blog for a while due to being extremely busy with artwork and projects. This is one of my new paintings, 'Moonlit Mountain,' acrylic on canvas, 38 x 28 ins.

More posts will follow! 

30 Works 30 Days: End of an Artist Project Followed During Lockdown

'Where My Thoughts Wander,' acrylic, ink, pen, papers and gesso on card, 30 x 20 cm

This global project which had over 1000 artists from 42 countries ended on April 30th. You had to submit an artwork each day during April, and 5 or 6 artists were selected each day to have their works shown on the 12ocollective Instagram pages. The 12ocollective website ended up with over 18,000 artworks and I believe everyone completed this challenge for lockdown.

I had the following painting, made on DAY 21, displayed on the 12ocollective Instagram post for that day. I was really pleased to be chosen in amongst so many entries each day! This little painting was painted as a longing for street gatherings at night. My neighbourhood seems so quiet these days and the only time I become aware of any kind of community is when everyone comes out on a Thursday evening at 8pm to clap for the NHS, carers and keyworkers.

'Night Gathering,' acrylic and ink on card, 30 x 20 cm

As I mentioned in a previous post, my art materials were delayed in arriving and I was forced to use cardboard and card to make my paintings and collages. It turned out to be a positive restriction because it opened up a different way of working and seeing painting elements. I made a very large series of collages, in fact the mixed media works took over towards the end of the challenge. For this short post I'm including a few of the collages. I found working with mixed materials beneficial because limitations always force you to find new ways to assemble an image, and in particular I was thinking about edges, transitions between colours, brush strokes and patterns. This will now feed back into the large paintings on canvas.

'Mountain Route,' (3) acrylic, ink, gesso, papers on card, 30 x 20 cm

'Entering a New Land,' acrylic, rice paper, ink and gesso on card, 30 x 20 cm

''Wishing to Travel Far,' acrylic, rice paper, ink and gesso on card, 30 x 20 cm

More works will follow later this week or they can be seen on my artist website, the link is at the top right side of the blog page.

30 works 30 days: A Painting Every Day During April: Hope

'Landscape Reverie,' ink, acrylic and gesso on cardboard, 42 x 24 cm

In my previous post I mentioned lethargy. I have noticed that during this time of coronavirus it seems quite common and manifests itself in many ways. I have friends who simply can't paint at this time. There's no right or wrong way to deal with the deadly situation and constantly worsening news, and personally I find distraction in trying to extend my art practice each day. It helps me feel connected with the world by exploring my inner world, and colour always uplifts me. There may be external restrictions but my inner landscapes run free.

I'm posting a few of the recent paintings made this last week and which have been loaded to the thirty works website. I don't want to slacken because if you miss a day you are out! I'm not following the briefs, I'm using the challenge to create ideas for new work which I will start as soon as my new materials come though I don't know when they will be delivered. However, there is something to be gained by working on unusual materials such as cardboard. They make you re-think your process and of course working speedily brings its own insights whether they are recognising new territory or falling short of one's intention.

'Spring Marching Across Winter,' ink, gesso and acrylic on cardboard, 42 x 24 cm

These 3 on cardboard are suggesting ways I could work with oil paint on canvas. I'm quite excited because through doing this project I've cut some corners and found several new forms and ways of applying paint. 

'Spring Marching Across Winter' was inspired by my daily walks when I noticed the greys, browns and warm neutral colours of winter being gradually invaded by fresh, vibrant greens and the luscious colours of flowers. 'Invasion' is about the way that the structures and meanings we hold as permanent in our lives can be turned upside down in a moment. I liked the immediacy of these 3 paintings but may layer oil paint on future canvases while trying to keep to the spirit of these mixed media works.

'Invasion,' gesso, ink and acrylic on cardboard, 42 x 24 cm

My favourite is the first one because I feel it is more complete though the other 2 have prompts that can be extended when I work on canvas. It's such a good project because it generates energy and a sense of a positive link with the future. Working gives me a more balanced way to think about the current situation and gives me hope.

30 Works 30 Days Challenge, Pushing My Limits

'Paint Poem' (series) oil and acrylic on canvas 22 x 25 cm

I chose to take part in a 30 day painting challenge which has been organised by 12ocollective. We signed up to make 30 works across 30 days which I'm using as a tool to push through new ideas by trying out some different processes. If you fail to submit by midnight each day you are out of the challenge!

