Photographing Originals in the Studio with Joanne Cooper
This morning I was visited by talented photographer Joanne Cooper who photographs my paintings before they go to their new homes. This was her first visit to my new space and thank goodness she brought her own lighting! Hopefully, by the next photoshoot in September, this studio will be a thing of beauty :D
Synaesthesia - colours written in black and white
I see colour in the written word. When I look at the page of a book, I see colours jumping up at me from the page as I scan the shapes of letters. Sounds and music have a colour which I can clearly see.
I know it sounds strange but I’m not alone!
Synaesthesia is a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. It is estimated that only a small percentage of the population experiences synaesthesia
When I was in my teens I mentioned the coloured numbers to my mum "You know '3' is red, and so is 'A'? I’m not sure whether she thought I was being daft! I was surprised to learn that most people don’t share this phenomenon.
Years later I found out that this is known as Synaesthesia, and that a small percentage of people experience it. I was excited to hear that I was not the only one seeing the names of friends, places, and telephone numbers in stripes of vivid colour. I remembered the word 'Synaesthesia (with its attractive combination of greens, red and pink) and when the internet came along I was able to google it and find out more.
At that time, nobody knew much about it. Recently there has been a lot more research. There is even an online 'test' that you can do to see if you have numbers/letters to colour’ synaesthesia, which is known as 'colour-grapheme synaesthesia' I took the test, although I already knew what the results would be.
Telephone numbers appear as a kind of colourful bar code. Sometimes synaesthesia makes it really easy to remember things. It can sometimes be confusing, particularly when words are printed in the wrong colour. My Tuesdays and Thursdays come as a pair, both being blue-grey, which can lead to mix-ups.
Friend’s names appear in colour, which can make it very easy or hard to remember! For instance, my Elaine, Helen and Wendys are all green, names which may lead to mix-ups. Barbara and Sarah are both red and black. I must write my shopping lists down so that I don’t arrive back with items memorised as a similar ‘colour’ that is not required.
I do enjoy being synaesthetic it gives me such a colourful and slightly chaotic life :)
I’m sure that my art is influenced by synaesthesia. I have a strong affinity with certain colours and use colours to perk up my mood or calm me down, depending on what I need. These are the colours that find their way into my work on any particular day.
View original artwork in your home- new feature!
In partnership with Artspacer, I can now offer you the facility to view art on your walls via ‘augmented reality’. Click the red ‘View’ button on each piece and follow the simple instructions, its like magic! You can view my oil paintings on your walls live, take a photo to save and share directly from the app.
I am as big as a bear!
I am making the most of painting in my new studio, where there is a lot of room. Im even using one of the walls as an extra easel. This gentleman is 150 x 100 cm and is nearly ready to appear on my website.
Another lion on my easel today
He's new, and he came to life this morning! Another session with him tomorrow!
A new commission ready to travel
My most recent bespoke Highland Cow piece ready to go to her forever home. She will travel in style as I’m trialing a new specially made art box packaging to send her in.
First day in my new studio!
The outer room is still a work in progress but this is where I will paint. I have a list of work to begin here and so I have made a good start. I imagine the walls will be multicoloured before too long and that is fine by me , I can be messy here without the worry!
A brand new collection - on the easel!
inspired by a recent commission, I have begun a colourful new series of lion portraits, here is one of those on the easel. This one is 76 x 76 cm and will be available for sale at £600 plus shipping once dry.
Moving studios-it's a big job!
Moving into a New Art Studio
We have been working on the new studio during the cooler hours first thing, and it’s been a VERY slow process. Tomorrow we have a full day and I’m excited. We managed to move a wall today. The above photo was this morning just before we reassembled the wall in a new location. You can see that the place was still crammed with wood and workshop equipment here. There is a further room at the back behind the white wall. I’m having to reconfigure the space in order to make sure no debris floats up from downstairs as I’m super allergic. So this place looks like nothing right now but in a couple of days, I’ll have photos of the new-look studio to share!
