Thief!
150 days ago
Another in the line of a “softer” image – female Blackbird stealing the just-forming grapes in a glasshouse. This painting has been at the back of my mind for a while, since the initial sketch and photos.
On the way back from Rufforth yesterday, as the main road was closed and I couldn’t face coming back through the massive tailbacks around Ilkley, I took the scenic route via Appletreewick. As it was getting late, Rufus and I went for a walk on the edge of the moorland and as Rufus was hunting in the reeds, a Short-eared Owl was hunting him.
The bird was feigning stoops and generally being noisy, not at all worried by me, as all it’s attention was focussed on the dog. Calling Rufus back to me, brought the bird as well and as a consequence it flew right over me, within 20 feet or so. Equipped only with my iPhone as I was, I still got a couple of decent shots of – clicking on the photo links to my iPhone Flickr slideshow.
Hint: Holding your finger on the iPhone shutter button enables you to take the photo the instant you remove your digit – no delay that way – but make sure you’ve actually got your finger on the button icon. (I missed a couple of shots because I hadn’t actually depressed the pseudo button to begin with…)
Redstart
153 days ago
Sometimes seen around the beck, near the wooded end, darting around in search of insects – occasional spectacular vertical climbs.
Easiest seen against the darker background of the river banks and undergrowth, there are few of the summer visitor around here.
This painting could be described as one of my transition works, although of course it wasn’t meant to be! I still have an idea in my mind as to what I want them to look like, though it’s hard to get over the illustration training and the use of small pointy brushes!
Having said that, this was done with two flat brushes and a No.5 round for the eyes, feet and insect only. The paint was slower drying Alkyd instead of Acrylic. tbc
Rummaging
252 days ago
Finally got hold of a reasonably priced 35mm scanner and so I am rummaging around in the trays of old snaps, and unearthing some long lost moments and the odd photograph of paintings completely forgotten about.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore the pants off people with the vast majority of them (and some of the early paintings are certainly not going to see the light of the lcd), but I am steadily adding to my photos section and did find one of a small painting I actually quite liked. This is mainly because it’s of an old packhorse bridge and the local heron, at the bottom of Headlam village green – a great little hamlet of a place I lived in for 6 merry years.
The Green was the biggest thing about the village, I say was, not because it’s been built-on or anything like that, it’s just the hotel there has increased in size and facility quite tremendously. Profit in these (repeat) weddings.
We’ve both left the village, the painting moving a little further than I, it now resides in Salzburg. Maybe I will return one day, to that region of largely unspoilt greens and their villages, you never know.
Barn Owl study
434 days ago
Alkyd study which has now seen the light of day, having been worked up into the acrylic painting and prints:
Snowy Owl study
446 days ago
Alkyd study of a Snowy Owl.
Started life as a pencil study for last year’s Christmas card and I’ve done the alkyd study after the larger painting.
Facing North
488 days ago
I am part of a Facing North exhibition at The Tateham Modern which runs on for the following days:
Sat 22 to Sun 23 September
Fri 28 to Sun 30 September
Fri 5 to Sun 7 October
11am to 5pm weedays and other times by appointment
There are fifty of us taking part and we have all been asked to produce two works – a self-portrait and a ‘normal’ piece – our ‘normal’ works will be for sale. The whole collection is to be published in a full colour book and covers a geographical area of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.
Additionally, the children from the local Tatham Fells Primary School have each produced a self-portrait and landscape, to show the emerging talent in the area.
Snowy Owl
530 days ago
Finished alkyd painting (29“x19”) which was last year’s Christmas Card, just got around to varnishing it!
Winterburn Fox
542 days ago
Set on one of my regular walks, this little copse at the bend in the river is a favourite place to see the usual river suspects, plus badgers, foxes, buzzards and heron. Sadly, it’s a long time since there’s been Dipper about, but the Kingfishers can occasionally be seen flashing by. (Exhibited at NEWA 2007 – Alkyd on canvas.)
I’m now trying a PixelPost site section (link ‘spoor’) to post some of the thousands of photographs I’ve amassed over the years – some of them may even be worth looking at! I will add a few photos as and when I get around to it – to try it out – but most of my general ones are still on Flickr.
Klipspringer
545 days ago
On route to the Twyfelfontein Rock Engravings, during my RGS visit to Namibia, we took in a loop of the surrounding country, finding Giraffe in what I thought were the most unlikely rocky surroundings and the elusive Klipspringer.
These small antelope (58cm at the shoulder) were hard to spot unless they moved, when they bounding around the kopjes (the rocky outcrops at the steep valley sides) at an astonishing pace, completely sure-footedly. Klipspringers never need to drink – being herbivores, the succulents they eat provide all the water they need.
Alkyd painting of an adult male Klipspringer. (Exhibited at NEWA 2007.)
