MEXICO IS

open for business. I had many reservations about how successful this painting project could be. Firstly going from a big permanent studio separate from the house back in the UK to finding a couple of square metres of space in our apartment in Mexico, shared with my hyper sensitive to smell wife. Well, the heat, sun and food have proved adequate distractions for her. Other potential issues were painting half sized pictures and wondering if all the distractions of a Mexican ocean side resort may have on my motivation. Well, I am happy to report, its business as usual for me, so the next 10 weeks will be interesting. Good start for this painting.

Man and maguey. Day 2

MAN AND MAGUEY

A man eating cactus?, if I stood still long enough I am sure it would absorb me. As soon as I saw this I knew if I stood in its jaws it would make for a good painting. This is in the neighbourhood of my parents in law, just outside Mexico City, where we stayed for a few days. Now we are on the west coast of Mexico grilling under a relentless and unforgiving sun. I have just set up my ‘studio’ in our apartment, bought my painting supplies and have thrown myself into this rather complicated and very Mexican scene. I have not exaggerated the scale of the plants, they are monsters, and I am sure they are being watered by some of the neighbours as they are rampant and growing into the road!

Man and maguey. Day 1

PUT DOWN YOUR BRUSHES

and step away from your easel. That’s it, time has run out, even if I get up at 4am tomorrow morning in a desperate attempt to finish. I fly to Mexico tomorrow and the last thing to pack is the paints and brushes. I have reached my goal, making the painting interesting enough so when I return at the end of March I will want to finish it. I have some paintings for Mexico in mind, one that stands out is a night time view of a big bay with a fishing town. Lots of sparkling lights, I hope it works, I have always tried to photograph it, unsuccessfully.

The big house. Day 6

NO SIGN OF THE FINISH LINE

This is one of those pictures that doesn’t give itself up easily. I have been bashing it about today with only a notion of what I want out of it. I was chasing a more fluid and tonal painting, for some reason I had Roualt in mind. It has moved in that direction and it is better but I am not sure if I have arrived at where I want to be. I suspect not, time is running out.

The big house. Day 5

ODD JOBS

Changing hinges on a door when you have got a painting to finish and your off to Mexico for 3 months next week? That is what I decided to do this morning. I have also got to pack. With my inability to prioritise and make rational decisions I don’t think this painting will be finished before I leave. What I want to do though is get it to a near finished state, at least good enough that when I do return to the UK I will be interested enough to finish it. After today, there are some decent areas of painting although this picture is putting up a fight.

The big house. Day 4

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

Its quite a long list, thankfully. More painting in 2025 is towards the top of that list and that’s not just a hopeful thought. The very long list of outstanding garden projects I made since moving here in 2022 has been reduced by around 75%. This means I actually do have more time for painting and I think a return to drawing after a short 20 year break. I have started to record in this website the first stage of every painting, ie the drawing, to see how this develops.

The big house. Day 3

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED

The aim for some time now has been to keep pushing the way I am making these paintings, so much so, that I’m not quite sure what to make of them. Surely what appears must be unfamiliar to me, that’s what I want. One consequence of this is that in the early stages I am painting on intuition in the hope of discovering the ‘right way forward’ what ever that is. It seems odd to me that after so many decades of painting I have suddenly felt a sense of urgency. That’s no bad thing, should have discovered that 30 years ago.

The big house. Day 2

FINAL PAINTING

Wife is on the plane to Mexico, mother is on the train back home, this leaves my diary completely open with the only pressing appointment to pack a few suitcases for my own flight to Mexico. This is a painting I have had in mind for a few months. Firstly the grand house reminds me of some paintings by Cezanne of his own home. Secondly, I like the way this house is framed from all sides. left and right by trees, the field in front and a dark cloud above. I also like how the house is angular, naturally, but the border is all flowing lines.

The big house. Day 1

TIME IS RUNNING OUT

The repaint started with the large orange clouds on the left, these are now 2 roast turkeys and a hedgehog, isn’t that what cloud watching is all about?. The planned new painting will now have to wait until the end of December and then its a race against time before I go to Mexico for 3 months in early January. For the first time in 18 years of going to Mexico I will be painting, more on that later.

Moon and chimney

TOO MANY NOTES MOZART

Which ones should I remove your majesty? When you get towards the end of a painting making these kind of decisions are not so obvious. The solution for me was to focus on the sweep of bright light that moves from the top right down to the mid left. The edge of this light looks like a view of the earth from space and this division separates land from sky. That’s my take on it. The painting is now finished.

