Saturday 21st September

So it’s been quite a week.

We set off as planned at 10am last Saturday for Beckstones Gallery in The Lakes with 6 framed paintings on our over cab bed. We were packed to the gunnels, Luna had 3 different beds plus her crate. We still managed to forget some essential items despite me assiduously packing for a week namely the binoculars (very bad), Natashas wet suit (not needed) and the cafetiere (not bothered but Natasha had bought the coffee).

We arrived at Beckstones and met Nikki who to my relief loved the paintings. Nikki decided to increase the prices a bit becauseof the framing. She also told me a gentleman had bought 3 of my watercolours the day before as a birthday present . He liked them because they were more contemporary. The gallery want some more watercolours as they only have 2 left of the 12 that I took them. We spent about 45 minutes there discussing the paintings and looking round the gallery before heading off to our hastily arranged new campsite which was literally 10 minutes away. The site was in the walled gardens of Tymparon Hall at New Biggin. It was a lovely site. We decided to walk the half mile to the pub which Google said was open 12 till 11pm and served good food. It was a bit of a tricky walk with Luna along a main road with no pavement. We got there and to our great disappointment and annoyance it was shut. It was deserted but looked like it was usually open. Perhaps the owners were on holiday?

We walked back to the campsite and ate in.

We set off for Oban the next morning and immediately hit a problem as the M6 was closed for 3 junctions which meant a detour through Carlisle on the A6. It delayed us about half an hour but fortunately the Sunday traffic wasn’t too bad. The drive up to Oban through Glasgow and along Loch Lomond was fairly smooth but the drive from Tarbet along the windy narrow road along the Loch to Crianlarich was stressful. It was very changeable weather with some downpours and some heavy traffic with lorries coaches and even a fire engine with full blues and two’s on a narrow road never designed for that purpose.

After we turned for Oban at Crianlarich it becomes very scenic with decent roads. Our “Oban” camping and caravan club site was in Barcaldine 12 miles outside Oban. We arrived about 4pm. The site was very well kept and had a team of managers. The walled site was sheltered with surrounding woodland walks and swollen, rushing rivers. There were strict rules but everywhere was clean and very well organised. The gates opened at 7am and closed at 11pm. It was busy with motorhomes, caravans and campers but very friendly. We took Luna for a woodland walk mainly off the lead but we had to be careful as with most Labradors she was attracted by the water.  The streams were very fast flowing and she would have been washed away if she’d gone in.

The next day (Monday) after our morning dog walk, we went into Oban to take my remaining paintings into Jetty Gallery.

It wasn’t open as advertised at 10am so we went for a cup of tea and butty at a cafe on the harbour. It was glorious weather. We then popped back to the now open gallery where I met Annie Mackenzie for the first time. She was lovely and loved my work. She loved the new pictures I had taken in. We had a good chat and she even let Luna in the gallery for a fuss! I was very nervous as Luna’s swinging tail was dangerous with some beautiful pottery and glassware. The gallery has some very prestigious artists and I was surprised at the quality of artwork. I felt fortunate to be one of her artists. Natasha went back to the motorhome and put Luna in her crate to sleep whilst we wondered around Oban. We went to the Green Fish Shack on the harbour and bought crab sandwiches for lunch and a seafood platter for tea later.

We collected Luna and went for a walk along the coast towards Ganavan, but that was too far in the heat. We sat on a bench at Dunollie castle.  We chatted to a lovely old lady who had moved from Glasgow to Oban when young. She was a mine of information. She kept pulling leaflets and phone numbers and photographs out of her wheels shopping bag!  Unfortunately we hadn’t time to do any of her suggested trips. We walked back and went back to camp via Tescos.

On Tuesday we found a beach at Tralee. The views were stunning and we set up camp. We were the only ones there for most of the day. The sun came out and I painted and Natasha read. Luna loved the freedom and went swimming a lot and later so did Natasha. We had a very chilled day and Luna was absolutely  knackered.

On Wednesday we decided to venture up the coast to Port Appin. I had painted it but never been. It was a lovely little harbour and the weather was again glorious.  We decided on impulse to get a ferry over to Lismore Island. It only took 10 minutes and they were every hour. Without transport or drinks we only stayed for an hour whilst Luna played in the water and seaweed. The views were again stunning on a gorgeous day with distant mountains under a clear blue sky. We hopped on the ferry back to Port Appin and had a drink and scones, sat in the sunshine at the harbour cafe/restaurant. Port Appin in the sunshine with the boats, lighthouse and mill pond water was fabulous.

Unfortunately the lovely Art Gallery in the village was closed. We decided to head for a beach and we found Cuil Bay.  There were a few people fishing, paddleboarding and snorkeling  but it was mainly empty. It was very warm as I sat painting, Natasha reading and Luna having the time of her life digging in the sand and playing in the water. Both Luna and Natasha went swimming in the waveless water. We had to keep retreating as the tide came in. My only brief fishing effort was thwarted by a jammed reel. I gave up. We were reluctant to leave but were getting hungry so returned to site.

We had tea but an early night as we had to be up at 5.30am to pack up and sort George for an early ferry over to Mull.

We managed to be ready to leave the site at 7am when the gates opened. We were in the queue for the ferry at 7.35am on a bright sunny but chilly morning. We had to leave Luna in George in her crate. She was fine but a little freaked out by the constant car alarms! Why do people lock their cars on a ferry. No one has access to the car deck and the alarms are really annoying.

The trip over was smooth with stunning views towards Mull. We spend most of the time on deck. It was freezing but worth it.

We were first off the ferry and headed for Tobermory. We found a nice newly opened this season cafe with a large mainly empty car park and had bacon and sausage rolls and tea. We sat outside in the sun for an hour. It was beautiful weather and lovely views. We set off to find our campsite and  stopped for a walk along a forestry commission path and Luna whilst exploring the water filled ditches jumped in the mud. She came out looking she had been dipped in milk chocolate. We washed her in a pool. We found our site which was very rural and a complete contrast to Oban. It was on a farm with very few pitches. We sorted ourselves out and sat out all afternoon in the sunshine, me painting,  Natasha reading and Luna doing Luna things. On Friday we’re heading for Tobermory and it’s colourfull shops and harbour. 

Friday 13th September

I had good news from Old Courthouse Gallery, Ambleside this week.

Earlier in the month they had informed me that they had sold my two “tonalist “ paintings which, as I mentioned in my blog at the time, I was delighted with as they hadn’t sold any larger paintings for a while but then I received my August sales from them and was even more delighted at the news that they had sold my large 3ftx4ft “Little Langdale Tarn“ painting. They had had this for about 8 months and according to Gosia, the gallery manager it had had a lot of attention but not sold. At £1800 it was a bargain in my eyes but still a lot of money and it needs a decent size wall.

It is a bit of a relief when something like this sells. It sort of justifies my work. It also adds to the phenomenal July and August sales. If only all months were like that.

Last Friday, we finally got the word that our motorhome was repaired and M.o.t'd and ready for collection.  We had used a garage in Blyth because we couldn't get it done anywhere else but with Natasha’s work commitments we were struggling to work out when we could pick it up. I had paid the small fortune over the phone and we devised a cunning plan to use our spare set of keys and collect it on our way back from Chesterfield on Sunday with the garage posting our main keys back to us. The plan worked a treat but by Wednesday we still hadn't got the keys and with the spare set couldn't get in the gas bottle compartment.  I rang them to check when they had posted them but they still had them! I was a little shocked and somewhat annoyed. I politely asked them to get them to us by Friday as we were going away on Saturday morning.  They said they would, so we are holding our breath as I really dont want to have to break into the gas compartment. I can't really understand the attitude of some people? I had explained about the holiday and offered to pay postage. The keys must have been sitting there for 4 days???

In other matters....

I’ve had a very busy non-painting week preparing us and George for our road trip to Oban and Mull. I’ve said that I will be dropping off some larger pieces off at Beckstones Gallery on the way and they are currently occupying our over cab double bed in George.  It was a bit of a hiccup on Tuesday when our campsite at Thirlmere, in the Lakes on Saturday phoned to cancel our booking. There is an “Everest Challenge” charity event with participants climbing Helvellyn  9 times consecutively (approx 27,000ft). The field they were camping in became waterlogged and our campsite offered them all their hardstanding pitches!

Great but short notice . The owner said we could still turn up but she can’t guarantee a pitch and “it will be chaos”!

I managed to re-book on a site close to Beckstones, just off the M6, near Penrith,  so it worked out better in the end as we will be head off up the M6 on Sunday.

I have packed loads of watercolour painting gear so hope to do plenty of painting whilst away. Hopefully the “Luna” factor won’t cause too much disruption. My holiday paintings are never really intended for public display, they are more sketches and tend to end up in a folder. They’re a great reminder of the holiday. The West Coast of Scotland is a great inspiration and some of the sketches may be used later as resources for larger paintings either for Watson Gallery or Jetty in Oban. I will also be taking three small framed seascapes and a larger painting plus cards for Annie at Jetty. We’ll be a bit packed to the gunnels until all the artwork is unloaded but it’s an opportunity too good to miss.

My Tallantyre paintings, bound for The Affordable Art Fair, are all finished and packed ready to go to the Gallery the first week after our return. They did ask me if they were framed…Give me a break!! I would love to go down to the Fair but I’m afraid it will be impossible. It’s a long and expensive journey to Battersea from here. That’s the reason it's good for Galleries to represent you at these events. They cost a fortune as we know from doing The Manchester Art Fairs with Charisma Gallery. They have to be confident to sell a lot of work to make it worth it. Hopefully they will. On these occasions its worth the 50% commission. 

The paintings I was originally working on for Tallantyre will probably either go on my website or to another gallery. I have a few more to do but they are all seascapes in oils, probably Scottish, no titles as yet.

I was really annoyed to find out that due to the general chaos of July and August,  I missed Turners, the “Fighting Temeraire” at The Laing Gallery in Newcastle. The Exhibition finished last week.  Turner, especially his later work and watercolours,  is a favourite artist of mine. I have seen his work a few times in various galleries but seeing "The Fighting Temeraire”  would have been great. I think I’ve seen it before but can’t remember where or when?

Next week’s blog will be hopefully from Mull and I hope to do my regular vlogs, data permitting. 

Friday 6th September

Firstly, Happy Birthday to Tom, my eldest son, and current guardian of my website and blog.

So, as predicted the AITG sales continued and the current total is 71 paintings sold. I have also sold 4 paintings at Jetty Gallery in Oban and also at The Jane Adams Gallery in St Just, Cornwall in August, which has been an excellent month for sales.

The Quiz last Thursday was crazy with standing room only and valuable funds raised for the Air Ambulance,  a very worthy cause especially around here. As usual I donated a small watercolour for the raffle which this month was picked by a friend from the village to “add to her Nick Potter wall”

Our friends Rob and Ali were up here in their motorhome for the weekend and we managed a walk to the pub on Saturday afternoon when Luna met their dog Murphy. 

I had been working on the small oils for Tallantyre Gallery to take to The London Art Fair in October when I received a phone call from Jackie at the Gallery saying that “The Committee “ had approved taking my work to the show but they had reconsidered which work they wanted to take. They had looked on my website and decided they wanted something bigger and brighter. They wanted 8  24”×24” landscapes with Farms/cottages in bright colours. This was a bit of a shock as we are off on holiday next week until the end of September.  I couldn’t recall anything suitable in my studio and there was no time to paint that many paintings before the deadline at the beginning of October.  Having a Gallery take work to the biggest Art Fair in the UK is a big deal so I said I would have a rummage and see what I’d got. Amazingly I managed to find 8 pictures of roughly the right size and subject matter that I might have time to work on and produce what they needed. I sent the current images to Jackie who replied “perfect”.

With some time on Tuesday morning and Luna in “doggy day care” on Wednesday  I managed to repaint some of the paintings where necessary and when varnished I will, after all have the 8 paintings to take to the gallery for framing in time for the Fair. This style of working is not to be recommended for health reasons!!

A few weeks ago I had a message from Vanessa  who, together with husband Chris ran Treeline Gallery in Bakewell, Derbyshire.  The gallery has been there for many years and I have had work in there for over 20 years. Sadly, due to Chris’s health they have had to close and wanted to return my remaining work on their way up to Scotland on holiday. I agreed to meet them in Alnwick on Wednesday to collect.

I was sad to hear this as Treeline has a place in my heart. It was the first Gallery to give me a one man exhibition. We took a mini bus of friends from my local pub and opening night was attended by friends and family. Some got a bit inebriated but sales were good. I did have a second one man show there and we used to call regularly. They always supported both me and our Gallery in the early days and as I said I have had work in there for 20 years which has always sold well. Chris was an extremely talented cabinet maker and his furniture was beautiful. It was never a five minute job when I visited as Vanessa knows how to chat. I will always have fond memories  of the Gallery. They were both as I remembered and we chatted for half an hour or so and exchanged the pictures before they set of for Scotland to celebrate Chris’s mums 100 birthday.

On a more selfish note I could now do with another gallery to represent me in my home county.

Our motorhome has finally been fixed so we can look forward to our latest Scottish road trip next weekend. As usual, I will be taking my lightweight painting gear and I will probably be posting my ubiquitous vlogs whilst away and my blogs will have a distinctly Scottish flavour

We have had a pretty hectic couple of months and are looking forward to some R&R and fabulous scenery. However, I will be taking the opportunity to deliver new work to 2 galleries on the way. I have 7 new paintings for Beckstones in The Lakes and will finally be meeting Annie at Jetty Gallery in Oban.

Friday 30th August

Art in the Garden 2024

So another August Bank Holiday weekend goes by and another AITG comes and goes.

Checking the weather for the weekend it looked a bit changeable with the possibility of strong winds. We know that can mean anything up here!

I wasn’t particularly encouraged by the fact that in Alnwick, where they were making preparations for the beer festival,  which was also being held over the weekend, they had drafted in huge concrete blocks to anchor the huge marquee which was to cover the market square.

Our marquee, which arrived with Matt and Sarah on Thursday night, was, of course, on a much smaller scale but large enough to be affected by strong winds. Wind and artwork are not good bedfellows but we had to prepare the best we could.

On Friday it was a bit windy but not enough to prevent us setting up. It takes a while. We also had a second tent for my watercolours, which was a camper awning. After the structures were up and secured we had tables, easels, cloths, lights and hanging chord to install and of course lots of artwork, big and small. It all took a few hours and we were ready for the now regular “post erection” pint or two with our neighbours whose garden we had invaded.

We had decided to get the new sign and ’A’ board out on the lane in the afternoon to give passers by a heads up and it had caused some interest as cars and people were stopping to check things out.

Saturday was bright and breezy and started earlier than advertised as visitors called in on their morning walks. I had positioned my posters around Dunstan Steads in order to catch passing trade from the local campsite and the beach. We had also covered around the village. It seemed to have worked as people mentioned they had seen the posters.

We had steady trade all day and the rain held off. In the afternoon the sun came out and we all pitched up on the garden enjoying a few drinks . I sold 29 paintings and the revenue was more than the first day last year. A successful start and a happy post show drink.

I woke on Sunday morning to heavy cloud and strong winds. A real contrast and I feared the worst. The winds were gusting all day and although it didn’t rain, it made things difficult. It also got very cold and after the previous days sunshine we ended up in puffer jackets and wooly hats.  We had a few accidents but nothing was damaged. The whole marquee was shaking and paintings were swaying and we constantly had to adjust the securing straps and pegs. The footfall was not as good as Saturday but the sales were better with a few of the larger paintings selling. The post show drinks behind a windbreak and with a fire pit were also challenging as the wind got even stronger. We eventually retired back home for Matts freshly caught mackerel and our new potatoes and salad.

The tents survived the night and Monday morning was much calmer. The forecast was for cloud, sunshine and showers. With only a gentle breeze I decided to go for broke and got out everything I could find to display more paintings.  I was able to use more of the outdoor space within the front canopy with judicious use of quantities of blue tack.  Although the footfall was steady during the day the sales were down on the previous days but still respectable. I did have visits from some friends from the village and my lovely ladies from my Acklington Art Group who came en masse, caused the usual chaos, bought stuff and booked another course.

Overall I sold 55 pictures and may have some more sales to come. Sales were roughly the same as last year. I also made some interesting contacts and sold some larger pictures that I had had around my studio for a while creating a bit more space.

Matt and Sarah needed to get home and left on Monday afternoon.  It was all hands to the pump with the neighbours and their/our friend  Dave and Natasha and Dylan to repack all the paintings and pack away tables, steps, signs, boards and easles back in their places in our property next door and then pack down the marquee  for Matt to collect on their next visit. It was knackering but with the help we managed it in about an hour and a half. We decided to leave the awning tent up for post show drinks.

I am always amazed that people turn up in numbers over the 3 days, many of them tourists up here on holiday. I sell a large array of pictures in different styles and media and a variety of subjects. My 10 small 8” square oils of The Bay and Castle all sold on the first day so I’l be doing more of those for next year. My mounted watercolours and square acrylic inks and smaller framed works  also sold well. I even had a sale to visitors from Canada. So Canada and the U.S.A in the same month! I also sold several of my returned Buckinghams pieces. My extra posters worked and probably the article in the local Winstone Times helped. Despite all this I always feel that I could do better, attract more people, sell more pictures. One problem is space. Its only finite and many pictures didn’t make it out there. Strangely I’m always pleased that some of the paintings don’t sell, either because I know I can get them into a gallery and get more money for them or because I or Natasha like them and there’s a chance they may end up on our walls when we have a swap round. Poor old Dylan really liked a couple that sold. In fact, every time he fancied one for his bedroom wall I ended up selling it.

I’m helped, of course,  by the sale prices. It’s only once a year and I’m happy to do it but it may give tourists a false impression of my normal prices if they visit my website or Google me. Matt has hinted at a much bigger marquee for next year which would do away with the need for a second tent. As I only do it once a year its difficult to justify any more expense on display. I tend to use what I’ve got or can scrounge.

It took me a while to sort my studio out but by Thursday It was as tidy as it gets and ready again for action.

I have to thank my neighbours,  Ray, Sheena and Martin, for their help and support in difficult circumstances and the daily post -event drinks and the use of their garden. Also Dave, Andy and Sue who have made it an annual event. The lack of rain meant we didn’t churn the garden up too much.  I’m always grateful to Matt and Sarah for supplying their support,  the marquee and tent and fresh mackerel  and for whom it has also become an annual event and of course to Natasha and Dylan who keep everything else going whilst I’m engrossed, including Luna duties this year. She seemed to enjoy all the attention when she was on site (Luna not Natasha).

It’s all a slight anti climax after the show but the neighbours cheered me up by taking me to the pub on Tuesday and I have my quiz tonight (Thursday). We can now look forward to our holiday to Oban and Mull in September  although poor George the motorhome is still in the garage having a leaking fuel pump sorted. I may be grateful for my AITG sales as its sounding a bit expensive!

Friday 23rd August

I am writing this on Thursday as when this blog goes out “Art in the Garden“ will hopefully be in full swing.

I spent most of the week getting stuff ready. Apart from fitting a new battery on my car, fitting a new gas regulator on the motorhome, supervising a motorhome habcheck and driving to Blyth to get the fuel pump and handbrake sorted out. We put Luna in “Little Legs Doggy Daycare” on Wednesday which made things easier but we ended up leaving the motorhome with the garage until next week as it wasn’t  going to be sorted in a day. We did have a pleasant hour at Blyth South beach and walked along the promenade past the famous multicoloured beach huts and WW2 gun batterys. I took photos of the beach across to the lighthouse with a bright but cloudy sky. A definite future painting.

When I start to get all the pictures out for AITG I always think I won’t have enough but by the end I realise I have far too many. I would like to get everything out but there just isn’t room.

There is a real mix of stuff some years old, some almost new and everything in between in different media and styles and all different sizes from 90cmx90cm down to 10cmx5cm. They all reflect different prices depending on size, age, framing and medium. I have to remember, however, that it is a “studio sale” and the prices have to reflect that. There is also no gallery commission,  but people tend not to spend hundreds of pounds. I think the most expensive are the big canvases at £400. The hand painted cards are only £10.

It’s a weird weekend for me. Its the most I integrate with buyers all year. I do run my demo’s but I see far more people than that over the 3 days. I was thinking about when we first moved here and I joined Network Artists North East (NANE) in order to see what was going on in the artworld up here. I also wanted to take part in the “Open Studio” event they ran.  My readers with long memories might remember (very doubtful) that I did a blog about it back in May 2022.  The main problem with the “Open Studios” was that it was an Art Trail and took part over 4 consecutive weekends. It was a) very tying being around over 4 weekends  and b) disruptive,  as my studio had to remain tidy and ”gallery- like” for 4 weeks making working very difficult. A one off 3 day event like AITG is much better.

One of the other reasons I joined NANE was that they offered free public liability insurance with membership. I know that I didn’t renew my membership after a couple of years as the group was going through a bit of a chaotic period. I thought it had shut down but I thought I’d check. Low and behold it was still running.

The annual membership is £50 but included is £5 million public liability insurance. For events like AITG, craft Fairs and even my demo’s, I need public liability insurance.  My current policy was due for renewal and their quote was £100 for £1 million of cover. It was a no brainer really. It will be interesting to see how the NANE thing goes. A lot of the activity was down in the more populated areas. We tried to form a “Northern hub” but nothing materialised. It may be useful for contacts.

AITG is an important event for me. Not only does it clear my studio of some work and bring in some welcome revenue but it also helps me interact with the local community.  Although many visitors are passing tourists I have gradually built up a following in the area.

It has certainly grown from the rather drunken discussion round at the neighbours and 2 small gazebos 4 years ago to what it is now. I may even do some live painting this year. It always looks very enticing but unfortunately can be reliant on the weather, something totally out of my control up here.

Report on the event will be in next week’s blog.

Friday 16th August

On Wednesday I had agreed to meet Bob Corsie from The Watson Gallery,  in the car park at the wonderful Tantallon Castle, North Berwick to hand over 6 paintings for the Gallery.

The castle has spectacular views of The Bass Rock with its lighthouse and guano covered rocks which were shining white in the glorious sunshine and across The Firth of Forth to Fife easily visible on a cloudless day.

Fortunately, Bob loved the paintings and so did his mum who had come along for the ride and a trip to North Berwick. I learned, to my surprise, that Bob (and his mum) actually came from Kirkwall on Orkney. I’m sure he’s never told me that before.

I had added 2 more pictures to my original collection of 4. I framed 2 30cmx30cm  Scottish seascapes in returned Buckinghams frames and they looked great although painting, varnishing and framing in a very short time period was really pushing it. It will give him a different price point as the other 4 are large.

With Natasha and Dylan working from home and able to look after Luna, I enjoyed my rare trip out. Whilst walking around the castle I even got chatting to some archaeologists who were looking for a ditch using ground penetrating rada. They were most surprised when I knew what the machine was. One of them had even done his degree at Leicester University, albeit 20 years after I had left.

I’ve also done some more 12”×12” seascapes as “Art in the Garden” looms closer, next week.

I’ve also got them and 7 small (20cmx20cm) box canvas paintings of Embleton Bay varnished.

I printed off my posters and have started putting them around here and Dylan helped me cello wrap my AITG poster and mount it on a large palette, which will stand on the verge during the weekend.

I also contacted OCG in Ambleside and asked if they could return my box of wire sculptures we had left with them last time we visited. They weren’t going to have them on display so I thought they would be something different for AITG. I had not asked before because their delicate nature would make posting them a nightmare.

They arrived unscathed, due to the superb packaging at OCG. Whilst in communication with the Gallery I was informed that they had sold 2 of my “Tonalist” Paintings.  Now, that was good news as I’d not sold any of my larger paintings there for a while.

When I visited Tallantyr Gallery in Morpeth a few weeks ago to deliver my “Collage Harbourscapes” I collected some work. There were 2 large 90cmx90cm paintings amongst them. One of them was “Receding tide from Lindisfarne Causeway “ which I was happy with, the other was “Light in the The Bay”, which I wasn’t.  I decided to do a partial repaint, including adding the promontory and Dunstanburgh Castle ruins. I also added to the foreground beach and a bit of change in the sky. I am much happier now and because it is more specifically Embleton Bay, it will stand more chance of selling.

Next week will be hectic. I have a habitation check on the motorhome plus a trip to Blyth to get the fuel pump leak fixed. It will then need an M.O.T re-test. We have booked Luna into “Doggy Daycare” on Wednesday, which should help. Matt and Sarah arrive on Thursday for “operation marquee erection” on Friday.  Before then I need to get all my paintings ready.

Crikey....

Friday 9th August

We have had family (my 2 sisters and nieces, boyfriend, husbands, partners, baby and dogs) up here in Northumberland this week.

As the weather looked good, I decided to host a family barbecue on Saturday. Dylan and I put up our now ancient gazebo and we had 2 gas bbq's on the go. It has been ages since we had a family bbq and the neighbours came too. Although the weather wasn’t as promised it stayed fine, unusually, wasn't windy and it didn't rain. We ended up doing a quiz wrapped in blankets!!

I also got a load of my recent paintings out of the party shed to show them. Perhaps a little unusual at a bbq but I’d had a few shandies and it seemed like a good idea at the time!

I was very surprised that I ended up selling 2 paintings.  Not small ones either. Selling to family and friends can be a bit awkward but a sale is a sale even at mates rates. My sister had also seen a Facebook re-post of mine from 4 years ago when I was painting birds during covid and had wanted to buy a nuthatch not realising it was a re-post. I did manage to find it and as Keith her partner had kindly bought one of my other paintings I did her a BOGOF. My other sister also bought one of my yellow sheep pictures but hasn't a clue where to hang it as she has so many of my pictures already!

My bird paintings reminded me that I had recently come across an article about Eric Gorton, who worked in a museum in Bolton, who over the years, in his spare time, had painted beautiful wildlife pictures. The museum are holding an exhibition of his work (see article below). If you're in Bolton over the Summer,  give it a visit.

There are so many fine artists around now, and in the past that paint in their spare time. It reminds me how lucky I am to be doing something I love as a job.

LDRS

"Eric Gorton, was inspired by the wildlife of Bolton and the surrounding areas

The work of this reclusive artist, who was inspired by wildlife of the north west of England, is to be displayed as part of a museum’s summer show.

The display will feature sketches and paintings by Eric Gorton from over a 50-year period.

Mr Gorton, from Westhoughton, died in 2002 and was a former assistant curator of Bolton Art Gallery and Museum.

He had been described as a "very reclusive man" who painted what he saw around Bolton and Lancashire, as well as exhibits in the museum. The museum poster shows

IMAGE SOURCE,LD

His work will form the centrepiece of Bolton Museum’s latest exhibition, Birds of Bolton, running from 29 June to 3 November, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The exhibition is set to include wildlife films, drawing activities and trails to a life size bird hide, and was inspired by a recent donation of a large collection of Mr Gorton’s sketchbooks.

Sam Elliot, head of service for Bolton Library and Museum, said: “Eric Gorton spent more than 50 years filling sketchbooks with the most brilliant observations of local wildlife, full of wonder, curiosity and surprise.

"We hope that by showcasing his art in our summer exhibition we will inspire people to discover Bolton’s natural environments for themselves.”

The exhibition also includes a programme of events, including nature walks and exhibition tours.

The summer exhibition is free and no booking is required."

Apart from the “family sales”  I was pleased to sell another painting at Jetty Gallery in Oban. I also saw on the Watson Gallery , Edinburgh  website that I had sold a third large painting. They only have one left now. I have painted 4 more for them and now have now agreed with Bob that we'll meet him halfway for an exchange, somewhere around Dunbar or North Berwick.

I have actually re-painted some of  the large Arran picture I posted on my blog last week. Adding a bit more drama to the sky and sea. I also made the Island lower, smaller and bluer, extending the sky down. I have also painted the edges and now need to varnish it. I painted the edges outside in the gazebo but don’t think I can varnish it out there, as planned, due to the proliferation of bugs.

I also received my latest, requested Buckingham’s  painting return and have also partially re-painted that this week in order to send to Watson Gallery. I’ve also managed some more 12”×12” “coastal landscapes in oils during my Luna crate time.

I also decided I would like to take a larger painting for Jetty Gallery when we go to Oban in September.  I had a 80cmx80cm tray frame that needs painting,  that I’ve been meaning to use for ages. I remembered that some of my unframed Buckinghams returns were that size. I found a suitable one and re-painted it with “A view from Iona” ( See below).

 In “Art in the Garden” news after last week’s blog my neighbours decided that they would have the event in their garden after all. That is a better prospect as we get a lot of walk -ins from tourists walking down to the beach. They can’t miss us in the front garden.

 I now need to get on with doing some posters which go up around the village and sorting all the paintings that will go on display and seeing if I need to paint any more especially for the show. The paintings are all over the place but I'll be happier when I've started sorting as time just keeps marching on and August is getting a bit busy.

Friday 2nd August

The Summer rushes by and we’re into August already. The fact that we tend to take our “Summer” holidays in September (nearly Autumn) means that Summers don’t really feel like holiday time for us.

After last week’s sales rush I needed to get some paintings together. Bob Corsie at Watson Gallery had invited me to do some live painting at The Fringe in Edinburgh in August. Having chatted with Natasha we decided we just couldn’t fit it in. People who have read this blog for a while will remember I have written about my last “Fringe” painting experience with the  “infamous Harvey Nicks “ episode. It would have been good but with Dylan away and the Luna factor, it would have been very difficult.

