Paintings from Nature with Passion
Suitable subjects are anywhere and everywhere! When they find me, I know what to do! How do I choose a subject? This is an excellent question which I have occasionally been asked! Many years ago, I found myself driving through the country lanes of west Kent – looking for a view to paint! Having spent […]
How do I choose a subject? I Don’t – The subject chooses me! Read More »
How I compose a Painting Here is an explanation 1) Planning or Preparation – 5 Minutes Max In my sketchbook, I draw a rectangle about 3″ x 2″ and quickly put in the big dark shapes, then the mid tones. Leaving the highlights blank, (see above). For the most powerful effect, brightest lights
How I compose a Painting – from the Start – (Part 1) Read More »
About two years before the opening of the new Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate, I decided to ‘get on board’ and see what I could do to help welcome them into our community and to ease their way over the very rocky road of negative local criticism and much anger. I was convinced that any
Being a Cultural Ambassador – What does it mean? Read More »
One of my Heroes in art is the Victorian artist, Hercules Brabazon Brabazon. Today he is almost forgotten, except by the academics. Born into an aristocratic family in 1821, after graduation he went to Rome to study Art and Music. Then he inherited estates in Ireland and Sussex and from then on, divided his
Sketching Why drawing skills are important A house built on firm foundations, will last longer and be safer than one with no foundations. Likewise, “drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter cannot draw. But one who draws well can always paint”. A quote from A Gorky. Improving your sketching and drawing skills! When
Many years ago, almost in a different life it seems, I used to buy and sell English paintings of the late Victorian and Edwardian era, including many watercolours. I used to buy at auctions, up and down the country and sell them in my shop in West Malling High Street, at Art and Antique fairs
Someone’s whole life in a box! How sad can it be? Read More »
Yes! You did read it correctly. Leave a painting face to the wall – It was Titian who is supposed to have said it: That if you leave a painting, face to the wall for long enough, it will paint itself! Now I know what he meant and I’m happy to let you into the
Leave a Painting face to the wall and it will paint itself! – What ? Read More »
The greatest studio an artist could ever wish for is the great outdoors! Some confessions of a ‘Plein Air’ Painter- What’s the big idea? Artists have for centuries wanted to get outdoors and set up their easels and work outside under the hot sun.It gives the brightest light anywhere. This is when colours are at
Artists need to be masters of deception – When you look at this painting by Jan Van Huysum what do you think makes it work? Q Is it the apparent realism of the subject matter, the fruit looks juicy and real and ready to pick, or is it the composition. It may be the positioning
Artists need to be Masters of Deception – True or False? Read More »
I seem to recall tales of my favourite artists, like Van Gogh or Monet, spending much of their time in cafes and bars. They would be drinking a glass of absinthe or a bottle of wine. Of course the truth must have been quite different. Their enormous work output, meant they would have spent their