New website news
Unfortunately after all the planning and expense involved in exhibiting at Patchings Art Festival, I ended up catching Covid and spent the week in bed ill, instead.
It’s always good to make the best of a bad situation, so I have used the time as I started to feel better to begin to build my new website. Although I love this website and will keep it live, as a portfolio site, the originals for sale will move to the new site.
I needed a store website with greater functionality and integration ability. On my new site I am offering Klarna, so that there are flexible payment options for original oil paintings, and for canvas prints. I have a lot of polishing to do but it will be beautiful! Check it out here.
Inveraray- getting varnished ready for the exhibition
The varnishing process really does make the colours pop on an oil painting. I’m considering taking my big cow painting Inveraray along with me to the Patchings Art Festival this week. So just in case, I have varnished her and she is now drying off in the studio today. I couldn’t believe how nicely the colours in the background started to look. I’ll get another photograph once she’s upright!
Hare paintings For Sale
This piece is 50 x 50 cm and is now sold. Please contact me if you would like to commission your own hare painting on canvas. Hares are one of my favourite animals, perfect as a painting subject with their shabby-elegant looks and beautiful faces.
I like to create atmospheric textures and this piece is a good example of this. The background is made up of four or five layers and dry brushwork in several colours to give this wild and blustery effect.
Two new sheep sharing a canvas
Please excuse the mess of the tray under the canvas shelf- it gets very very painty under there!
Barn Owls getting a new look
Giving an old owl painting a new and interesting look today, fingers and palette knif all getting involved.
Kelso in her new home!
I was delighted to receive this picture yesterday showing my recent Highland Cow painting Kelso in her beautiful new home. Thank you Jim and Clare!
A really nice email to recieve!
I was very pleased to hear from Janine, one of my lovely artists from the Bosworth Festival, yesterday: Thanks Janine!
“I really enjoyed the workshop and was amazed at my painting. You made it all so simple to follow and everyone's paintings looked so different but fantastic. I enjoyed your cake too - although I couldn't eat it all! I tweaked my painting at home and thought you might like to see the final outcome.
Many thanks for a fabulous and inspiring afternoon.”
Its always great to hear that artists enjoyed their day and to see the beautiful finished piece is wonderful. Im sure you’ll agree, its gorgeous!
Big Colourful Canvas
Work in progress on the easel 76 x 102 cm
A new big colourful Canvas is nearing completion, I have some adjustments to make to his nose and horns, so this is the final editing and finishing stage. The colours are quite a bit more rich and dark than you can see here, particularly in the top right corner. The painting is so shiny and will be so for several days as it takes time to dry. This piece is 76 x 102 cm and will be for sale on my ‘originals’ page, ready to ship once dry
A gentle English Longhorn in the studio - work in progress this week
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.
A rainbow Cow painting triptych
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!
Market Bosworth Festival - Painting Workshop
There were thirteen participants in my painting workshop last weekend at Bosworth Festival Big Sunday and here they are with their moonlight hare paintings. It was a new experience for us all, teaching and painting in a massive posh tent! But what a lovely day it was. I had to concentrate on making myself heard as the brass band played right outside. There were carefree dogs and children cantering about and the biggest cake anyone had ever seen ( my fault- I made it). Everyone produced a unique and beautiful painting. This was a group with abilities that ranged from professional artists to those who were picking up a paintbrush for the first time!
I was given plenty of help by the Festival volunteers and Tim and Lorraine from the White Dove Gallery. The Bosworth Festival was a great success again this year and a pleasure to be a part of.
A super-colourful cow in progress
As you know I am compelled to paint cows, and I have two currently in various stages, waiting for layers to dry. I have an English Longhorn cow on one canvas, and this Scottish Highland cow on the other. Both are very bright in rainbow colours, the way I love to paint. Both 76 x 102 cm canvases will be available when finished.
A stag portrait
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’
Painting of a Goat
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 oil paintings
Barn Owl in Flight, Oil Painting inspired by the photography of Frances Crickmore
Original Barn Owl Paintings for Sale - One-of-a-Kind Artwork
Looking for unique artwork to add to your collection? Check out our original barn owl paintings for sale. Each piece is one of a kind and sure to make a statement in any room.
Discover the Beauty of Barn Owls.
My original barn owl paintings for sale are the perfect way to bring the beauty of these majestic birds into your home. Each painting is a unique work of art, capturing the intricate details and stunning colours of the barn owl. Whether you're a collector or simply looking for a beautiful piece of art to display, my barn owl paintings are a unique choice. Don't miss out on the opportunity to own a one-off piece of artwork.
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.
Highland Cow Canvas Print - A special order
Colourful Highland Cow Prints
Colourful Highland Cow Prints
I am sometimes asked for a large version of these Colourful Highland Cow Prints, which are available in smaller sizes through Wraptious. You can purchase the large (and small) square canvas prints and their framed print directly from their website here.
If you are looking for a larger canvas version, I have made it available below for your convenience. This was one of my first Highland Cows painted with brush and fingers :)
A new turquoise and gold scottish Highland Cow painting
Painting Highland Cow again this time with gorgeous turquoise and teal
I spent the week painting the Highland Cow in these lovely bright aqua shades.
Now freshly completed and getting dry in my studio this week. She has a very level and intense stare and is a dark ginger brown, with sunny highlights in her sweeping forelock. Painted with brushes, fingers and a palette knife, there is a lot of texture and movement in the piece. She is 30 x 40” / 80 x 100 cm, and this painting is now sold. Check out my new originals or why not commission your own custom Highland Cow art piece?
Kirriemuir - original Highland Cow Painting
Kelso - Colourful cow!
Kelso 80 x 100 cm
A Big Colourful Cow Canvas in Orange, Blue and Purple - a Winning Combination!
I have been working hard to get my new pieces ready to take to the Creative Melbourne gallery this week, as part of the Derbyshire Open Arts Trail 2022 If this lady is dry in time we will be taking her along! Layers of textured deep purple-blue and fizzy orange make this piece a real eye-opener!
Some of my new Highland Cow paintings will be released for sale on my originals page as they become available, and you can sign up for my art collectors newsletter for early updates.
*Update! If you want to see a photo of Kelso in her new home, see this post.
Kelso canvas prints are now available to purchase here
On the easel today - painting in progress *This piece has been reserved*
A new Highland Cow oil painting, bursting with colour!
Who paints the Colourful Highland cows?
The Story Behind the Colourful Highland Cow Paintings
I painted my first Highland Cow in 2018, from a photo reference of a beautiful brown and very hairy Highland Cow with a quizzical expression. I used the stance, and the lighting from the photo, however I used my own colour palette. The idea was to use some of the rich and beautiful glowing colours present in the gorgeous Harris Tweed fabric, which always reminds me of the beauty of the Scottish scenery. I painted that piece in two sessions, and it all fell into place very quickly. I enjoyed it so much that I began to paint a whole series of these lovely cows. The colours and the expressive brush and finger marks do seem to suit the character of the Highland Cattle, and I enjoy creating the moody and stormy surroundings.
The most famous of my colourful Highland Cow paintings is that first one, simply titled ‘Highland Cow’. I entered the Wraptious artist competition that year, having put together a collection of five paintings , all of the animals, for my entry. I won the competition and was signed up as a licensed artist , and my Highland Cow began to be featured on a lot of their home and giftware that year. He is still a bestseller now and a familiar face in boutiques and shops both in the UK and abroad.
My original Highland Cow painting
Buy a large canvas print of the Highland Cow here:
