Just received the brilliant news that I’ve a work accepted for exhibition at The Royal West of England Academy’s Autumn exhibition. Yaaay! Here’re (in reverse order, because I can’t figure out how to upload photos in the proper sequence) some shots of a work in progress.  Unfortunately, one forgot to take photos of the first [...]

After a brief visit to London  – I became (again) so inspired by Waterhouse’s paintings. Couldn’t resist it – over the years I’ve made hesitant sketches of the beautiful portraits drawn and painted by Waterhouse. Just for fun I thought that I’d try turning one of my pencil studies into an oil sketch. There’s something [...]

Until certain commissions are put to bed, I like to warm up on a couple of surfaces. Just to see what I can get out of a little experimenting with glazing and scumbling. Here are two experiments that I’ve been working on for a week. The self-portrait needs a bit more tweaking, the nude is [...]

…This week, I’ll be hanging three paintings at the Odense Kunstmuseum for the show ‘After Dark’.  Here’s one.  These are primary and secondary studies for  larger works that I’ll be starting on soon.  They’re inspired by a classical drawing studies (this one heavily influenced  by one of  Seurat’s works from when he was a student).  I’ve [...]

Sometimes making a painting is challenging and then sometimes it can go way beyond that. Then even sometimes you push yourself even further, way beyond what you even imagined you were capable of. I’m mentally exhausted after this effort. Here’s the final, about-to-be-varnished layer on my copy of my favourite painting of all-time. I’ve slaved [...]

I was quite unsettled with the original composition that I’d chosen for this self-portrait, so I cropped the canvas down and that’s when things started to happen. Only hindsight really allows us to  see what goes on, and luckily I wasn’t too far into this to be inflexible about my decisions. Suddenly it seemed like a [...]

The oddest of concidences. I was cleaning out the studio and wallop… …Staring at me was a frame  tha fit exactly the sink painting (above) that I’d just finished working on. Serendipity’s really something, isn’t it? ‘And Then The Sun Came Out (Slip)’ Oil on linen on panel 2011

Why do I do this to myself ? Open Studios are coming up next Friday and I’ve got about twelve or thirteen pieces waiting at the framers and a bunch of stuff way from finished. My studio looks like a bomb hit it, the wife’s about to give birth and I’ve two commissions to hand over [...]

I hope that you’re all well. Trying to stay true to my promise to get some flower studies under my belt – here are some daffodils picked from our garden. The ambition’s been there to paint daffs for years - the hope is to get another couple done before the season’s over. Tried to hit it in [...]

…As I found out that I’d in fact been suffering from a vicious little lung infection. Joy. I’m not going to jinx myself by saying that i’m over it, I’m still cream crackered. Anyway, that’s enough about me – let’s talk about me . Just finished preparing a new batch of no-sun linseed oil à [...]