I work part time at the moment so fitting in this challenge along with work and making other artworks is stretching my day but I'm determined to finish. It helps also to take my mind off the worsening news about the coronavirus pandemic.

The first painting, on DAY ONE, is a small oil painting which I worked to a time limit. Since that first day I've been working with different mixed media, combining acrylic and ink on gesso on cardboard and rice paper layered on cardboard, with ink and acrylic. My main materials, stretchers to make canvases, will not arrive for a while so I'm having to work with whatever is around.

For this post I'm including a few of the paintings I've made so far. We are currently on DAY SEVEN. 

'Paint Poem,' (series) 22 x 27 cm, gesso, ink and acrylic on cardboard

'Social Distancing in the Park,' gesso, ink and acrylic on cardboard, 30 x 28 cm

'Paths in the Park,' acrylic and gesso on cardboard, 28 x 26 cm

More will follow!

Review of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, 2019, Part One

Elmar Peintner, 'Children's Feet and Ladders,' oil and pencil on canvas

As a painter I always love to write about other artist's work and being a participant in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale at the National Art Museum of China gave me the chance to see a diverse array of artwork that simply called to be written about!

The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale this year had the largest number of participating countries (113) and the theme was 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' There is a size requirement of a minimum of 120 cm by 120 cm for paintings, though sculptures were many sizes, and this may be because the walls of the National Art Museum are so large and high that they call for large paintings. Many of the Chinese artists' work is very large indeed! 

In these articles I will be selecting a few artists to write about and also posting general photos of the exhibition. Unfortunately I did not have time to see it all as the large rooms across 3 floors needed a few days to fully explore.

I met the Austrian artist Elmar Peintner in 2015, (painting above) at the 6th Biennale, and since that time I have been a big admirer of his paintings. His large compositions always give an unusual viewpoint and an unexpected interpretation of the Biennale themes. 

The painting above combines powerful empty space (bare canvas), patterns and figuration in a masterly way with great subtlety and sensitivity. It is a painting which invites you to go closer to examine the flow of textures and colours and to marvel at the concept. Elmar's paintings all display such a creative and emotional use of composition and sensitive transitions between colours and shapes. Many times I thought that the medium of his paintings was watercolour because the lightness of touch and quality of the brushwork has the delicateness of watercolour.

He writes about this painting: 'The children's feet in a variety of skin colours represent childhood in a cross-cultural context..'

Elmar Peintner with his painting 'Children's Feet and Ladders.'

A view of the exhibition

Shefali Ranthe, 'My Life is in Your Hands,' oil on canvas

Shefali Ranthe lives in Copenhagen. I first met her at the 7th Beijing International Art Biennale in 2017 when I was impressed by the beautiful colours she uses and her rich imagination.  Her work defies any category being entirely her unique vision of life. It combines inventive figuration and abstraction with vibrant colours and shapes. I love her boldness and the way she pulls abstract shapes of colour through elements of figuration, using both large areas and tiny accents of detail to create movement, and I admire the richness of her paint textures. I feel that she is completely at ease with who she is as an artist and her paintings exude happiness.

Shefali Ranthe with her painting

The Opening Ceremony

Soraya Sikander with her painting 'A Winter Night.'

Soraya Sikander is an artist from Pakistan who currently lives and works in Dubai. She paints large abstracts which have an interest in calligraphic brush work and colour and are often layered with fluid paint. They allow the viewer to make all kinds of associations and to enter their imaginary world. She says:

'At the point of action, at the point of painting, all sorts of other elements come in to play. It is not totally cerebral, it is not planned on a piece of paper and replicated on canvas. My work has the ability to surprise me. It captures the complexity of development.....It is the whole meaning that interests me not just surface development.'

The photo does not give the full beauty of the complex surface and marks or the richness of the colours. In reference to the theme she writes that it is:

'...a  universal common thread shared by men.'

This was a painting which kept inviting me to go back and look and find new meanings and places each time.