On Monday I decided to use one of the returned Buckinghams frames, removing the picture and replacing it with one of my moody beach scenes. I repainted it a little, painting some mountains on the horizon to create “”Happy Hour, Luskentyre, Isle of Harris.”

I also had a 70cmx75cm, spare frame having re-framed the “St Kilda” painting.  I only had 80cmx80cm paintings on board and so I cut a painting of “Glorious Sunset, Kirkwall Bay, Orkney” down to fit. So these 2 will be going to Watson Gallery in Edinburgh but Bob had suggested 4 more.

On Tuesday I took the “brave” decision to use my giant box canvas (112cm×91cm) for a painting of Arran. Having limited time I thought it was a bit ambitious but during the morning Luna crate time I managed to nearly finish it. I painted it in oils to give me better options for adding to it later. It is a simple composition with a huge but quite complicated sky, distant Arran and a water foreground but there are many nuances of colours in there to keep it interesting. I was pleased with the progress in just 2 hours. It will need another hour finessing but the oil paint will help.

As we moved into August,  my thoughts began to turn towards my “Art in the Garden” event.

As we are actually holding it in our own back garden, for the first time, it changes the dynamics a bit. Previously, using the neighbours front garden, the set up was visible from the lane. This year, visitors will have to venture down our drive and around the back.

I will have the usual “A” board and large painting on an easle in the drive to entice people in but I decided I needed something else to make it visible. I decided to buy a large Northumberland flag to hang at the gate and also purchased a “customized”  outdoor sign showing “Art in the Garden” with days and times but no dates so I can use it again.

I can fix this to our gate so it’s visible to cars and passing pedestrians.

As I suggested I continued with the large “Arran” painting later in the week. On reflection, I thought it needed a bit more drama and colour in the sky and reflected in the sea and some very subtle moulding in the land mass of Arran, just hinting at some of the valleys and outcrops but very faintly in order to keep the island in the distance but making a flat blue/grey a little more interesting.

I added white and some orange/yellow and blended it into the evening sky. I then had to add a hint of orange into the sea. I added some white and off-white breaking waves and finally some pure white foam and spray in the foreground. I added 5 tiny white sails for scale. The result below is “Evening Light, Approaching Arran“ 112cmx94cm, oil on deep-edged canvas.

Friday 26th July

As Friday was a sunny day I managed to clear paintings and boxes onto the garden to give me room to manoeuvre in my studio.

I managed to get some paintings in boxes and some on shelves and some into a reorganised party shed. It’s like a giant game of chess. With a tidy up I managed to get the studio into a more organised and practical environment to work in.

I also had to clean my brushes. This is not as straightforward as when using waterbased acrylics. Oil paints consist of pigment bound with oil. YouTube is full of videos on cleaning oil paint from brushes. Many artists are shying away from the white spirit/turpentine route due to its harmful fumes which can have serious detrimental effects with long term use. I do use a low odour cleaner to keep brushes in whilst using. The oil paint in the bristles needs to be broken down in order to remove it. There are various proprietary products available but none are cheap. The way I do it (for now) is with 2 turps jars one dirty, one clean to wash most of the paint out then a washing liquid to break down the oil then vegetable oil which really gets the paint out and nourishes the brushes and finally a rinse in soapy then clean water. This all depends on how dry the paint is and the sort of brush. My brushes for oils tend not to be expensive so I don’t mind binning the occasional one. This all takes time and I’m sure is a bit of a boring read but hay ho it’s not all excitement in the studio.

I have to say, I’m really enjoying using oils. After years of high- speed painting, due to fast drying acrylics, I find that I am much more relaxed using oils. The fast drying oil I add as a medium really works and the paintings are dry within days. I am still experimenting with them but that’s fine as well. I even mixed in some cold wax in the “Cliffs at Flamborough Head” painting which is a technique which can be used to give more body to the paint and for impasto techniques with a palette knife.

It’s also been another surprising week for sales as some of you may have noticed from my Facebook posts.

I was checking the Beckstones Gallery website and noticed that 3 of my large paintings were reserved. I didn’t know what this meant so I contacted the gallery who informed me that all 3 had been sold to a client in the USA and were showing as “reserved “ to prevent them being purchased on the Website whilst they sorted out the shipping logistics. This was amazing news and I was delighted. It means the gallery have sold 4 of the 6 large paintings I gave them plus 6 watercolours. It also means they will need more paintings. Fortunately I am on the case and have 6 done already.

Also, quite by chance I was looking at the Watson Gallery, Edinburgh website and noticed that I had disappeared from their list of artists. I contacted the gallery to see why and they replied saying it was an admin error when they had been doing some auditing. They restored me immediately and when I checked I noticed I had sold another large painting with them. Again I was surprised. Selling 4 large paintings over the weekend was a real “Brucey Bonus” (one for the older readers). Together with the other sales at Watson Gallery, Tallantyre and Blagdon plus the “St Kilda” sale its turning into a bumper month.

I have explained many times that being a professional artist is a rollercoaster and these highlights are always welcome to offset the months when nothing sells.

I did manage some studio time again this week with Luna’s crate time and both Natasha and Dylan working from home on Wednesday.

I repainted 3 Buckinghams returned paintings into rather nice Lake District scenes. I also did some more work on the 2 large Lake District oil paintings. I managed to varnish all 5 and get them back in their frames giving me 6 now for Beckstones plus another one on the way back from Buckinghams. It appears that I am managing to keep on top of my commitments without the time to do anything else. Hopefully it will get easier. It's completely changed my way of working but on the plus side I'm getting plenty of much needed exercise. 

Friday 19th July

After a lovely birthday weekend with our friends Rob and Caroline, during which Luna visited her first pub at Alnwick Brewery and experienced her first bus and taxi rides, and after the disappointing experience of watching England once again fail to secure a trophy, I was eager to get some painting done.

Luna is now in her crate for a couple of hours in a morning giving me a bit more time in my studio.

I wasn’t happy with one of my Yorkshire coast paintings. The topography was wrong. I had painted it from a sketch I did of a photograph .

During painting I had misinterpreted it slightly and it just wasn’t right so I decided to make it into a different headland, in fact, a slightly more extended view of Whitby from Sandsend showing the groins on the beach. I kept the sky and adapted the headland and changed the beach. I was much happier with the result.

I sent two images to The Art Cafe Gallery in Whitby but when they replied they informed me that they haven’t got room at the moment but would let me know when they have. So, as predicted, I have four paintings of the Yorkshire coast, waiting for a gallery.

A few weeks ago I mentioned, in my blog, that I had ordered 3 “tray” frames for my small coastal paintings and the company had sent the wrong size. They told me to keep them and I bought some small canvases to fit. Pre-Luna, I had done some watercolours for Jetty Gallery in Oban which I wasn’t entirely happy with. They’ve been on my drawing table since. I decided to choose three Island paintings and interpret them with oils on the small canvases (see below). I painted “Approaching Arran”, “Approaching Mull” and “Approaching Eigg and Rhum” and was happy with the results. They will look good in their “tray” frames.

A few weeks ago when we collected some work from Tallantyre Galleries in Morpeth, I picked up two strange paintings that had previously been returned from the now closed Trident Gallery in Leicester. They were part of an experimental series of paintings using acrylic and acrylic inks on canvas board, where when dry I lightly sanded the surface to create a blurry, scratchy surface before adding detail. The trick was to know how much to sand before ruining the surface of the board and making additional painting virtually impossible. They were slightly strange paintings with almost a “fantasy” feel to them. There are buildings, strange trees with hares, owls, sheep, crows under a moon. One is called “Hunters Moon” the other “Night Moves” It is easier to look at the paintings (shown below) as they are difficult to describe.

I will probably try to sell them privately or put them on my website but, they are so unusual that I may want to keep them. Where I’d put them is another matter.

Having started the month feeling a little frustrated, I haven’t had a bad month in terms of sales with paintings selling at Tallantyre, Watson Gallery and today I learnt that 4 had sold at Blagdon plus cards at Jetty and OCG, it hasn’t been too bad so far. I also have the “St Kilda” sale to come next week.

Next week I am going to spend some time sorting my studio again as I can’t move in there. Although this, as you know, is a common experience, it is a cathartic exercise. I can then start work on my 30cmx40cm coastal landscapes and do some more repainting of returned Bucks paintings for Beckstones. All in 2 hour slots!!

Friday 12th July

So, I’m aware that my recent blogs haven’t included much artistic activity on my part. That’s mainly because there hasn’t been much due to puppy duties.  However, some things have been going on during the past couple of weeks.

Vicky Fyfe, the lady who wrote the article about me for The Winstone Times (see below) contacted me to ask if I had any more paintings of St Kilda similar to the one which was showing as "sold" on my website.  Her father had a  "significant” birthday coming up and St Kilda was a special place for him as he used to sail around the area.

The painting wasn’t actually sold, it was with Buckinghams and so unavailable from my website. I decided to contact Buckinghams and ask if they could return it. They did (in its beautiful frame). Vicky agreed to purchase it minus the frame as her father’s partner thought it wouldn’t go with their “Scandinavian “ decor. Fair enough as I can always use the frame.

On the same day I heard from The Watson Gallery in Edinburgh that they had sold my large (100cmx100cm) painting “The Cuillins  from Elgol, Skye” to a valued client. I was delighted with this sale as I feel it is important to make an early sale with a new gallery. It also vindicates the trust the gallery owner,  Bob Corsie put in me when taking me on.

I had contacted Tallantyre Gallery in Morpeth to arrange to pick up my unsold paintings and replace them with my Buckinghams, returned, framed, Harbour collages which I thought would be great for Summer visitors. I was starting to get a bit worried about Tallantyre Gallery as I hadn’t sold a painting there for quite a while. It is quite an important gallery around here and they have a stella reputation. They are always very complimentary about artwork that I give them and seem equally baffled as to why it is not selling. When we arrived I was delighted to learn that I had sold one of my large paintings  “Storm Approaching Cullernose Point “ I have to say I was relieved.  We discussed my Harbours and agreed a price. We discussed the state of the art market in general and then  they told me that they were looking for another artist to represent them at The London Affordable Art Fair in October and they thought some of my work would be suitable.  Again I was delighted and surprised as it had always been a bit annoyed that they had never taken any of my work to any of the Art Fairs they attend each year. They told me they were looking for a number of small paintings to set amongst the larger work, specifically 30cmx40cm. I generally paint square paintings and didn’t think I had any that size but would have a look.

Returning home I rummaged through my images but didn’t really have any pictures that size. I had offered to paint some but considering the lack of painting time I have it would be easier if I could use something I already have.  On a whim I decided to send some images of the 30cm×30cm seascapes left over from my online “Coast” exhibition.

The gallery manager Jackie,  liked them and said they would be great with a few 30cmx40cm thrown in. They would have to pass the “ selection committee “ that Tallantyre use but she couldnt see a problem. I have ordered some 30cm x 40cm canvas boards to add to the selection.

It would be great to have my work at a London Art Fair.

Luna is now sleeping through the night in her crate and also has a sleep after her morning walk which does allow me an hour in my studio. With that and thanks to Natasha working from home on Wednesday I managed to finish my 4 Yorkshire coast paintings which I intend to pitch to the Art Café Gallery in Whitby. Having Luna has concentrated my mind and focus on the very limited amount of painting time. I can't afford to waste the time I have. My rather blasé attitude to time over the last few months has had to go. 

The July/August edition of The Winstone Times  is now out including my article so, as promised,  I have reproduced it below minus the 5 images which I knew wouldn’t reproduce in the blog but this is the text which gives a great local plug for my Art in the Garden event in August

Art in the Garden with Nick Potter

Nick Potter is a local artist renowned for his varied and vivid artwork, which is sold in galleries across Britain.

Originally from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Nick worked for many years in teaching, educational publishing and the corporate world, whilst painting in his spare time. Just over 10 years ago, he decided to take his art to the next level and

relocated with his family to Northumberland to paint professionally.

Nick now lives just yards from the sea at Dunstan Steads, where he's inspired to paint every day by the stunning landscape and seascapes.

Nick took time out to show Whinstone Times some of his work and tell us about his Art in the Garden exhibition and sale, which has become an annual event at Dunstan Steads each August Bank Holiday.

As we look at his incredible work, Nick explains that he paints mainly in acrylics, oils, watercolour and acrylic inks, but also employs various mixed media techniques and textures and is known for his diverse painting styles.

His love of wild landscapes and his concerns regarding the pressures upon them fuels his desire to paint, and he uses many areas across Britain for inspiration including the Northumberland Coast, Lake District, Cornwall and the Scotland Highlands & Islands.

Nick paints in his garden studio to the background of unabridged "audio books", which can last up to 24 hours. He's so attuned to this way of working that he now can't paint without them and they are as much a part of the painting process as the paint or canvas.

When asked about who buys his paintings, he tells us that Robson Green is a famous client, who recently told the Sunday Times that one of his most treasured possessions was a painting by Nick of a shiel (small cottage) on Skye.

Moving on to Art in the Garden, Nick recalls that it started with a few beers in the garden with his

neighbour, when they decided that this would be a nice way to while away a summer Bank Holiday weekend. Starting with just a few artworks under a gazebo, things have grown year on year, so that he now hosts several marquees across the gardens, that are full of his varied work at very competitive prices.

Art in the Garden comes highly recommended as a great chance to meet a very talented artist, see where he works and get your hands on some original local artwork.

Art in the Garden will be open Sat 24th, Sun 25th, Mon 26th August 2024

11am-5pm at 2 Dunstan Steads Cottages, NE66 3DT

Oil, acrylic & watercolour paintings available, with small paintings from £10.

You can also see Nick's work online at www.thenickpottergallery.com

Vicky Fyfe

Friday 5th July

So, last week I mentioned that I was going to discuss the role of AI in art.

It is a complicated and emotive subject amongst the artistic community and of course AI is currently the new hot topic in all aspects of life. For some, AI is the future with endless possibilities; for others it is the devil's spawn, the beginning of the end for humans. Well, they're the extremes but there is of course a massive overlapping grey area in between.

AI in the art world tends to have more polarisation. Like the ubiquitous Marmite, people tend to love it or hate it. Technology is an acceptable part of creating art nowadays but where does the input of the artist become a computer-generated facsimile of the craft. For many artists (probably the majority) creating an artwork in whatever form must have creative input from its creator. Many years ago, computers revolutionised how people could manipulate images. Programs such as Photoshop enabled photographers and artists to change an image digitally, opening a whole new world of possibilities. I have to admit that years ago I also used to manipulate images I had created to make cards. I used a more basic program than Photoshop, mainly because I couldn't afford it. I could mess around with an image I had created myself to make a different image unrecognisable from the original to make cards. This is, however, completely different to AI creations. I used my creative input a) to produce the original image and b) my creative input to manipulate it.

The use of Programs like Photoshop was often despised by professional photographers because it could make a bad photograph look better. Some, however, could use it in a creative way by first having a quality image as a baseline.

When we look at artists prints, which are digitally created images transferred into coloured inks, they have that original baseline of an original piece of work. Yes, blemishes can be corrected and colours tweaked but an artist has had the initial input.

AI artwork is not a new thing but as all technologies it is developing at a rapid rate.

AI produced artwork is a bit complicated, but I will try to simplify it based on my understanding as I see it. (Disclaimer: my understanding may not be entirely correct. Some of the following content is not my own but taken as research from the internet. I will credit where possible)

Artificial intelligence (AI) art is visual art created with the help of AI programs. Artists have been experimenting with AI since the mid-20th century to enhance, replicate, or simulate creativity. AI can be used as a tool or topic in new artistic forms. For example, generative AI can analyse large datasets to find patterns and use that information to create new content. This can be done with the help of an AI art generator, like Adobe Firefly, and a written prompt.

AI can also help artists automate repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-level creative decisions and conceptualisation. However, some artists and gallerists have had mixed reactions to AI art, with concerns about intellectual property and its impact on creativity.

(Alan Turing Institute)

AI art uses a database of millions of images which can be used to create a different work of art. For example, programs like ArtBreeder is AI-powered platform which allows you to generate, mix, and evolve images to create unique and surreal digital art pieces.

One of the concerns of using AI to create artwork is over copyright.  Digital manipulation of millions of images in a database doesn't indicate the original source and can throw up possible copyright violations.

The question of "is it Art?"  Is a topic much debated. AI has not just infiltrated the world of imagery but also other creative fields such as dance and performance art, creative writing and literature, design, architecture and many other fields.

Despite accepting that an interesting and striking image can be created by using a collage of digital images taken from a database of millions, my question is where is the heart and soul in all this. Where is the feeling that an artist puts into the work.

Whilst writing this blog I came across the following recent article which illustrates how some artists feel about the use of AI in art.

A Scottish artist has painted over some of his artwork in protest against what he says are negative impacts of Artificial intelligence (AI) on Art.

Black Isle-based Pop artist Michael Forbes' fans include singer Madonna, Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and comedian Ricky Gervais.

He said AI was saturating the internet with images and harvesting artists' work to create new pictures without acknowledgement of the source material.

Forbes, who has "redacted" parts of four paintings so far, said: "Underneath the black paint is hours of work I'm proud of - in some respects I am absolutely heartbroken. "The four paintings include one of The Beatles' John Lennon and another featuring US singer Taylor Swift.

Forbes said he admired Swift because of her battles over ownership of her music.

Weeks of work have been painted over in black paint.

Forbes said he was driven to make the protest after a fellow artist said she had stopped sharing her art on social media because of problems with AI.

He said other artists were giving up their careers because they felt they could no longer compete against computer-generated images. "I am aware that what I have done is small potatoes," said Forbes.

"It is going to have minimal, if no, effect whatsoever other than a cathartic feeling I am being proactive and trying to do something about it."

He added: "I don't want to be an artist so I can paint the best pictures I can and then paint them over in black paint.

"I'm gutted I've been reduced to this. "Forbes said he had embraced the internet since its early days, and it had allowed him to reach galleries around the world.

But he said he was now only sharing parts of paintings on social media and inviting people to see the full finished pieces in-person at exhibitions.

Dingwall-born Forbes was an apprentice of the late Pop artist and acclaimed sculptor Gerald Laing, who was a close friend of artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne-born Laing set up a family home in Kinkell Castle on the Black Isle, not far from where Forbes grew up.

Forbes' work has referenced women's rights campaigns and featured "mash ups" of glamorous Hollywood icons.

US presidents such as Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln have appeared in some of his paintings.

He also creates posters and other artwork for the Belladrum music festival near Inverness.

(BBC News website.) 

I'm sure the debate will continue over the years as AI influences and penetrates all of our lives but for now I'm happy to create my own work with my own hands and heart plus, considering the amount of trouble I have with technology presently, I doubt I would get very far with an AI powered platform! I also have no plans to paint over any of my painting in black paint. 

Friday 28th June

So last week's blog initiated the expected debate between me and Tom. I've got no problem with differing opinions on a subject. It's one of the reasons I do the blog.

As expected,  due to puppy duties I've managed a bit of sketching and only an hour in my studio. It's a bit frustrating but I knew what was coming. In that hour I managed to complete the very large (4ftx4ft) painting for Beckstones Gallery. 

I now have 3 to take but need a few more. It needs a varnish and putting back in the huge Buckinghams frame. I am a little concerned that it won't fit in the car. I can't post these framed paintings so, it may be that we have to drive over there in the motorhome. 

Talking of the motorhome,  I managed to book our holiday this week. We decided to go to Oban and then over on the ferry to Mull. We're going in September and I will be able, finally, to visit Annie at Jetty Gallery and hopefully take her some different work. 

We love the West Coast of Scotland and we've never been to Mull. We also intend to go over to Iona and take a trip to Staffa and Fingels Cave, somewhere I've always wanted to visit. Coordinating campsite bookings and ferries was an interesting logistical problem whilst minding the pup.

Dylans been in Croatia this week, so hopefully when he's back I might get a bit of painting done. I have canvases to do some Yorkshire East coast paintings and have sketched out some ideas.

OCG received their paintings and with my agreement have adjusted their pricing to match my website prices. Tom's best friend Tom Gill, who I have known since he was a bairn, actually popped into the Gallery whilst on holiday in The Lakes and spotted my paintings and sent me a picture. It's always interesting when people let me know when they've seen my work in a gallery somewhere. It happens quite a bit.

Being virtually housebound has meant I have been catching up on the World T20 cricket and all the Euros. I have to say that England have been very disappointing to watch in the football. I don't know why I expected any different.  I've been watching them in tournaments for many years and it never changes. 

Not working has been harder than expected.  I find it very hard to not be painting even though I can take the time off. I've been doing it for so long now that it's like going "cold turkey". Luna is not at the stage to let me paint indoors yet so  I have to be content with sketching for now. It's actually a good thing but it's hard to convince myself. I was going to blog about the role of AI in art this week but it's a difficult subject that I'm still trying to get my head round so I'll save it for later.

Friday 21st June

I'm sure this article from "The Spectator" will cause some division of opinion,  possibly even between me and my son Tom who vehemently disagrees with me on this subject.

However, throwing in my two penneth, I have to agree with Leyla Sanai that instead of bringing a genuine cause to the attention of the public they are just attention seeking.  Most people don't really know what the protest are about and because of these vacuous acts aren't going to want to find out. I said last time I posted an article on this "art vandalism" that there are far better ways of gaining attention for their cause and gaining public support than attacking works of art. If they are serious it's about time they engaged in more effective protesting instead of just annoying the hell out of people like me.

Article by Leyla Sanai from "The Spectator "
4th June 2024

"The latest painting to be attacked by an ovine climate protestor is Monet’s Poppies in Paris’s Musee D’Orsay. Thankfully, the initial reports that the painting was not protected by glass were inaccurate, and the alarming red rectangle – which at first glance looked as if the painting had been torn to the underlying canvas – was in fact a large red sticker.

How is it helping climate change to throw good food at works of art?

Video footage has emerged of a woman covering the surface of the painting then taking off her jacket to display her activist t-shirt. She then stood by the painting as if she was waiting for applause. It’s far from the first time that a famous work of art has been targeted. Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa was smeared with cake. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Monet’s Springtime in Lyon’s Museum of Fine art had soup thrown at them. The glass over Velazquez’s The Rokeby Venus was smashed. Monet’s Haystacks was pelted with potatoes.  

How is it helping climate change to throw good food at works of art? If these protesters had an iota of grey matter in their heads instead of empty slogans, they might do something more worthwhile – pick up rubbish, for example, or shame litterbugs, or help out on a farm, or grow their own organic vegetables, or…

But they don’t want to do anything helpful. On several occasions, thick protestors have glued their hands to the wall or to the painting. Miscreants usually want to leave the scene of their crime, but these idiots glue themselves to the wall. What exactly is the point? If it is that art is a privileged activity, they should ask how it is exactly that they managed to gain access to this supposedly elitist space. It’s because art galleries are open to the public, and most are free at least part of the time. The Musee D’Orsay, in common with other galleries in Paris, is free one Sunday every month. I notice that the climate activist didn’t go then. Because it’s so packed with ordinary, cultured people on those days that these vandals would be lynched.

Cowardice meets privilege in these dunderheads, not in their targets. Most people are too busy working in order to feed themselves to target paintings in galleries. These young adult brats – bratults – don’t know how lucky they are. 

They sometimes argue that the reason for damaging well-known artwork is that it attracts attention that their cause otherwise wouldn’t receive. Well, it’s true only in the sense that the activists and their activities receive attention. Few people end up actually looking into the purported cause. Most do little more than rolling their eyes. Is that really activism – or simply attention seeking?

It reminds me of when climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion shut down London by congregating in the streets, stopping ambulances from reaching medical emergencies and hospital workers from being able to do their jobs. Emma Thompson flew over to London first class from LA to show her support. The irony of a stinking rich woman contributing to thousands of tons of air pollution in order to show her support for less air pollution was not lost on many observers. 

Ditto zealous politicians who bring in low emissions zones, which shut down a whole lane of traffic and give bicycles more space than four wheeled vehicles. This forces buses and cars to cluster in huge pollution-causing jams for hours. It takes hours to go from the West End of London to Gunnersbury now. It also means that bus stops are helpfully placed in the middle of the road, so those descending step straight out into traffic. Luckily, it’s so slow moving that it will probably only take your toes off."

So last Thursday we went to Whitby to pick up our new puppy. She was bred on a deer farm just outside Whitby and although we were collecting her on Friday we thought we'd make a mini break of it. We love Whitby,  nearly everything about it really.  A proper seaside town. It can get very busy but on a Thursday in June it was fine. We had some great accommodation in the centre of town and found a 24hr car park a minute away. We parked and that was it until the morning.  We did all the Whitby things. We went round the shops and a few pubs. Had some whelks, walked around the harbour and of course looked at some Galleries.  On a whim, after a couple of pints we went to The Art Cafe where my old friend John Connolly has some work. I saw the owner and unashamedly  mentioned him as an intro . It is a very nice gallery. I made my pitch. The owner holidayed in Northumberland.  I said I would love to have work in there and he was happy to look at my work if I sent some images. So, that's what I've done and hopefully get a positive response as having a gallery in Whitby would be great. As per the law we had a few pints followed by fish and chips and an old Vera. I fell asleep as usual half way through but I'd seen it 5 times so wasn't too worried. 

So the puppy, Luna is settling in. We, of course had forgotten what it was like to have a puppy and how much hard work it is. Between the 3 of us (and Dylan has been brilliant) we are coping but I know for a fact I won't be painting for the next month. 

Fortunately I did manage to post off my paintings to OCG in Ambleside. I also have some work ready for Beckstones. I might try some indoor painting but I don't have much hope of success with the tiny dark destroyer knocking around.

I did get my interview with The Whinston Times done and have seen the article.  I will save it for later however when it's published in July but for now it's puppy and football.

Ps. I did hear back from The Art Cafe. They did like the work I sent them but are struggling both in the current market and for space for a new artist. They did, however, say that if I produced a series of North Yorkshire coast and country paintings they would be interested. So it was a "not at the moment" but probably yes later. As I have no chance of painting at the moment I'm happy to take that. It’s a bit of a catch 22 as I don't paint Yorkshire Coast paintings as I currently don't have an outlet and if I do paint some I could be stuck with them but they did seem positive so I'll take a punt.

Friday 14th June

So last Saturday we decided to use some Tesco vouchers we had. This involved a trip to Berwick-upon-Tweed, our nearest Tescos. 

Despite Natasha working there all week she didn't mind and said she'd show me her offices. We really like Berwick.  The High Street is a little tired but there are lots of interesting shops around other parts of town. It also has a market, iconic bridges, beaches and fascinating ramparts being a town which has been in a tug of war between England and Scotland for centuries. It also has an L.S Lowry art trail, the artist having spent some time in and around Berwick.  At the moment, until October,  there is a small L.S. Lowry Exhibition "Lowry and the Sea" on at The Granary Gallery which I wanted to see.

We parked outside Natasha’s offices and walked into town along the ramparts, with views down the coast as far as Lindisfarne and Bamburgh. We popped into The Maltings, the arts centre for a drink and a scone and purchased tickets, before walking down to see the Exhibition.

Lawrence Stephen Lowry's life has been well documented. I haven't the space in a blog to go through it. For anyone interested there are many books on the subject.  I would, however, like to put this Exhibition into some sort of context as his relationship the subject of the sea gives us a fascinating insight into his mind as a man and an artist. 

In his forward to the Exhibition catalogue, James Lowther (curator) says:

L.S Lowry continues to be one of Britain's most popular and recognisable artists, a phenomenon and an enigma, a carefully constructed public persona, that was perhaps at odds with his real personality. It was the paintings of industrial scenes inspired by his hometown of Salford and the wider North-West of England that first brought him public and critical acclaim in the 1930's and created the common perception of Lowry as a painter of the "working classes". It is perhaps his work from his travels to other parts of the country and particularly to coastal towns, that reveal more about the 'real' Lowry.

The sea and the coast is a thread that runs throughout Lowry's life, from his first family holidays on the North West Coast as a child, where he began drawing ships from the age of eight. When his mother died in 1939, it was the sea that informed a new direction in his work and it is central to a series of portraits he painted in the 1960's.

It must have partly been this fascination with the sea that brought him to Berwick-upon-Tweed in the mid 1930's (his earliest work of the town is dated1935) and why he continued to visit for a period of over 40 years until his death in 1976.

After painting for many years in conjunction with his day jobs and attending evening classes at Salford Scool of Art he became fascinated with the industrial landscapes of the North West that he saw every day on his rounds as a rent collector. Aware that no-one had ever tackled these subjects he began creating the paintings that are synonymous with his name. Lowry's big break came when he was given a solo exhibition by the renowned Reid and Lefevre Gallery in London in 1938. The exhibition received major press coverage and one piece was bought by The Tate. This represented a turning point in Lowry's artistic life as he stated later "I don't know what I would have done if I had not had it. I think I couldn't have kept going much longer." However, just a year later in 1939 his mother died. His relationship with his mother, who he cared for during her illness, is well documented. She was a determining factor in his life despite the fact that she never approved or accepted her sons art and questioned why he wanted to paint the industrial landscapes. Her death greatly affected him personally and his work.

