Herd and Scene

The Scarlet Pimpernel

2012-01-13T09:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings fellow bovine appreciators! It's been a while since I posted anything on here so I thought it was time to put on the winter woollies and come out of hiding. Rest assured I have been beavering away producing paintings in between the agricultural shows of the summer and of course my visits to restaurants. Kirsty Allsopp probably thinks I was stalking her as she was at many of the same shows, talk about Location, Location! I didn't realise she was entering the competitions as a mystery entrant for her own show until I watched in this autumn. I can tell you, that in the words my mother might use that she's not as "hefty" in real life!

The Royal Welsh Show was excellent and being a member this year was an advantage. No longer did I have to rely on the plastic cupped generosity of the Welsh Black breed society for a post cow tipple but I could enter the hallowed portals of the newly finished member's pavilion. I could sip a chilled glass of Prosecco (sans damp grassy knoll bum print) and watch proceedings from the balcony. I would have preferred a view over the cattle ring but hey, you can't have everything. The toilets were much better too and no longer did I feel that I was using an outside privvy!

In addition I've painted a few donkeys and also some spaniels, photographed on a detour to to the Royal Welsh as a commission which has kept me busy. Douglas and Shadow were lovely and very well behaved models as usually with two of them it's like herding cats.

Talking of commissions I've just finished another one which is of two Belgian Blues. It's just drying now and the next blog which follows next shows some step by step photos.

Bollards to Sat Navs

2011-08-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Delivering paintings to galleries around the country can be a time consuming affair although it means I have started to become an expert on the best motorway services for the obligatory comfort stop (My current number 1 is Norton Canes on the M6 toll and the worst continues to be Fleet Services on the M3).

Invariably there's an accident closing the road so a quick route change is often necessary and I spend a lot of time with the car atlas as I can't always trust the Sat Nav. Last week, for example, I had a very early start for a gallery visit in Cambridge (got caught out the first time as my Mrs Sat Nav who I fear only ever gained a grade D at CSE in geography and needs constant supervision..I think I've got the work experience version of Tom Tom..but I digress..didn't know about the rising bollard system in Cambridge which comes into force early in the morning and renders access to the streets impossible until the evening). It's a wonder I actually found the gallery and I probably would have had more success using Hansel and Gretel's method.

I sometimes expect mine to say in that stilted voice "oh, I've cocked that up again...haven't I?" But no she keeps quiet whilst expecting me to negotiate an unexpected river or railway line. In fact, given the ending of "Thelma and Louise" I'm surprised that Tom Tom wasn't the sponsor as the sheer cliff face clearly presents no problem in the optimistic mind of the Sat Nav. I should have looked more thoroughly in the box as there was probably an application for a Duke of Edinburgh award for owners chalking up a year without drowning.

I do visualise that she would be the sort of woman who would look like she gives change out from the booth in penny amusement arcades - a sort of bingo winged character like Marina from Last of the Summer Wine. I have her as a chain smoking, red top reader who sits with her feet up in a tongue and grooved clad office with a mug of tea in one hand who when I over ride her and pay no attention to the tortuous route through the mountains she has plotted that she suddenly, on realisation sits bolt up right, her fag dropped swiftly, newspaper gathered in one hand whilst rescuing the burning embers from her wrinkled cleavage muttering an expletive before being forced to "recalculate an alternative route". Don't you..no? Just me then.

Mrs Magellan wanted a Shandy..

2011-06-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

Dedicated as I am to bringing you the best in cows from around the country and sampling the offerings from various hostelries in my pursuit (I know it's a sacrifice I undertake on your behalf!) I make mention of a recent visit to the Ribble Valley in my home county of Lancashire. I realise that Lancashire does suffer from an image problem of cobble sets whippets and flat caps and as with most myths that isn't always the whole truth. When the sun shines it can be quite lovely and of course, the high rainfall (shattering another myth that we all have webbed feet) does make lush pasture and in turn lots of cows.

Armed with a recommended walk from the local newspaper kept for such a purpose, I set off following the route which quickly gained in height what it lost in way markers and my self congratulations on remembering the binoculars was short lived as I realised I should have brought the OS map and a compass.

The walk was to pass the magnificent Inn at Whitewell (www.innatwhitewell.com)which is an inn dating back from the 1300’s and is among my favourites especially in its choice to source it ingredients locally. (Jim Beams slow roasted Gloucester Old Spot belly pork is terrific.) Frustratingly, I could see the distinctive pub in the distance on the far banks of the River Hodder.