Signs of spring
560 days ago
I know it’s meant to be summer now (despite all the flooding we’re having), but here are a couple of little paintings I did for the local Gargrave exhibition, taken from photos I took in the spring.
The ebullient Wren asserting his presence
and Hawthorn blossom with one of the early day flying moths, the vividly coloured Cinnabar.
Odd jobs
633 days ago
Sometimes I get asked to do some interesting little jobs, as with this Lakeland scene.
A lot of water damage that needed fixing and the result:
plus another that had had a lump taken out of the middle -they say variety is the spice of life.
The last couple of weeks have seen a big change in the countryside, stuff is growing madly now. Besides the blossoms in the gardens, the May blossom was amongst the first to show, but of course – it’s unlucky to bring it inside. The Blackthorn is amongst my favourites, not just because it is a sign of Spring, but because of the sloes gin in prospect!
People say that if it is cold when it first flowers, then we’ll be in for a ‘Blackthorn Winter’ – which lasts for the fortnight or so in which it flowers. Good job it was nice and warm then.
The Woodpecker on the back lane has a mate and the Skylarks are climbing over the ‘tops’ with their endless song.
Riding down-under
646 days ago
I was putting the finishing touches to the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby painting and leafing through some old photographs – not from when I took the reference for this painting – but from an earlier visit when my parents took me out to Oz on one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ trips.
Can’t remember quite how old I was (pre-school) but I was just getting into horse riding in the UK and so when I got the offer to go riding down-under I jumped at the chance.
It’s not as difficult as it looks, but that’s probably due to my light weight then, maybe too much even for a big-red-roo now!
Chester Contemporary Arts Fair
702 days ago
I’ll have three paintings down at the Chester Contemporary Art Fair from 15-18 February, which is kinda odd for me and my history with that particular bit of the art world!
Weather here is fab at the moment, getting some ground frosts at night now and snow is forecast, that Oyster Catcher that turned up at the beck on the 1 February, may be in for a big shock.
Memory
712 days ago
Been fitting a new kitchen recently and as usual, BBC Radio 4 is my constant companion. Yesterday the theme was Memory Experience and I found a couple of things fascinating – the Life Defining Memory usually between 15 and 25 years of age – when important life decisions and career forming moments are lodged in your consciousness, and Flash Bulb Memory.
I’ve often thought about why I get the urge to do things and get driven on in certain areas and not in others. Listening to the people on the programme, confirmed my view that strong, mainly good, memories of designing and drawing (mainly model aircraft), along with a lot of time spent on my own out in the countryside,watching wildlife, were defining moments in my childhood. However, like one or two commentators, my memories like this came slightly earlier. In my case, I went in a totally different direction initially, career wise (which came as a complete surprise to me and the reasons for this are many and varied!) but, eventually the draw of these earlier influences won out – a fact that I’m very thankful for.
I suppose I am no different to most people as far as the Flash Bulb is concerned though, with major events fixing a time and a place in your mind and possibly altering your viewpoint to some degree. My top 3 chronologically are; (1) Apollo 11 and the Moon Walk – watching with my Dad, (2) death of Diana – girlfriend ringing me and waking me up with the news – she had worked for Al Fayed and knew Dodi, very interesting, and (3) 9/11 – painting and listening to Radio 4 (as usual) in a little cottage near Stoke, Staffordshire.
Anyway, I’ve had time to slap on the base washes for my ‘slightly offbeat’ painting (in alkyd), the design of which is coming together in sketch form at the moment. However, I still have a strong suspicion it will end up looking exactly as if I gone about it in usual way – I can’t stop myself 
YORKO Exhibition
755 days ago
It wasn’t meant to be a one-man exhibition, but has turned out practically as that!
Runs until 12 January 2007.
Snipe painting
811 days ago
Latest off the easel – a Common Snipe – painted in Alkyd on canvas panel.
Woodcock
818 days ago
Hot off the easel – Woodcock in the snow – alkyd on canvas panel.
Christmas Cards
1169 days ago
With Christmas looming I’m painting this year’s card, another of those paintings that has been at the back of my mind for years. It’s a cock pheasant in all it’s glory by a gorse bush in the snow (not quite finished here).
Hummingbird
7947 days ago
When I was working at FBA on Windermere during 1987, some old friends of mine invited me over to St Kitts in the West Indies. A chance not to be missed, so Doc Pots and I packed our rucksacks and grabbed the next flight.
The father of the family was managing the sugar factory out there, had room for visitors and had taken over an old Land Rover so that we could get around the island – not that it’s that big!
Now, I don’t really go in for lie-on-a-beach type holidays, but I must admit to doing a little bit of that, as it was so hot and incredibly relaxed. Mind you I thought I’d earned it first by running along the northern black beaches in the morning and hiking up and down the island’s aptly named dormant volcano, Mt Misery.
This is about the only finished (largely) airbrush painting I did, something I toyed with but never really found too much to get excited about, with actually painting like that.