He later said " I've not cared much for anything since she died. I've nothing left and I just don't care..."

Lowry didn't paint that much after his mother's death, partly due to The 2nd World War. In 1942 he became an official war artist but only produced one picture. 

In 1944 he took a trip to Anglesey in Wales. He later said "I was bored almost to death, I couldn't work, I could hardly even look at anything.... A month after I got home, I started to paint the sea, nothing but the sea, but a sea with no shore and nobody sailing on it...only the sea. Look at my seascapes, they don't really exists you know, they are just an expression of my own loneliness "

After The War Lowry took more trips around the coast. He travelled by train or taxi or was driven by friends. He continued to visit Berwick-upon-Tweed in the late 1940's and even nearly bought a house there.However he considered it to be too much in a poor state of repair.. He bought a house in Mottram-in- Longdendale where he lived for the rest of his life.

After he retired in 1952, he had more time for travel around the country, particularly in the N.E of England . In 1960 he began a long relationship with The Stone Gallery in Newcastle,  which also took him to nearby Sunderland.  He was taken by this former ship-building town and used The Seaburn Hotel on the seafront as a base for his visits to the North East for the next 15years.Its from his hotel room here that Lowry would set up his easle looking straight out at the North Sea and where his totally unpopulated, almost abstract seascapes were created.

The harsh vistas of the Northumbrian coast seemed to present a challenge to Lowry but also offered him the opportunity to indulge in his favourite Flake White paint. Lowry would work and rework the surface of the painting many times, over a long period of time, allowing for drying time, creating a multi-layered impasto effect which is noticeable in many of his North East coastal paintings right into the 1960’s and something I particularly picked up on seeing them "live" at this exhibition and what you don't get from a photograph. 

Lowry continued to paint the sea in various mediums, oil, pencil, pastel throughout the 1960's and claimed the starkness of the paintings represented his personal loneliness,  however, in his 2003 Lowry exhibition catalogue,  the great Lowry dealer and connoisseur, Andras Kalman, had a different perspective. He commented  " There is hardly anybody in 20th century English art, nor amongst the great French artists who have even begun to re-state what the sea looks like. This is the cold, frightening Nordic Sea, seen from an un-picturesque shore, with nothing but waves. It still makes me shiver to look at these pictures,  but all the same they are beautiful, I don't think anyone since Turner has looked at the sea with such an original eye."  An accolade indeed. 

It is obvious that Berwick-upon-Tweed is very proud of their association with Lowry and this exhibition is another expression of their fondness for the artist. We both enjoyed it and were surprised at the sense of poignancy in the pictures and accompanying text. I was also pleased that there was an excellent exhibition catalogue to accompany it.

I was very pleased, whilst in Berwick, to receive replies from both OCG in Ambleside and Tallantyre Gallery in Morpeth stating that they loved the look of the the paintings that I'd sent images of and would be happy to have them. The Tallantyre ‘Harbours’ are ready. Framed, wrapped and photographed with all the necessary paperwork, as returned by Buckinghams  but I had to paint edges, sign, varnish, stamp, title and pack the Lake District ones as well as frame the 4 small ones. 

We went to collect Luna, our new black Labrador puppy from the breeder in Whitby on Thursday. More on that next week.....

Friday 7th June

Last week's blog on the "Pint sized Picasso” caused a bit of a stir.

The Blog actually replaced an intended Blog which disappeared into the great black hole of technology and has only recently re-appeared much to my complete confusion and Natasha’s amusement!

It's worth re-visiting some of the content as it covered the period whilst Natasha and Dylan were away at the Grand Prix in Monaco.

I was home alone until Tuesday tea time. I managed another "Tonalist" Lake District painting which I quite like for its dark moodiness. These paintings are all about mood and tones of grey with darks and highlights. It's about suggestion and not detail. It's like looking at a landscape and squinting. Interesting skies also help. I'll definitely do some more.

I decided, as I usually do when left alone, to do jobs. I should have done more paintings but after a very sport oriented TV weekend I spent bank holiday Monday and Tuesday tidying stuff. The garage, partially during breaks in rain, my studio (again) one of our outbuildings and the house and garden.

My very expensive Morso Guillotine is housed in one of the outhouses and had gained a light coating of rust. I'd noticed previously and felt ashamed (as it's a piece of precision engineering) of the neglect so I cleaned it up and covered it to prevent further rust.

My studio had reached its usual state of mess. I tidied the best I could given the space available. The garage has become a dumping ground and really needs everything getting out but because of the showers I couldn't do that so again I reorganised it and threw some stuff away.

I've started framing and posting my sold pictures from my online exhibition. Annoyingly, the frames I chose are currently out of stock but I've managed to resource some similar.

With a new puppy, the Euros and Olympics approaching not to mention the T20 world cup, I am going to need to manage my painting time. It may sound strange to non sports people and to artists may sound like a shocking lack of commitment but at the moment I'm not under pressure to produce more paintings.  I will still continue to paint during the "sports fest" but can manage when I do it. I also want to be around for the puppy. I've not had an actual puppy since 1982 so I will need to change my routine a bit.

Sometimes, painting can be an obsession but as I get older I realise that it can't be all consuming. The real world sometimes needs attention. The choice to have another dog was obviously a family decision but with Natasha and Dylan working I realise that a lot of responsibility will fall on me. I hope, eventually, to take her in the studio with me but at the moment, the studio isn't very puppy friendly. 

Having returned from Monaco on the Tuesday Dylan had a quick turnaround and headed off to the "Forbidden Forest" festival at Belvoir Castle on Thursday.  Natasha was back at work on Wednesday and it was my quiz on Thursday night. We had our friends, Matt and Sarah and Rob and Alison (plus daughter and partner) up here separately on holiday and it was a strange experience for them to be sat in my local doing the quiz.

Having an excursion to my younger sisters 60th Birthday party at the weekend and collecting Dylan from the music festival on the way home I was happy to get back in the studio this Monday. Having completed my "Tonalist" paintings I decided to paint 4 small (12"×12") Lake District paintings to go with them (See below).

My frames for a customer who bought paintings in my "Coast" exhibition came over the weekend.  I was looking forward to framing and posting them off to her as she has paid me. When I opened the box I had the wrong number and size frames. I contacted the supplier who had obviously sent me someone else's order. They apologised and are sending me my actual order. They also said I could keep the 3 they'd sent. It is annoying but at least I've got £60 worth of tray frames as compensation.

Whilst doing my quiz last week I got talking to one of the writers for our local "Winston Times" They were interested in my "Art in the Garden" event and want to come to the house  interview me and take some photos for their July/August edition. It's hardly the "Sunday Times " but any publicity is good publicity and it will be reaching the locals.

I decided to be proactive and contacted Tallantyre Gallery in Morpeth and suggested they might like, for a change, my 5 framed "Harbour" collages recently returned from Bucks (see image in 24th May blog). They are bright and cheerful and would be perfect for Summer. I also contacted OCG in Ambleside and sent images of the recent Lake District oils (see below) I will probably have to post these as I can't see us getting across there anytime soon.

I've heard that my new frames are arriving today (Thursday), hopefully correct this time. I will be able to get the pics framed tomorrow and posted at the weekend. 

.....Next week it's a trip to Whitby and puppy time!!!  

Friday 31st May

So here's something a bit controversial to start off this weeks blog. This is an article taken from The Times regarding a so called 2yr old "Art Prodigy."

Two-year-old who sells paintings for thousands is 'pint-sized Picasso"

Laurent Schwarz started painting for fun from his home studio in Bavaria. Now his artwork is in high demand from international buyers including a New York gallery.

Picasso’s favourite subjects were the Spanish civil war, naked women and bullfights. Laurent Schwarz prefers elephants, horses and dinosaurs.

And yet the two-and-a-half-year-old from Bavaria is gaining a reputation as a pint-sized Picasso thanks to his big, bold and colourful abstracts that are fetching up to €6,500 on the international market.

Even to the untrained eye, Laurent’s works are a very distant cry from the stick figures, crooked houses and smiling suns fashioned by children three times his age that are dutifully and temporarily taped to fridges.

His mother, Lisa Schwarz, 32, suspected she may have a wunderkind on her hands during a family holiday in South Tyrol, Italy, last September, when Laurent was two.

“There was a painting room in the hotel and we couldn’t get him out of it,” she told The Times. “Just before Christmas we set up a studio for him and he was in it all the time.”

She was so proud of his paintings that she uploaded a photo of one of his first works, The Fingers, on Instagram, an aesthetically pleasing mêlée of reds, yellows and blues that would not look out of place in modern art galleries in Munich or Berlin.

“I thought I’d set up a channel because what he was painting looked so nice,” she said. “And that triggered a real hype.”

Laurent’s work has attracted almost 30,000 followers on Instagram and has been winning much praise. That prompted Schwarz to put some of them on sale via a website, laurents.art.

His acrylic on canvas paintings gained interest at Munich’s biggest art fair, ART MUC, in April, and have sold to buyers including in Britain and the Bahamas.

A New York gallery has contacted the family offering to put Laurent’s work on display. His first vernissage will be in his Alpine home village of Neubeuern in August.

Laurent mixes his own paint and applies it using brushes, rollers, spatulas and his fingers with such abandon that he gets almost as much paint on himself as the canvas.

“They’re abstracts and what’s unusual is how he integrates discernible figures into them, which people often mention to us and which makes them so popular,” said Schwarz, who owns an interior design firm with her husband, Philipp.

“You can clearly recognise his animals, like elephants which are one of his favourite animals, as well as dinosaurs and horses. It’s very important to him that it’s bright and colourful. Brown and other boring colours don’t interest him. He has a very clear ideas about the colours he mixes.”

His professionally framed paintings adorn a ground floor corridor in his house. Schwarz had sold eight of his works before the tabloid Bild catapulted his fame by running an article about him on Tuesday. “Now almost all of them have gone,” she said.

Paintings sold include The Blue Horse, a 31.5 by 39.4 inch work featuring an unmistakable rearing horse amid an explosion of colour.

The Cat, which has also been sold, is a mix of blues and dashes of pink from which a cat peers out in almost hypnotic clarity with a large, penetrating eye.

The proceeds from the sales are being paid into an account set up for Laurent. He will have access to it when he turns 18, his mother says.

She said that while Laurent’s choice of subjects was likely to be subconscious at his tender age, he was fully aware of his creations and was able to recognise two of his paintings from among thousands on display at the Munich art fair last month. “He went straight up to them and said ‘Laurent painted.’ ”

When he is not at work in his studio, his focus shifts to the more common pastimes of his peers — playing with a toy farm full of animal figures and a bulldozer.

It’s totally up to him when and what he paints,” Schwarz said. “Sometimes he doesn’t feel like painting and doesn’t set foot in his studio for three or four weeks but then suddenly it grabs him and he says, ‘Mama, painting.’ ”

She said he may have inherited an artistic bent from her husband, an interior designer. She hopes he will continue developing his talent but said they would not put him under any pressure.

“Everything will continue as before, he is completely free to decide how he paints and whether he paints, so time will tell what happens,” she said. “The extraordinary thing is that many people want his paintings and want to get to know him. We want to make this as normal as possible for him.”

Give me a break. His paintings look like any 2 year old given access to a range of paints, decent brushes and "a bit" of careful guidance from proud parents. This is no abstract wunderkind or budding Picasso.  The Galleries and Art world would love to think so.

 A professionally framed coloured mess on a canvas can look like a lot of Abstract work produced by artists, over the age of 2, out there. What may have started as a cute gesture by his mother, putting some paintings online, and getting encouraging comments has been hyped to a point of stupidity. The child is 2 yrs old for God's sake. No experience of life to channel into painting,  even in an abstract form.   It's about enjoying playing with paint. The kid may develop a talent later in life, especially if encouraged to do so but its all about adult perceptions being placed on a child's paintings and not about a prodigious young talent. We have seen it before. Monkey's or Elephants being given a brush and paint and their "Paintings" being touted as abstract art. Abstract artists everywhere must be agog at the stupidity and frankly ridiculous naivety of the art world, especially the art institutions buying into this crap. If promoted and hyped in the right way ,anything can be sold. We know the art market is full of people with more money than they know what to do with who will buy anything as an "investment ", especially if it has been "authenticated" by a venerable art institution and I see, everyday on my post some of the appalling "abstract" art that is promoted in Galleries. 

Well, all I can say is good luck to the little tyke.  If he's getting a trust fund out of it then enjoy. But of course he can't because he's only 2 and won't understand the financial ramifications of his playtime activities for a few years yet.  Oh and I love that he's got a "studio"! I hope his parents wont be too disappointed when he gets fed up with painting and moves onto lego, dinosaurs,  video games, beer, sport and girls/boys. Oh that sounds cynical! I hope he does maintain his interest in art. After all, I moved on through all those things and kept up my interest in art. Apologies for the rant but stuff like this makes my blood boil. You, of course, may disagree.  If so, let me know. We all know art is a subjective thing. I'm off to have a serious talk to my Grandchildren....

Friday 24th May

After posting last week's blog a friend (Col) commented on the variety of my life as an artist and the non-creative elements of my business. 

Being "creative" as a profession is a) all encompassing, affecting all areas of my life and b) exhausting,  as it is something I find difficult to switch on and off. As a "sole trader" I also have to manage everything to do with my business.  I, of course, get assistance where possible from Natasha and Dylan regarding organisation and often technical problems relating to my phone/computer work. They also try to support me in the various projects I get involved with and offer moral support when things are difficult. There are also other difficulties with my social media and website.  A few years ago I /we decided I needed a website as a tool for promoting and selling my work. It also needed to be linked to social media for the same reasons. My son Tom set this up for me. 

We have yet to find the time to enable me to take control of my website and related social media, Instagram, blog etc and I still have to rely on him to upload new work to the website and post on the nickpottergallery Instagram page. He also has to post my blog every week. Tom is a busy man, has a young daughter and wife and has just changed jobs and is now self employed.  The fact is, he hasn't got a lot of time to do work for me and I always feel guilty asking. I don't think it's anyone's fault. They live in Sheffield and I live in Northumberland.  When we see each other nowdays we haven't got the time to sit down and discuss what needs to happen in order for me to take over control of the website. 

I really need to be posting work regularly on my Instagram page. I follow many artists who do. I also need to update my website more regularly and promote it more. I enjoy the "creative" stuff buy in order for me to survive as a business I need to be in control of the whole business.  Tom will read this blog and undoubtedly agree. It would be a load off his back. I saw Tom on Saturday for brunch and we did discuss it and we are taking some steps to address the problem. 

As he pointed out that posting events like my "online sale" currently running on my personal Facebook and Instagram sites are really only reaching the same audience,  my friends and family. I need to be reaching a new swathe of potential buyers. 

I used to believe that I was "tech savy". I had a computer and laptop at their infancy. I used them for work on a daily basis. However,  things move on and for the last 11 years I haven't kept up fully with technology. Yes, I can work on certain things on our laptop but often require help with certain things. I have had a mobile phone since they first came out and can navigate my way around the functions I use regularly but I still have problems with certain things. Natasha and Dylan are using laptops constantly at work and think I'm a dinosaur with computers. I can get very frustrated, knowing what I want to do but not knowing exactly how to achieve it.

When we got our latest home laptop I somehow managed to download the whole operating system onto an an external hard drive whilst saving all our photographs and it hasn't worked properly since. It's crazy really. Back when we had the Gallery I used to create my own cards and prints from my saved photo images using a photoshop (but not photoshop) type program. I have done it more recently but it wasn't easy on our laptop. I'm sure it could be. I'm not a technophobe.  I shop online on a regular basis, book holidays, track utilities, return parcels, run my social media, submit work to galleries, do my tax returns and have 2 online bank accounts. I usually work out how to do stuff but I get very frustrated sometimes how long it sometimes takes me if it's not familiar. 

Regarding my business, I know I can be disorganised when it comes to certain things. It's a side of the work I don't particularly enjoy and would rather be painting. I know I need to get things sorted.

This week I decided to photograph all the work that was returned from Buckinghams. 

I have separated it into framed and unframed.  I/we are going to put all the unframed work on my website (it is easier to post and pack if someone buys it). It took a while as I had to unpack it and then re-pack it after photography. This should refresh my website but again the work will fall on Tom to upload it. I think there are around 27 new paintings.  Tom is attempting to give me access to my nickpottergallery Instagram page so that I can post regularly and also put my online exhibition "coast" on there before the end of the month. 

Things will change. I am not short of work to sell. Whilst doing the photography I was again surprised at the variety of styles, sizes and subject matter. I can offer the work at my studio prices with no gallery mark up. I have yet to decide what to do with the framed work.

It has again been a messy week. I did get some painting done on Monday and some more on Thursday and Friday after Natasha and Dylan had gone off to the Monaco Grand Prix. I'll have plenty of time to think for the next few days. 

We'll see what next week brings.

Friday 17th May

After completing the arduous but reasonably simple task of my annual Tax Return, I was really determined to get back in the studio this week.

I had no real plan but I had some 30"×20" box canvases. I decided to paint a couple of skies and work out the landscapes beneath later. I am enjoying doing these in oils as there's no rush. It's all relatively calm compared to acrylics. The fast drying oil I mix with the paint enables me to blend at will and then add paint, if necessary, after around 24 hours. Whilst painting the skies I decided they would be Lake District pictures for OCG or Beckstones.  One is a seascape, so, I decided it would be Allonby on the Cumbrian coast. The other was going to be the view across Windermere from Waterhead in the evening as we experienced last time we were there. Not a sunset exactly but with evening light.

I managed to finish the Allonby painting (below) but I need the Windermere one to dry more so I can add the pier and a couple of boats. As we came down to Chesterfield on Wednesday,  this will have to wait until next week.

Over last weekend I also got a Buckinghams payment which was improved on Monday when they paid me the shortfall from last month. I also got good news from Tom that I had sold a painting from my website. I managed to a) find it b) varnish it  and c) package it up and then we went into Alnwick on Saturday morning to post it to the client along with my big box of paintings for The Watson Gallery in Edinburgh.  I'm pleased to get these out of my studio.

I was having a beer with the neighbours last week and Sheena mentioned a post that she had seen regarding ArtFairs in Northumberland.  One organiser was putting on 4 at various locations during the Summer. Sheena thought I might be interested. I had actually seen the post. I get all sorts of stuff like that popping up. 

I know that I must have talked about Art Fairs somewhere in a previous blog but, to be honest, after three and a half years of blogging, I can't remember and to find out means trawling back through them all so, I apologise if I'm repeating myself. Must be an age thing?

When we first moved up here I used to do a lot of local Art Fairs. It was how I introduced myself to the local art scene. I spent a couple of years doing them on a Sunday, mainly in Warkworth plus the odd Christmas Fair. In those days I was making lots of "driftwood " stuff. Harbours, lighthouses, fish, hearts, seahorses, crabs, birds on a wire, birds in trees, woodpeckers etc. All made out of scavenged driftwood and found bits of metal. I sold a lot but the Fairs were always a bit hit and miss in terms of footfall and sales. Table space costs money. I think it was about £18 then, it can be anything from £25- £40 nowadays, so you need to sell a few pieces to cover that. My prices were pretty reasonable, considering the work and time involved and sometimes I didn't make much money. After a couple of years I thought it probably wasn't worth doing it. 

I did meet some good contacts and some people I still see. It got me my first Art Club demo through the lady who organised the Fairs. She has several of my driftwood pieces and I still see her at a couple of Art groups. She even comes to my "Art In The Garden" event and has bought paintings. 

So the problem I now have with Art Fairs is that I haven't really got the right stuff to sell.

My disastrous Christmas Fair at Gallery 45 sort of proved that. With the Fairs, you either do them (lots of them) or you don't.  I do have a friend, Lee Kershaw, that I met at Warkworth all those years ago, who does loads of them. Back then he was a photographer. We have several of his pictures after some swapping at events. He has pictures and harbours of mine. That sort of thing goes on a lot. It is a bit of a community amongst traders. Now he has branched out into carved wooden sculptures and pyrography.  He does well. He has a good set up with boards and shelving and a good product at the right price. He does as many as he can. Together with his Etsy site, private commissions and pyrography workshops, that's how he makes a living. It's a lot of hard work. Sometimes doing 2 Fairs at 2 different locations in a weekend in the Summer. You have to be committed. 

The difficulties I have with that are that a) my weekends are generally sacrosanct,  family time and b) stock. In order to produce the quantity and range of "crafty" stock needed I would have to rearrange my studio and put in hours of time making stock for not a lot of return. As a professional artist, for me it's not economical. 

Paintings don't really seem to work. I have sold lots of small paintings at Christmas Fairs (the only ones I do now) but people who wander round craft fairs generally don't want to spend that much money. I could do cards and prints but again the time and organisation needed doesn't justify the returns. It could be something I could do if I ever stop painting. The reason my "Art in the Garden " event is so successful is that it's a one off. There's a range of sizes, types and prices available and it's just me. The bottom line is, I can't really make enough money from a 6ft table to make it worth my while.

It is a shame, as it can be fun (but sometimes tedious) and as I said there is a "community spirit" about them and you still get a real buzz selling face to face. 

My best ever Fairs were at 1. Ringwood Hall back in Chesterfield, when I made £350 and 2. A Christmas Fair at Gallery 45 when I made £340. ( I still have records in my little sales book) Generally, it's a lot less than that. Often under £100. I'm not prepared to give up my weekends in the Summer for that. 

I may change my mind one day. I enjoy making the "crafty stuff" and still make the harbours and lighthouses which I sell through OCG in Ambleside (note to self: they have sold all there's and I need to make some more.) I need a week and a studio reorganisation to do it though. There are lots of fairs up here in the Summer and at Christmas for anyone's up on holiday and they do get the footfall with Summer tourists and locals. I have recently retrieved my "Busy Board stand" that I used for displays with YPO. Its a 4 panel fold out stand designed to sit on a 6ft table with panels that you velcro stuff onto. It could be usefull for displaying light stuff like cards and small mounted paintings. Maybe something to think on.... but not just yet.

Friday 10th May

Whilst the rest of the country seemed to be having good weather for last weekend's bank holiday, we weren't.

It was overcast, misty, even foggy and wet up here. Our plans to do more work in the garden went out of the window. I did manage to get all the Edinburgh paintings varnished on the Friday and on Monday they were dry so I strung and labelled them and boxed them up ready to go. We had a look at couriers, as we haven't got time to take them up. It was going to be a bit expensive at between £60 and £70 but eventually looked at Royal Mail 48hrs. This is how I usually mail my packages but I thought this would be too big, but apparently not. We'll have to take it to the main post office in Alnwick but it will only cost about £20!

I sent the images to Bob Corsie and fortunately he likes them. He is putting them on his website to create some interest and doing some initial promotional work.

The weather changed on Tuesday afternoon and I managed to cut the lawns. I had ordered some decking boards which arrived on Tuesday. We needed to replace our rotten wooden edges to our "raised" beds.

We have grown veg since we moved up here. The "raised' beds were already here. They aren't really "raised" beds but just areas of soil cordoned off with wooden sides. These were now rotten and it was impossible to mow or strip up to them. 

Out came the tools and I spent Wednesday cutting and fixing new edges. It certainly tidies up the garden.

After a week and a half without any painting, I was getting twitchy. On Thursday,  I decided to paint more small oils, just to get back into it. The current online Exhibition is doing OK with 6 paintings sold in the first week. I'm not sure what I expected but it's not a bad start. If I don't sell anything else it will have been worth it. Thursday was a beautiful day here and with more gardening jobs to do I abandoned the painting idea and decided to start next week. So I have to ask the question,  why I've taken two whole weeks away from painting?

I could paint every day and most of the time I do. Having all the returned Buckinghams work and having done all the paintings for the online exhibition I knew I had some time. Having a break is not a bad thing. After a long hard Winter up here the garden gets in a mess. If we were going to grow some veg again this year we needed to sort a lot of stuff out. Last year, with Natasha doing her degree, the garden got a bit neglected. Our garden is never going to be a show garden.

Living here in a very rural area with a wood at the bottom of the garden we are fighting a constant battle against nature but we always feel a lot better when we get on top of things and I then feel a lot less guilty when I'm painting. I shouldn't feel guilty at all really but with Natasha working full time we only have limited opportunities to get in the Garden, especially when the weather is so unpredictable. I can do jobs on my own as I have in the last couple of weeks but we like to do things together for motivational reasons. There is always jobs to do but taking a break from painting for a couple of weeks to get on top of things won't do any harm.

My galleries all have paintings and I still have plenty here. It doesn't stop me itching to get back in the studio. I'm enjoying the oils and I'm learning all the time. I've been watching a guy called Stuart Davies on YouTube recently who paints in oils in a different way. He calls himself a "Tonalist" painter. Tonalism has been a style used by some artists for a hundred years or more. Artists like Whistler, Monet and Turner all painted "Tonalist" paintings. It’s all about the impression of detail without actually painting any detail. I don't like all Stuart Davies paintings but he does paint interesting skies with great drama and movement in a very uncomplicated and quick way. He uses large, cheap house painters brushes and no solvents or thinners like turps, not even to clean the brushes. He likes to state that he created landscapes out of an initial mess. He literally scrubs the paint on then refines "the mess" into some dramatic landscapes. He's worth a watch. I will need to start painting on a larger scale to fully embrace his technique. 

I have heard that I have sold another 2 watercolours at Beckstones Gallery this month so that seems to be going well. 

I hope to get back in the studio next week but it will be a short week as we're heading back to Chesterfield on Wednesday to lend a hand to my daughter Alice. I'll be chomping at the bit after that.

Friday 3rd May

So I haven't done any painting this week. 

Saturday was a beautiful day here and we spent more time in the garden. We've got lots of veg that needs planting and there's plenty of prep to do. We visited a Garden Centre on Sunday and called in at Blagdon Gallery at The Milkhope Centre, Newcastle, run by our friends Ellis, Rob and Sheila.  We had a good chat and a look round.  They have plenty of my work but are always happy to take more including my new printed Northumberland cards.

On Monday I did manage to varnish all the small seascapes. I used Gamvar gloss varnish designed specifically for using on touch dry oil paintings. Its not cheap (like most art materials) at £30 for 250ml. Fortunately a little goes a long way. With complete drying taking 12 hours or so it meant my studio was out of commission so I spent more time in the Garden.

On Tuesday I helped my neighbour Ray to reconstruct his greenhouse after damage in the latest storm. It can be precarious having a greenhouse in Northumberland there's so much wind. I spent the afternoon in the garden whilst it was still decent weather.

On Wednesday I launched my previously mentioned online exhibition "Coast". I had photographed all the paintings and titled them. I had displayed them in frames using an online site. I also photographed the intended frame with a painting in situ. These will be offered at cost price to any buyers from the exhibition. Some clients like to choose their own frame but others prefer a picture ready to hang on their wall.

The "tray" frames I've chosen are specifically designed to take oil paintings on canvas or board. At £30 they're not cheap but they do the job and set the paintings off. The paintings are all 12"×12" original oils painted "alla prima " meaning in one go, wet into wet and are priced reasonably at £90. They would be (and are) £200 framed in a gallery. I will keep the sale/exhibition going for a month. People wishing to purchase or reserve for 5 days, can contact me. The paintings are offered on a first come first served basis and sales will be dispatched after the exhibition. 

We'll see how it goes. 

Also, on Wednesday I managed to paint the edges on my large paintings for Edinburgh. They were totally touch dry (much to my surprise) and were ready to be varnished on Thursday. 4 large paintings with drying varnish my studio was again a no go area.

I also received my expected returns from Buckinghams. There were 37 paintings.  A real mixed bag some dating back to 2013 and some as recent as my last seascape submissions. Notably there are none of my woodland pictures.  They've held on to any of those they have left. There are 18 unframed pieces and amazingly, 19 are framed with proper gallery frames, hundreds of pounds worth! They were carefully packed with foam edges. My party shed is full again. I need to think what I'm going to do with them. I can change some older framed ones for new pictures. Some are fine and I can probably take them to some of my galleries depending on the subject matter.

I have to say its a bitter sweet experience. Seeing some of this work again after several years is a strange feeling. There is nothing wrong with any of the work although my variety of styles is obvious. There are also multiple sizes from a huge 36"×36" framed landscape to 48"×12", 24"×12", 24"×24", 30"×30",16"×16", 28"×18", 24"×16", 12"×12"  and many more. The subjects are also varied with landscapes, seascapes, collage harbours, crofts, "greyscale" standing stones and even a landscape with sheep from around 2012/13. There is one "Spring" woodland picture. I'd rather have them here than them sat in a warehouse in Milton Keynes but I have got that claustrophobic feeling again. My storage areas are full. My priority now is to get the Edinburgh pictures packed and sent/taken to Bob Corsie. I can then create some room in my studio to reframe some pictures, then decide what to do with all this work!!!

Friday 26th April

First this week a mildly amusing story. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had joined a new Facebook group called "For the love of Art in Northumberland"

Last week there was a post from the rather grandly named Industrial and Horticultural Secretary of The Blanchland and Hunstanworth Show to be held this Summer asking for submissions to their "Pictural Art Section 2024". There were to be 3 categories.  1. Watercolours 2. A piece, any medium. 3. Drawing. Entries cost 50p per submission.  Prize money offered is 1st prize £3, 2nd prize £2 and 3rd prize £1.  I had to chuckle. In order to check whether they'd missed some noughts off I messaged the lady who sportingly replied saying that although the prize money was not great the show was a lovely event with a good footfall.  I told her I supported any communal art initiative and wished her good luck. I think I'll give it a miss.