So near, so far and I have to confess I just couldn't find the route from the paper which was surprisingly optimistic inviting the readers to negotiate a descent through moorland bogs and streams. Not to be outdone, four hours later and discovering I just don't have the legs for mountaineering I returned to the car and completed the route by road. What? what? - I wasn't missing the opportunity for a swift shandy and I imagine Mrs Magellan would have said the same to Ferdinand if he had set sail in the wrong direction!

The views from the pub are spectacular and after having eaten there are few times I can definitely recommend the food and especially the thoughtful addition of the Beano comic on the reading table in the bar!

Cornwall on a Fork

2011-05-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

Soon after the Tunbridge event was the trip to Cornwall. Spending a week near the coast and having a week away in May photographing cows used to be an annual event until Borneo. One of the optimum times to visit Borneo was in July making both events too close together. However, it's now been reinstated and even next year's venue has been provisionally booked.

Cornwall was chosen as it was the only county in England which I hadn't visited before and I was suitably impressed. I've got quite a bit of new reference material now and so the Cornish cows will be appearing in a painting sometime soon. I photographed a dairy herd, mainly Holstein Friesian on a coastal path from Mullion to Gunwalloe. They had a great view out to the Atlantic and I kept well away from from the cliff edge. If I'd plunged to my almost certain death on the rocks below, people would probably have said "ah well, it's how she would have wanted to go..photographing cows". For the record, no it isn't actually. When I shuffle off my mortal coil my choice would be something painless, quick and preferably without my prior knowledge which certainly rules out hurtling from jagged rocks into deep water.

But I digress..let me turn my attention to the local hostelry close to where I was staying - The Smugglers Den Inn www.thesmugglersden.co.uk (pictured above) which was close enough when approached via footpaths across three fields, one of which contained cows with calves (marvellous..who could ask for more?) the pub was just behind the trees in the far right of the field in the photo below and I really needed to stay another week to get a little further down the menu and specials board.

I'd pre booked Sunday lunch (ah, gotta love the Internet) and so spent a pleasant hour or so with the weekend papers before enjoying a decent Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner. I have to say I was impressed by the quality of food in Cornwall and this was especially true of another restaurant which was also close by. Odds Restaurant www.oddstherestaurant.co.uk is owned and created by local farmer Adam Coad by using natural materials, turfed roof and carved into the Cubert hillside to give superb views across the Atlantic Ocean. It also had the cleanest carpets I've ever seen (I am my mother's daughter) and one of the waitresses did confide that Adam vacuums them himself!

His brother owns the Limousin cross herd near The Smuggler's Den Inn I photographed earlier in the week (see photo top) and Adam himself (stood on the right in the photo immediately above) owns Pedigree Herefords, some of whom find themselves on the menu. There is a large photograph of his prize bull, "Ellenglaze 1 Fearless" on the wall by the stairs down to the restaurant.

I did try the Ellenglaze Beef two ways, with a fillet and filled suet pudding which was lovely although not for the smaller appetite so I couldn't manage a pudding. I did, however, have a starter of pan seared wood pigeon on beetroot with a red wine reduction and jus with a parsnip crisp. It was excellent served pink and cooked to perfection although I initially thought I'd lost a filling which on closer inspection turned out to be a bit of lead shot!

A return visit the next night foregoing the starter and choosing the confit of duck as a mains (no lead shot) it was superb and meant I could enjoy a pudding of chocolate mousse and a hazelnut biscuit.

All of which was in great contrast to the stay at the newly opened Ibis on an industrial estate in Gloucester to break the long journey home. The chef had phoned in sick at short notice so apart from what the staff could manage themselves with a microwave meant there was no food. The receptionist recommended a local pub as an alternative which she estimated was a half mile walk away. A mile and a quarter later brought me within sight of a bouncy castle and a pub from the Hungry Horse chain.

All I can say is a warm bottle of plonk and an enormous plate of fried food where I was aware of a smear of pea from a previous diner on the bottom of the plate as it was lowered towards me whilst bare footed savages ran amok high on fizzy drinks and E numbers did not make for the best "last meal of the holiday"

Still, it filled a gap at the time and I'm back home with batteries recharged and ready to paint again.

