Putting up the final? shelf in my studio has allowed me to put together all 5 paintings that have been made at my new home since I finished the studio in June this year. Pleased with the progress so far.
First 5 paintings 2023
THINGS DIDN'T GO TO PLAN
After a long day working on the house the plan was to do an hours painting just to give the trees and unpainted area in the centre of the picture some definition. However, when I’m having a good day I tend to keep going until mental exhaustion takes over. That doesn’t take long, in this case four hours. Made some good progress today, as I had predicted, these pictures are evolving stylistically and so its not always clear which direction I am heading. That is something I like.
Alwinton, Northumberland. Day 2
A BIGGER PICTURE
I wondered if a bigger studio would mean bigger pictures, now I know, it does. This new picture has a square format and the ones I was doing last year with this format looked far too small, 36cm x 33cm. This one is 50cm x 48cm, although small by many peoples standard it feels about right for this painting. I wouldn’t be surprised if I go bigger in the future. Happy with the start, I wanted to create a picture with a focal point to see if it changes the dynamic, the answer is yes.
Alwinton, Northumberland. Day 1
FINISHED AT A CANTER
You cannot account for good and bad days as a painter, why do they happen? I think this is almost finished. On a good day the answers come so much more quickly, even mixing the right colour seems effortless. I will look at this painting again in the hope that I am satisfied with it. As a recent convert to landscape painting I feel I am on a steep upward trajectory and that is quite exciting.
Harbottle, Northumberland
A SNAILS PACE PROGRESS
It feels like I have spent a couple of hours pushing a heavy boulder up a mountain. Gradually this sky is beginning to form but I think it is giving itself up begrudgingly and I will have to patiently bring it into existence. I like how it is evolving and I think that it will gradually tell me how it wants to be painted rather than me imposing my will on it. Besides, I don’t really know what I am doing, I think even the great painters will admit to that at times.
Harbottle, Northumberland. Day 5
USING TECHNOLOGY
I have been working from photographs for a long time, this is something I never did in the analogue years. Digital technology has opened up so many opportunities for artists, especially in post production (is this getting too nerdy?). I have been photographing in RAW format for a long time and processing the photos in Photoshop. The reason for this blog is at the end of yesterdays painting session I thought my solution for unifying the sky was interesting yet not fully resolved. What I did today was to work through a solution for it without having to go around in circles, sacrificing what I had already achieved. It only took 20 minutes. Below is the process I used in Photoshop, creating a ‘mask’ under which I put a photo of some clouds I had taken. It gives an indication for a solution, mostly based around an increase in lighting contrasts and form.
MASK
CLOUDS
FINISHED IDEA
YESTERDAYS PAINTING, DAY 4
STUDIO RESIDENT
Here is a picture of my new friend. He? is a huge moth, about an inch long. He has been in my studio for 2 weeks, never seen him flying but does move around. I was able to set up the tripod and camera right in front of him and he just ignores me. The first thing I do every day is look for him. As he doesn’t disturb me I have allowed him to stay.
TODAY WAS A STRUGGLE
I was really surprised at how quickly this painting had developed. At the end of Day 3 I could almost have called it finished. I knew today things would slow right down and get more difficult, and so it proved. One thing I am acutely aware of is I am no longer fresh out of art school and yet I am still developing an approach to landscape painting. What was I doing for the last 3 decades? Why couldn’t I have gone direct to a developed mature style and now be basking in all the accolades? Luckily I may have another 3 decades, I must not waste them. Anyway, despite a day of trial and error I have managed to push the painting forward. The main aim today was to unify the sky as it was stylistically a sky of two halves. Very happy with it.
Harbottle, Northumberland. Day 4
A TREE PHOBIA?
Is it possible to have a tree phobia?, not the physical thing itself but of painting them? I think the answer should be no, but I have carried it with me for decades. As with all phobias the solution is to tackle them head on, so that is what I have done in this painting. I should have actioned this plan years ago. The foreground trees are starting to appear and they have not proved to be anywhere near as troublesome as I might imagine. This painting is going well, stylistically it seems like a continuation of ‘Cartington, Northumberland’ and I am pleased about that.
Harbottle, Northumberland. Day 3
AN INTRODUCTION TO MILTON AVERY
‘Milton Avery lived and worked as if to avoid biography. He left no significant autobiographical remnants. He wrote virtually nothing, participated in no organizations, and spoke with such reticence that scant oral testimony was recorded. He seemed to have no will to express himself in any way other than painting’.