The following appeared in my Google feed this week via The Cosmopolitan magazine.  You know I like a good Art Fraud story so I thought I'd share it.

The Rise and Fall of Inigo Philbrick. 

The name Inigo Philbrick used to be known in the art world for all the right reasons – until the dealer mysteriously vanished in 2019, abandoning his work, life and clients, in both London and Miami. He left debts to the tune of $86 million (£68 million) behind, along with a web of lies that the American authorities had spent months unravelling. At the time of his arrest he was found shopping in a market with his wife, the American Victoria Baker-Harber, who was pregnant with their daughter, Gaia (now three).

But what's the full story behind 'art fraudster' Inigo Philbrick, who the FBI has labelled the biggest art scammer in history? And where are he and his wife, Victoria Barker-Harber now?

London-born, Connecticut-raised, Inigo had his foot in the door of the art world from day one: his father, Harry Philbrick, also built a career in the arts, at one point working as the director of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

As well as being connected to the art world via his father, Inigo's maternal grandfather was also a shoe-in, having founded the company behind the gold Oscar statue. To say Inigo had a privileged life and upbringing would be entirely fair, yet he still found himself in financial hot water as his career developed, and the art world's murky underbelly was the perfect place for him to run riot. 

2006

Inigo began his art career in 2006, via an internship at Jay Jopling's White Cube gallery (which helped launch the likes of Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst), and quickly progressed there. Life seemed good: his wardrobe was packed with designer suits, he travelled the world first-class (regularly skiing in the Alps and partying in Ibiza) and could fund his penchant for expensive wines.

2012

In 2012, he began building his own business and took on Robert Newland as a financial advisor, and this, in Philbrick's opinion, is where things started to go wrong. (This year, Newland was sentenced to one year and eight months after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.)

2016

Inigo met his now-wife, Victoria Barker-Harber, in 2016, on a yacht trip – the pair had mutual friends – and ended his relationship with Francisca Mancini, with whom he shares another daughter (they are not in touch). It was in this same year that things seemed to take a turn for the worse for Inigo: it would later transpire that he'd routinely committed fraud between 2016 and 2019, by selling shares in pieces of art to multiple people, meaning the total sold shares amounted to more than 100%

Not only that, but during this period Inigo also sold artworks (or used them as collateral when seeking loans) without informing the owners, and forged documents to bump up the value of the art he was dealing. He even invented an investor at one point, to buy himself more time to clear a debt with the White Cube's founder, Jay Jopling.

The Art Newspaper, reports"In 2017, [Philbrick's] gallery reported a $130m turnover. However, by 2019 Philbrick’s reputation had begun to sour, and his business suffered when the market for some of his preferred artists began to cool. To keep up appearances and maintain his lifestyle, the art dealer misrepresented the ownership of certain works for his benefit, sold shares of works to multiple investors for totals that exceeded 100%, used some of those works to secure loans for himself and forged consignment documents."

2019

When his lies began to unravel, Inigo went on the run in October 2019; it took around eight months for the authorities to track him down.

Jay Jopling, who was one of at least 20 conned by Inigo, said in 2022: "It has hurt and saddened me that Mr Philbrick, whom I respected and whose early career I supported, has not only betrayed my trust but … that of many others."

Inigo's former best friend and one-time business parter, Orlando Whitfield, recently told "The Guardian", "The ethical soul of this country is so shattered that Inigo and his ilk are seen as merely naughty, rather than people who have ruined lives."

It's thought Inigo's crimes span 2016 to 2019 and an arrest warrant was issued for Inigo on 11 June 2020, he was found by US law enforcement agents on a remote tropical island, Vanuatu (he denies being on the run though, pointing out that he travelled using his real name and passport).

Four days later, Inigo appeared in court through a video link to hear his charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft read. He was then sent back to the United States and held in custody for close to 18 months.

On 18 November 2021, Inigo Philbrick pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The following spring (23 May 2022), he was sentenced by a judge to serve 84 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and was told to pay $86m in fraud restitution.

Inigo was released from prison early on 10 February 2024 and reunited with Victoria and Gaia.

Now, according to a new profile interview with "The Times", in which Inigo, 36, explains he doesn't feel guilty for his crimes, he is living with his long-term partner, Victoria Baker-Harber, and their daughter Gaia, somewhere in New England (an area of America consisting of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island).

His exact whereabouts, the journalist explains, has been kept deliberately vague, and he still has to wear an ankle monitor.

When reflecting on his crimes, Inigo says, "I think greed is a natural human state. I’d feel a lot more guilt if I had been drink-driving or if I’d been selling drugs and someone had died." He also adds that nobody involved (his victims) "missed a meal" or couldn't "send their children to university... I don’t think that anyone in this whole story is guilty of much more than greed and ambition ". 

As for repaying the debt of $86 million, Inigo has been told he must pay 15% of his total monthly income to the government once he's been given the go ahead to return to work. He has public social media accounts and over on Instagram, has been joking about his latest 'fashion accessory' an electronic tag. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Inigo also laid out his plans for a comeback in the art world, "I'm 36, still a young man, and a second act is going to require my having been upfront and sincere, but also not a martyr... I did things the wrong way. But creatively and with the best of intentions. I'll have to tick the box for the felony. But I believe the art world is sophisticated enough to understand". Hmm...

In other news...

I managed to complete my 2 100cmx100cm paintings in oils this week. Images below. When fully dry they need edges painting and varnishing before going to Edinburgh. 

I have also photographed my small oils ready for my online exhibition which I think will start on 1st May for a month. Watch out for the Facebook posts.

Friday 19th April

So, there have been updates on last week's rather disturbing news from Buckinghams. 

On Friday after my blog went out I had a phone call from Ed Waite who, as well as being one of Buckinghams artists, is also their Creative Director. The thing about emails is that they can be interpreted in different ways. It's always better to talk, as they say. Ed is a decent bloke. The conversation was very cordial. He explained their (Bucks) frustration at the current state of the art market. As a Fine Art Publisher they are experiencing gallery closures and a reluctance by the trade to purchase the usual quantities of art. This was no surprise to me. Its a difficult market at the moment.  

Ed acknowledged my contribution to Buckinghams over the last 12 years but when I suggested that the previous email was a very polite "sacking off" he assured me that was not the case. He explained that he has had to do that with artists in the past and he is very upfront about it, returning all work and severing contact. This was not the case with me. The problem for us both is that he has been getting mixed feedback from the sales team and galleries as to what they think they can sell during this difficult period. 

He suggested that it was of no benefit to me or Buckinghams to keep producing and sending them work that is slow to sell. He explained that it was more of a pause until we can come up with something that will sell. It's true that although I have sold work steadily over the last few years, sales have slowed down. Lack of communication hasn't helped and guidance from the sales teams has been poor and a little erroneous. I have produced work based on their feedback (ie the croft paintings) which has not sold. This poor communication has been an issue for a long time. I have painted work for Buckinghams in many styles since I joined them but when things don't sell straight away and I haven't a clue why, it can be a very lonely and frustrating job. Lately I have been doing my own thing. Some work has sold well( the Autumn woodland pictures) and other work has sold but slowly (the seascapes). I have almost exclusively sold original paintings with Buckinghams.  I do have 4 prints but when I joined I stipulated that I didn't want to go down the print route.

As a Fine Art Publishers, Buckinghams do invest most of their efforts supporting artists who do produce prints, with marketing campaigns and gallery exhibitions and appearances.  Something I did with Washington Green but never with Buckinghams. 

After a long chat ,we both agreed to "pausing " for a while was a good idea. It would give me time to think. I will send images of work I think might appeal to them without physically sending the paintings. Ed agreed to keep all the work currently in galleries, in order to maintain a "presence" in the market. We both agreed that work stored in their warehouse, some dating back years, would be returned to me to sell privately and that lines of communication would be maintained.  

So, not the end but a pause. After talking and thinking about this I am okay with the situation.  I wouldn't have wanted to sever all contact. I have plenty of other work to get on with… 

Talking of other work...I have had an idea.

I have said in previous blogs that for the last couple of weeks I have been working on some small (12"×12") oil paintings.  They are all "coastal" scenes.  As usual, I've got a bit carried away whilst enjoying painting them. I will soon have 20+. They would make a great little exhibition with some gallery but…

a) I would have to find a gallery to take them

b) I would then share 50% of any sales with them

c) They would all need to be framed. 

The framing costs would be high. If I buy moulding and frame them myself it would considerably reduce the cost but I just haven't got the time at present to make 20+ frames so my bright idea is to have an "Online Exhibition ". Which will run for 4-6 weeks called "Coast". The paintings will be offered at a reasonable price with no gallery mark-up. They will be sold unframed or I can offer a framing service which means I can buy the frames to order for about £20 (they will look better framed). I can send sold works out after the exhibition+P&P. Sales will be on a first come first served basis. All the paintings will be on display for the period of the exhibition. Fine details and the dates are yet to be finalised as I will need to promote it through various platforms. 

Talking of ongoing work. I messaged Annie at Jetty Gallery and asked her if she could provide me with a list of work she has as I'd completely lost track of what I'd sent her. She replied with a list of 51 paintings and 17 cards. I was a bit surprised as she sells my work regularly. She has very seasonal customers with Americans and Japanese tourists in the Summer "cruise" season and general visitors all year. She swaps her displays around regularly. She gave me some great feedback as to what sells best, to who and when. I have offered to collect any unwanted stock in September when we visit but she's happy to take more. On reflection, I wasn't totally happy with the watercolours I did for her last week and will repaint some of them. It can get a bit confusing swapping media from oils to acrylics to watercolour.  It takes a while to switch back on.

My large canvases for my Bob Corsie paintings arrived at the weekend.  I have decided to do them in oils but have a bit of "white canvas syndrome " at the moment, hence the mounting quantities of small oil paintings. However,  on Wednesday I decided today was the day. I started with one of the "smaller" ones. A 75cm×75cm canvas. I thought it was the largest oil I'd ever painted but remembered "Kitchen Concerto" from my 6th form days.

I was determined to do some oil painting at school. After my A levels I had a few weeks left so I stretched my own 36"×36" canvas. I paid a visit to our canteen and to the amusement of our bemused kitchen staff sketched lots of the catering tins, bowls, jugs and equipment . I then sketched out a sort of "cubist" kitchen using the sketches as reference and using a palette knife I painted "Kitchen Concert" which my sister still has dated 1977.

For this new painting I wanted a dramatic sky with  distant coastline hills and a strip of sea. I wanted a big open beach with a hint of rocks/seaweed in the foreground. 

Painting a large oil is very different to using acrylics but I had learnt from my small coastal pictures. For this painting however, I went for the big house painters brushes. I wanted to paint it "Al a prima" (In one go wet into wet). I mixed a dark colour with plenty of the fast drying medium and just slapped it on leaving areas of canvas white. I then mixed white with the medium and pasted that in the gaps. After adding touches of crimson and burnt sienna and after some blending with a large soft brush I ended up with a basic stormy sky. I added more white with a palette knife and kept on blending and refining. I put the receding headland in with blue-greys and the sea with whites, cerulean blues and browns, creating some shoreline surf. I covered the whole foreground with a blended mix of sky colours and added white which I partially blended creating a wet look beach. The foreground rocks/seaweed was added with some strokes of a loaded large palette knife and a mix of colours. The final painting "Estuary Light" can be seen below.

I then embarked on a second 75cmx75cm painting which I intended as a landscape below another dramatic sky. I followed the same sky format with a pnky purple lower sky with hints of cerulean blue peeking through. The distant mountains/hills were then painted in blues and purples to give perspective and partially blended into the sky.  The foreground was then painted in earth clours and blended before adding swathes of colour with thicker paint and a large palette knife to give a semi abstract feel. The final painting "Borderlands" can also be seen below.  I was pleased to get started on the large oils and am pleased with the results so far. Just the 2 100cmx100cm ones to go...

Friday 12th April

I have often stated in my blogs that my life as an artist can be a rollercoaster.  This week has been no exception. 

Last weekend I had a message from Jetty Gallery in Oban saying that they had sold 2 paintings and requesting more as they were starting to get the NC500 visitors. This was good news to start the week. 

I have also been in contact with Bob Corsie from The Watson Gallery in Edinburgh, who we visited last week. I had, at his suggestion,  emailed him some examples of some work I thought he might be interested in. He was and after a few emails he has asked me to produce some large Scottish semi abstract landscapes 80cmx80cm and 100cmx100cm on deep edged canvas for the Gallery. This is great news and they will sell at proper Gallery prices. I've been wanting to get back into an Edinburgh Gallery for ages and me and Bob go back a way. I have already ordered the canvases for delivery of paintings in May.

Last week I emailed my new beachscapes through to Buckinghams.  I quite liked them and thought they would offer something different for me. When Buckinghams got back to me it was not good news. The "sales team" feedback was that they thought they could not sell them to their outlets and they were too similar to other artists. They instead requested that I do some more woodland pictures as these seem to sell. I was furious and frustrated. It's the first time in the 12 years I've been with Buckinghams that they have rejected a collection of work. Their feedback also suggested that my seascapes didn't sell well. A curious comment as 18 have sold on their website. The last "requests" I had had from the sales team had been for my plain sky croft paintings, which they have sold one of so my faith in their feedback and requests is not the greatest.

They requested specific sizes for the new woodland pictures. 60x60cm and 40x40cm which are small which means so is my income received for them. This was despite being asked by Jonathan Kearns the CEO at our meeting last year, to paint large pictures. Taking advice from Natasha, who could see I was furious, I waited a while before replying with my list of observations. I agreed to paint some more woodland paintings but suggested that as I was taken on as a landscape artist who was pretty adaptable in styles, they were missing a trick. I also suggested that it would be better to make requests before I had wasted 2 weeks on paintings they didn't want. Communication with Buckinghams has been my major problem since I joined. They are terrible at it. This put me in a very bad humour.

On Saturday I suggested to Natasha and Dylan that we should go to The Greys and drown my sorrows. This is very unusual for us and I can't remember the last time we went drinking in The Greys on a Saturday afternoon.  We took the car and were going to walk back home. It was a windy but sunny afternoon and we sat in the beer garden. Whilst enjoying a pint I received an unexpected email from Beckstones Gallery in The Lakes. They said that my paintings had been admired by customers and artists alike, including Rex Preston, a well known landscape artist. They informed me that the had sold a large acrylic painting and 4 of my new abstract watercolours. I nearly spilt my beer. I was so thrilled. After all the tension of getting my work in the gallery I really needed a good start with them. I couldn't have been more pleased and I walked home a happier and slightly tipster man.

I decided to continue with my oil paintings but with a slightly more abstract and colourful feel to them. I was still working small (12"×+12") using a brush and palette knife adding a fast drying medium to them so that they dry in days. I managed 11 of these this week. On Wednesday I decided to do some of the requested watercolours for Jetty Gallery. I can do these indoors but first had to finish off the 18 hand-painted cards I had started before Easter. I had already started some of the Jetty watercolours, which I completed and did 3 more. 9 watercolours and 18 cards wasn't a bad days work.  I then got an email from Buckinghams with my sales revenue for March.

I knew I had sold at least 3 large paintings but with Buckinghams there is always the possibility of returns which are then deducted from my sales. Looking at the sales sheet I had sold 5 paintings and had 2 returns. However,  the figures looked wrong. I hadn't been paid the usual amounts for the sold paintings and had been deducted the 2 returns at more than I get paid for that size picture. I shot off an email to Buckinghams requesting an explanation.  The email I got in return was surprising. The explanation for the reduced figures was that they had discounted the pictures in order to sell them as they were experiencing problems with a stagnant market. I again found this frustrating as a)I had not come across the discounting before and b) I hadn't been informed that this was happening. It however, got worse. They said that they currently had 75 unsold paintings of mine (not that surprising as I have sent them hundreds) and they thought it would benefit us both if I didn't add to that with any new work. They offered to keep the framed pictures in the galleries but could send the rest, some dating to 2016 back for me to sell privately.  They would keep lines of communication open for possible future business but from the tone of the message it appeared that after 12 years, I was being very politely sacked off. They did agree to pay me the full price for my March sales and would continue to actively sell any work of mine they held. Although things don't seem necessarily terminal it doesn't feel good. I am going to talk to the Creative Director to discuss the situation and will report back on that....

It does mean that at sometime in the near future I will receive a bantle load of paintings back to fill up my studio. I may have to have a sale and put more work on my website (Tom groans). I will also have plenty of stuff for my "Art in the Garden " event in the Summer. 

So all in all its been a real rollercoaster of a week.....one I could do without.

Friday 5th April

So, on Saturday we set off to Edinburgh for a few days for my little sisters 60th Birthday treat (birthday not until 4th June).

Natasha had managed to win a seatfrog auction to upgrade our train tickets to 1st class which made it a very pleasant journey to Edinburgh with free drinks and snacks. 

It was the Easter weekend so Edinburgh was heaving. We managed to get a seat in The Booking Office (Wetherspoons) next to the station whilst we waited for an Uber to take us to our apartment on Elm Row. We arrived at the large brownstone building and settled in it was large but a bit tired but with lots of original features.  After gratefully dumping our luggage we headed off for a wander. We headed into town to try and find a pub serving food and with the 8pm Man Utd match showing. All the pubs were heaving and the only one we found showing the game was fully booked. We needed to eat and eventually found a Greek restaurant in a shopping centre.  The food was great. We were pretty tired actually and decided to go back to the apartment where I managed to get the game on Sky Go on my phone. We went to bed early.

On Easter Sunday we decided to head off to Stockbridge Street Market. It was a half hour walk but taking in some Edinburgh architecture. The market offered a few "craft" things, the usual and unusual jams, cheese and chutney stalls but there were a lot of food stalls. It wasn't big enough to hold us there but the food looked and smelled great so we decided to have an early lunch. We were torn between the hog roast and the paella. The paella won.

As it was Easter Sunday many of the little shops were opening late but were open on our way back. We popped into a gallery I'd seen and had a look at an interesting exhibition of Abstract landscapes in oils by Sarah Knox and Esther Donaldson. After popping in a few other places we were heading back to Princes Street and chatting about when I did some demo's for Bob Corsie of Breeze Galleries in Edinburgh years ago at Jenners Dept Store (sadly now closed) and live in St James Park (with the infamous Harvey Nicks tramp episode). We knew Bob had Watson Gallery in Edinburgh and had called into his Breeze gallery here a few years ago (which had closed). As we approached a crossroads we looked up and there in front of us was The Watson Gallery.

It was open and I popped in on the off chance that Bob would be there on Easter Sunday.  He was and after a double take and a hug Natasha, Phil and Bridget joined us. It had been ages since we'd seen each other, although I'd e-mailed him recently regarding getting work in the gallery. After a good chat about families, business and artwork and a gallery tour, we agreed that I'd keep sending images through to him with an idea of doing some future business with him. It would be good to have a gallery in Edinburgh again. 

We spent the afternoon wandering around the Old Town. We popped up to the castle forecourt and had a pint in The Judge pub. Natasha and I had been before and we knew it was quirky. Most of the pub is below street level. As we wound our way down The Royal Mile, Phil and Bridget decided to have their caricatures done by a street artist,  which was fun. I'm always a bit in Awe of people who can do that. I'll have to have a go sometime! We then watched a street magician for about 40 minutes.  He was brilliant and for his finale, how you produce 6 oranges and a melon from under 3 tin cups and his hat with no clue (despite careful scrutiny and ignoring distractions) I'll never know? We went for a curry for tea which was great and not expensive. 

On Monday, like proper tourists,  we booked a tour bus. They're great value. There are a few and take you around the city with headphones and a guide pointing out places you wouldn't necessarily go to or know information about. You can hop on and off wherever you like and they're every 15 minutes. After the Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace we headed off to St Andrews Square, where we got off and went to a lovely old building and Tiles Restaurant for a coffee.  The interior was very quirky with plenty of tiles. St Andrews Square is where I did my live painting for Bob Corsie during the Edinburgh Festival. I'd not been there since.

We got back on the bus and headed off to Newhaven and Leith. At the start of the day, despite a mild drizzle, we'd braved the open top deck. It was now raining harder, so we took refuge under the covered part. We alighed at the Royal Yatch Brittania. We didn't venture on board. After lunch in a shopping precinct we headed off into Leith. It was a miserable afternoon and we didn't see Leith at its best (if it has a best) but after tramping around in the rain and a visit to a massive antiques warehouse, selling mostly furniture, we decided to get the bus back into Edinburgh.  A little weary, we popped into a different Wetherspoons. After a few drinks (several actually) and an impromptu quiz, we decided to eat in a street food emporium offering a range of street food from around the world. Fed and watered we made our way home for an early night.

On Tuesday it was again raining so we revisited Edinburgh Museum. I've spoken about it before. It is huge. After a few hours we had "museum fever" and left. After meandering around the Old Town in the rain, I got fed up and decided to go to the pub. We had booked a "Edinburgh Vaults" tour for 4.30pm and after a few drinks headed off to the rendezvous point. The tour was taken by Sarah our guide who was very informative and infusive in her commentary and it was very interesting.  After an informative walk down The Lawngate we entered the vaults, some of the 120 vaults beneath the streets of The Old Town.

The poor and desperate were forced to live down here in semi darkness, disease ridden and marginalised and prey to the many criminals lurking amongst them. The vaults were dark and damp and after a few spooky tales we were glad to exit into a wet Edinburgh evening.

We caught the train home at midday on Wednesday after a different experience of Edinburgh for us. Edinburgh is a busy but fascinating city and we love it.

Apart from all the touristy things we did, one thing really bothered me whilst in the "natural history " part of the museum the previous day. There was a section on climate change and the devastating effect it is having on our natural world. There was a "In Memoriam" board listing the number of birds, animals and fish which had become extinct over the last few hundred years. It was incredibly sad to thing that as a human race we had caused that. What we are doing to our planet is nothing short of catastrophic. Although I think that throwing paint at great works of art is going about things the wrong way, groups like that do have a point. Countries need to collaborate to stop this destruction before its too late, if it isn't already, instead of killing each other or profiteering for personal motives. I know that I'm saying nothing new but going back to painting landscapes for a living seems like a pointless exercise. I actually couldn't do it this week. We all enter a different world and have a different mindset when on holiday. It's why we do it. Back to work and reality is always a hard gear shift. 

I'm sure I'll be back on it next week but I'm not sure I can forget it....

Friday 29th March

Last weekend we decided to get away in our motorhome George. For the first trip of the year we decided to go the relatively short journey up to Dunbar.  

I used to have work in a gallery in Dunbar,  so we've been before. We chose a nearby campsite,  Thurston Touring Park, just out of Dunbar.  They only had grass pitches left and the first one they put us on shouldn't have been in use and we immediately got bogged down! With memories of our Northern Kin disaster we requested a new pitch. Although still grass we had our front wheels on some gravel. It was fine. After a very windy night we decided to catch the bus into Dunbar. We had breakfast in a little bakery and visited the harbour. It was still blowing a gale but bright and sunny. The gallery was no longer there.

We decided to move on and caught another bus to North Berwick just up the coast. Having not used buses for ages, I was pleasantly surprised how convenient and modern the Lothian and Borders buses were. We have also been to North Berwick before. A lovely little east coast seaside town with great views of Bass Rock. We visited the shops and called for a few pints at a good pub with real ale and ate fish and chips on the sea front before catching the bus back to Dunbar and then the campsite. We were a bit windblown so after a few drinks, we watched the England game and an old Vera and ate my pre-made chilli then bed. It was another windy night and because we daren't move the motorhome we had the rattling roof problems we'd had in Orkney.  I'd taken some painting gear but, for once, I didn't bother. All in all it was a great little trip with George.

Although I had prepared my studio for oil painting , Natasha was off work on Monday,  so we intended to get a bit of time in the Garden. After an hour it rained and didn't stop. It was Tuesday before I finally got started on some 8"×8" oils on canvas. 

I continued to paint with oils for the rest of the week. I am not certain how many of my readers are artists and for those who are I don't want to "teach Grandmother how to suck eggs"  so, you can stop reading now.

 For my non artist readers I just want to explain the difference with painting in oils as to acrylics. The obvious difference is that oil paints are pigments mixed usually with an oil based binder whereas acrylics are a water based synthetic paint . The oil is the reason that the oil paint takes so long to dry. To mix acrylic paint you use water as a medium to thin it. You can of course (and I do a lot) use it as it comes. You can also add mediums to it to slow drying time or thicken the paint. In order for it to dry it requires the water in it to dry. Without interference (ie. slow drying mediums) this doesn't take long. Even thickly applied as with a palette knife it dries quite quickly. It is very different with oil paint. I have used a quick drying medium whilst painting this week which should reduce the drying time to days(as opposed to months without it).

You just mix a bit with the paint. You can use a spirit like turpentine (or more eco- friendly equivalent) to thin the paint or an oil like linseed to help bind and make the paint more manoeuvrable without losing that lovely buttery consistency,  but it slows down drying time. 

For my oil paintings I tend to use brushes similar to my brushes for acrylics combined with a palette knife. For a mixing palette I have a 3ft x2ft sheet of steel which needs cleaning after each session but the paint sqeezed out on it can be left for quite a while unlike acrylics which dries out quickly. Blending,  for areas like skies, is much easier with oils because you have all the time needed as it stays wet as opposed to acrylics where you need to move very fast before the paint dries to a stage where smooth blending is impossible.  I don't always blend the skies smoothly in my oil paintings but it's nice to have the option. Brushes need to be cleaned with white spirit(or more eco-friendly eqivalent) but not necessarily straight away. I decided on the second day to wear nitrile gloves to paint in. I do tend to get paint all over my hands and cleaning them afterwards with white spirit dries them out terribly.  The gloves keep my hands clean and safe. They are fairly tight so I don't lose any dexterity. 

Doing some oil paintings this week has been a different experience.  I am always learning and some things I find more frustrating but a change is as good as a rest they say. I have purposely started on small canvases and will gradually move up in scale as I get more confident.

The paintings below were done with brush and palette knife in a fairly loose, impressionistic style.

We are off to Edinburgh for a few days over Easter to celebrate my sisters 60th Birthday.  Hopefully we might get some time to visit the galleries but the break from painting (I'm not taking any art gear with me) will do me good.

Friday 22nd March

After hearing of the sad death of Steve Harley this week, at a relatively young age and having had "Come Up and See Me" on every playlist I've ever had, it got me thinking again of my own mortality. 

Later in the week, I had a message from a friend of mine, back in my cricketing days, who had just received a cancer diagnosis. He is quite a bit younger than me. I know that illness does not have to be linked to age but it is a sad fact that the older you get the chances of getting a debilitating illness increase. I have my own health issues. Type 2 diabetes is not a joke but can be managed. I have the usual aches and pains associated with a man of my age who led an active and sporting life when younger, but as yet, touch wood, nothing serious (a part from the diabetes). I don't want to turn my readers off by making this a morbid blog. I just started to consider how long, health permitting,  I had left to paint and what I want to do and why I'm not doing it.

OK, so this, in the light of serious illness or problems in the world, may sound trivial but this is my life. I am incredibly fortunate to be in the position I'm in, doing what I do and living where I live. I have very few obstacles in my way. My wife and family are supportive and I am generally in control of my life and the balance needed within it but I can, sometimes be a bit of a dissembler when it comes to my art.  I can talk a good game but I can easily slip into my comfort zone for an easy life.

For example, I turned down a "trip of a lifetime " to The Monaco Grand Prix with my wife. She is going with Dylan instead. My reasoning was that I'm not keen on flying anymore, despite many previous flights abroad, the schedule looks a bit hectic which will stress me out and I'm not keen on crowded places, it makes me a bit claustrophobic. I now appreciate that it sounds a bit pathetic and unreasonable but I know I will be happier in my safe, comfort zone but knowing they will have a fabulous time.

It makes me feel a bit sad that I couldn't just bite the bullet and go. Natasha is always warning me not to limit my life experiences. She thinks that the older I get the more insular I'm becoming.  This, to a certain extent is true but I think a lot of it is in my head and certainly not based on previous experiences. I can overcome my concerns and have done recently.  Our NC500 Road trip and last Summers trip to Orkney were out of my comfort zone but turned out to be great experiences. We are planning a cruise for our wedding anniversary next year. I am going to do it.

I was determined to write my "standing stones" book I'd been putting off for so long. I did it. I'm now dissembling again because of the difficulties in getting it published. Of course money is always a factor but I can do it if I really want to.

As this is supposed to be an art blog I ought to relate all this to my Art. As an artist there are always doubts. It comes with the job. Lack of sales, pressure to supply galleries,  lacking motivation,  unsure of your artistic direction, quality of work can all weigh heavy. Even success like getting into new galleries or selling work can be a positive thing they are a temporary respite. It is difficult to see a clear pathway. Going back to the beginning of this blog and thoughts of my own mortality, as I get older a sort of panic sets in. I have less and less time in which to achieve my goals. The big problem is that, despite everything, I still don't know what those goals are? Fame? Fortune? Recognition? Acceptance? An easy life? Happiness? 