Tunbridge through the Fancy Glass

2011-05-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

The joint exhibition with fellow artist Wendy Corbett at Artique Galleries, Tunbridge Wells went well thanks to the hard working staff although the amount of bank holidays combined with the Royal Wedding meant that a number of customers had taken advantage of the potential to take 3 days holiday allowance to achieve nearly a fortnight away.

I met some lovely people and it was also entertaining to meet the couple who bought "Devotion", my Jersey cow whom they named Licky Nose after seeing it displayed in the gallery window.

I have to say though, one of the highlights for me was the Brew House Hotel in Tunbridge Wells which I can thoroughly recommend. I do enjoy technology and gadgets so I was especially impressed with the smart glass in the bathroom which became clear or translucent at the flick of a switch. I'm told it's achieved by electrical impulses and very expensive. It's certainly a remarkable piece of design which makes use of natural daylight. If I ever win the lottery then I shall be using it in my bathrooms but given that even choosing two successful numbers is an achievement I don't think I shall be sending off for the brochures in the foreseeable future!

2011-03-09T10:21:00.001-08:00

Spring Lamb

Recently, I was asked by fellow artist Sarah Jane Szikora if I would be able to take part in the Mansion House Art Sale to raise much needed funds for the Alzheimer's Society.

The Alzheimer's Society is the UK's leading charity caring for people with all forms of dementia and their carers. 1 in 3 people over the age of 65 will die with dementia. They need to raise funds urgently to support more people, fund research and campaign for the rights of those living with dementia.

Artists were given an A5 postcard on which to create their image and as Spring is (hopefully) around the corner I chose to portray a Spring lamb. This is one of my cousin's Hollin Bank flock. This year's new arrivals are due this week so if the weather manages to warm up I shall be visiting them.

The sale is Friday 18th March and if you want to offer a bid you can contact Zoe Thomas who is the community fund raiser for the North East. E: zoe.thomas@alzheimers.org.uk

M: 07889604633

alzheimers.org.uk

It's Showtime

2010-08-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

Summer brings a raft of cattle and agricultural shows which affords me a wealth of material and reference photographs. Logistically, I can only visit a few and as they tend to follow on it's a busy and expensive time but I love it.

I'm usually found with my nose in the show catalogues marking off entrants which help me identify them later or behind the camera lens. I have found that by dressing like a photographer the handlers/owners tend to think I'm an official press/show photographer and are happy to encouarage the animal to pose!

I'm impressed with the enormous amount of work behind the scenes preparing the animals for the shows so they look their best...and at how patient they are whilst being preened. I can remember having to have my face wiped as a small child with spit on a hanky and not liking that..it's not something you ever see these days but it used to happen to us all!

There's a good natured rivalry between owners/handlers and I think it's great to see the children learning the job at such an early age especially when they are so small and even the tiniest white show jackets still skim the grass!

It takes a certain amount of skill, experience and I daresay bodyweight to be able to handle some of the cattle. I have to admit I do love it though when something kicks off and unrehearsed chaos unfolds in front of me (well, I do when I'm sufficiently far away as the Pamplona experience isn't for me) as the following photos demonstrate. The first shows an Ayrshire at Great Eccleston Show ending up in the hoardings after eventually doing the splits - she was fine and went over to take first in her class.

The second shows a Highland at the Royal Welsh where I thought the handler was going to be tossed in the air!

The Highlands look so cute when they are calves but when they grow to that size with those giant horns I think they are quite a feisty breed.

I will be joining the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society next year which will mean that not only will I have "free" entry each day but I will have access to the members areas. More importantly this means I will be able to visit the member's bars and get a beer. Previously I was only allowed access to the bar in the small and noisy Welsh Black Cattle pavillion, the type of which you can see behind the Welsh Black in the photo below.

I am grateful for the chance for a chilled beer but it is rather like being involved in a cross between a scrum and a raucous Young Farmers stag do. It's possibly the only place I've ever been wear I could be semi clad wearing nothing but a strategically placed rosette and wellies doing the "down in one" atop a table and no one would bat an eyelid...but then those Young Farmer types know how to party!

