Two recent paintings

Here are two recent paintings both of which are new versions of previously posted work, your critique would be welcome.

Minimal 2   Mixed media on panel  

Ancient Wall 3   Mixed media on panel

40cm x 60cm  (16" x 24")

Return to Minimalism

I seem to have strayed a long way from the minimalism that I am very keen on so here is a work that gets me back on the straight and narrow again.

Untitled mixed media on panel 60 x 40 cm (24" x 16")

January texture

 

I find texture in paintings very appealing and have been using a new technique on my last few paintings, since Christmas I have been trying to develop this further, here is my most recently completed work.

January texture. Mixed media on panel. 16" x 24"(40 x 60 cm)

Breckland - April

Breckland - April  24" x 24" (60 x 60 cm) Acrylic on framed panel

The Breckland is an area of sandy heath lying in the south of Norfolk and the north of Suffolk. The Scots Pine is the predominant tree and many areas are covered with gorse and bracken.

As I was taking my son to Stansted airport in April I was struck by the lovely yellow Gorse and the dark green of the pine trees. This is my abstract interpretation of the scene.

Skid row

Skid row, collage and mixed media on panel, 16" x 16" (40cm x 40cm)

I am sorry if this one seems a little menacing, it turned out rather more that way than I had intended. I wanted to experiment with attaching some quite three dimensional objects to the image, I quite like it, I hope you do too.

Andaman and Ochre

I painted this some time ago and I thought it would make a change from my current obsession with minimalist collages.

This was intended purely as an abstract but I am sure many people will see the colour change as an horizon and will regard it as partly figurative, I am happy for it to be regarded either way.

Andaman and Ochre, Mixed media, 16" x 16"

Fired Earth

Fired Earth 24" x 24"

Mixed media on canvas.

I recently finished this painting, which was a bit experimental and not entirely successful.  The texture, that is a bit difficult to see in this photo, was created by covering the canvas on the right hand side with Japanese paper well soaked in dilute PVA adhesive and then pushing it about into ridges and creases, all the time keeping it well doused with the PVA.

The left side was treated in the same way but using newspaper to create rather deeper ridges and creases.

Your critical comments would be appreciated

Found Abstracts

A recent posting by Nancy Neva Gagliano has motivated me to look through my collection of ‘found abstracts’ and to post a few of my favourites.  I get a special thrill when I find one of nature’s abstracts that really speaks to me, especially if it is of a minimalist nature.

                                         Untitled

This was part of an old door that was being thrown out of a house that my son was renovating; I find the colours very appealing and the sheer simplicity just perfect.  I feel that this photograph must have had some influence on my recently posted painting ‘No Title’.

                                       Untitled

At Wymondham station in Norfolk UK, there is a siding with one or two near derelict railway wagons parked in it, this image is a detail from one of these.  The colours and textures attracted me, and the bolt head is in just the right place.

                          Melegis

This is one of my special favourites; it was photographed in the small village of Melegis, which is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia, Spain.  To me it is the epitome of Abstract Minimalism.

                          Triangles

I found this little arrangement around the old fishermen’s huts at the tiny fishing port of Brancaster Staithe in North Norfolk UK, I thought it was a rather pleasing composition and it is exactly as I found it.

No title

                       Acrylic, gesso, muslin on framed panel, 15” x 15”

At last I have plucked up the courage to post this, I worry too much about what other people will think.

No explanation

No excuses

No title

Digital collages

I realise that I am likely to be regarded by all you “real artists” out there as a bit of a charlatan because I have created these collages on the computer instead of using all that messy glue and paint.  In my defence I must say that all elements are my own photographs or scans and in the case of gestural marks were painted by myself and then scanned.

I started out thinking that I would try my hand at collage but would mock something up on the computer first but one thing led to another and here are the results.

This was my first effort which uses elements from an old door rescued from a skip, a rather derelict railway wagon, a letter written in 1925, cracked plaster on a stable wall, a Chinese airplane ticket, bolt heads from a church door and a few textures taken from other images.

I was sufficiently encouraged by this to try another one, this is based on a photograph of a small portion of a rather cracked tiled floor, it is in fact the floor of Hethel church mentioned in my previous blog, although I had no plans to try this when I photographed it, I just liked the colours and shapes.  To this floor image I have added elements from a 19c book, a piece of a very old farm wagon, an envelope from 1930, a small piece from some sheet music, the number 16 from an old railway wagon and a cast iron cog wheel that I found embedded in a wall. The paint drips and the black gestural mark were made on paper and scanned together with the number 7 and added using Photoshop CS4

By this time I thought I should try something rather more abstract and came up with this.  Everything here with the exception of the type was scanned and assembled in Photoshop, the Khadi paper and background texture were existing items and all other marks were painted on paper before scanning.

Although when printed these images lack the tactile and 3 dimensional qualities of a traditional collage they do have the advantage of making use of elements that it would be impossible to use in any other way.

Waterline

Remarkable things happen in the transition zone between air and water, especially along the waterline of boats where wonderful textures and colours are created by the corrosive effects of sun, wind and salt water.

The charming seaside town of Southwold on the coast of Suffolk, England, has been a source of photographic subjects for me for several years.  I am particularly attracted to the area around the small working harbour in the mouth of the river Blythe.  Here longshore fishermen still take fish from the North Sea as they come in season, and sell them fresh from several fish ‘sheds’.

The harbour is also a popular centre for leisure craft, including a flourishing yacht repair and maintenance business.  While the harbour offers lovely vistas of boats on the water and a charming view across the river to the village of Walberswick, my photographic eye has been drawn to the ‘found abstracts’ available on the battered boats that have been taken from the water for repair and refit.  There I’ve found a wealth of opportunity for creative photography.

It is an easy trip to drive from my home along the 40 miles of country back roads to Southwold and then back again.  Each time I explored Southwold I became more aware of the delightful colours and textures to be found along the waterline of these boats.  I quickly found beauty in the result of weathering and decay caused by neglect and the exposure to the elements.  This is an unusual subject, in that it is constantly changing.  Each time I returned to the harbour I would find that repaired boats had been returned to the sea and tired-looking boats had taken their place. While waiting their turn to be patched painted and restored I was provided with a fresh opportunity to make new images.

Since most of my work is close-ups of derelict buildings, rusted metal, graffiti and peeling paint, it seems only natural that I would be drawn to these timeworn boats as well.  These subjects allow me to apply my love of photography to my love of abstract and minimalist subject matter.

During the past five years I’ve returned to Southwold many times, and gradually built up a collection of abstracts.  In this Waterline series I’m pleased to commemorate boats of all kinds, and their constant battle with the corrosive effects of the sea.