I mentioned last week that I had been working on my new Buckinghams paintings.  I have now completed my batch of 8. They are varnished and ready to go. Am I happy with them? Sort of. I know that I have managed to achieve what I can using acrylic paint. Last week I talked about how acrylics are hard to blend, especially in skies because they dry so fast. They would have been better painted in oils. So, getting to the point of this rather self absorbed blog, why didn't I use oils? I am really good at finding reasons why I shouldn't do things.

Currently,  I am under no pressure (only in my head) to produce any more work for Buckinghams.  One of my objections to painting in oils has always been the extended drying time. Even using a fast drying medium with the paint it can take weeks. So what? I have weeks if necessary. Where would I store them whilst drying? Again, if pushed I could find the space, it's not impossible. I do not usually paint in oils, it's out of my comfort zone?

True, but I have painted in oils. I currently have work in a gallery and have sold some!

If I get organised of course I can set up to paint in oils. Do I want to paint in oils? Yes. I'd love to give them an extended go. 

So, why am I so reluctant? I have all the gear. I have blank canvasses and have, for once, the time. So why not? It may change my artistic life, it might not but I will never know unless I give it a try. I need to stop finding excuses in my art and in life. At my age, I have realised more clearly this week that limiting my experiences is not an option. I need to use whatever healthy time I have left to embrace my life and my art as you never know what's round the corner.

Friday 15th March

On Thursday last week I had my Acklington Art Group demo/workshop.

I really enjoy this group. It was a full house and there were many familiar faces as it was my 4th visit. They had requested a landscape in acrylics. I had a 2ft square canvas and before lunch I demonstrated my techniques with a running commentary.  Afterwards,  most had a go at either my landscape or one of their own. Some had never used acrylics but everyone seemed to enjoy the day. I also had more sweet treats than strictly necessary and even brought a doggy bag home. I was pretty happy with the painting.

Returning home I had to unpack the car and re-pack for the Lakes trip in the morning,  working out how to get 6 large canvases, 16 watercolours and a box of silver wire sculptures plus our clothes in the back.

So last weekend Natasha and I went on a bit of an "art dump". Natasha was not particularly keen on this phrase but it sort of sums it up.

We had a hotel booked, The Wateredge Inn, at Waterhead on Lake Windermere on the Friday night. Our intention was to drive over there calling at Haslams Gallery in Hexham,  Beckstones Gallery at Greystoke and OCG in Ambleside dropping stuff off on the way.

First stop was to see Ben Haslam at Haslams of Hallgate Gallery in Hexham.  If you remember I called on a whim a few weeks ago, whilst waiting for Natasha who was having her operation at the hospital in Hexham. I showed him my new watercolours and he liked them. We had agreed that I would frame 2 and take 2 extra mounted ones. We delivered them, had a good chat and delivered the required paperwork. I talked him into taking a set of 10 of my new Northumberland printed cards as a bonus. If you're ever in Hexham it's worth a visit. It has a lot of his own watercolours in there but other stuff too. It has a good look and feel about it and I'm pleased to have some work in there.

We arrived in The Lakes earlier than expected.  Our appointment at Beckstones was supposed to be at 2.30pm. We stopped to have a bite to eat but it was still only 1pm, so I rang the Gallery and they agreed to see us earlier.  I have explained (blog on 8th December) how I ended up taking work to Beckstones Gallery. I had agreed to show them 6 large paintings and 12 framed watercolours  but acceptance to the Gallery was not a done deal. As I have explained previously, the two ladies who own and run the Gallery are straight talking and do not suffer fool's or take bullshit.

I have to admit that as we arrived at the Gallery, which is a little isolated in Greystoke,  I was more than a little nervous and apprehensive. One reason was that despite painting 4 new pictures I had also re-painted 2 paintings which they had already seen on our previous visit and although they appreciated them were a little dubious as to whether they were what they were looking for. Having emptied the boot and set them all out along the Gallery walls, I waited for the verdict. It was a relief that they liked the watercolours and the 4 new large landscapes but were still dubious about the 2 "lake" paintings and thought, although good, that they were so different to the landscapes that it might confuse their customers. It is at times like these that Natashas selling skills are invaluable and after fairly lengthy debate we, between us, managed to convince them to take everything. After discussions on titles, sizes and price we were about to leave when the question of OCG in Ambleside came up.

To be fair, I had been straight with them and said in my initial email to them that I had exhibited work at OCG for over 20 years. 

However,  at this juncture, it appeared that this may be a problem for them as they are very keen on exclusivity. I feared that we might be bringing the paintings back home after all. I argued that the 2 galleries were very different.  OCG has footfall in Ambleside and sells a range of artwork including paintings, prints, sculpture,  furniture, glassware and jewellery,  whereas Beckstones sells purely paintings. Also, I believed they were far enough a part and in different areas of the Lakes for it not to be a problem. After a tense 10 minutes they agreed. They also had other conditions which to be fair were perfectly acceptable like not selling their artwork direct on my website or social media, a given for all my galleries. Over the weekend,  Tom removed or altered my posts on my website and on social media, relating to the Beckstones artwork. They were either removed or linked to the Beckstones Gallery. We also persuaded them to take some printed cards of my Lake District paintings (when I get some done).

We left happy but still a little perturbed. I still thought something might go wrong.

As we left Beckstones we realised that it was only 2.30pm and so we had time to nip over to OCG and take my wire sculptures in. Gosia unfortunately had left but Paul agreed to keep them. We had a quick look around then headed of the very short journey to Waterhead with a car full of empty boxes.

It was only later that evening, whist having a drink at our hotel overlooking Lake Windermere, that we received a message from Beckstones, saying that they had already hung some paintings on the walls and thought they looked great and that they were just what they needed, that we relaxed.

The 6 large paintings and 6 of the watercolours are now on the Beckstones Gallery website beckstonesartgallery.co.uk. They also posted the images on Instagram. 

I am very happy to be in Beckstones, something that I never really considered possible before. They are a long established Gallery with a formidable reputation and some top quality artists and artwork. If you're in the Lakes check them out. They're on the road in from Penrith to Keswick. Follow the brown sign off the dual carriageway. 

I can recommend The Wateredge Inn and the Waterside Inn at Waterhead. The views are beautiful. The rooms were great and beer was excellent.  The food although convenient was a little pricey for pub grub. That's the Lakes for you!!

Whilst enjoying a drink and the view I told Natasha that I was having second thoughts about my paintings for Buckinghams.  The row houses with tall trees weren't inspiring me very much. I had only painted half of a picture so far and I declared my intention to change tac. I thought about it on our drive home and on Monday, despite succumbing to the cold that Dylan and Natasha had been suffering with, I got back in the studio with a new plan for the Buckinghams boards I had prepared. I managed 4 paintings this week before being totally floored by this bug. Large dramatic skies, big open beaches, a sliver of distant coastline and tiny figures on the beach. They may not all end up the same subject matter but its a positive start. The only problem is that because of the fast drying time of acrylics it becomes difficult to blend the skies after a short time. I may need to resort to oil paint in the future, which opens a whole new can of worms.

Later in the week I received a message from OCG that they weren't going to take the wire sculptures. They are going to return them which makes me cringe as I don't want a box of twisted wire back. It's a shame but I'll find somewhere for them.

Friday 8th March

Today, when this blog is posted, we are on our way to The Lakes on a rather impromptu visit to take my 6 large paintings and 12 watercolours to Beckstones Gallery.

Natasha got a short term hotel offer on one of the sites we use and so after a quick call to Beckstones, who confirmed that they could see us this afternoon, we booked in at the hotel at Waterhead on Lake Windermere,  not our usual hotel but fine for us. On our way there we are calling at Haslams Gallery in Hexham to deliver 4 paintings. Also whilst on the whistle stop trip we are going to call in at OCG in Ambleside and take some of my "silver wire" sculptures which I have had in a box since I made them after our last trip to The Lakes in December. So, a bit of an "art dump" that will certainly clear some space in my studio.

On that theme, we also managed to meet up with a very nice lady, Pauline Smith, last Saturday,  in a Garden Centre car park off the A1 and hand over the large painting of Embleton Bay she had bought from my "For the love of Art in Northumberland " Facebook site. It was raining very heavily at the time and so she waited to get home before opening the package but she messaged to say she loved it. 

As I mentioned in last week's blog. I have decided to have a look at getting some printed greetings cards done, something that I have resisted doing in the past, except for a couple of times with Christmas cards.

I was prompted after Natasha booked an "afternoon tea" at Alnwick Gardens, which was a present for her 50th Birthday from my sisters. The date was running out on the offer and we didn't want to waste it so whilst she is recovering, we took the opportunity to go mid week. We had forgotten it was half term and the Gardens were busy with families and lots of children but the afternoon tea was lovely and substantial. We ended up bringing half of it home in a doggy bag. Whilst there we visited the large shop and were looking around at the artwork and cards they have.

They had quite a selection of "Art cards" by "local" artists with a Northumberland theme. It sort of hit me that as I have done a lot of Northumberland paintings and have a lot of images of them I should perhaps have a look at the logistics and cost of printing some as my own greetings cards of Northumberland images.

I have spoken before, at length, about "Altered Images" our first company which we formed in order to sell my cards and prints back in the early 2000's. In those days I decided I could do it all myself and printed cards of my own images on archival paper using archival inks on my own home printer. They were fine but it still involved a lot of work and cost. Archival inks aren't cheap and I had to buy the cards, envelopes and Cello bags. I still had to cut and stick the images onto the cards, sign, name and label them before packaging them for sale. 

Natasha then took them around shops and galleries. The up side of this method is that we could print cards to order and choose a large range of images as we liked. At the time, when I looked into having printed cards, there were fewer options.  In order to get the best prices, cards needed to be ordered in quantity and you couldn't mix the subjects. It was a risk and also expensive to order large quantities of printed cards in a range of images in order to make a reasonable profit bearing in mind the galleries would add up to 50% mark up. For a £2 card in a shop I could get £1. If they cost 50p to produce I would make 50p per card. It wasn't enough. This has always been the problem. So, the question has always been. Is it worth the effort?

A large number of artists have their own range of cards. Why? Well there are some valid reasons. I have a huge collection of "art cards" by many different artists. I buy them wherever I go, often as a reminder of where I've been. We know from our own gallery experience that people can wander round the gallery for ages and eventually only buy a card or two. As I say, Ive done it many times. For an artist to make it worth doing, Its generally about quantity.

In order to make any sort of revenue you need to sell a lot of cards. In order to keep pricing in line with other "Art cards" shops/galleries need to price them,  currently, at around the £3-£3.50 mark. An artist needs to sell to the outlet at around £1.50 per card. If they can get costs down to 50p they'll make £1 per card. So you need to order enough printed cards to get them at around 50p each. Even then cards are only an add on to an artists income. Unless you're selling huge quantities which you can really only do by getting involved with one of the big art card companies such as Canns Down Press, Art Press Publishing or Abacus who buy and sell wholesale to outlets or a major retailer.

What a range of cards can do is give you and your work more exposure. It will make your work visible in many more places. If people cant afford the original artwork, or its been sold you can buy a card. They will also be valuable if you attend craft fairs etc, where you can benefit from the full price of the card without sharing the profits with the outlet.

I have been selling my hand painted cards in galleries for a while now. They are a different kettle of fish as I have explained several times previously and, in reality, can  only be sold in galleries or certain specialist outlets because of the price needed to be charged. People are not buying a "card" rather a little piece of artwork.

So, on to the printed cards. My reservations still hold but after trawling through many card printing sites I found Redcliffe Imaging, a company based in Bristol.  They offered the service and products I was looking for and had a minimum order of just 1 card.

I chose a template, square with a white border,  the card thickness and finish and downloaded 10 of my Northumberland images from my files. At only 10 cards, a trial run to test quality etc I had to pay 96p per card with no envelopes or Cello bags (because I already had these). 100 cards, which is only 10 of each would bring the cost down to 52p per card. There was no quality control involved, so, I had to rely on the quality of my photographs supplied, as all of the images were of sold paintings. This is something I will have to be careful of in future. 

A few days later I received the cards. They looked great. They also have the image in a small square on the back which looks good.

I was so pleased I went a bit mad and although Natasha had specifically stated that we should only do a few to begin with I couldn't help myself and ordered another 25 different images, this time, my mixed media, collage,  harbour scenes I had done for Buckinghams. I thought they would look good as cards. As an order of 25 I got the price down to 70p per card. I have them back now and most are fine, some are a little dark and some ever so slightly blurred. Again, I will need to check the quality of the images I send in future. 

We have discussed the possible outlets we could approach and there are many round here. 2 viable ones in Embleton. 

On a trip to Amble last week we visited a gallery on the harbour which has recently changed hands. The lady working wasn't the owner but we discussed my artwork and cards. She gave me the details of the owner and said he is looking to open 2 more, larger galleries in Morpeth and Whitley Bay.  This sounds like a good opportunity so I will follow this up.

In order to make the card thing work I will need to do some leg work around potential outlets and take orders before ordering the cards in bulk to get the price as low as possible. I will also, hopefully be able to offer packs of them on my website so keep an eye out. 

This Thursday I had my demo/workshop for the Acklington Art Group...but more on that next week. Plus a report on our visit to The Lakes...

Friday 1st March

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I had joined a couple of Facebook groups. 

"For the love of Art in Northumberland " and "Holy Island ". I have been posting my Northumberland and Lindisfarne paintings regularly and receiving a very favourable response. Some may appear on my normal Facebook site. What I forgot to mention was that I also joined a 3rd new group " Painting Birds in Watercolour " 

Like the other 2 groups, the standard of artwork posted is variable but I thought it would be a good platform for my Watercolour Bird Sketches. I posted a few watercolours and again received a favourable response. However,  on each post, amongst the comments I received at least 3 like the following from a "supposed" Jack Williams...

Hello, Greetings,

Sorry for the random approach,  truth be told,  you've got an amazing piece of art.  I certainly would love to purchase each of by your art collection as an NFT collector...DM and let's deal if you're interested.

Exactly the same comment, complete with bad grammar occurred on several of my posts so it was a formulaic comment. There were several others with different variations from different people (or they might have been the same person with multiple profiles). I noted they also appeared on some other artists posts.

My response was always "no thanks, not interested in NFT's" (Non-Fungible Tokens) It happened every post and I got fed up and have stopped posting. 

So NFT's have reared their head again. My regular readers will remember that I did Blog about them last year after 2 friends and regular followers of my blog Andy and Sue Fairhurst had come across them at a gallery/exhibition they had been to and asked my thoughts. I had never heard of them but did a bit of research and was non the wiser. 

This week I came across this article in "The Artist" magazine on-line and thought Mark David Hatwood (who owns The Harbour Gallery in Portscatho in Cornwall) explains NFT's and some of their pitfalls for artists better than I could.....

Mark David Hatwood shares his thoughts on Non-Fungible Tokens

I doubt there are many artists on social media who don’t know about the curse of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) comments and messages. Even if we don’t fully understand exactly what they are, there are very few of us who have escaped the barrage of approaches we’ve been bombarded with on social media.

Before I get on to my thoughts on them, I just want to try and give those who are unsure of what an NFT is, a layman’s rundown of the scheme. Fungible simply means the ability to interchange something with something similar; so, a physical thing like a bank note, for example. Non-Fungible things, then, are things that are unique: like your own original artwork. A one-off, so to speak. So, that’s why art is a perfect platform for NFT's

Of course, it’s more complicated than that, but for this short article, let’s run with a digital version of your art. And, no, it’s not the same as a digital copy of your artwork, or a digital artwork that you can print out. When I say digital, I mean an NFT is a unique digital code called a blockchain. It’s simply a computer code representing an image, nothing more.

Now, I’m not going to get into the how-tos here as they’re complicated and open to debate. Suffice to say this is where criminals (and there a lot of them out there at present) try to catch us out. Ignorance is where the devil wallows. I was recently talking to an artist who was on the verge of accepting the terms of one of these ‘traders’. The trader had convinced them that if the artist invested in ‘digitising’ their work for them (creating a unique blockchain) for just a few hundreds of pounds, they could then sell the NFT for tens of thousands. The oldest scam in the book: ‘lay out a little investment with us now and we’ll turn it into shed-loads for you after!’ I’m delighted to say I talked her out of it.

So, over the last few weeks, I have been doing some research myself by replying to the people who message me, wanting to buy ‘my’ art as NFTs. It’s very clear to me now that 99.9-per-cent of them are criminals: praying on our ignorance and eagerness to make some extra income from our work. Some have different ways of conning you. The above is only one, but there are many others.

Courtesy of "The Artist" Magazine 

The article goes on but thats probably enough for now. 

I have never fully understood any form of crypto currency and don't intend to start now. I think most of these approaches on Facebook probably are a scam. As the old adage goes "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

I continued to work on my Buckinghams paintings this week and managed to get my large paintings for Beckstones Gallery varnished.

Last weekend I also decided to dip my toe into the world of printed greeting cards but more on that next week...

Friday 23rd February

I've been putting off painting the edges on my large Lake District paintings. 

I knew it needed to be done but it's a bit of a pain and quite awkward in a small space. 

On Monday I bit the bullet and painted the edges on 3, 100cmx100cm canvases.

So why paint the edges at all. Well firstly, unless I tape all the edges before painting,  they get a bit messy, especially on the bottom edge where the paint runs. I personally don't like leaving the white canvas edges but I know a lot of artists do.

I have always painted mine black. It finishes the painting off but you have to be careful not to go over the edges, so a steady hand, a flat square edged brush and the right consistency of paint is essential. 

I still need to varnish them. Another problem with such large canvases.

I also decided to start my new Buckinghams paintings.  Things have been slow at Buckinghams lately, not just for me but for most artists it appears. My last 2 sets of originals haven't really sold well. They will eventually but I thought I'd do something different,  well different to my latest work but going back to something I did a while ago which sort of worked. I had double primed the MDF boards. This is essential as they are incredibly absorbant and it is impossible to move paint around. Even with two coats of primer they are still absorbant. After the primer I needed to give them a coat of base colour. This can be anything but if you want any of the colour to show through any of the upper layers you have to decide what colour you want. I chose red/orange for some boards and blue for others. I painted background skies and mountains on all of them, working on 9 boards at a time,  ready for the buildings and trees next week.

I also decided to paint another version of the watercolour I'm doing as a commission. I liked it better than the first one. So I think I'll go with that one. I can't really say to much about it yet as it is a surprise. 

I'm gradually getting through all my art tasks. After the Buckinghams paintings are finished I'm hoping to get started on some paintings that I want to do. Not sure what they'll be at the moment or what medium I'll use. I have quite a few canvases and I'm wanting to say I'll do some oils. I'm always worried though because I'll need to store them somewhere to dry for quite a while.

At the beginning of March I've got a demo for Acklington Art Group.  That won't be oils but they want a landscape with hills, and cottages so it should be right up my street.

At the weekend we took Matt and Sarah to The Alnwick Brewery and Tap. Cheap beer straight from the Brewery, seafood van onside food and a log burner. Very cozy.

A while ago Chris,  who is a director of the Brewery and owner of my local The Greys Inn in Embleton, asked me to do some "local" Paintings for the Brewery walls. There's certainly some room there for some fairly large paintings.  I've put it off a bit because with Chris I'm never sure if it a firm commitment and it will be a big project if he changes his mind! However, since he bought the painting off me for The Greys I feel a bit more confident. He sort of wants landscapes around the Brewery or in the vicinity which is a bigger challenge than some "classic" Northumberland coastal scenery. I'd have to go and have a good walk round. It may be my next project.....

Friday 16th February

I've been in the studio on and off this week as it's been a real mixed bag. 

I had to paint the edges and varnish my Burradon commission. I don't like this stage but it does bring all the colours back. I'm pretty happy with it. It's very Summery which is what they wanted and they requested, specifically, the round hay bales.

There's a lot of green for me but sunlit it looks good.

I heard back from Ben Haslam, eventually, who loved the Abstract watercolours and asked for 2 framed and 2 Cello wrapped, which is what we agreed on. The frames are coming this week. He is a bit particular about frames so I eventually found some solid oak frames with glass. They were a bit more expensive but worth it. I will also double mount the four going to him at the "Haslams of Hexham" Gallery.

I then backed all the recent mounted "abstract" watercolours with card, stamped and labelled the backs. I stamped and labelled the framed ones going to Beckstones too.

I know this all sounds very boring and to be honest, it is. However, when you're a one man show it’s all part of the game. If I were rich I'd have a "studio assistant " to do all this for me (dream on). It also takes an extraordinary amount of time!! 

For months now, I have stored a load of paintings (mainly from the "Art in the Garden" event) in our party shed as I had no room in the studio. We had the roof felt blow off a while ago, during one of the many storms, whose name I have forgotten.

The original felt had rotted and water got in, not much but enough to cause damp. I noticed that some of the paper work, despite being frames was cockling and the canvases were getting mould on the back.

This is obviously not good. 

A few weeks ago I bought 2 very large crates with lids from Homebase. On Tuesday I managed to transfer  all the small framed paintings into one sealed crate and most of the small canvases into the other. The larger work I moved back into the studio. It's not ideal in there either as the corners are damp but with the now restless and bored, recuperating Natasha supervising, we had yet another reorganisation of the studio and managed to create shelving space and room to move.

Storing the large canvases for Beckstones plus some others is a constant headache.  

I needed some watercolour paper for a family commission and noticed that that felt, if not damp, a little "floppy". With a large quantity of expensive paper in there I started to get concerned about the condition of that too. Paper, especially watercolour paper which is coated in "size" is very susceptible to damp and cold and can "cockle " Although I store it flat It needs to be protected. At £4-7+ a sheet (and I have about 300 sheets) it is expensive stuff.

I began looking for solutions.  A nightmare!

Trying to find flat storage for 76cm×55cm paper proved incredibly difficult. I'll need to keep looking. I found a near perfect crate with lid but the internal dimensions were just too small for full imperial sheets.

On Wednesday I met up with my Burradon client and handed over the painting in Sainsburys car park. He is taking it to his daughter in London this weekend.  He also hinted that they may require another one for their holiday cottage at Burradon Farm. This is a commission that just keeps giving.

Whilst I was in town doing the business, Natasha decided to try and find a home for my 4 "Castlerigg" Paintings.  It does seem a shame for them to be boxed up in my studio. In reality, the only place for them is The Lake District. She decided to contact The Rheged Centre. For those who are not aware of it....

Rheged is an all weather, all year round visitor centre of national importance.  Situated in Britain’s largest grass covered building, Rheged’s centrepiece is a two screen cinema with one of the screens being six storeys high, the biggest 3D cinema screen in the northwest, showing new release films and live streams. The gallery has become one of Rheged’s main attractions which hosts four exhibitions throughout the year, this includes The Great Print Exhibition.

Rheged provides an inspiring choice for group visits, an exceptional educational resource and a refreshingly different venue for corporate hospitality, product launches and conferences. I once did a conference there with YPO and we have visited a while ago.

A brave move I thought. However, within half an hour they got back to her asking for images and availability!! We'll have to see what happens but situated just off the M6 in the Northern Lakes it would be a great place to have them. She's pretty good my wife. We should have a gallery??

A couple of weeks ago I joined a new Facebook group called "For the love of Art in Northumberland" . I'm not really into Facebook groups but this gave me the opportunity to boost my profile, post my Northumberland based paintings and even the opportunity to sell them if still available. I was surprised by the positive response. The posts are of very mixed quality but the enthusiasm is there. You may see the odd one appear on my Facebook page. I have had one positive result with a lady from Yorkshire who loves Northumberland buying a large 36"×36"  "Evening, Embleton Bay " we've agreed to drop it off near her home on our next trip to Chesterfield. 

The site will also give me opportunities to promote any fairs, workshops,  studio sales and my "Art in the Garden" event in the Summer. I can also promote my website and blog to sympathetic members.

This week I joined the "Holy Island of Lindisfarne " group where I can post my many paintings of Lindisfarne. I've already had a good response.

I have a watercolour commission to complete and then I'm going to do some new, different work for Buckinghams as things seem to have stagnated there at the moment.

My Hexham frames arrived so on Thursday, I double mounted the watercolours and framed and wrapped these safely. I also had a brainwave and got out 3 large portfolios that contained old mounts and other stuff, which I binned. I managed to get all my watercolour paper in the 3. They zip closed so it's a solution for now. I also double primed my Buckinghams boards and nearly finished my watercolour commission (1st attempt). I'll do another one to give me a choice.

So another week in the artists life... so much glamour? Its hard work but you just need to keep on keeping on...... Matt and Sarah are up this weekend so I might have a few beers..

Friday 9th February

I've been back in the studio this week. It's not been very warm but manageable. 

I found 4 more 12"×12" frames for my Lake District watercolours.  Two were wooden with glass, which were fine but 2 had styrene instead of glass. Although suppliers claim this is better, and it is certainly safer when posting,  the truth is, galleries don't really like it and I have found that it scratched too easily. Galleries prefer glass. I managed to find 2 other pictures of the same size that had glass. I swapped the styrene for the glass and reframed the other pictures with the styrene. They are not going to a gallery.

I also framed 2 other watercolours in 14"×11" frames I already had. I now have 10 of the 12 watercolours for Beckstones ready to go. I also ordered 2x 14"×14" frames for 2 remaining Lake District watercolours which I framed bringing my total to 12. With my 6 big paintings almost ready (needing edges painting and varnishing) we'll be ready for a trip to The Lakes in March.

I spent Tuesday cutting mounts and mounting the rest of my 'abstract' landscapes in anticipation of some going to Haslams in Hexham athough I still haven't heard back from him regarding the images I sent through.

On Wednesday I decided it was time to start my Burradon commission.  This is the 3rd painting I've done of the same view from their garden and it has become very familiar to me. This was going to be a late Summer evening, sunlit painting with straw bails in the foreground field on a 36"×24" deep edged canvas.  

I had finished it by Thursday.  Edges and varnish still to do.

To the last of my Celebrities who paint series. Someone who has been in the news recently, unfortunately for the wrong reasons,  and someone who comes from a line of amateur artists within his family, HRH King Charles III.

King Charles is an avid artist — and many of his works have also fetched a pretty penny.

Like his great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, the monarch prefers watercolors and paints scenes of natural beauty, like mountains and lakes.

Though he describes himself as an "enthusiastic amateur," he is an honorary member of the Royal Academy and the Royal Watercolour Society, and his paintings have sold for more than £1.5 million.

King Charles started painting in the 1970s after he was inspired by Robert Waddell, his art master at Gordonstoun School in Scotland. 

He works exclusively in watercolor, and his paintings were first exhibited in Windsor Castle in 1977. They were displayed alongside works from Queen Victoria, herself an avid watercolorist, and the Duke of Edinburgh, a painter and designer, whose sketches helped create the stained-glass windows in the Private Chapel .

The king, who has donated all profits from his artwork to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund, prefers to paint outdoor scenes, favoring mountains, streams, and the surrounding areas.

He was taught by some of Britain's most famous artists, including John Napper, John Ward, Hugh Casson, Edward Seago, and Derek Hill.

Following his first exhibition, King Charles continued to show his work, which became hugely popular in the UK and abroad.

Though he modestly refers to himself as an "enthusiastic amateur," it is reported that he made an estimated £1.5 million from the sales of copies of his watercolors from 1997 to 2016, making him one of the country's best-selling living artists.

His work has been shown by the Royal Collection Trust. He also had a large exhibition at Buckingham Palace for his 70th birthday. 

In 1980, he and Hugh Maxwell Casson published a children's book, "The Old Man of Lochnagar," which is about an old, cave-dwelling man who meets a Scoticus, a bubble-blowing god of the sea. He has also published a book of his work and methods.

In 1994, the Royal Mail honored the king by putting his watercolors on its stamps.

The King is certainly an enthusiastic artist and a reasonable watercolourist. I would only say that considering the level of tuition he has received I would like to think he would be better.

There are other celebrities who paint and I could go on for weeks but I hope I've given you a flavour and a few surprises. 

Apologies if it's not been to your taste.

Friday 2nd February

First this week a bit of art news.

A painting by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, that was believed lost for 100 years, has been found in Vienna.

Portrait of Fraulein Lieser once belonged to a Jewish family in Austria and was last seen in public in 1925.

Its fate after that is unclear but the family of the current owners have had the painting since the 1960s.

The im Kinsky auction house estimates the painting's value at more than $54 million (£42 million).

It called the rediscovery "a sensation".

"A painting of such rarity, artistic significance and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades," im Kinsky said in a statement.

The portrait will now be put up for auction on 24 April on behalf of the owners, and the legal successors of the Lieser family.

This is based on the Washington Principles, an international agreement to return Nazi-looted art to the descendants of the people they were taken from.

Before the auction, the painting will be presented at various international locations including the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Hong Kong, the auction house said.

The portrait once belonged to the Lieser family, who were wealthy Jewish industrialists in Vienna.

Ernst Ploil, co-Managing Director of Kinsky Auction House, said they had so far found no evidence that the work had been looted or stolen before or during World War Two.

"The painting is described as lost in all catalogues raisonnés (comprehensive lists of Klimt's work). In our circles, 'lost' means probably destroyed, probably burnt during the war, but in any case no longer in existence; it was not to be expected that it would ever reappear.

"We took an active approach and not only researched the Lieser family as potential restitution claimants, but we also approached potential representatives based on our experience from previous restitution proceedings."