Out With the Old

2010-07-07T02:10:00.000-07:00

I had wanted to redo this acrylic painting which I originally completed some years ago and also as I needed to submit a suitable wildlife painting for the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art. It's been a few years since I have entered a wildlife painting as livestock falls in to the domestic category and is therefore ineligible. At the time of the original painting, aware that I invariably worked from a darker palette I decided to make an effort to paint a light background. It seemed okay at the time although I was never really happy with it so I thought I'd give it a completely different feel and repaint it in oil instead. I mixed up a dark green background colour of acrylic to cover quickly and began to obliterate the background. As I was now at the point of no return I decided to photograph it and chart it's progress which you will see below.

Inspired by the dramatic change to the background I sloshed quite a bit of a mix of generally dark acrylic to the foreground obliterating hours of work in the original painting but it needed doing.

I did get a bit carried away here adding lighter areas in acrylic which I thought a subsequent layer of oil paint would cover more easily than it did. I think that I actually mixed up a greater quantity of acrylic than I needed and was too tight to throw it away so I kept daubing it on!

At this stage I've started to define some of the background area to indicate foliage using oil paint and also you can see where I've roughed in the shapes of the grassy vegetation in the foreground using acrylic.

Here I've worked in oil on the background and discovered that some of the greens, which is not a colour I normally use were not as opaque as I'd hoped so it has taken quite a lot of glazes to cover the lighter acrylic areas underneath so they appear less harsh.

By using oils I have been able to make the fur appear much softer than when I first painted them in acrylic. You can see the effect in the following photographs of the lionesses heads.

This is the completed painting "The Opportunists" ready to go in to it's frame and be submitted to The National Exhibition of Wildlife Art. See http://www.newa-uk.com/ which also has an online catalogue. The exhibition runs from 16th July - 1st August with the preview evening on the 15th July.

Branded Goods

2010-05-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I decided that I would like to have a very small branding iron depicting the monogram motif with which I sign my paintings. If it's a small canvas I don't always use my full signature and use the monogram on it's own as I feel that it is less obtrusive. A search of the internet found that it was possible to have such an item made although they are more readily available in the US and they are certainly not without their cost especially if it's an electric one.

So I had to look at a cheaper alternative and started to look at pyrography equipment instead. A wood burning pen would do the job and it was much cheaper! I did buy such a wood burning pen some months ago and haven't had the opportunity to use it before so today I "branded" my latest two canvases which had been drying.

This is the matching "brand" on the wooden stretcher bar of the box canvas and will be how all of my work will now be marked regardless of whether it's a painting of cattle or sheep etc as that is how the work is signed on the front.

Gavin, Stacey, Coo and Bill Too

2010-05-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'd wanted to paint a picture of two lambs cuddling very close together although in all of the photos I had there wasn't a suitable image so I had to invent the scene. Working from photos which I felt would fit together I found a number with a similar light source which I thought might look convincing. The lamb on the left (as we see it here) has facial markings which were too similar to the other one and I felt they would appear to merge together so I used a third image for that face.

This shows the acrylic underpainting and it gives me an idea of how the final painting might look.

Still working in acrylic but using thinner washes of umber this shows the body shapes being defined and the addition of browner tones in the eye - but it's still an underpainting.

Whilst working on this painting I was aware of the feeling of being watched and I discovered my audience was a pair of collared doves sat on the fence outside the studio window. Everytime I turned around, Bill and Coo, as I christened them were craning their necks for a better view. It didn't matter which window I looked out from they were there and locked into my gaze. I can confirm that two doves can't sit comfortably on a satellite dish either so if my neighbour wonders why it's consistently snowing when watching Formula 1 that's the reason. Maybe that's why Dastardly and Mutley had an aversion, after all..pigeons are probably just doves with less dress sense. Since the time of painting Bill and Coo are "with egg" in the conifers and so I have had to reconstruct the event.

At least they couldn't be responsible for this "accident" which greeted me one morning from a top floor window and managed to strike every window over all three floors. Judging by the fishy aroma and great quantity I think the culprit was one of the seagulls which wheel above periodically. It's said that we live in a multi cultural society and perhaps the gulls prove this by depositing a litre of prawn bhuna from 500 ft - though maybe it was instant fear at failing to negotiate a 3 storey house and it's wedged in the guttering instead. We shall never know.

Ah well, back to the work..where were we? Yes, at this stage I've switched to oil and painted the blue "sky" background.

Continuing in oil I've started to paint the fur of the lamb on the left concentrating on keeping the soft feel as I wanted to emphasise the fact that they are young lambs.

The body fur practically completed, I've now moved to the darker area of fur on the face of the lamb on the right.