Moon and chimney. Day 5

I WAS WONDERING

how far I could push the idea of a moonlight sky becoming more like a distant galaxy, I think I am about there. I also think everything is in place but some areas need a bit more subtlety just so they look a bit more like naturally lit forms to complement areas that are flat and decorative. I like the contrast between the two. Its an extension of the idea that you see shapes in the sky, I want the shapes to be very distinct. This painting is almost finished.

Moon and chimney. Day 4

THE COSMOS IS BEAUTIFUL

I either have eyes that can see deep into the cosmos and view undiscovered galaxies or their is some artistic license going on. As I wear glasses I suspect it is the latter. There is an even combination between the subject and me taking colour for a walk, to mis quote Paul Klee. Its almost like a game and its a fine balance between producing a subtle sky and one you might see in a department store gallery. I am trying to use the same treatment of experimentation that I have in the sky in the building. I can see playful elements of William Scott coming through in the stones, I’d like to take that a bit further. The moon is just the primed board, I will keep that.

Moon and chimney. Day 3

NOT A SUNSET

I am pushing the sky dangerously close to turning into a sunset. The original photo was a palette of cool blues, greys and purples but I like to add a bit more range in terms of warm and cool. I will have to keep this in check as I definitely want to keeps things nocturnal. Good progress so far, some subtlety and interest is beginning to appear. As is the upside down teddy bear under the moon!. May add santa on the chimney just to keep things festive.

Moon and chimney. Day 2

MOON AND CHIMNEY

This new picture was not an idea until yesterday evening when I stepped out of my studio and saw a spectacular full moon and sky as a back drop against the gable end of our old stone cottage. After a bit of fiddling with the camera and tripod I got a good photo which was massaged in Photoshop. One bit of editing I needed to do was to remove part of the house and overlay some colour glare from our exterior lights. This overlay has resulted in a teddy bear shape appearing under the moon (according to the wife). It does look unnatural but it adds a lot of interest. I am quite interested in the distortions in form and colour through photography and this shape will stay and become clearer.

Moon and chimney. Day 1

THIS WAS FINISHED

Apart from one square centimetre that was bugging me. This is generally my modus operandi in life, this is why I struggle. Its a positive if you are aiming for perfection in most things, but in painting it can be problematic. I hope everyone can spot what took me the best part of the afternoon, its mostly the tree on the left side. The square centimetre rapidly spread as it often does in painting. When I compare this version to the previous, I think I was right to continue, but that is it, tomorrow a new painting.

Llansilin

FINAL PUSH

This picture was almost finished and in the past I may have just moved on to a new painting. However, I am trying to push these paintings a little bit further. I believe these pictures are still transitional, stylistically. and the only way to develop a different way of painting is to keep pushing the image even if in this case I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. It has improved and I think I have done enough with this painting to call it finished.

Llansilin

STORM DARRAGH DISRUPTS PAINTING

This headline did not make the front pages of any of the newspapers but my painting was put on hold yesterday due to the vicinity of some very big trees overlooking my studio. Luckily none of them came down and my artwork was saved for the nation. This painting is nearing a conclusion. I think I want just a bit more clarity in the central area containing the trees. The mass of trees on the left now have a better overall form though I think the top half just needs a little bit more. Overall this picture has turned out better than expected.

Llansilin. Day 7

IMAGE BREAK UP

The mass of trees in the foreground was a potential problem in that they could become a static featureless block. In trying to avoid this I have created quite an interesting passage of free floating forms that seem to come into and out of focus and suggest trees without slavishly copying them. There is a lot of room for refinement and some areas need a bit more clarity but I am quite surprised and pleased by the outcome. The two masses of trees in the foreground do create a darker ‘frame’ for the lighter mid ground and I need to make more of this.

Llansilin day 6

WHEN DOES IT GET EASY?

These last few paintings have felt like physical battles. I feel like I am trying to knock down a wall in order to get a clear view ahead of me. Even though I am knocking the painting around in terms of my uncompromising methods I am still retaining a lot of subtlety in the image. And this new physicality in the mark making is giving the paintings a richness that they didn’t have before. I am edging closer to something, but what that is I’m not sure of. This is a good reason to keep going. I think the images are getting more interesting not in the subject that is chosen, although this is important, but in the way they are being made. In terms of a subject matter, this is beginning to expand, and it has given me a freedom that I didn’t have before.

Llansilin. Day 5

ITS ALIVE

This painting has reached the stage where it becomes the point of reference and not the photo. My paintings always seem to have that manic aspect where there are no quiet spaces for the eye to rest on. This is certainly the case again. I just like that intensity where every part of the painting is activated. By the way, the pink chapel with the bright green door and windows has not had any artistic license, that’s how it actually is.

Llansilin. Day 4