Klimt's art has fetched huge sums at auction in the past.

His "Lady with a Fan" piece sold for £85.3 million in June, making it the most valuable work of art ever sold at auction in Europe. 

On the home front.

With Natasha recovering and needing looking after, I spent Monday and Tuesday painting and then making cards. 75 of them. 

With my studio now watertight again, I was back in there on Wednesday and Thursday, finishing off and touching up a couple of the new large paintings and starting another of the Langdale Valley. I should have finished that by the end of the week and will have completed my 6 large pieces for Beckstones Gallery. I need to get the edges painted and varnish them and I still need to frame 12 watercolours for them but, with them all painted and mounted,  I have managed to get most of the work done.

I got a call from my Burradon client this week so will have to tackle that new commission next week.

To continue my series.....

Here's a few quick fire Celebrities who also paint.

Dennis Hopper

Legendary wild man Dennis Hopper, in addition to acting in such iconic films as Easy Rider, Rebel Without a Cause, and Speed, was also a gifted painter with a unique vision. His time spent with artists like Andy Warhol also gave him an unrivaled view into the art world of the 1960’s.

4. David Bowie

Before becoming the face of glam rock, musician David Bowie studied art and design, and has been painting ever since. His celebrity art evokes a depth and surrealism unsurprising from this avant-garde shapeshifter.

5. Joni Mitchell

Singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell is not only famous for her heart-wrenching voice and lyrics, but her absolutely stunning celebrity paintings as well — many of which are featured as her album covers. In fact, though she dropped out of art school at age 19, Mitchell has always considered herself a painter first and a musician second.

See more of Mitchell’s celebrity art at her site, www.jonimitchell.com.

6. Jim Carrey

Always recognized for his comedy, as well as more dramatic roles such as in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, actor Jim Carrey is also an accomplished artist. Last year, he had a solo exhibition, Jim Carrey: Nothing To See Here, in Palm Springs.

See more of Carrey’s celebrity paintings at his website, www.jimcarreytrulife.com.

7. Jane Seymour

Although a highly successful artist, people often think of Jane Seymour as the actress who starred in the show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. However, beyond acting, Seymour is an avid writer, designer, and artist. Many of her paintings depict nature scenes.

Stevie Nicks

Musician Stevie Nicks was brought to the world of artist people by a dear friend ill with leukemia and dedicates her vibrant, ethereal paintings and drawings to her friend who lost her battle.

See more of Nicks’ artwork at the website www.inherownwords.com.

Kurt Cobain

The celebrity art created by Kurt Cobain seemed to parallel the music he created. The subject matter was often dark and contained repeated symbolism. Some paintings exhibited surrealism, and almost all seemed to express a troubled artist but who are we to judge as he created some of most memorable songs!

Hopefully more studio work next week......

Friday 26th January 2023

We had storms over the weekend here as in a lot of places.

Gale force winds on Sunday night damaged my studio roof again and tried to rip the corrugated metal roof of my wood shed. I needed to repair them, so on Monday morning I was back up the ladders.

This stopped my early start in the studio and by the time I'd finished and with the cold and wind I ended up painting indoors. I decided to replicate my "abstract watercolour landscapes" on cards. It worked really well and the 7"×5" format looked good. 

On Tuesday I was determined to tackle my big canvases. They are large for me and at a meter square, take some painting. I managed "Skiddaw " (Derwent Valley, Cumbria) with brushes and palette knife and was reasonably happy with it. During the night we had more gale force winds which again damaged my studio roof. I ordered the materials for another repair at the weekend.  On Wednesday I did " Farm in Little Langdale " with even more texture and more "abstract" colour palette. 

Natasha was going into hospital on Thursday in Hexham for day surgery. Because of the unpredictable weather and 7.30am check-in, we had decided to go down on Wednesday evening and stay in a hotel overnight. 

We decided to find a pub for food. The Tannery, offered food and good beer. We arrived to the sound of accordion and fiddles. One side of the pub had a huge jam session going on. Local musicians continued to arrive during the evening with their array of instruments including a lady who brought a harp! By the time we left, about 9.30pm there must have been 30 musicians with fiddles, guitars, flutes,  clarinets, a recorder, bass guitars a boom box and yes, a harp. They played a series of jigs and reels and some traditional folk music. 4 ladies even donned traditional clogs and did a clog dance. It was brilliant.  The food was good and cheap and the beer was excellent.  It was a good evening, if a little bizarre on a Wednesday in Hexham (and its not an April Fool in January, I have video evidence)

After dropping Natasha off at the hospital at 7.30am and availing myself of the full English breakfast in the hospital canteen ( 2 sausages, 2 bacon, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms and a hash brown with 2 slices of toast and tea for £6.15 !!), I spent the morning wandering around the shops in Hexham.

On a whim I popped into ‘Haslams Gallery’ in Hallgate. I had some work in there before covid but a) it didn't  sell and b) it wasn't really representative of my work. I remember being a bit frustrated at the time. The Gallery Director,  Ben Haslam is a watercolour artist and, unsurprisingly,  has a lot of his work in the gallery. I managed to chat with him and we reacquainted  ourselves. I mentioned that I was still looking for a gallery around this part of Northumberland and cheekily showed him some of my "abstract" watercolours. He loved them and invited me to send some properly photographed images with a view to taking some for the Gallery. They will need to be framed properly (I remember that was a problem last time) but I was well chuffed with my business enterprise. They are a good size for the Gallery, a good price point and different to anything he's got. They're also on "hot pressed" (smooth) watercolour paper which seemed to resonate with him.

I also joined a new Facebook group this week. "For the love of Art in Northumberland " artists and enthusiasts can post work on there site and even sell it. It only started in December and the members are gradually building. I've been posting some of my old Northumberland paintings on there all week and have had a really good reaction so far. It will be useful to advertise workshops and especially my "Art in the Garden" event in the Summer. 

It should also be another possible outlet for sales as I have had some interest already.

I am continuing my series on Celebrities who are artists. First up this week is.....

Jim Moir 

Jim Moir(Vic Reeves) has not only just discovered art. He attended The John Cass Art School in London at 22 before becoming a household name with his many comedy TV programmes. However,  art has always remained his first love and his witty and eccentric artworks have been exhibited in many institutions including The Royal Academy in London. After his recent TV programmes and book on "Paintings Birds" his art has become more widely known to the viewing public, however the anarchy and wonderful eccentricity for which he is synonymous is evident in his bold, witty and often surreal paintings which merge the natural world with his outlandish imagination. He is a compulsive artist. Not to everyone's taste but quite intriguing. 

Johnny Depp

His interest in art came before his acting and music. He says that he kept it to himself.  He is represented in the UK by Castle Galleries and his initial series "Friends and Heroes" was a sell out. He added to this with Friends and Heroes 2.  These paintings are a personal homage to his friends people who are important to him. Keith Richards,  Bob Dylan,  Al Pacino,  Elizabeth Taylor.  He has since released 2 more series. His work is a cross between pop art and street art and is very graphic in style. As expected,  his work sells for high prices. 

Billy Connolly 

Billy Connolly was about to release his first collection of drawings as I left Washington Green in 2012. He has now just released his 11th collection with Castle Galleries along with a set of sculptures, proving that he has managed to engage with the art collectors with his quirky images. His new collection is called "Born on a Rainy Day"

The limited edition prints are presented as fine art giclées on an opulent watercolour paper, highlighting his distinctive bold lines and vibrant colour palette. Billy "succumbed'" to the vivid greens of his imaginary 'GoZ⁰under Fish', and became more fond of the characters of 'Direction' as he added colour...plus you just can't miss the 'Purple People Eater'! Billy says: “The colour palette I’ve used for this collection has had a profound effect on me. I didn’t realise it would do so much to bring the people to life. It took me by surprise.” 

Showcasing Billy’s personal memories and anecdotes (along with his mischievous imagination), the collection explores everything from the rock and roll music of his teenage years to pantomime horses and yo-yos. His art has no less impact than one of his legendary comedy sketches, with his humour communicated through shapes and colour rather than words. Billy says: “They’re funny in a different way from how I’m normally funny. They’re odd. Some of them will make you think, and others will stop you thinking. Enjoy.”

Despite over 50 years in showbusiness, Billy remains characteristically humble. Expressing his gratitude for the success of Born On A Rainy Day, he says: “I’m flabbergasted that people are interested in it. It’s one of the biggest shocks in my life that people find my drawings interesting. It takes my breath away that people write such kind things about them. As time goes by, it gets no less amazing. I’m thoroughly impressed by their taste.”

His pictures are difficult to describe but look like a continuous line creating a wrap round image like fine wire wrapped round a "former". His subject matter is varied and as quirky and observant as his humour.

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester “Sly” Stallone has been an icon in the film world for decades, but few know that he has been painting for almost as long as he’s been acting. His colorful, abstract pieces are both whimsical and imposing — perhaps not unlike the man himself?

However you rate him as a visual artist, it is clear that Sylvester Stallone throws everything he’s got at his canvases: his heart, his soul, perhaps even the paint. Stallone estimates that he has produced between 300 and 400 works, starting with a portrait of a primitive man in a jungle painted when he was eight. “It was the first time and it seemed to come out of nowhere,” he recalls. “It just percolated in my mind.”

A new exhibition at the modern art museum in Nice, France, presents a retrospective of the 68-year-old actor’s more mature works, painted between 1975 and 2015: highlights selected from a little-known career that runs in parallel with his on-screen adventures as Rocky Balboa, John Rambo and a dozen other last-ditch action heroes. Most people, Stallone included, take his acting with a pinch of salt. Can we take him seriously as a painter? The commercial gallery director Mathias Rastorfer, a fan and advocate of Stallone's works, thinks we should.

“When you hear about it for the first time, you think, ‘Ah yes, one of the Hollywood painters’,” he says. “So the whole point of a serious gallery showing someone like Sylvester Stallone was to show what’s possible in art, and to make this a serious endeavour and not a society endeavour. We avoided like the devil anything that would make this a Hollywood thing.”

This is hard to do. The press conference that marks the opening of Stallone’s exhibition is introduced by the mayor of Nice and attended by journalists from Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. When the actor tours the gallery to pose for photographs, he is pursued by a maul of paparazzi.

Like Rocky, most of Stallone’s paintings contain a restless, pent-up energy. His favourite colour is arterial red. (“Painting attacks the senses,” he says.) He likes to paint in his garage, sometimes wearing his pyjamas, occasionally naked. To make room, he first has to move his Aston Martin DBS, Mercedes-Benz SL65, Bentley Continental GTC and Porsche Panamera on to the front drive. Stallone works best when gripped by “crisis” and “emotional upheaval”. You believe him when he says that his biggest difficulty as an artist is knowing when to stop.

Next week it's back to the easle, more cards and more celebrity painters.

Friday 19th January 2023

The weather is freezing up here at the moment and I've been a bit under it this week with some sort of virus that had Natasha reaching for a selection of my diabetes testing kits. I have therefore not spent much time in my freezing studio.

I did cut some mounts and sketch out 3 big Lake District paintings on my large (100cmx100cm) canvases. I painted and mounted some more "abstract" watercolours but again they are becoming less "abstract". I also added some small silver wire "grasses" to the front of the previous ones to a) add another layer and b) add to the scale of the sculptures. I also re-worked some of the watercolours adding some darker areas which some of them needed. Still feeling a bit "iffy" at the end of the week and preferring the warm house to the snow and ice I painted some more cards which I am getting through at a fair old rate.

Thursday morning provided an interesting interlude with an early morning mission to rescue Natasha as she got stuck in the overnight snow and ice trying to get out of the village then got stuck, having failed, to get back home. Our lane has some steep slopes which caused the problems. 

I am continuing this week with more Celebrities who are artists.

Bob Dylan

When I was at Washington Green in 2008, they had just commissioned and received the first batch of artists prints from Bob Dylan. The "Drawn Blank Series " Now, I have been a Dylan fan (musically) since I was 15. To be honest I wasn't that impressed with the artwork and couldn't afford a signed print at the time but I had to admit that it was quite a coup for Washington Green. They were part of a collection of over 300 drawings and paintings of interiors, landscapes and nudes made by Dylan whilst touring between 1989 and 1992. Originally they formed a "Drawn Blank" book released in 1994. The subsequent collection of prints were a huge success and sold out quickly through the galleries. Since then, they have had other releases from Dylan including a "special commemorative series" launched in 2018.  I have to admit that his artwork has improved and I really like his latest releases. I know someone, (who has a few of my paintings), who saw the Dylans as an investment and purchased the full set of prints for each release. The signed prints run from about £3950 - £5950. They have gone up in price and the originals are a) virtually impossible to get hold of and b) serious money. They have just announced the release of "The Beaten Path, The silkscreen Collection" with 2 new signed coloured silk screen prints from his "Beaten Path" series. These guys know how to milk it.

Ronnie Wood

On the subject of musicians, Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood is also an established artists. Ronnie Wood was trained at Ealing College of Art and paints in various media a range of genres from abstract to landscapes and portraiture. Painting in acrylics, oils,charcoal, spray paints, watercolours and oil pastels his portraits feature members of the band as well as close family and friends as well as self portraits. His prints range from £1795 to £3950 and his original drawings and paintings from £1250 to £79,000.

Anthony Hopkins

We all know Anthony Hopkins as the evil serial killer Hannibal Lector but did you know that he is also a serial artist.

His art studio is filled to capacity with various paints, oils, acrylics, tempera bottles, pens, markers, brushes, canvases; it’s all a riot of color and possibility. Strangely, even with paintings of all sizes on the walls, the studio exhibits a sense of organized chaos.

Hopkins insists that he has no concept of the results while doing his art. “I do not feel afraid. I don’t feel that I have to prove anything.” This freedom from expectation and judgment allows him to run in whatever direction his imagination happens to be at any split second.

Hopkins’ paintings all have in common the power and vibrancy hidden behind the eyes. He says, “The face is not important. It’s the eyes that are the most haunting part of one’s soul. It’s very primitive. It’s childish art. It has to be childish because I am a child. I’ve discovered lately that I enjoy all that is supposedly wrong with me. I used to take myself so seriously, but now I don’t. I allow myself to revel in the exhilarating nature of life.”

If you ask Anthony Hopkins the meaning of a particular painting or drawing, the answer might surprise you.
He says, “I don’t think there’s any meaning in it. I just paint. I discover as I go along and I don’t analyze, I just go for it.”

If only I had the mentality to approach painting in the same way with freedom and abandonment, no agenda or fear.

Lucy Liu

Star of Charlie's Angels, Kill Bill and Elementary, Lucy Liu has been making art since she was a teenager and still maintains a consistent studio practice alongside her work as an actor and director. She got her start while growing up in Queens in the 1980s, roaming New York City streets with a camera in hand. Her first artworks were photographs and collages; one of her earliest photo series captured a pro-choice march in Washington, D.C. After taking an intensive class at New York Studio School, she turned to painting. “I felt like I wasn’t able to express fully what I wanted with the photographs,” Liu explained.

With painting, she discovered that her work didn’t have to be realistic or exacting, or meet certain expectations. “Everyone has a different format for how they want to reveal what they are thinking, or what they are seeing, to the audience,” she said. “I just had to let go of the audience and just started thinking about what I wanted to see.” Over time, Liu has also experimented with sculpture, silkscreen, and textiles. She looks up to artists like Willem de Kooning, Agnes Martin, and Robert Frank, but she feels that her lack of a traditional art-school background has helped her to naturally evolve and experiment as an artist.

Now that the Elementary series has concluded after seven seasons, Liu has more time to pursue gallery exhibitions and potential collaborations with other artists. She said she’ll continue with painting, embroidery, and working with found objects. 

Timothy Spall.

During the making of "Mr Turner" the film about the life of JMW Turner, Timothy Spalls meticulous research for the role started him on a pathway to painting which continues today. His often surreal paintings are full of mystery. They show a desire to experiment and explore the media being used as well as the subject matter. The Pontone Gallery in London have represented Spall with his exhibition of new paintings which runs from 18th November 2023 to 3rd February 2024. Visit their website if you want to see the work.

There will be more next week but I have to raise the common question as to whether the celebrity art sells at such high prices is due to the "celebrity " or the quality of artwork. From my experience I have to say the former in the majority of cases, but that's just my opinion. Art, as I've often stated, is so subjective. Some people will desire the chance to own a piece of artwork by an incredibly famous actor or musician, whatever the quality. To be honest, when I see some of the artwork by "professional " artists shown in exhibitions or galleries, you have to wonder, who decides what is good or bad? In the end, if art provides a "refuge" or different mental challenge for people often used to the spotlight, who can judge? If their excellence in a different field allows them to make money from it, then fair enough. It's also worth bearing in mind the amount of money the galleries or promotors of their art are making on the back of their reputations. It will not be inconsequential. As with all art, at some point, someone puts a price on it.

I blogged about "The price of art" a couple of years ago. At our lowly level, pricing work usually is a combination of what an artist requires (based on cost of materials,  time, experience, and reputation) plus a gallery commission. 

This can vary nowadays from 40% to 60%. Remember the price you see in the gallery or gallery website is not what the artist gets. Other factors depend how you sell your work.

Fine Art Publishers have their own pricing structures building the value of their artists work. Galleries and auction houses will do this too. Galleries or agents/promotors  of celebrities know the value of their "fame" and will price the artwork accordingly despite its quality. With promotion and gallery support there will be collectors keen to buy "celebrity" artwork. I doubt that many celebrity artists do it for the money. The Bob Dylans and Ronnie Woods of this world dont need it. I know a lot of money goes to charities. As I said earlier,  they have found a new medium for their creativity and I can't really knock that.

I would be interested to know your thoughts on the subject, or if you own any celebrity artwork.    ...more next week.

Friday 12th January 2023

It was back to work this week. 

On Sunday, I managed, with some difficulties,  to attach casters to my painting workstation. It made it much more manoeuvrable and I tried it out on Monday and Tuesday, with some more Lake District watercolours. It worked brilliantly. 

On Wednesday I decided to get back in my recently reorganised studio and start work on some big canvases for Beckstones Gallery. To save money, I had decided to re-purpose the 2 large Lake District paintings, collected from OCG in December, plus the Ranoch Moor painting and repaint them.

Although they were perfectly good paintings, they had been in the gallery for several months and although they are on my website I really  have no other viable outlet for them. I had no idea what I was going to do with Ranoch Moor anyway. Recycling them for Beckstones made sense a) It gave me an image to work with which saves time and b) it saves the expense of 3 large canvases.

2 are deep edged canvases and I had a frame for the Ranoch Moor (now Borrowdale) painting,  so no framing expenses either.

I will now get on with the other 3 I need to do.

It was good to get back into some large paintings and it wasn't too cold in the studio.

I decided that over the coming blogs, as well as keeping up to date with current activities, I would add a new little section on a subject I have been looking at for a while.

Famous people who are also artists. There are more than you might think. For example, Bob Dylan, Johnny Depp and Keith Richards have all been represented by "Castle Galleries " (Washington Green) selling their work (for considerable sums) in Galleries around the country, for a while now. However,  I will start with probably the most well known "celebrity " who painted, 

Sir Winston Churchill. 

Although rather long for a blog, I think this particular essay on Churchill and his art is worth posting. It covers his life in a more researched manner than I have the time to.

The Artist Winston Churchill

Half Passion, Half Philosophy

By Ron Cynewulf Robbins
Finest Hour 100

Churchill was forty before he discovered the pleasures of painting. The compositional challenge of depicting a landscape gave the heroic rebel in him temporary repose. He possessed the heightened perception of the genuine artist to whom no scene is commonplace. Over a period of forty-eight years his creativity yielded more than 500 pictures. His art quickly became half passion, half philosophy. He enjoyed holding forth in speech and print on the aesthetic rewards for amateur devotees. To him it was the greatest of hobbies. He had found his other world -- a respite from crowding events and pulsating politics.

His initiation was simplistic. As he put it: "...experiments with a child's paint-box led me the next morning to produce a complete outfit in oils." Unfamiliarity with technique could not lessen his determination; discipline -- and lessons -- would have to wait. Yet a sense of awe seemed to impose restraint. The novitiate was caught by the wife of Sir John Lavery (distinguished leader of the Glasgow school of painting) tentatively handling a small brush." Painting!" she exclaimed. "But what are you hesitating about? Let me have a brush -- the big one." She showed him that a brush was a weapon to subdue a blank, intimidating canvas by firing paint at it to dazzling effect. Never again did he feel the slightest inhibition.

Characteristically, Churchill's first word of advice to budding artists was "audacity." He was a strong proponent of oils. Without intending any insult, he put "la peinture 'a l'eau" in second place.

The erratic pendulum of politics afforded him the opportunity to verify that the attraction of painting was no mere infatuation. He was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911 at the age of thirty-six and insisted that the Royal Navy shake off the shackles of the 19th century. Larger ships must abandon coal and run on oil; here was his answer to the growing threat from Germany. The First World War saw his political career in jeopardy with the 1915 failure of the Dardanelles expedition for which he was blamed. Relegated to the minor position of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, he soon resigned to join the army as a colonel. Awaiting embarkation for France, he had time to succumb to the lure of brush and palette. By 1917, he was back in office with the portfolio of Minister of Munitions. His masterly advocacy of the tank to counter the menace of the German machine-gun broke the trench warfare deadlock, and the tank proved historically invaluable during the vital combat at Cambrai.

Encouragement to persevere with his hobby stemmed from an amateur prize (his first) which he won for "Winter Sunshine, Chartwell," a bright reflection of his Kentish home. He sent five paintings to be exhibited in Paris in the 1920s. Four were sold for £30 each. Making money, it has been well established, was not the incentive, then or ever. Sheer delight accounted for Churchill's devotion. For the Paris test of his ability he hid his identity under an assumed name: Charles Morin.

Why the disguise? Imperceptive critics attribute it to nervous ego on the part of a statesman to the fore in oratory, soldiery, and literature. The decisive factor is that Churchill's painting animated him to the point of exaltation and threw open for us another door to the treasure house of his genius. Eager flaw-finders would like us to believe use of a pseudonym was unworthy. In fact, it proves that his ego was not overblown to the extent of excluding a winning modesty, which often surfaced in the course of his astonishing life. Writing for the New York Times Magazine to mark

the centenary of Churchill's birth, the British historian A. J. P. Taylor described how, in old age, Churchill pronounced a verdict on his career: "He remarked that the final verdict of history would take account not only of the victories achieved under his direction, but also of the political results which flowed from them and he added: 'Judged by this standard, I am not sure that I shall be held to have done very well.' Churchill did himself an injustice. The results were not his doing; the victories were. The results were foreshadowed when the British people resolved on war with Hitler."

Modesty shone through that self-estimate. Modesty -- and warm sympathy -- were undeniably evident in what Churchill told a fellow painter, Sergeant Edmund Murray, his bodyguard from 1950 to 1965. Murray had been in the Foreign Legion and the London Metropolitan Police. Interviewing him to gauge his suitability, Churchill said: "You have had a most interesting life. And I hear you even paint in oils." After Murray had his work rejected by the Royal Academy, Churchill told him: "You know, your paintings are so much better than mine, but yours are judged on their merit."

Sergeant Murray was at Churchill's elbow on many painting outings. He carried the gear and took the photographs Churchill needed for reference indoors. He would voice hints about just where he thought an extra touch would bring improvement. Churchill, absorbed and happy, usually kept on wielding his brush. Sometimes, however, he asked for an opinion. Murray boasted that now and then his advice was taken.

The wealth of organization displayed by an artist's canvas is rightly considered essential to the proper assessment of virtuosity. Equally pertinent is the assertion that definitive artistic value lies wholly in the workmanship. Churchill's progressive workmanship demonstrates that a pseudonym employed at a crucial stage shrewdly enabled him to find out where he stood before moving on to fine-tool his talent.

Churchill again favoured a pseudonym (Mr. Winter) in 1947 when offering works to the Royal Academy, so his fame in other spheres was not exploited. Two pictures were accepted and eventually the title of Honorary Academician Extraordinary was conferred on him. He earned it. That is borne out by the conclusion of the renowned painter Sir Oswald Birley: "If Churchill had given the time to art that he has given to politics, he would have been by all odds the world's greatest painter." Connoisseurs of Sir Winston's art stoutly defend their individual preference, but there are convincing arguments for bestowing highest praise on "The Blue Sitting Room, Trent Park" which was sold in 1949 to aid charity.

A winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Churchill was conscious of the abiding unity of poetry, painting and sculpture -- "sister arts." His rise from gifted amateur to academician was no easy flight but, with twinkling mischief which charmed even his enemies, he could be dismissive of his painting skills.

Occasionally he invited a parliamentary journalist to lunch. This provided him with a sounding board and served as a nostalgic reminder of his journalistic days. In April 1946 William Barkley was his choice. A penetrating thinker whose columns were the envy of his Fleet Street colleagues, Barkley once wrote: "...for eyes, Churchill has lakes of cerulean blue." He meticulously related their table talk.

Asked if he intended to hold an exhibition of his paintings, Churchill derided the idea: "They are not worth it. They are only of interest in having been painted [this with a guffaw] by a notorious character! If Crippen had painted pictures no doubt the public would flock to see them." He was disdainful of proposals that he retire: "A great many people who want to retire me now were never very eager to advance me." By 1951, of course, he was Prime Minister once more, compensated for the crushing electoral defeat of the Conservatives in 1945.

Despite outward flippancy, Churchill had a true craftsman's dedication when he took up a paint brush. He consulted teachers admired for their professionalism. He was fond of citing Ruskin's Elements of Drawing and readily accepted Sir William Orpen's suggestion that he should visit Avignon, where the light can verge on a miracle. He recalled an encounter on the C6te d'Azur with artists who worshipped at the throne of Cezanne and gratefully acknowledged the inspiration he derived from their exchange. Marrakech, Morocco -- irresistible and productive -- always brought out the best in him.

Churchill sought and found tranquillity in his art. His much quoted words, summing up expectations of celestial bliss, retain their lustre: "When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject..."

Notes:

Twin enchantments: Churchill's Painting as a Pastime and final essay in Amid These Storms (published as Thoughts and Adventures in England, published in volume form, London and New York. 1948); and Churchill: His Life As a Painter, a study by his daughter Mary Soames, published in 1990. David Coombs's Churchill: His Paintings (1967) is an indispensable catalogue. Sergeant Murray's autobiography, I Was Churchill's Bodyguard (1987) is robust and frank.

Next week, more "celebrities ", living or dead, who are/were also artists, hopefully in a slightly shorter blog.

Ps. OCG have finally posted my new work on their website and put out a social media plug which I will share.

Friday 5th January 2023

We had a lovely New Year with our friends Rob and Caroline.

After the Decs came down on Monday everyone went back to work. My first job was to build my Christmas present. A height adjustable, tilting art desk for my indoor work. Construction should have been a 2 person job but alas I was yet again home alone. 

I knew I would have to rearrange part of the desk as it has a side tray that in the design pulls out on the left of the main table. Being right handed this was going to be a problem for me so thinking the parts would be identical I aimed to make it pull out on the right. Parts were not identical as the pre-drilled holes were in the wrong place. With some dudicious drilling and some bolts I managed to swap it round. It will be great to use, better than my current table. It is heavy though, so I have ordered some casters which I will endeavour to fix onto it for ease of movement.  On Wednesday I used my 5 pieces of mahogany I had ordered from ebay as bases for my new silver wire sculptures. I made 5 with 10 peices of sculpture in each and they look great.

I was reading one of the sites I follow artsynet. They publish art news. The article was about the top 10 pictures sold at auction in 2023. This preview is courtesy of artsynet followed by the top 10 paintings and their eye-watering price tags.

While 2022 at auction was a “return to routine” after the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 was a year of more subdued action under the hammer.

This year, the top 100 lots at auction totaled $2.4 billion, a notable drop from $4.1 billion in 2022. In this environment, two artworks sold for over $100 million—Pablo Picasso’s Femme à la montre (1932) and Gustav Klimt’s Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) (1917)—compared to six works in 2022. Just three of the top 50 most expensive sales at auction in 2023 were works by female artists—Louise Bourgeois, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Joan Mitchell—compared to zero last year.

The top 10 are in order in U.S. dollars.

1. Pablo Picasso

"Femme à la montre ".1932

$139,363,500

2. Gustav Klimt

"Dame mit Fächer" (Lady with a fan) 1917

$106,756,354

3. Claude Monet

"Le Bassin aux Nymphéas" 1919

$74,010,000

4. Jean-Michel Basquiat

"El Gran Espectaculo" (The Nile) 1983

$67,110,000

5. Gustav Klimt 

"Insel im Attersea" (Island in the Attersea) 1901

$53,188,500

6. Francis Bacon

"Figure in Movement" 1976

$52,160,000

7. Richard Diebenkorn

"Recollections of a visit to Leningrad" 1965

$46,410,000

8.Mark Rothko 

Untitled 1955

$46,410,000

9.Wassily Kandinsky

"Murnau mit kirche 2 " (Murnau with church 2) 1910

$44,758,691

10. Henri Rousseau

"Les Flamants" 1910

$43,535,000

Despite the current financial crisis, art is still being sold for millions. If you're interested in any of the above visit the artsy website for more details. 