Same treatment here for the lamb on the left.

The final piece on the easel is shown here completed and can't be varnished until it is has dried and then it will be prepared and ready to go to a gallery.

If the Flaps Flutter for Another

2010-01-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Valentines Day messages in the British press are a source of joy and inspiration for me as I delight in some of the pet names people have for each other. Last year I came across one from "Rascal Flaps" and I kept a note of it imagining that it might suit a suitably floppy eared subject. Last year at a show amongst the pig pens, I found my Rascal Flaps!

It's not that easy getting good pig reference even from the shows as access to them is only granted after they have been judged. Most often, by then, they are sleeping in their pens and invariably have their heads buried under the straw. I wouldn't be surprised if Nytol or Mogadon sponsor the trophies for this show!

The acrylic underpainting was put in first. The straw is now completed in oil here

The body is practically completed here and that was how I left it at the end of this session

You can see here that I have continued the dark colouring around the canvas but I haven't continued the painting around it. When I first approached WG with my work Glyn pointed out that it cheapened an image to wrap it around the canvas and I have to say I do agree although to leave it white in this case wouldn't look right.

The nose still needed to be added at this stage

The final image although needs varnishing to bring out all the tones properly

I do actually have an idea for another pig painting but that does involve me visiting the party section in Matalan and I'm not sure I can face that just yet. It never ceases to amaze me that in all the recent snow and ice which has resulted in the closures of some schools, businesses and roads that a number have battled their way throught to Matalan. That they have even considered this a journey of necessity to purchase own label clothing/housewares/luggage etc and then queued with the others to be invited to "till number three" astounds me.

Maybe, these are the types who have virtually stripped nearby Sainsburys of milk, salt, grit and sliced white bread - the very stuff of life (apparently). Survival, it would seem, must have it's price and 69p for a twin pack of Pain Rustique or £1.15 for a "Taste the Difference" ciabatta is the point at which siege mentality ends. Jamie won't be happy!

As to the real Rascal Flaps I can only wonder if romance has survived the year or if the flaps now flutter for another. I can only hope that he isn't sitting on a stockpile of salt and white bread.

Heeland Coos

2010-01-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

I'd wanted to paint a black Highland cow for a while but not had the opportunity until spotting this beauty at the Royal Welsh Show last year. Most of the entrants for this category were the usual red type including one which was making his debut and then it all kicked off in the arena. Haven't a clue what started it but it was like a town centre on a Friday night (I know - I've seen the Bill..well, it did lose it's appeal when it was on more than twice a week but you get the idea)

Mr Debut, probably high on sniffing that stuff they spray on their coats to make them shine which smells similar to the stainless steel and chrome cleaner from Lakeland...oh I'm digressing again, disgraced himself running amok and was promptly disqualified. But, I'll give the handler some credit - she did hang on and I bet she has a new personal best for the 100m now! The picture below doesn't capture the excitement of it and the speed they were advancing out of the arena but I didn't think about taking a photo when it first happened as I was a little too close, guess I'll never make a photo journalist!

Anyway, I liked the look of this black one which I painted at a demo and have named him "Dirty McFlirty" as he has that kind of look about him. I had the finished piece float framed in a black contemporary frame and it sold soon after. Unusually for me, I've included the nose ring and that's because I wanted to break up the dark colouring and draw the eye to it.

I have also painted one of my favourite subjects - a Highland calf which is shown below. This is one of the youngsters from an award winning fold not far from me which I paint regularly. "Wee Bairn" is oil on a 24"x24" canvas and float mounted in a chunky contemorary frame.

From Ice Palace to Snow Cow

2010-01-03T08:45:00.001-08:00

The new house is extremely warm and I am a convert to new builds and modern insulation although I do think an extra inch or two of soundproofing would not go amiss sometimes especially as baby Stanley (I know!) wails through the wall..still..we're sleeping through the night now but I think teething has started. There are however, less cows on the door step and I will miss being able to see the Limousin bull whilst walking up to the pub but I have spotted a herd of what may be Devon reds six or seven minutes from the house. They've gone in for the winter now so it will be a while before I can assess it but no doubt they will be appearing on a canvas in the near future.

