News and snaps from my studio. Sometimes I write about new pieces that I’m working on that are not released yet. If I think of a tip or piece of advice that will help you look after your painting I’ll often share it here. If there’s something specific you want to find, there is a search box down below.
A Process Photograph of my Tawny Owl Painting
A small new Owl painting in progress, just a few adjustments to go. This piece is acrylics and 45 X 60 cm. I want to soften the top right foliage area and around the eyes without disturbing the colour scheme which I'm liking a lot.
Colours inspired by Harris Tweed, this time its the orange plaid!
I'm having such a wonderful time with colour this week, on a selection of new paintings that are nearing completion. Using the beautiful colours of orange and maroon Harris Tweed as inspiration.
I am producing fewer really big Highland Cow original paintings for sale on my website. This is simple a practical decision for paintings which will need to be safely dtored until purchase.
However, if you would like to discuss a painting created just for you please get in touch, i can create pieces up to 150cm wide
Sometimes I like to go through my pile of unfinished canvases and turn them into something new. So this week I started these two young Highland Bulls in a similar palette of rust and stormy blue. The guy on the left is 50 x 60 cm and on the right 70 x 70 cm. Both of these will be available for sale when they are finished.
You can see how thick the paint is, on this piece. The first full layer took two weeks to properly dry, and this is another layer of bright oil paint - I like to use contrasts and hues to create the illusion of depth, and to make the entire surface of the canvas interesting to look at. This is a cow with a sweet countenance and a little attitude in her stance. Looking forward to getting her finished this week.
I have been working on some wildlife paintings, beginning with these new hare paintings. I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture their expressive faces. These most recent hare paintings will be available on my website in a few days. They are smaller pieces at 45 x 65 cm and 50 x 60 cm.
What a lovely weekend spent painting with such a nice group of artists! Sharpe's Pottery Heritage and Arts Trust We were very nicely catered for by Sweet Caroline on both days with a super buffet, and toasties. And of course, there was plenty of cake - artists need to keep their strength up after all. We tried a variety of different acrylic painting techniques. The group all have different levels of expertise in different media so it was a really interesting weekend. Everyone got on really well and gave help, support and encouragement to one another. There was a lot of laughter and joking around, and everyone ended up producing 3 beautiful small paintings (apart from John who was on a roll on day 2 and painted two or three more!) Everyone took a paint kit home with them so they can carry on painting straightaway. I'm hoping they will keep in touch, and show me the results.
I have been looking forward to this series for a while. Aviation is a topic that I am transfixed by, and it is a thrill to get started.
Please excuse the mess of the tray under the canvas shelf- it gets very very painty under there!
I had to take her off the easel to photograph, as there is so much light hitting the shiny surface of the painting. I hope to have this lady finished by the end of the week, I ‘might’ take her to Patchings with me if she is ready in time.( Knowing me, I wont actually decide which paintings will come with me until the day before!)
I love painting Longhorns, there is a big beautiful herd of these at Calke Abbey just up the road and I must pay them a visit over the Summer . Im using some of my beautiful earth tones, and copper for this piece, mixed in with some purples, pinks and brights.
Today at the studio I hope to finish this colourful guy. One of the things that I do as part of my process, as well as creating the big shapes first, is that I work intuitively on the first layers. I don’t try and worry too much about the final result. This then gives me something to respond to in the following sessions. So I have added all the colours that I wanted to add and the wild and woolly hair. Today I will work back into the paintings and edit, tidying up some of the edges and leaving others, hopefully ending up with the final cow that I envision. Watch this space, I’ll post another photo of the final piece.
I enjoy painting on three panels, the finished effect is cool and contemporary and you get different looks depending on whether you leave a gap when you hang the paintings. I’m currently feeling very glad that I have rented this size of a studio, I remember during the pandemic, when I was painting at home and trying to create a big piece like this in the spare room - not easy!
I love creating deer paintings on canvas. This one is noisy and reminds me of an early childhood memory. I was a toddler and we visited the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham and there was a very noisy deer there shouting and making a funny noise’
A hectic week-and a painting of a goat. It is a busy week this week, Im preparing to take a large group of artists for a workshop in a marquee at Market Bosworth Festival tomorrow, so I’ve been getting organised and packing the van (which takes ages even for a small group) Ive made what must be the worlds biggest cake, because artists need to eat! :D
This little man was nibbling away at me though, wanting to be created, so I set aside a few hours and made a start. A smallish piece at 50 x 50 cm this cheerful cheeky goat portrait will be for sale when finished next week.
Barn Owl in Flight, Oil Painting inspired by the photography of Frances Crickmore
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This first piece has light-reflecting particles alongside beautiful colours, texture and movement.
This painting was sold on its first day of the exhibition at White Dove Gallery
Please see my ‘Originals’ page for my very latest available Owl oil paintings.
I have been experimenting with mixing some new grey shades for my latest deer and hare portraits. I have always loved mixing greys to use alongside my bright colour palette, as they provide a foil and a chance to rest the eye. Plus they are ever such fun to make, you can make grey in some surprising ways. I would tend to avoid mixing the obvious black and white which we all know about, which would produce a simple but flat mid tone. I have used warm blues, cool reds, viridian, yellow ochre amongst others, to make greyed down mixes that are full of life.
This time I challenged myself to explore greys further using them throughout the pieces, to evoke a calming restful sensation. These paintings are both still in the creation stage but I’ll show you them.
Here is a new painting in progress, after the second layer . Ill just add some back lit grasses to complete this one.
A new colourful hare painting in progress. I do enjoy and love hares, which makes them one of my favourite painting subjects.
UPDATE*This new hare is now finished and available at Creative Fine Art, in Marlborough
This woodland is a stone’s throw from our house. It feels quite magical and has quite a history. Originally planted as part of the local mining industry, the trees were grown to provide pit props to use down the mines. There are humps and hillocks which is where spare earth was dumped. The woods received a community grant about 10 years ago which has been used to make the walkways safe, clear some pathways, and create a nice little children’s play area complete with a fairy ring of toadstools to sit on. There is a wetland area that is thriving with wildlife, a butterfly bank that is beginning to become established, and areas of fallen and cleared wood which has been left for the wildlife to make use of. I have spotted a fox creeping around here in the early morning, many, many squirrels and birds. There is a woodpecker who I usually hear but have yet to see. It’s a really lovely area to visit and is typical of the National Forest regeneration project. I am going to make a series of paintings from this little wood.
I absolutely love making Barn Owl paintings, they are such a beautiful and mysterious bird. Here is an owl in the early stages of a painting. I often have owl paintings for sale, so check out my originals page, or sign up for my art collectors newsletter for details on newly released work.
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Im working on 8 sheep paintings. I think its 8, they won’t keep still for me to count them - makes a change from flock wallpaper, doesn’t it?
I love sheep, and they make a beautiful subject for my oil paintings. Im hoping to work on some pieces with rare breed sheep in the future, I just have to find some of these lovely animals on my travels!
If you are interested in commissioning an original painting of sheep, whether a specialist rare breed or otherwise, do get in touch. Here is my page all about ordering a bespoke painting from me. These custom paintings make a really special gift for a big birthday or special occasion.