I have canvases arriving ready for a major push on some larger work once I've sorted my studio out (yet again) and with the house back to normal and my new workstation I look forward to some indoor work as well.

Friday 29th December 2023

I hope you had a good Christmas.  

We managed to get to see most of our family and friends on another whirlwind visit to Derbyshire including a family party at Tom and Jade's House where I appeared as Santa's for our 5 Grandchildren who, for the first time, were all in the same house. We had a quiet but relaxed Christmas Day back in Northumberland, with just the 3 of us and Boxing Day Evening spent playing poker with our neighbours after a home made curry.

Unfortunately Wednesday morning was truly foul weather with high winds and torrential rain. With Natasha and Dylan back at work I was left "Home Alone" with water pouring through our front wall again at an alarming rate. We have our friends Rob and Caroline coming for New Year, who may need to bring wet suits!

As this is the last blog of 2023, I thought I'd do my usual round-up of my rollercoaster year in my " annual review".

Back in January I spent a few weeks working indoors. My studio is not the most inviting place when the weather is freezing.

I first went a bit crazy producing cards. They ended up in Galleries at a huge array of prices. As expected some Galleries are treating them as miniature watercolours rather than cards and selling them as such. OCG in Ambleside are selling them at an eye-watering £40 (so be careful before you throw that Christmas card away!). They went so well that during 2023 I have continued to paint more in order to keep up with demand. Anyone who reads this blog is well aware of what a pain they are to produce but I enjoy it anyway. I also spent time producing small paintings in watercolour and acrylic ink, which I framed. These went reasonably well, especially at my "Art in the Garden" event. They are also easy to send to Galleries. 

I then embarked on some new, slightly freer painted larger works for OCG and Tallantyre Galleries. You can find some on my website. 

During the year I have regailed you with other stories from my past as well as some details of how I make my work.

Who can forget (probably most people) the epic tale of "The Marriage of Figaro," my rant on "The Language of Art", " The Art of Frustration"  or down memory lane in The Lake District. I've also introduced some "Art news" blogs. You know I like a good heists or mystery and who doesn't need a bit of Art Education? However, no spoofs this year? Or has there been?

Then, of course, there was THE BOOK.......

"Megaliths,  Standing Stones of Britain and Ireland" took up many hours of my time. I added to the illustrations produced last year with some small and some larger paintings. I finally finished the text and all the referencing and photography and asked several people to read it and give their views and I got some useful feedback. Although I thought it was finished I had been advised to re-work my conclusion chapter and I also had in mind that we were planning to visit Orkney in September and I wanted to add or enhance the Scotland section after our visit. Shamefully,  I have done neither. I also investigated the world of self-publishing, which turns out to be a minefield. Having come so far with this project I need to get back on it in 2024. This project had been in my head for many years and I did feel a great sense of achievement in completing it (well..nearly?). I was also proud of myself for typing the whole thing up, (with very few errors) which I thought would defeat me. The fact it is supposed to be an "Art" book means it needs quality printing for the pictures. It will also be large which can mean expensive.

Carried away by my enthusiasm I then launched into another one. I had painted over 70 bird pictures during lockdown and had done nothing with them. I decided I would do another book titled "100 Bird Sketches ". I was beaten to that by Jim Moir (Vic Reeves). I have a copy of his "100 Birds". Undaunted, I set about painting more birds. The extra thirty turned into more and I re-titled the book "150 Bird Sketches.” I have done the photography  but I have yet to write the text. My next book was going to be on Lighthouses. I have yet to start but I did do a blog on them..

I blogged about our fateful visit to "Northern Kin" this year, which ended in a muddy field.

Then we lost our lovely Labrador, Ella. We were devastated and still are really. It changed our lives somewhat and after 15 years there's a big hole in our lives and my routine. I hardly ever walk down to the beach now. That will have to change in 2024.

Buckinghams asked me to paint more croft paintings after a spell without them. They were to be part of a new push of my work. I even finally got to meet someone from Buckinghams as the CEO, Jonathan came up to Northumberland to meet me. I was enthused by our conversation but things have been slower than anticipated until my latest relaunch before Christmas. I thought this was poor timing but we'll see. As well as crofts I have started painting some large scale seascapes for Buckinghams in a much looser style. Hopefully they sell as I enjoy doing them. My rather fractious relationship with Buckinghams will continue in 2024 I suspect.

In the Summer I reminisced about my first experience of Northumberland (based on my sketchbook notes) and likewise of my love of Cornwall. I am really pleased to have work in The Jane Adams Gallery, in St Just. It gives me an excuse to paint Cornwall.

When I had some time on my hands, I also decided to get a lot of loose older work into some sort of order. I bought some large ring binders and put all my old pictures, which had been forgotten in dusty portfolios, into some sort of order. It was both satisfying and illuminating. They always say " don't get rid of the failures" and there's a lot of them in there but they are all reminders of times past. 

My studio continues to be a constant headache with leaky roof and damp. It is still far to crowded and the constant need for tidying is relentless. Some renovations are planned for Spring and I still have too much work scattered around studio, house and shed. I invested in a Morso Guillotine to save money on framing. It works brilliantly and I framed several of the larger pictures with moulding I had. The only problem is that due to its weight it needs a concrete floor and therefore has to live in one of my small out buildings with no power or light which limits usage to good weather. I need to get more use out of it in 2024.

During the early Summer I continued to produce smaller paintings with my "Art in the Garden" event in mind. As usual, I over did it and ended up with far too many. My galleries in Oban, Cornwall and Derbyshire like the smaller stuff but can only take so much. I am in need of new outlets which causes its own problems!

The August Bank Holiday "Art in the Garden" event was bigger and better. Matt brought a marquee which eventually created a large space. As usual the trade was steady but the sales kept rolling in. It was a huge success over the 3 days both financially and communally. A lot of locals as well as tourists came along. Sales and commissions linked to the event are still coming in. I have to thank Matt and Sarah and of course "The Neighbours" for their continued support. It has become a big highlight of the year. I continue to baulk at doing commissions but have done 5 or 6 this year. Burrandon Farm is proving lucrative and I am doing a third for them in the New Year.

Shortly afterwards we went to Orkney in George our motorhome. It was an adventure and the Island and archaeology is stunning.  I recorded the event in 2 long blogs and a vlog diary so

I don't need to go into details here. I painted all the way and on return created my "Orkney Sketchbook" with the work.

In October I visited the "Essence of Nature" exhibition at The Laing Gallery in Newcastle which was well worth it. The Laing is accessible and cheap and we intend to visit more in 2024.

I have continued my workshop/demo's this year for The Warkworth Art Group and in November,  The Leven Art Society and though few and far between (my choice) I continue to enjoy doing them and they continue to be well attended. Perhaps I should do more in 2024.

Also in November we finally got to see our friends Peter and Julie James. We took down even more paintings to the unofficial "Nick Potter Gallery" which is their beautiful home. The largest collection of my work adorns their many walls and we spent a lovely weekend with them. They have been a huge support to me over the last few years as collectors of my work and avid readers of my blog. I also met up with Col and Margaret Douthwaite and Andy and Sue Fairhurst, regular blog readers and old friends as they visited Northumberland. 

We also visited The Lakes in December, for the second time this year. As well as having a painting swap round at OCG, we also had a positive meeting with Beckstones Gallery and I am looking forward to producing some paintings for them in the New Year. Another Gallery in The Lakes will be excellent for me.

So, 2023 has been a difficult year. We haven't roamed as much as we would have liked or used the motorhome as much as anticipated but with Natasha chained to her desk completing her degree it has been difficult to find the time. It was all worth the effort though when she gained her First Class Degree in November. Her graduation was the highlight of the year. 

The run up to Christmas was a little fraught. For the first time the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair was a disaster. I launched into 2 new projects with my "semi- abstract" watercolours and my silver wire sculptures,  which kept me busy indoors.  My Christmas present is a new indoor adjustable drawing/painting table, yet to be assembled. It should make my winter indoor working easier. Natasha is yet to be convinced!

I continue to battle on. I have ideas and new work in the pipeline. I can't see 2024 being any less of a rollercoaster than 2023. Art continues to surprise and frustrate me in equal measures but would I have it any other way? 

My blog reached its 3 year anniversary in November. I could never have imagined such a thing 3 years ago. I have been encouraged to continue and so I will. I have some new ideas and stuff will happen which I can bore you all with. Watch this space....

So as the water drips down the wall and the wind howls, I wish you all a Happy New Year and a peaceful and prosperous 2024.

Friday 22nd December 2023

Artists Questionnaire.

This questionnaire was done for a Buckingham Fine Art marketing campaign which was launched on Tuesday this week. 

There were many questions and I therefore kept the answers reasonably brief. My answers have also been edited but are virtually as I wrote them.

Q: Did you study art and if so, where? 
A: I studied Art and Architecture at “A” level but went on to take a degree in Archaeology at Leicester University. 

Q: Where is your current studio? 
A: My studio is a large wooden structure in my back garden at Dunstan Steads, Embleton in Northumberland. I can see the sea through my studio windows. 

Q: Where and when has your work been exhibited? 
A: My work has been exhibited in many galleries throughout Britain for the last 30 years. My gallery exposure increased tremendously in 2007 when I was taken on by Washington Green and has remained so since joining Buckingham Fine Art in 2012. I also exhibit my own work in several galleries in Northumberland, Cumbria, Scotland, Cornwall, and Derbyshire. 

Q: Is your work sold internationally? 
A: I have made international sales in France, Germany, USA, Australia, and Canada. 

Q: Do you know if you have any celebrity collectors? 
A: My celebrity collectors include Actor John Hurt, Novelist Dame Hilary Mantel, both sadly now dead and Dan Cole, England and Leicester Rugby Union Prop Forward and writer, actor and TV personality and serial Northumbrian Robson Green. 

Q: Have you done any corporate commissions? 
A: I do not do corporate commissions although the Archaeology Department at Leicester University has a painting of mine purchased with university funds by the vice chancellor from a gallery in Yorkshire, unaware that I was an ex-graduate. 

Q: Has your artwork been used on book covers or has it been licensed in any way? 
A: When I was younger, I illustrated a cookbook produced by Kings College Hospital, London for charity. I have also illustrated 2 children’s stories and done the cover for a Ray Bradbury children’s novel. I have recently written and illustrated my own book, “Megaliths, Standing Stones of Britain and Ireland” and looking for a publisher, and am working on a book of “150 Bird Sketches” and one on Lighthouses. 

Q: Have you been involved with any specific charities, selling paintings at auction, donating a percentage of sales and so forth, or done any other philanthropic work? 
A: I have donated many paintings on behalf of different charities, including secret postcard sales, support for the MS Society and Ukraine Support appeal.  

Q: What was it in your background that sent you down an artistic path? 
A: There is no real background in art in my family although my mother painted later in her life. I drew incessantly from an early age and was encouraged because I was good at it. My art teacher at Secondary School can take credit for encouraging me but I never intended to go to Art School. I attended a very “Academic” Grammar School and was encouraged to go to university. I continued to create art throughout university and beyond and ploughed my own furrow until being signed by Washington Green in 2007. 

Q: How has your life as an artist evolved since then? 
A: I have always painted but the responsibility of making a living, supporting a house and family took precedence for many years until my second wife and I were offered the opportunity to run our own gallery in Matlock, Derbyshire in 2023. We had set up our own business “Altered Images” selling my cards and prints which had increased my exposure around Derbyshire but when we were offered the gallery, we thought it was a wonderful opportunity. This proved to be an extremely useful experience and introduced me to the world of artists, galleries, and exhibitions as well as the art business. We got to know many artists and gallery owners and held our own exhibitions. My introduction to the Fine Art Publishing world in 2003 was a real revelation and since then first with Washington Green and then Buckingham Fine Art I have combined producing work for Fine art Publishing with providing my own work for independent galleries throughout the country. I have been a full-time Professional Artist since 2012. 

Q: Describe the texture of your work? 
A: I sometimes but not always produced textured work, the texture when I do apply it comes from a variety of sources. It can often just be thick paint or palette knife work, but I also employ sand, grout, and various texture mediums, sometimes applied before the paint, or sometimes mixed with the paint. 

Q: How do you choose a subject? 
A: Over many years my mind has absorbed subject matter. Sometimes I choose to paint a landscape from sketches and photographs (occasionally on location) and sometimes the subjects come from my head. 

Q: How does the material you use have an impact on the finished piece? 
A: The materials make a significant difference. Firstly, the surface. Working on Paper, Board or canvas will have a different result. The medium used also has an effect. My work for Buckingham Fine Art is mainly acrylic or mixed media on board, ostensibly for ease of transport. I have also used collage in my harbour scenes and some of my earlier “croft” pictures. The choice of brushes or palette knife or both influences the finished picture. 

Q: Who or what are your creative influences? And which artist have inspired you? 
A: I was originally drawn to watercolour painters and whilst searching for a “style” which I was happy with. (something which still evades me) I hoovered up anything I could read or watch on watercolour painters both dead and living. My heroes were Turner, Edward Seago, W. Heaton Cooper (a Lakeland artist) and John Blockley. I have an enormous collection of art books accumulated over many years.  As I gradually forged my own path I looked away from the “how to do” type art book and began collecting books on individual artists. My creative influences are not inspired by a few artists but by the work of many. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity in the last few years to visit many galleries and go to see some major exhibitions and I am always inspired by seeing artists work “in the flesh”. Although you may not guess from my own work, I am a lover of the more abstract artists. I have always been fascinated by the artists of the “Newlyn” and “St Ives” Schools and have seen a lot of their work. I also like Cornish Artist Kurt Jackson, David Hockney, Stanley Spencer, John Piper, Howard Hodgkin, Monet, John Singer Seargent and many, many more, I am eclectic in my tastes. I may also be a closet abstract artist. 

Q: What are your thoughts on painting out on location? 
A: Painting on location, “en Plein Air” fascinates me and I greatly admire those artists who do it. It is something I occasionally do but not on a regular basis. There are several reasons for this. When I do paint on location, I have to do it on a small scale where I can control. to some extent, my materials. It is usually when on holiday. (I always take my painting gear on holiday) I rarely do it at home. I like the controlled atmosphere of my studio. There are too many distracting factors for me when painting outdoors. The weather is the main one. I would find painting on a larger scale on location a real problem.  It is a rewarding thing to do, and paintings produced on the spot have an immediacy which is difficult to reproduce in the studio. 

Q: Where is your favourite place to paint and do you ever travel to paint?   
A: I always take a paired down painting kit on holiday. I never have the luxury of a “painting holiday” but we tend to holiday in some beautiful areas of Britain, and these are the places that inspire me.  I am blessed to live on the beautiful Northumberland Coast. My other favourite places are Scotland, The Lake District and Cornwall. All have been visited many, many times and frequently appear in my paintings. 

Q: How do you decide on the colours for a particular piece? 
A: My colour schemes are a combination of instinct and happy accidents. 

Q: Are there are hidden messages in your work or is there a feature that appears in every single piece that you produce, whether it be a particular brushstroke or hidden word, a shape etc.? 
A: In the past I have buried semi-precious gems in the texture of the paint and also included family members or pets and quite often our gallery in my harbourscapes. A lot of the “croft” collages had messages in the collage relating to the “Highland Clearances.” I do a weekly blog for my website and a couple of years ago I did an “April Fools” spoof about a diamond smuggling ring that were smuggling the diamonds across borders by burying them in the texture of my artwork. I was amazed when everybody fell for it, until I pointed out the date. 

Q: What inspired you to become an artist? 
A: Initially it was that I could draw, something not everybody could do. Later my art teacher inspired me and after that it was the books I read and videos I watched about artists and their lives. I had an interesting and steady job but all the time I dreamt of being an artist making a living from painting. I also wanted to own a gallery. I have achieved both and should be deliriously happy, but it is much harder than I ever imagined. 

Q: Does your personal experience come across in your paintings – if so, how? 
A: My love of the landscape stems from an early age. We had The Peak District on our doorstep, and I was lucky enough, as a child to spend many holidays in Scotland and Cornwall. I had relations in The Lakes and spent many holidays there. We still holiday in Britain, very rarely abroad now. We travel to some familiar and not so familiar places. My paintings always evoke in me the memories I have of visiting the places I paint and my experiences in those places still flood my mind. 

Q: What do you get out of painting? Or perhaps, what is most important to you about your art? 
A: Some people assume painting to be a relaxing occupation. From my point of view, it is not. I am a professional artist and make my money from my art. There is a constant pressure to produce work that not only appeals but that also sells. It is a rollercoaster of a lifestyle. I also paint because I want to. 

Q: Could you name three artists who you would like to be compared to? 
A: I do not want to be compared to any other artist. If pushed I would say I would aspire to be compared to Kurt Jackson, pretentiously, Turner and maybe would love to produce work like Norman Ackroyd. (I adore his etchings) 

Q: Tell us one thing about yourself that you think will surprise your collectors? 
A: I had a friend at school who until 4 years ago hadn't seen or spoken to for about 40 years. He was a pharmacist and eventually sold his practice and bought a farm. I had an art sale on Facebook a few years ago and he bought nearly 100 paintings which all hang in his considerably large house. He’s bought another 50 since then. He claims to have the only Nick Potter Gallery. 

Q: How do you see your work developing in the long term?  
A: Bigger, more textured, looser. Possibly, more abstract 
 
Q: How would you liked to be remembered in the artistic world?  
A: Worse case: A popular contemporary artist who was misunderstood by the artworld 
Best Case: A popular contemporary artist, much collected and celebrated by the artworld who's paintings sell for considerable sums at auction. 

Q: Finally – if you could leave one artwork as a legacy, which would look like?  

A: Large 6ftx6ft canvas Scottish seascape with brooding skies, mountains and a raging sea, heavily textured and semi abstract 

So, on that bombshell I would like to wish all my readers a very happy Christmas and thank you for your continued support. 

Friday 15th December 2023

I know I say this a lot but it's been a funny old week.

The water continues to seep through the wall above our dining room window through cracks, which are becoming a little alarming. Two builders turned up yesterday to have a look, armed with some silicon. After a friendly chat and an inspection of the outside rendering they concluded that they probably couldn't do anything before Christmas and sucking their teeth, as builders do, thought it would be a big job to remove all the surrounding render and find out what's happening. This would take a few days and involve scaffolding! Unlikely before Christmas. To be fair I had already assumed this and the weather has been terrible up here with rain and wind all week which doesn't help our leak or the builders.

To be continued....

Just to add to the fun, on Tuesday our boiler decided to pack in for Christmas as well, so, we've had no heating or hot water! Getting a heating engineer at yuletide is also not easy but, we have one coming and hopefully he can fix the problem or it will be a " cold, cold Christmas " in this house.

With my studio heater otherwise engaged in our house, the studio was a "no go" this week. As I thought it was a little early to start cooking Christmas Dinner, I decided to use my time and do some indoor painting.

A while ago I had said I would do some "woodland" animals for the Grandchildren. 

I painted a fox, a hare and 2 lots of squirrels, which needed framing. I then learnt that one of my Grandchildren would prefer a cat? and another "Super Mario"? Not wanting to disappoint, I did these requests as well. They are now framed and ready for their bedrooms. As 3 of them are under 3 I'm not sure how happy they will be with their "Secret Santas" but I'm sure they'll grow to like them and I will add more. As I had a bit of time to spare I did a few more "abstract" landscapes in watercolour, this time of Derbyshire.  I've added them to the mounting collection.

When we were in the Lakes last week, we visited a little Gallery in Grasmere, mainly to get out of the rain. It was stuffed with pictures, glassware, ceramics, wooden bowls, jewellery and other "touristy" things. So stuffed that I put my bag in a corner as "breakages must be paid for" It was definitely not for tourists with bags, dogs or children under the age of 25 or even doddery older people! In fact you needed cetain ballet skills to get round without knocking anything off. However, I was pleasantly surprised and there were some nice things, mainly local (Lakeland) artists and craftspeople. Natasha, (who used to do ballet as a child), drew my attention to some silver wire '"sculptures " of grasses and flowers and seed heads mounted on wooden bases in different sizes. They looked lovely on their wire stems and they weren't cheap. The one in the window was about 12" high and the same wide was £138. After we edged gingerly out, after carefully collecting my bag, and went back to the car, I grabbed a bit of paper and roughly sketched some of the designs. I sent Natasha back out in the rain to surrepticiously photograph them through the window. Natasha, rather carelessly said

"You could make those" ! Error!  

On returning home I hit Amazon and magically, like Father Christmas, stuff was delivered, much to Natashas dismay as she knew what was to follow. I had lots of ideas (fortunately or unfortunately) and the next day (with a big jumper on, as I'd let Natasha have the heater in her office as she was working from home) I set about making a few pieces, just to see if I could, and if they looked good I know a couple of Galleries that might like them. I found the process very relaxing, unlike painting my watercolours. Winding very soft, flexible silver wire into seed heads, cow parsley, grasses and other hedgerow plants, some real some abstract was a pleasure to do. I wired them into wire stems of "florists wire" which is slightly firmer. As I worked I experimented with some more Abstract forms. As usual, I got a bit carried away and made 66 pieces before Natasha "advised" me to stop. She suggested that it would be a good idea to find some wooden bases and assemble some finished pieces before making any more. Probably sound advice. I would like to set them in some attractive waxed natural wooden blocks. I am on the hunt. I do get a bit obsessed with ideas and can go a bit crazy. They are slightly less time consuming than my driftwood harbours and take less space and make less mess, so are a viable alternative when I'm not painting for whatever reason. We'll see....

In other news.. I got an unexpected phone call from my clients at Burrandon Farm this week. They would like another commission of the view from the farm (this will be the 3rd) this time in late Summer with the foreground stubble field and hay bales. Its for their daughter this time, who came to my "Art in the Garden" event in the Summer.

I was dreading them wanting it as a Christmas present as that would have been impossible but fortunately they are happy to work on my timescale. 

Buckinghams finally collected my latest batch of paintings on Monday. My "Artist Questionnaire " has been circulated to all their Galleries and they are due to "launch" me on Tuesday 19th via their Galleries and Social media so keep an eye out for that.

If I can get round the technology I will post my Questionnaire as my blog next week.

Friday 8th December 2023

So after a year of toil, ups and downs, joy and tears, Natasha finally graduated on Monday with a first class BA degree in Business Leadership and Management Practice from Northumbria University.

Natasha, myself, Dylan, Liam and Natasha’s mum Marissa travelled down to Newcastle on Monday for the ceremony.  We were all so proud as Natasha crossed the stage to shake hands with the Chancellor, Tanni Grey-Thompson to get her certificate. We celebrated afterwards in the student union bar. We were staying overnight in an apartment in Newcastle because Natasha had been nominated by her faculty to be one of only 4 students to attend a Winter Congregational black tie dinner in the Great Hall that evening. So it was off with the gown and motor board and on with the posh dress. Dylan, Marissa and I slummed it in the quayside Wetherspoons. We celebrated later with Bucks fizz. Next morning we had an early start as we had to leg it home and pack the car for our trip to The Lakes. 

We were booked in for 2 nights at the Salutation Hotel and Spa, conveniently situated next to The Old Courthouse Gallery in Ambleside. The drive in through Keswick was spectacular with the late suns, orange light on the snow covered fells of Blencathra. We arrived in time to drop my new paintings off at the Gallery and chat to owner Paul and Gallery Manager Gosia. Afterwards we checked in and ate in the Hotel Restaurant for a treat.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we called in the Gallery early and unwrapped the new work. We spent an hour doing the business in the Gallery. It was a good mix of work and hopefully sells. It was a relief to get the work there as there were 3 framed 36"×36" pictures 2 unframed 36"×36" box canvases and a 24"×24" framed picture and a huge 48" ×36" box canvas and I was seriously concerned that we wouldn't be able to fit them in the car! I may need to swap my little MG for a van! 

They had a lot of snow in The Lakes last week and there were still remnants of snow around and plenty on the fells. It was a freezing day but with sunshine and clear blue skies but it was quite icy underfoot as

We spent the rest of the day shopping round Ambleside and eventually ending, predictably in a pub. Natasha bravely left me there while she made use of the hotel spa. We later re-united and ate in the pub.

We had another reasonably early start and early breakfast as we had an appointment with The Beckstones Gallery, the other side of Keswick at 11.30am and we wanted to pop into The Heaton- Cooper Studio in Grasmere on the way. The weather had changed dramatically with pouring rain and mist. We had time for a mooch round a very wet Grasmere and a drink in the Gallery café before setting off for Beckstones. 

I had e-mailed the Gallery a couple of months ago more in hope than expectation as I really wanted a gallery in the Northern Lakes. They were "intrigued" by the pictures and wanted to see some "in the flesh".  Unfortunately, in a way, the pictures I e-mailed were the ones headed (and delivered) to OCG. The pictures I ended up showing them were the ones I had collected from OCG, which were the 4 Castlerigg paintings and 2 landscapes. 

Beckstones is a privately owned Gallery showing solely paintings.  They have no jewellery, pottery, glass or sculpture.  They have been trading for 40 years and quite exclusive. The work on display is high quality. The two sisters who own the Gallery are lovely but pretty savvy and know their customers and artists and apparently rarely take on new artists. I was therefore somewhat surprised that they had decided to see me. They actually said that most artists don't get this far. I have to admit I was somewhat intimidated but I explained my dual artists life with Buckinghams and my other Galleries and although they thought my Castlerigg paintings were too niche for them and thought they could sell the landscapes they obviously wanted something different to other work in the Gallery. I told them I could paint them some large works on the same lines as the ones I e-mailed. This seemed to satisfy them. I had also taken a selection of my recent "abstract" watercolours, some framed and some unframed but mounted, which caused a debate between them. They both liked them, one thought they could definitely sell them and the other thought them a bit too abstract. They both agreed that they would be better in conjunction with some larger work. I was quite worried at this point that there was a rejection coming, but after more discussion we agreed that when they fully re-opened in March (they are only open 2 days during winter) I would take them 6 large works and a dozen watercolours.  They apparently like to "launch" new artists so as long as I can produce the goods we should be in business. That was a relief. We came out a little battered but overall happy with the outcome. 

We drove back home in atrociously wet conditions with driving rain all the way,  to discover water pouring through our front wall above the window!! Things rarely go smoothly in the Potter household!!

I will be putting the 4 Castlerigg paintings up for sale with the 2 landscapes on my website shop shortly. Because they didn't want the exclusivity I had offered with the watercolours, I will be sending some to my other galleries.

 Its been a busy week with 3 nights away but a rewarding one. I have lots of jobs both work and home to do before Christmas starting next week.

Friday 1st December 2023

So this weeks blog is my 3rd anniversary of doing them. I would never have thought that a) I would manage to keep it going for 3 years and b) I would find something to talk about every week. 

On the anniversary I always consider whether to keep going. Sometimes my weeks really aren't that interesting but I can usually find another subject to talk about.

I'll see how it goes. At least it will form a sort of weekly diary I can leave for my Grandchildren?

Well this week hasn't been the best. It started with the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair. There weren't as many people as usual during the day but I thought I had a good range of small pictures and cards with a good range of prices from £4.99. I had no crafty things like my driftwood stuff but I haven't had those for a couple of years now. I don't really know what happened but it was a complete disaster for me and certainly not worth the effort it takes to organise these things.

The only good thing was I had the chance to catch up with my friend Lee who I did the first craft shows with when we moved here. He was a photographer then but has since moved on to wood and stone carved figures and his latest project pyrography (burning images into wood). He does well with it, does most of the craft fairs round here and even does workshops. It was good to catch up and as per usual we exchanged gifts. It was a terribly frustrating day. Enough said... I was so gutted that Natasha had to take me off to the pub for a few beers, some live music followed by fish and chips.

On Monday, after reorganising my studio, again, I started on the dolls house project. I stabilised the surface brick and tile paper and re-painted the white woodwork. I re-hinged and fixed the doors, made a new windowsill and painted and fixed the door. I have a few more bits to do before Christmas but have broken the back of it.

I decided to do some more of my new abstract watercolours on Tuesday plus a few Christmas present paintings, with mixed results. I then discovered that a weasel had attacked and killed one of my beautiful silkie chickens, Dolly. I was very sad and also furious. Tuesday was not a good night.

Wednesday began with me burying Dolly so I wasn't really in the best mood for putting up the Christmas decorations, which traditionally takes a whole day. My mood hadn't improved by having to take Dylan to the station in terrible icy conditions. There had been a bad accident on the way with a car buried in a hedge. We managed to get past the 3 police cars, 2 ambulances and a fire engine on a small country road and Dylan caught his train...just. After a stressful drive back I set about the decorations, full of the joys of Christmas.

Christmas has now arrived in the Potter household for the first time ever..in November!

On Thursday I re-painted some of my landscapes and did a few more. It’s my November Quiz at The Greys Inn tonight. Hopefully someone will turn up, but with the week I've had..who knows??

Next week we are off to Natasha’s graduation and an overnight stay in Newcastle followed immediately by our trip to The Lakes for our Christmas present, a 2 night stay in The Salutation Hotel and Spa, with a bit of work thrown in with 2 Gallery visits. So, I should have something to talk about in next week's blog as it enters its 4th year.

Ps. The quiz went really well in the end. Surprisingly, we had a full pub and 13 teams. Brilliant for a very cold, icy night in November. People had actually telephoned to book tables. It was a great atmosphere with plenty of banter. The way I like it. We also raised plenty of money, with the quiz entry money and raffle,  for a local dog rescue charity and the quiz winners donated their winnings to the charity as well.