Just before Christmas, for the first time in almost six years the snow fell here and I was able to achieve an ambition to build a snow cow. A rather pleasant hour or so was spent creating a Highland cow as I've painted a few of them recently although the horns proved the most difficult. Despite next door leaning out of the window (not Stanley's dad - the other side) asking if it was a dog (phillistine!) I actually think it turned out quite well. A slight thaw during the night meant it was polled by breakfast as it's horns lay in bits on the grass but not to worry.

If the Flake advert did removals..

2010-01-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

Considerable time has elapsed since I last updated this blog but as I have recently moved both house and studio it wasn't up there on my list of priorities. I was under the illusion that I only had a few things and that these could be easily scooped up - think Dick Whittington and the knotted hanky on a pole - wrong!!

The dogs in the previous post were completed in between moving which had been designed to be a leisurely stress free affair - sort of, if the Flake advert did removals! An accelerated and unplanned moving date did mean the packing up became a trolley dash and it wasn't really helped by the lovely couple who owned the bakery near me and insisted that the entire move was done in their van. A kind offer this was but it meant that the logistics had to be masterminded to fit in around their pie deliveries. Stripping the empty pie trays from the van in increasingly record times became akin to the pit stops in Formula 1 especially with the added pressure of avoiding the school run chaos. Fortunately, I did finish the dogs before the move and I showed them to the owners before tempting fate with any varnish however temporary. Hubby wanted an extra highlight in the eye where there would have been none (everyone's a critic!) but other than that they were very happy. It's always traumatic doing commissions and I don't know an artist who enjoys them as people generally know what they don't want (usually when it's done) rather than what they do want. So off it went for framing and I returned to packing.

The D's B's

2009-09-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

Work began on the dog commission earlier in the week by drawing them out on to the canvas which took ages as they have to be perfectly accurate and one of the reasons commissions take longer to do. After going through hundreds of photos I'd taken of them over two sessions with the customer she narrowed the choice down to a couple which she felt captured the spirit of the dog's characters. They were sat on grass in the chosen photos but that wasn't going to be included in the painting so I ended up sifting through all the photos again where they were sat on concrete to find eight suitable replacement feet. I drew them on, stood back from the canvas and thought they all looked too small so I redrew them.

The cat has only attempted chair possession once (see last post) and seems quite content in the polystyrene box so I can sit down to work as this stage is still quite crucial in it's accuracy. Cows are not this much hassle!

In this next stage I've blocked in the basic colours in acrylic and again this took ages as it has to be correct and will form the basis for the final oil painting. The rough shadow area is also mapped out. I decided to increase the density of the shadow area as when I stood back to look at what I'd done it became very obvious that certain areas were very apparent! The d's b's...the very undercarriage so to speak were playing too important a part and would have to be..muted!

I have been somewhat delayed in the process of getting on with this with various interruptions, one of which was having to take my mum's cat to the vet. She has fostered what might be described as a "challenging" cat - the sort that were it a child you'd always be in the headmaster's office at the school counting the days between expulsion and/or an Asbo. I shouldn't be surprised if he spent his time hanging round street corners, drinking White Lightning and scoring Bob Martin tabs (if they still exist). The first and last vet visit was to repair the latest gang warfare wounds and as I imagine it was like a scene from A&E on a Friday night when they treat the violent offenders. So now they won't examine him without putting him in the cat crush and sedating him so the process of the vet visit is a lengthy one or at least waiting to collect him is and so I was away from the studio. However, after falling over when emerging from the cat carrier and falling out of the back door in a woozy attempt at escape he is, I have heard on the mend and I would have resumed the painting today if I hadn't had another interruption where I'd been invited back to my old college to be photographed for next years prospectus but I digress...

Young Pretender and the possession of the studio chair

2009-08-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went up to Scotland, which for me was cow heaven as they were everywhere. I painted a black Highland Cow whilst I was up there and unusually for me also included the nose ring. It was a coloured piece and as I felt the ring was similar in colour to the horns it would contrast well with the black body. It's currently drying and after it's had a coat of varnish I'll put it on the blog. So, this week I resumed work on "Young Pretender" and as I've been asked about it a couple of times this week I thought I'd put it on the blog.

This was what I'd achieved after the Art in the Pen weekend. You can see that the face still has not had it's coat of oil paint and that the acrylic underpainting is still visible.

Here I've started to work down the face in oil and at that stage I'd still not painted the eyes because I need to sit down to do that and the cat had taken up permanent residence on the studio chair. It was just easier to let him have possession and I continued with other parts of the painting.