Plenty of parcels!
How I ship my Oil paintings
My moving sale was a tremendous success and lots of fun too. The first purchase came ten minutes after the sale opened and by th eend of the week 32 pieces were sold and off to lovely new homes up and down the country and abroad! Im delighted that these pieces will be seen and enjoyed, rather than going into storage after my move. This photo shows the first batch of pieces ready to go. There were cardboard boxes everywhere that week!
A Highand Cow painting in progress video
This is a painting session condensed into two minutes. I am hoping to get better at making videos so this was my first attempt, with the use of a new camera. This piece is 80 x 100cm and will be available for sale on my website when finished.
New cows with flowers paintings - an early peek
These are part of my collection of paintings featuring cows adorned with beautiful flowers! These one-of-a-kind pieces of art are guaranteed to bring a playful and charming vibe to any space they are displayed in. Take a sneak peek at my latest works in progress!
Update: These colourful pieces of art are all now sold, please check my art for sale page for latest releases.
Three new big flowery cow paintings on their way! These are such quirky and whimsical paintings and are but enjoyable to paint and fun to display
Summer Studio Sale!
I’m getting ready to move into a bigger studio in the next couple of weeks! Change is afoot, as I am going to be able to concentrate on my bigger canvases. I’ll be having a special sale event /moving sale where you’ll get the opportunity to buy my smaller original paintings at a very preferential price for the duration of the event!
-Sign up for my newsletter as I’ll be offering the first look to my mailing list subscribers before I open it up to the public! There will be pieces ranging from 20 x 20 cm up to 50 x 50 cm available!
My new Tawny Owl painting
Tawny Owl
This Tawny Owl painting is the latest addition to my collection, and I must say, owls are one of my favourite subjects to paint. Their unique features and mysterious aura make for a captivating piece of art. Take a closer look and see for yourself! I have used deep teal and sage green for the background of this painting. I still need to add a couple of details and blend areas. I will hang the painting up on the wall at home for a while until he is dry enough to add the final tweaks.
Update* This owl painting is now sold, I have some newly released bird pieces on the website here.
If you are looking for an owl print on canvas, I have a selection here Owl Prints
My girls on holiday
We all had a wonderful time exploring the nature reserves and catching what little bits of sunshine we could find! The girls really enjoy living on the beach! For many years we never went on holiday but we changed that in 2018 and now we head off twice a year to the coast. As an artist, I find it essential to keep exploring new places and experiencing fresh sights and taking inspiration from it all. I always return full of new clarity and direction and ready to paint!
Painting a big sky
Inspired by our recent coastal adventures, i’m painting some skies this month, here’s one of them in progress.
An acrylic painting session today
I often enjoy painting in another medium i’m not too familiar with, partly for the challenge. I find it’s really useful as a learning excersize too, it makes you think about technique. I recreated this scene from the Moira Furnace Country Park from last summer, and thoroughly enjoyed myself! I used Liquitex soft body acrylic paint, they have some beautiful colours in their range.
Buying Original Artwork - Provenance
A customer asked me a really good question recently. She was wondering if the pieces that I offer for sale on my website are original paintings, and not prints on canvas. I’m happy to verify that I only have originals for sale on my site. Provenance is so important when buying a piece of art, so I send a certificate of authenticity with each, painting which displays the image and details about the individual piece along with a declaration signed by me.
I am a licensed artist with two companies that do sell prints of my work. These are Icanvas, and Wraptious, and the prints can be purchased on papaer and canvas, framed or unframed on their websites.
Some new cows on the easel this month.
I am working on some lovely new cows lately
The first layer on a new commission!
A young heifer on the easel!
Halfway through the first layer on a new cutie!
A finished colourful bird painting!
Here is my ‘Springtim Chickadees’, featuring Blackcaps. Ive enjoyed painting these uplifting little birds so much!