'A Winter Night,' and its caption

The Official photo of all the invited artists outside the National Art Museum of China, Beiijing

Aleksandra Suspitsina, 230 x 500 cm, oil on canvas

Liao Qin (China) 'Sharing Wind and Woe in the Same Boat.'

The painting above by one of the Chinese artists was truly amazing. The photo does not do it justice because the colours and details really need to be seen in reality. This artist also spoke at the symposium and I was moved by his humble request for people to critique his work and make further suggestions. It looks perfect to me!

Further works by these artists can be found on their websites.

To be continued with more paintings and also sculptures.

How Important is Knowing an Artist's Intention When Looking at a Painting? (part 2)

'Lost Paradise: Tears For Burrswood,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

I'm posting 2 new paintings and one work in progress. They have a message behind them which I feel it might be important for viewers to know. I don't believe it will spoil their enjoyment of the paintings, if they had attached a different meaning to them, but as the impetus for the first 2 paintings has a highly personal meaning, it seems to be an integral part of the image.

The first one, above, is about a place I loved and which has now gone in to receivership. I first went to Burrswood when I was 17 as my father had just got a job as Public Relations Officer there. It was at that time being promoted as a faith healing centre and my sister had a miraculous healing from Leukaemia there.  Some years later the place became a place for people to stay, as respite for ill people or just to enjoy the peace of the huge grounds, forests and lakes. There is also a beautiful church and I often used to sit in it feeling the quietness. Often I would go to the cafe which had a view down to the lake and distant hills.

I painted there every week over an 8 year period, seeing the trees grow, seeing the change of the seasons with their minute differences from year to year, breathing in all the scents, and always loving the wild orchids that grew near one of the lakes. 

I found out about a month ago that this place, which has occupied much of my life in one way or another, has now closed. My painting is about remembering paths, seasons, flowers, the lakes, and my deep sorrow. It was about wondering what will happen now? Will it all be destroyed as money dictates that flats should be built on the land? The church also destroyed?

It has been a heavily reworked painting and as I seemed to feel there was so much to say, the best thing is now to start another painting. While working on this, I was also exploring my ongoing ideas about colour, composition, (how much to include, where to include it, what could be left out), and how to make an image that respects paint as well as the initial inspiration. Once I start to paint, I walk a line between the original inspiration and what the paint is pushing me to say.

'Spartans Shields Returning Home in the Rain,' acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

This second painting, which was painted over an older work, is a bit of a strange one! My inspiration was the thought that people's lives often pass through many struggles with courage that is unseen. I thought of the Spartans and their saying 'Return with your shield or on it,' Their shields were emblems of courage and honour and this is why my abstract landscape - which has elements from my 14 years in Cyprus - includes shields. It was quite an intense painting with all kinds of thoughts going through my head at the time and also I wanted the paint to show the traces of my feelings through the brush marks. It is also about the passage of life, the certainty that you can not go back only forwards.

'Throwing Pebbles in the Lake While the Moon Rises,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm

The final painting I am posting is one from my moon series. It grew out of my imaginings of being by a lake, usually with pine trees and distant views of mountains, and having the time to sit and throw pebbles in the rippling water while the moon rises. This is imagery I visualise when I'm falling asleep, it's where I would like to be! I liked the idea of the moon changing through different colours, as it does in Cyprus, and I don't feel that the composition is yet there. 

I don't believe all paintings need to be explained. They should greet the viewer with a certain kind of completeness, but when there is an intense message behind them, it can enhance any interested viewer's appreciation of the work to find out more.

A Brief Post

'Retracing My Steps,' ink and acrylic on board, 30 x 40 cm

Sometimes when there is not a great deal to write - when life just trundles along without many incidents, as it has the last few weeks - it is better to only post some pictures of paintings. 

The last two weeks I am trying to finish a few paintings for exhibitions and stretching canvases. I will post the new ones very soon.

'Excursion,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

A colourful Tribute to my mother

'Landscape Poem,' oil and acrylic, 40 x 30cm

It has been a month since I last posted. Today as I write there is about 25 cm of snow outside on my patio and more expected for the end of the week. It has been a very hard and distressing February because my mother passed away on February 16th after six days in hospital with Pneumonia. I am looking out onto daffodils peeking through drifts of snow remembering how she loved those first signs of Spring and the lovely yellows.