The battle for the chair continued with the cat only relinquishing possession during small windows of opportunity for the necessary and if he gets boy cat cystitis then he only has himself to blame!

By this stage I had duped the cat into thinking that a polystyrene box filled with bubblewrap and topped with one of his blankets was somewhere he should definitely not be so naturally he seized immediate possession and vacated the chair meaning I could at last sit down and complete an eye. This requires a steadier hand and so I prefer to use a mahl stick...which in reality is a brush handle but it does the job..and it was cheap!

This was the last bit of the painting and I generally paint the nose last in all of my work because it's usually the part of the cow that's closest to the viewer. I always paint the nose in one session and as the cat was still claiming territory rights on the box and maintaining his occupation I could paint the detail in relative comfort! The actual bull I was basing this image on was frothing at the mouth which didn't look attractive so I painted it without that - fortunately I've painted quite a few cow lips now..not a phrase I ever thought I'd be laying claim to..so I could go for the non frothy look!

This is the completed piece at 30" x 30" although it still needs to dry and have it's varnish on which brings out the detail. This image probably looks a bit more magenta than he does in reality. I think he does have quite a soft face and whilst he is still a juvenile will have to contend himself with being a "Young Pretender"

In the original pencil study for "Young Pretender" I've included the show bridle and nose ring which I chose not to paint in the final piece. He also had a white patch visible on his left ear which I felt would have been distracting so I left it out.

So that's it..cows are temporarily put to one side as I begin the commission piece of two Jack Russells which have been in the planning stage for some weeks now as different photos have been taken and the owner has finally chosen a shortlist of possibles.

"Art in the Pen" weekend

2009-08-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

Managed to get absolutely everything into the Focus (surprisingly) on Friday morning ready for a journey up to Skipton to the Auction Mart where Art in the Pen was being held for the weekend. The heady whiff of cow crap in the air was the first greeting and although I'm used to it by now it did seem that it would be stretching the imagination to turn the venue into "One of the north's finest contemporary art fairs" as promised by the lottery/arts council funded literature! However, the pens were soon transformed into arty pods although I did think the plastic plants that someone brought to decorate their area was a little over the top.

Three hours later and with grateful assistance from Wendy who is now a dab hand with the cable tie my hessian draped pen was ready for business and "Elton" the studio calf was in place.

The preview evening (of which there are no photos because I left my camera in the Travel lodge) went well although I have to say it was quite a surreal experience to have a live string quartet (God bless the arts council!) playing away outside one of the pens whilst we sipped chilled fizz. Some of the other exhibitors dressed for the occasion and offered delicate nibbles and canapes although I did see lemonade and a dish of crisps on one stand!

Next day began in earnest and I started the painting live weekend reckoning that even if I didn't sell anything then at least I'd have got two days work in! The venue was busy for the whole two days so there were plenty of people to talk to and they seemed quite interested about the whole process. The most intelligent questions came from a young man aged about ten who didn't ask the usual "how long does it take etc".

I was actually quite glad to have taken "Elton" as I could see the fists of the under fives hammering away at him and was grateful that it was providing sufficient distraction whilst the parents could view the artwork!

This was "Young Pretender" a young Hereford bull from The Royal Show last year and I've been wanting to paint him for a while. By the end of the first day I'd managed a full days painting and this was as far as I'd got. You can see the acrylic underpainting and where I've added the oil top coat from the left of the painting.

By the Sunday I'd talked to some great people and managed to secure some sales! It was worth chatting to some of the other exhibitors and swap info and find out what a small world it is when you have friends and colleagues in common. Interesting also to talk to some independent galleries keen to do business so definitely a weekend worth doing!

By the end of Sunday this was how far I'd progressed with "Young Pretender" who is on 30" x 30" canvas. He's back in the studio now waiting for the best bit to begin - the work on the face and the character to appear.

It's a start...

2009-08-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

First post on the promised blog! The paintings are all wrapped and waiting to go to "Art in the Pen" at Skipton Auction Mart tomorrow ready for the preview evening. They are the first of the new images I've been working on and are a mix of cows and sheep - the pigs and donkeys will just have to wait a bit longer. There's also some rare original pencil studies available. I will be taking "Young Pretender" which is a young Hereford Bull I've just started on a 30" x 30" canvas and I'll be painting that during the weekend.

"The Dowager"

"The Duchess"