I find it slightly troubling that I admire such a position, it helps that I have always liked his work.
LATE FINISH
Although I was happy with the previous painting I think it had a fundamental problem in that I had identified a very strong shape within the composition, the ‘orange’ cross and this became a straight jacket around which I had to work. The other paintings, including this, developed from a natural flow of slowly discovering the landscape as they were painted. With this picture I really wanted to make more of the sky and to set the right tonal values which I could build the rest of the painting from. I think I may be heading towards a more naturalistic use of light. I like the way light and deep shadow move across the landscape, this just adds to the drama that already exists in these areas of Northumberland.
Harbottle, Northumberland. Day 2
CEZANNE COUNTRY
I am sure Cezanne would have loved it here. He would just have to get the bus to Thropton and literally have a lifetime of subject matter within walking distance. New painting. The initial intention is to stick a bit closer to the observed colour and see what develops. I think the previous painting took so long because I was a bit more free roaming, though there is no harm in that. Liking the sky already, trees are looming.
Harbottle, Northumberland. Day 1
PAINTING FINISHED
Of the 3 paintings I have done from my new location and studio this has taken the longest. Although it has been a struggle there is a reassuring consistency and quality from these 3 that is a level above last years landscapes. The stylistic approach of these paintings is still new territory, I thought this painting was still unfinished because the trees in the foreground have the aspect of a graffiti tag, but after looking at it for a while I like it. It contrasts well with my hard edged early Italian style that I have always favoured. The next painting is full of trees, not sure how I will handle it, but that is what I want from my painting, a journey of surprises.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington
MY ENDURING DETERMINATION
Please note there is no question mark on todays title as this is much closer to the truth. I felt that the painting wasn’t bold enough in terms of colour, I thought the underlying structure (drawing) was good but the painting needed a serious overhaul. It has now transformed and there are a lot of interesting elements that have appeared. I need to get to grips with how I want to treat trees in the landscape and my next painting is full of them! This painting still needs work but it is now on a different level to yesterday.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 8
MY BRILLIANT VIRTUOSITY?
I thought I could rely on my brilliant virtuosity to finish this picture with a flourish. Instead I have been labouring on automatic pilot for the last two days. Unfortunately the solution was staring at me from my tv monitor all the time. I just thought I could do better. Now I am going to eat humble pie and paint what I can observe. I think there will always be this dynamic between what I can see and how I interpret it. Things would be so much easier if I went for a literal translation but this has never been my style. The painting has improved despite all the tribulations.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 7
SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
If solutions are so simple then why are they so difficult to find? I have been polishing again to a degree where comparing yesterdays results to todays its a case of spot the difference. However, I think these subtle changes have been worthwhile. I need a simple solution for the foreground, it had become too cluttered with meaningless shapes. Its in a good state though and shouldn’t take long to finish.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 6
FIVE HOURS OF RICHTER
When my painting is going well I don’t want to do anything as mundane as change a CD so I just press PLAY again. I am just grateful I didn’t have my Barry Manalow CD playing. I am wrestling with this painting, it is bending to my will but it is fighting me. One thing landscape painters have to contend with is a lack of a central focal point. This is one issue I have to compensate in some way in order to give the painting some structure and stability. I have been looking a lot at the landscapes of Edward Burra and John Nash, this painting seems to be a mutant marriage of both, and I am quite happy with that.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 5
RESUSCITATED
With experience you can tell when your painting is dying and heading towards a disappointing conclusion. There are several ways to revive it. Part of the solution this time was to take a few days off and look at it with fresh eyes. Its curious but once you can start opening up the painting you go from a position of not knowing what to change to wanting to change almost everything, and more importantly knowing how to do it. This painting is jumping again.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 4
A WAY TO START
I have found that the easiest way to get back into a painting is to find the easiest part to improve that will require the minimum amount of effort. So this is what I did. Once you can see the improvement so the enthusiasm returns. And this is how the afternoon went. Long way to go still, parts of the painting are still quite crude but its a definite step forward from yesterday.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 3
ABSTRACT PATCHWORK
That is the effect at the moment and as its only day 2 I am liking it. I do believe however the viewer is only fully engaged when they start to recognise objects. This gives them a point of reference with the real world, space is much more clearly defined through the scale and relationship of objects and also the subject is self evident. Otherwise you are dealing with vague feelings which for me are far less compelling.
Simonside Hills seen from Cartington. Day 2