'Landscape Memory,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40cm

Consequently, I have had a lot of things to see to over the last two weeks and have not really had time for many of my usual activities, and none for painting. So for this post I am just going to add a few colourful paintings. My mother loved to see my paintings as they evolved and especially loved colour. Today I want to try to paint again because I know she would be telling me to get back to work!

'On the Cusp of Memory,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 80 x 50 cm

'Summer Remembered,' acrylic and oil on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

My mother loved this painting, made in China during my painting Fellowship by the Great Wall (2016). I had to roll it to bring it home.

'Journey to the Great Wall,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 90 x 70 cm

And lastly, some daffodils I bought for her and put in our kitchen. She always bought them at this time of year to brighten the kitchen.

Art Fairs and Fairness

 

The SEE Art Fair opened on Wednesday night, with 25 stands: galleries, artist groups, and individuals. This is a photo of me in front of a gallery stand, with my blue painting 'Paphos Walkway,' (a memory of flying out over Paphos harbour) on the panel above. I delivered 5 paintings and some of the others may be substituted as the Fair continues, but I was really quite disappointed that my painting was shoved to the top of the stand, and a larger work was not included. It made me realise that the only way to participate is to pay for your own stand! It was implied that my work was 'too colourful' and may not 'fit' with the other paintings, but last night I noticed that several artists on other stands had been nominated for 'Best Artist of the Show,' and they were mostly very colourful figurative or colourful abstract! Yet back in my studio I had so many colourful abstracts and semi-abstracted landscapes that were available to display. I felt I never stood a chance. Once again, it showed me that other people do not necessarily have your interests at heart. On the opening night I was told something along the lines of: we weren't sure how to fit your work in, and we were going to hang it horizontally. No way - I would have taken my work down and walked out.

On the positive side, it was a very lively event, held for the first time in Tunbridge Wells in the Assembly Hall, which usually shows theatre productions and concerts. The Private View was on Wednesday evening and last night I attended the Charity Gala Event, which was accompanied by live music and canapes. I stood for four hours and never stopped talking to artists, visitors and galleries. My painting received some very nice comments.

Above is a view of some of the other stands, with the theatre seating visible in the background. The music added to the general ambience and was not too loud. I really enjoyed meeting other artists, seeing some wonderful paintings, and took the chance to network and make artistic connections. But as I left at 10pm, I vowed that the next Art Fair I take part in will be under my own terms, with a stand of my own!

'Paintscape,' - work in progress, acrylic on board, 100 x 75cm


A Viewing.

     I was up at 6.20am, as usual. I helped dress Alice (my niece) and took her up to her waiting school taxi at 7.15am. A group of men arrived to put scaffolding up around our block of flats. As the clink of heavy metal poles echoed outside the window, I was running around with canvases in my hands, placing them in positions around the room, in preparation for viewing by my art agent, June. I assumed that the three hours I had before her arrival was ample time, but it was scarcely enough! I selected 25 canvases, and after trimming off rebellious strands of canvas, labelling them, whitening a few unprimed edges, and displaying them against tables, on sofas, and in front of the TV, it was with a few minutes to spare.

June chose 10 paintings. We made a list of the titles and measurements and prices. I realised that I need to paint more large canvases, as June likes my larger paintings and feels that they really suit a corporate environment. I am also very happy working large, as the scale suits my use of colour. I felt rather awkward explaining why I couldn't part with the two huge canvases on the living room walls. One is about the memory of Nicosia and my late partner Tom, and has huge sentimental value. The other, a large (140cm by 140cm) canvas about women in the Turkish Baths in Nicosia, I had promised my husband I would hold on to!  But the positive aspect is that June knows I will be painting some more 'biggies' soon.

Now it is a matter of waiting for confirmation that the work will go on show at the Kings Hill Project.

(My paintings, scattered around the living room this morning!)

Time or Not

As Christmas draws closer, I am racing to finish some work before a few days of non-painting causes my oils to dry. I remember my student days, when time was a distant concern and I could devote all my waking hours to my paintings. A false sense of time stretched out indefinitely. As I tweaked some paintings yesterday, I debated whether a lack of time seriously damages or invalidates one's work. For most artists, 5 days a week in a studio is a goal yet to be attained, so painting is slotted between daily duties. I know artists who work full-time and paint at night, or spend all their weekends painting. I would dearly love the chance to paint full-time, as I believe that it promotes a flow and rhythm I can't have when I work in irregular hours, snatched here and there. (Though I probably have more time to paint than friends who have children.)

But all the part-time artists I know haven't suffered any loss of integrity or substance in their work. So it made me wonder if perhaps a lack of time can force you to focus very intensely and make some deeply considered and quite definite decisions. I wondered if perhaps it could be turned to an advantage? Most artists are painting even when the brush is not in their hand, and it's possible to sit in front of my canvas and find that the stored hours of visual adjustments and possibilities, played with internally during daily routines, suddenly flood into the painting. Many a painting has been finished in the final half hour, when pressure forced unexpected resolutions.

('Terrain.' Oil and acrylic on board, 31cm x 61cm)

Admin versus Creativity

After much painting, erasing, and contemplation, and numerous cups of coffee, my commission is finished. I could have gone on longer, but felt that it had reached the stage where it conveyed the buzz of night life and multi-layered conversations that were the original impetus. It's a theme I love, as each brushstroke takes me back to my many night-time walks around Nicosia, and colours start to carry the essence of those memories.

The painting will be delivered on Saturday, but during the painting process my client was kept updated by the means of photos of the progress of the painting attached in emails. Modern technology can be so helpful for an artist and saves so much time.

Much of my painting day tends to be taken up with what friends refer to as 'Admin Time.' Perhaps there was a Golden Era when galleries sought out artists and opportunities dropped in through the letterbox each day. Now we have to be on constant alert for exhibition opportunities and the chance to showcase our work. This means signing up to gallery newsletters online, joining artists' databases, and constant networking (often on the internet) and putting your work on as many websites as you can find! It is time consuming and can be expensive, and of course there are thousands all doing the same thing. But what I love about the internet is how easy it is to enter other artists' worlds and make connections. My own practice has been greatly extended by sites such as Facebook, which allows me daily discussions with artists around the world.

('Nicosia Balconies at Night,' 120cm by 60cm, Oil and Acrylic on canvas.)

The Far Edge of Winter

This painting says everything about the potential of the approach of Spring, and the rising waves of energy I feel as a painter. Though it's still like the arctic here, I have struggled to go outside with frozen fingers and feet, to start some new landscapes. In comparison with last year, when the colours of Spring excited my eyes and brush much earlier in the year, there isn't much sign of impending change yet. But I can feel it, especially in the changing quality of light.

My painting embodies my preoccupation with the impending surge of light and colour. Though made from a drawing of Nicosia, my delight that day was in the luminous sunlight, the washing blowing in the breezes, a bird circling the rooftops, some men replacing some roof tiles, and plant pots on rooftops. There was also a Digger, which was demolishing some old buildings, to make way for the new. I chose this painting to mark the far edge of winter, and brighter, more optimistic times to come.

Last Exhibition of 2009

This was one of the most exciting shows I've taken part in. The gallery was the 3, Bedfordbury Gallery in Covent Garden, and was one of the most perfect galleries I've seen, from the perspective of lighting, space, and location. My 3 paintings were at the top of the stairs, on the first floor, a great way for your work to be encountered, and the lighting came from both ceiling lights and a window, and was very favourable to my colours. I liked the layout of the gallery, which was over 3 floors, and when I arrived in the evening for the Private View (10th December), the spire of nearby St. Martins' church was magically illuminated by the street lamps. The narrow streets around the gallery were overflowing with small shops and Pubs, and the atmosphere was quintessential London. Being near to Covent Garden, the streets were a stream of shoppers, and the exhibition was well received.

I showed 2 landscapes and a 'Women in the Turkish Baths' canvas.

Paintings of the Turkish Baths, Nicosia.

Here are a few further examples of my series of 'Women in the Turkish Baths.' The lilac one is called 'Fiona in Blue Jeans in the Turkish Baths.' It is a mixture of oil and acrylic on canvas, 95cm by 54cm.

The next one is called 'Blue Baths.' (66cm by 46cm.)