Friday 24th November 2023

This weekend we finally managed to visit our friends Pete and Julie James. The visit has been much delayed and so it was great to finally make the trip.

Pete and Julie are avid readers of my blog, so I will have to be careful what I say. I also want to respect their privacy.

Pete and I were friends at school. We played cricket together, he still has his Netherthorpe Grammar School 1st X1 cap (no idea what happened to mine). He was one of only a few people who loved fishing, and so we also fished together sometimes. I actually had his fishing basket when he upgraded to a bigger one. He made his own floats and I was always envious of his collection. As every angler knows, fishing tackle becomes an obsession,  most of it unnecessary but desired anyway!

Pete did Science's at school and I did Arts. As I went off to Leicester to read Archaeology, Pete went to Nottingham to do Pharmacy. He went on to work in, then buy his own Pharmacy. He met Julie at work.

They eventually sold the business and a few years ago bought a derelict farm (and I mean derelict) on the Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire border.

They have spent a lot of time and money creating their now beautiful home with surrounding land.

Pete and I lost touch after school. We reconnected on Facebook when I had my first Art Sale in 2018. I posted several paintings each day for 2 weeks on a first come first served basis. Pete was very hot on the trigger and me, not knowing about the size of his property, was aghast at the amount of pictures he was buying. It made a good online sale into a remarkable one. 

We arranged at date for them to come up to Northumberland to collect them all. They stayed in the area and we had a good catch up and met Julie for the first time. She was as big a fan of my work as Pete, thank goodness, or that could have caused some problems. They also both came to my 60th Birthday party in Chesterfield.  They invited us down to their house to see the work on their walls. Pete had spent a fortune with a framer getting all the pictures framed. He sent some photos and they looked great. 

It's taken us 5 years to eventually get down to see them. They are only really available in winter as they spend their summers following their son Lyndon around as he plays cricket for Nottinghamshire C.C.

During the intervening years we have kept in touch via Facebook and they have added to their collection culminating in their recent multi-buy from my "Art in the Garden" Sale this summer which we were taking down with us.

Although they'd spoken about their house and I'd seen the odd photo I was keen to see what they had done with all those paintings.  I'm not sure what we were expecting, but as we drove through the security gates down their long driveway and their restored farm came into view we were, to say the least, impressed. In fact, Natasha and I both said in comical unison "Bloody Hell!!" As I said I want to respect their privacy so I won't go into too much detail, only to say that their home is beautiful,  a real "Grand Designs" project. They showed us photos of the original site and there is no way I would have taken on a project like that. My paintings were literally everywhere and looked fantastic in their frames against the white walls. It was a real "Gallery " experience.  I had never seen so much of my work hung in the same place. They must have around 120 + pictures, but because they are placed around the very large  house and interspersed with other pictures they don't look like an exhibition.  Also because they have so many different styles of mine, in different media and different sizes, whose location has been  carefully considered, it all looks beautifully integrated. 

They were very pleasant company and very generous hosts for the weekend which culminated in a walk around their land and gardens. It was great to have a proper catch up after a long time and finally see their wonderful home and will try not to leave it so long next time. 

Whilst perusing pictures in one of the rooms, I was drawn to some pictures which Pete said were from John Lewis and although only prints looked beautiful in yellows and oranges. I later looked them up and eventually discovered they were by, a now dead, German Artist called Karlheinz Gross and were known as the "Tuscany Series". They gave me some inspiration for an idea. Although I didn't want to paint Tuscany, I thought I could adapt the watercolour technique to subjects of Northumberland, The Lakes, Scotland, Derbyshire and Cornwall. The pictures are created using loose washes of watercolour and layering of colour without too much detail. They have buildings in them but loosely painted. I decided to paint them on "Hot-pressed" watercolour paper, which has a smooth surface. This let's the watercolours flow across the paper. I did a variety of colour schemes and as usual got a bit carried away and ended up with 24. 

I like the pictures and can see potential with the subjects. They are painted very loosely (for me). I had to make a concerted effort to not tidy up the buildings. 

Doing these pictures got me thinking about watercolour. When artists began to use watercolour as a medium they were used for "sketching" purposes and not considered good enough for "serious" Art.

In order to depict realistic landscapes, various "rules" and techniques had to be adhered to. The way washes were created to avoid run backs and blooms. Layering to create depth and perspective etc. These rules have continued into modern day watercolour landscape painting. I realised that with a more "abstract" approach these rules do not have to be applied. Anything goes. I can use the paint however I want, run backs, blooms and all. I love using watercolour for the effects it can create. Applying the paint loosely and broadly without having to consider "rules" or traditions is quite liberating and very enjoyable. It would probably work quite well with acrylic inks as well. They would look great with a decent size mount and a nice modern frame....but that's a whole different ball game!! ...the experiment will continue.

I have the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair on Saturday 10.30am - 4.30pm. I will have smaller, framed and mounted original work on display including a selection of hand-painted watercolour cards and Christmas cards. 

I have also had confirmation from Beckstones Gallery in the Lakes that they will be able to see us with some work when we go up at the beginning of December. Visiting 2 galleries (OCG and Beckstones) whilst we're there will make the trip even more worthwhile. I will start working on the logistics for that after the weekend. 

Friday 17th November 2023

On Saturday I had my demo and workshop for The Leven Art Society.

The venue was in a the village of Great Ayton which was south of Middlesborough on the North Yorkshire border, so, it was an early start for a 10am set up, 11am start and a 2 hour drive. 

The Society is one of the oldest in the North East and in its most recent incarnation has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with a demo from Mackenzie Thorpe, a very well known artist who was actually with Washington Green when I was there. His Pastel paintings sell for very large sums, so, I felt quite honoured to be asked to spend the day with them.

I was asked to do a seascape and I had practiced the Marwick Head subject last week. It was a good turn out, the largest since Mackenzie Thorpe,  I was informed. 

I had also taken some work which I had on display and we had the big screen and projector so that everyone could see the demo. We began with a 2 minutes silence as it was armistice day and then I did my usual introduction about my background,  history, artists life and also my materials and techniques.  My demo was supposed to be an hour and a half, which is quite short to do a 30"×20" painting. By the time I had finished my intro and answered questions I had an hour. They were an inquisitive bunch and asked questions throughout. I managed to show all the techniques I wanted and finished the painting half an hour over time with a running commentary, but nobody seemed to mind and no-one left. I will probably re-visit the painting in my studio and finish it properly. I was explaining throughout about my "experience in time" (mentioned in last weeks blog) whilst we were there at Marwick Bay on that day. I think the painting does create that memory with brooding skies and turbulent seas. The sights, sounds and smells creating a mood and atmosphere. They all seemed to buy into the idea.

When I finished there was quite a crowd descended to take photographs of the painting and engage me in conversation. Its strange but you can never really tell whether people are enjoying the demo or are impressed by the work. Afterwards many of them told me they had enjoyed it and loved my painting. People perused my display and a few people bought cards. 

After a short lunch break (I unfortunately hadn't taken any lunch as there are usually goodies around at these events, so had to make do with some biscuits) some people left and the rest stayed for the workshop. They had all brought their painting gear and most were doing a version of my painting or at least using some of my demo techniques on their own subject. I mingled for the afternoon making comments and suggestions and answering queries.  They were a very enthusiastic bunch and it all went very successfully. 

I didn't really enjoy the drive home. I have realised that my night time driving is not great. Even though my eyes are meant to balance out for reading or distance, at night my perception of distance plus all the lights make it quite stressful.  This on top of the new car, which I have hardly driven made it quite a stressful 2 hour drive. 

I have talked about these events in previous blogs. I always stress about doing them beforehand, after all it can all go wrong on the day, but I am always get a rush from doing them. The groups are always lovely and enthusiastic.  They get a chance to watch a demo from a professional artist and ask questions and learn more about their hobby. I have managed not to cock one up so far. The standard within the groups varies tremendously but I think its great for the communities to have these art groups. The Leven Art Society is a tremendously well run and organised group and has quite a history which has been documented in a booklet that I was given. They have a waiting list for membership and an annual exhibition of members work plus a yearly calendar. I'm glad I accepted the invitation but may think twice about accepting other requests if they are so far away.

Inspired by my demo painting, I decided to do another seascape this week, on my final board for Buckinghams. I decided to let rip with some colour and on Monday produced a dramatic sunrise painting. On Tuesday I varnished my 4 latest Buckinghams paintings twice and by Wednesday they were photographed, titled and packed and joined the others ready for collection.

With the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair looming I decided to make some more Christmas/Winter cards. If I don't sell them at the Fair I can take them to OCG in Ambleside when we visit in early December with some new work.

We have again booked in to The Salutation Hotel, adjacent to OCG , for a couple of nights as a Christmas present to each other.

I might also send the cards to other galleries. As usual the process of painting and packing the hand painted watercolour cards took far longer than any revenue can cover if I sell them. 

Finally this week I have 2 bits of art news.

The Guardian announced that an L.S. Lowry seascape "Beach Scene, Lancashire." 1947, (probably Lytham),  is to be put up for auction by Sotherbys, having spent the last 70 years in a Canadian collection. Described by Sotherbys as one of Lowrys finest seascape, it is estimated that it will fetch £1-1.5million.

Also this week a Picasso painting "Femme à la Montre" (Woman with a watch), 1932, sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $139 million, making it the 2nd most expensive Picasso ever sold at auction. The woman was his lover Marie -Thérèse Walter, who Picasso met when he was 45 and she was just 17. He was married at the time to ballerina Olga Khokhlova.

Another reminder of the eye-watering prices art can fetch if the right artist is involved.

Friday 10th November 2023

First this week some more Art News.

The nutters at " Just Stop Oil" were at it again this week. This time they targeted the Diego Valáezquez painting "The Toilet of Venus" 1647-50, one of a limited number of paintings in existence by this Master. The female nude was a rare thing in 17th Century Spain and this was the only one he painted. The two protesters attacked the painting, which fortunately, was behind glass, with hammers before venting their anger against the oil companies. It appears they attacked the Valáezquez Venus because it had been the target of a previous attack by suffragette Mary Richardson, who repeatedly slashed at the painting. This association becomes slightly warped when you learn that Mary Richardson went on to head the woman's section of The British Union of Fascists? You have to feel sorry for The National Gallery, which offers some 2000 of the world's greatest paintings across nearly all the movements of European painting completely free to the public which is a real privilege in comparison to most European galleries or museums. They are an easy target, a sitting duck for this type of attack. As I said previously,  these protesters are defeating their cause with this type of mindless vandalism which infuriates the majority.

On Saturday we went to the Gallery 45 party to celebrate their 10 years in business. They opened in November 2013,  2 months after we arrived in Northumberland. I was in there quickly to show them some work before Christmas and have had work with them ever since. I have had 3 one man shows with them and been in several mixed exhibitions. They have done a good job and have artists studios on the premises and run an extensive programme of workshops throughout the year. They are quite a 'crafty' Gallery but that probably helps them survive. They have also made themselves a real part of the local community. I have done their Christmas Fair every year a part from the day after Storm Arwin when I had to repair my studio roof. The party was packed and the beautiful cake was cut by Look North, North East weatherman Paul Mooney. I took the opportunity to have a photograph with him for my blog. I also took 8 small paintings in for them.

On Sunday we walked up to the village for the annual bonfire and fireworks.  They always manage a great display for such a small village. The added bonus was the aurora in the skies above. Only the second time we've managed to see it in Northumberland. With the naked eye it was visible with vague curtains of green and purple and shooting slashes of light. Through a camera lens(recommended on the aurora watch app) it was much more spectacular. We enjoyed it again on the walk home along our pitch black lane. Photos posted from around the county on social media showed the spectacular display.

On Monday I multi-tasked, preparing my canvases for my workshop/demonstration next Saturday. I also mounted a lot of my small paintings done indoors over the past few weeks and prepared some boards for doing some Christmas cards for the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair.

After I had messaged Buckinghams that my paintings were ready for collection they told me they were in the middle of their stock take and wouldn't collect them until the end of November.  I decided to take the opportunity to do a few more. I did another woodland painting, quite textured, mainly done with a palette knife as I wanted it quite loosely painted. I think I achieved this. I then did a large square seascape based on our experience at Marwick Head on Orkney as a storm rolled in. The sea was rough and messy. Rocks, spray and foaming white water. I attacked the stormy sky quickly with a large brush. I put in a thinly painted headland and brought the sky down to it. I like to get my horizon perfectly straight by measuring and masking taping to form a straight line. After rapidly brushing some darker marks into the foreground I quickly painted in a variety of blues and aquas and some slashes of thick white paint. I then went back to the headland and painted in hazy blues and greens leaving some of the base layer showing through. I removed the tape, and painted in the more distant waves leaving a thin strip of pure white along the horizon but breaking the horizon line with some wave marks and spatter. After lunch, with the foreground under painting dry, I used a palette knife and paint mixed with texture paste to make a textured, foaming incoming tide with hints of rocks beneath swirling white water and crashing waves.

Using a long haired brush, toothbrush and stencil brush I spattered watered down white paint to form foam and spray and sprayed some foreground areas with water into wet paint to form dribbles. I then stopped. It is so easy to overwork paintings like this. I was trying to capture a moment, movement and mood. The 30"×30" painting had taken me 2 hours from start to finish. That is quick, even for me but I think I captured the atmosphere of the scene. All it needs is the soundtrack. I have looked back at my photographs taken at Marwick Head. They don't do it justice. A photograph can capture a moment in time, frozen. You might spend a few seconds looking at it but it can't replicate the experience. We spent about an hour there and "experienced" the seascape in front of us in full. The sights, sounds, the feel and the smells, even the taste of salt in the air. You can't get this from a photo.  By painting the scene I could experience it again and the viewer can feel something of it and will look at the painting far longer than a few seconds. This is the power of painting. "Capturing a moment in time" is an overused phrase by landscape artists. As I say, a photo can do this. I realised that in my paintings I want to try and capture an "experience in time" a sense of being in that place , looking and feeling it for a while, not just a fraction of a second.

(Possibly, more on this next week)

I might do another one like this before I have to get my paints, brushes and the rest of my gear ready for Saturday's demo, which fortuitously is a seascape on canvas.

Ps. I have lots of paintings currently stored in our party shed to create a bit of space in my studio. Unfortunately we discovered that water was getting in through the roof which had been hurriedly patched up after Storm Arwin. It had done well until now. I can't afford for it to become damp in there, so I had ordered more roof felt. On Tuesday amongst all the painting activities I managed to put a new felt roof on the shed. It is now, once again, watertight.  

Talk about multi- tasking!!

Friday 3rd November 2023

I managed, finally,  to get my 7 Buckinghams paintings varnished and packed up ready to be collected.  It's a relief and has been on my mind for a while now.

Before we went to Orkney, Buckinghams  sent me an "Artist Questionnaire",  which they can circulate to their galleries, giving them more information about the artist and their work. They will use the information for promotional releases etc. When I first received this I was surprised to find it had 57 questions! I was going to do it on holiday but didn't.  I went through it and hand wrote my answers a couple of weeks ago but thought I ought to get it typed up to accompany my new collection. Maybe I'll publish the whole thing for a blog one week.

The Questionnaire was interesting to complete. I realised that since starting this blog nearly 3 years ago now I have spoken about many aspects of my life as an artist and about my work, materials and techniques but have never done it as a questionnaire.  A lot of the questions were things I get asked all the time like how did I become an artist? Where did I study? Where's my studio? Am I influenced by trends and brands? Do I have celebrity collectors? Where have I exhibited? etc. Other questions I had to think about like which artists inspired me? What's my favourite work of art? If I was a piece of music, what would I be? Which artist would I want to be compared with? 

Some of the questions relate to how and why I paint and how do I choose a subject or what materials do I use and how do I choose a colour scheme? 

A lot of these things I don't really think about. A lot of what I do is quite instinctive, often unplanned and often out of my head.

A painting often ends up completely different to how I intended. I usually have a plan of some sort but plans can change and often do. If only they could see the chaos in my studio sometimes! What inspires me? Well I am a Landscape painter mainly and the landscape around me and the places I have been, is my inspiration. I did have to keep reminding myself that Buckinghams only see a part of my art. I do so much more that they do not see. My motives, inspiration, methods and materials are different depending on what I am working on. My Buckinghams paintings are nearly all acrylic/mixed media on mdf boards. This, as I have explained before, is because acrylics dry very quickly, unlike oils and the boards are a) provided by Buckinghams and b) easy to transport, unlike canvas. This is the Nick Potter they see. They don't see the watercolours, acrylic inks, collages, monoprints, gel prints, oils, cards and works on canvas. I could answer a the questionnaire with completely different answers if I was talking about all my work. Conversely,  my galleries don't see the work I produce for Buckinghams. I'm sure they would love to have some of that work. I tend to keep the two separate although my landscapes/seascapes are becoming a bit interchangeable.

I also confessed my love of Abstract Art. I'm not sure how that would fit with Buckinghams but I might ask them. I could start a trend and it would be something different to paint. 

The final questions were about the future. I was asked how I might develop my work. I said "bigger, more textured and perhaps more Abstract." I was also asked if I could leave a painting as a legacy what would it look like? I said "A 6ftx6ft, heavily textured canvas of a Scottish landscape with a brooding, stormy sky, mountains and a wild crashing sea". Apart from not being able to cope with the 6ftx6ft canvas in my studio, I could always do that next week?

Friday 27th October 2023

After last week's covid frustration I felt better by Friday only to injure my "glass back" whilst feeding the chickens!

Anyone who suffers from back problems, which I have done since about 1990, knows that it can sometimes be the most innocuous of things that can cause problems. I have had problems for so long that for the majority of the time I can just put up with the pain but I also know when I have done some serious damage. I have vertebrae in my lower back with no cartilage between them and they can swell and bulge causing serious pain. I felt my back "go" and knew I was in trouble. I struggled all weekend and in fact all week but I was determined to do some work. Standing was better than sitting so on Monday I went in the studio to try and do some work for Buckinghams. It caused me problems in the evenings but with plenty of painkillers I managed 3 large seascapes and 2 woodland paintings. Its a relief to get so much done and I'm OK with the results.

It was a messy business with big brushes, palette knives, splattering and dribbling but it's the stuff I like. It's also a bit "active" with a bad back but hey!! Natasha said I looked like a crippled old man in the evenings. Sleep was a relief, which may not have been the case without working during the day.

Apologies for going on about my recent ailments but it shows how every aspect of life can affect what I do as an artist.

This week, I managed to watch the documentary "The Man who stole The Scream", which I talked about a few weeks ago. It was very interesting and although I didn't like Pål Enger, I had to admire his front and also wonder at the woeful lack of security at Oslo's National Gallery considering the value placed on their "National Treasure " Engers motives for stealing the painting (according to his own account) were complex. He never really considered that he could sell it but was more concerned with humiliating the authorities, especially the police who he had a massive grudge against. With the help of The Scotland Yard Art Fraud Squad, he ended up with no ransom and a long (for theft) jail sentence.

As I think I said before, the worrying thing about thefts of such well known works of art is that, because they can't be sold they end up as bargaining currency for criminals or disappear into unknown bank vaults of Drug Lords. If they become "too hot to handle" the concern is that they are destroyed,  which is probably the fate of the paintings stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston, in 1990,  which included a Vermeer and a Rembrant seascape, both irreplaceable masterpieces. Thankfully, security in most Galleries and Museums, nowdays is much tighter and technical. Human error is less of a factor but criminals don't stand still and will always be striving to find ways around security measures. When visiting a gallery it reminds you what an enormous privilege it is to be able to view these great works of art and the risks inherent in having them on display.

I don't have a huge presence on social media. A part from my website and weekly Blog and the occasional post with some artwork or photos of The Bay, I probably don't utilise the power of social media enough. I do follow a lot of artists or art groups on Facebook and Instagram. I do this for my own interest as I like to see what other artists are producing. The downside of this is that I am constantly bombarded with artwork, a lot of which I like( which is why I follow them) and also sales of paintings. I have to remind myself that not all these artists are selling work all of the time. It, however,  does frustrate me, to the point where I am seriously considering clearing all my art followings on Facebook and Instagram. I love looking at artwork but I can easily depress myself at the seemingly incessant activity and sales of other artists. It does make me feel inadequate at times but also reminds me of how hard you need to work as an artist in order to generate sales and promote yourself. I do alright in general but there's always more to be done. The problem is I find it all a bit tedious. I just want to paint. 

The amount of unsold work stored around different locations at this property however, seems to indicate that I should probably spend a bit more time promoting myself and utilise the power of social media  rather than rejecting it. I think that my recent, illness induced inactivity has made me feel these insecurities which do raise their ugly heads from time to time. I have stuff to do and sort out over the next couple of months so I need to snap out of it pretty sharpish.

On a completely different subject, I am doing the quiz in my local, The Greys Inn, in Embleton tonight. I used to do it when we first moved here. After a couple of years I was usurped by a guy who had lights and fancy speakers who's complicated quiz went on forever (no, I wasn't bitter).

Anyway they got fed up with him, then covid hit and they haven't done one for ages. A while ago they asked me if I would do it, so tonight is the first of a monthly quiz. I enjoy doing them. I research my own questions and answers (I don't use ready made pub quizzes online) and keep it simple, no bells and whistles, just 30 questions in 6 sections with a cash prize and money to a different charity each month. So if you're ever in Embleton on the last week of the month, come and have a go.

Friday 20th October 2023

On Friday Natasha found out the results of her dissertation.  She got 84%, a First!

She worked out from her assignment results that meant a First for her degree. I am so proud of her for the commitment she has shown in the last year. It has been hard and she's given up so many weekends and evenings, all whilst holding down a full time and very responsible job. I couldn't have done it. I haven't got the will power. I look forward to her degree ceremony. 

Rugby quarter finals dominated the rest of our weekend.  I did manage to free the seized handbrake on the rear wheel of Dylans car by that time honoured method of whacking it with a tyre brace. We did manage to get a lovely walk on the beach on Sunday morning and I started to do some more small flower paintings and small paintings of our wood in the sunshine. 

At about lunchtime I started to feel ill. Tight chest, aching joints, sensitive skin. I tried to carry on painting but in the end gave up. By Monday morning I was feeling pretty awful.

I took a covid test but thankfully that was clear. I hate doing nothing, so despite feeling crap I did a few more small watercolours.  It was the same story on Tuesday. I did some small Northumberland Miniatures until running out of steam mid afternoon. I hate being ill and I am a very bad patient. I have been very frustrated as I was desperate to get into the studio and get on with my Bucks paintings. On Wednesday I couldn't even be bothered to do anything.  I took another covid test and it was positive, so was Natasha's!!!

On Thursday I still had the symptoms but felt slightly less ill so, I did a bit of painting. 

It's been a terribly frustrating week. 

Last weekend I got a notification about an Exhibition to be held at The Baltic in Newcastle.  It was an "Open" exhibition for any North East artist to submit a work of art for consideration in an exhibition of 100 works next year. I will have to do this. They need images by the end of November, so I will try and find something I already have or can adapt. Those who regularly read my blog will be aware of my rather scathing views about The Baltic, but I can't deny it is a wonderful space and it would be pretty cool to be in an exhibition there. The Exhibition is run in conjunction with Fenwicks Department Store in Newcastle, which is interesting as Buckinghams have just opened a new gallery, "Aura Fine Art" in Fenwicks Department Store in Newcastle. 

This should be great news for me as it will be my closest and 'local'  Buckinghams outlet. They ought to be receptive to a local artist. I really do need to crack on with some new stuff for them. Hopefully, covid free I can carry on with that next week.

Friday 13th October 2023

On Saturday, Natasha and I went to see the Exhibition "Essence of Nature,  Pre-Raphaelites to the British Impressionist " at The Laing Gallery in Newcastle. 

It was a fascinating collection of works dating from the mid 1800's to the 1960's with a few either side. I have always been fascinated by the Pre-Raphaelites. Their depictions of figures and landscapes in such photo- realistic detail are "tour de forces" of painting technique, so far removed from both my styles of painting and most paintings I admire, yet incredible and alluring in their workmanship. The Exhibition had several examples by artists such as William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel  Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Ford Maddock Brown, John Ruskin and James Collinson. The Exhibition had lots of Victorian Landscapes and art from The St Ives Colony by Terry Frost, Ben Nicholson and Lamorna Birch and the lesser known(but not up here) Cullercoats Artists Colony, which provided some local landscapes. It was a well presented exhibition and my only complaint was there was no exhibition catalogue.

The Laing Gallery is a lovely Gallery and we really should visit more often. Even in the café they had 2 huge Landseer paintings and a Lowry. There permanent exhibitions are free to enter.

I spent the beginning of the week finishing my 75 hand-painted Christmas cards. I always get to a stage where I think, "why do I do this every year". Its a tradition and I can't stop now. I have discovered "Temu", the online store,  and had ordered some glue tape rollers which when sticking the paintings to the cards saves so much time compared with my usual method using double sided tape. I did use glue sticks last year but I know that some paintings became detached from the card. Apologies if that happened to you. I used to get the glue rollers from YPO and was horrified to see how much they were in the shops. These Temu ones were £1 each and were 6m long. I used about 4 on the cards.

 I then decided to tackle a commission I was given from a lady down the road who had already purchased a painting from my "Art in the Garden" collection.  She wanted her sons yacht (yes, they've a bob or two) moored off the coast in Greece. I did it on box canvas from her photographs and took care to get the yacht correct in detail without getting too technical. I had to use a bit of artistic license with the background as the photos weren't great. When I had done the picture I was concerned that the sky wasn't blue enough for Greece. Repainting it would mean painting over my carefully painted mast and rigging which caused me a real headache. I managed to add a cobalt blue to the upper sky and fade it down the sky without obliterating the mast. I added a bit more aqua blue/green to the sea and was then happy with the results. 

I then decided to tackle my large, new Buckinghams paintings, which for some reason I had been putting off doing. I have already done 2 large seascapes and will probably add 2 or 3 woodland paintings and a couple of landscapes.  I started a 36"×24" woodland painting. I want to keep them fairly loose and layered and use an Autumnal colour palette. They take me about 3 days to paint, which, for me, is an age. I want to get them to Bucks by the end of October so I will need to get a wriggle on.

It was all going fine and then it wasn't…

On Wednesday teatime all our power went off. Not an unusual occurrence up here but we knew something was wrong as the neighbours on both sides had still got power. After Storm Arwin we had equipped ourselves with torches, lights, batteries etc and so we were relatively prepared. No fuses had been tripped and the electricity meter was dead. No power to the house!

We did an emergency dash into Alnwick for tea at Carlo's Chippy. We contacted Northern Power emergency line and they sent someone by 9.30pm. He confirmed there was no power to the house. A mate joined him and he too confirmed that there was no power to the house… They suspected a fault in our underground line and asked if we wanted them to get a team in to dig up the garden. It was 10.30pm! We suggested they wait until morning. 

Fortunately we had the motorhome to make cups of tea. As I write this blog I await developments.  I can't work in my studio without lights so it's back to the watercolours...

Just a couple of p.s.'s 

Alice did have all the dolls house furniture plus front door in a box at home. She sent me a photo (see below) I'd forgotten there was so much. I hadn't made it all as there was some plastic and metal stuff which came with the original box but I made quite a bit.

And finally, hurrah!!  My favourite programme "Fake or Fortune " is back for another series (probably only 4 episodes). 

I'll watch episode 3 when we get the power back on!!

Friday 6th October 2023

We had a lovely weekend in Chesterfield. I delivered my 3 large paintings to Tom and loved spending some time with Granddaughter Lily-Jean. Despite Alice being ill we managed to see her and Archie.

It was a bit of a scramble as we arrived late on Friday night and came back Sunday lunchtime with our new car. It drove itself back up the A1 which was surprising! Natasha’s brother Dan drove back up with us as he and Natasha were off on a canoeing trip to Loch Awe on Monday. They were staying in Oban on Monday night so I took the opportunity to send some framed croft pictures and cards up to Jetty Gallery. Unfortunately they closed early but Natasha managed to arrange to leave them at the hotel for Annie to collect.

I managed to watch The Ryder Cup on Friday and amazingly did a "Likely Lads"  (those of a certain age will understand the reference) and managed to avoid any word of Saturday and Sunday play. I decided to use the time whilst catching up on the golf on Monday and Tuesday by painting this year's Christmas cards. I know it sounds early but it's easy to put it off and leave it late which leaves a scramble to get them done as it is a long process. 

As mentioned in last week's blog, we brought Alice's old Dolls house back with us for a trip into my repair shop. The dolls house was originally her mums, made by her dad. It originally was a box with solid doors, divided into 4 compartments with a staircase. Back in the late 80's when Alice was little, I decided to make it into a proper house with doors and roof and make the furniture and decorate it as a Christmas present. 

There was a lot of work involved and to keep it a secret I had to work on it in our garage. I worked on it in the evenings and it was freezing. I made the doors from plywood and cut out the windows and door. The large doors were hinged to open up the whole house and the little front door was also hinged. I added window frames and sills and plastic glass. I made a pitched roof with a chimney, which was detachable to conceal the electrics. I fitted battery powered lights to each room and wallpapered the walls. I fitted carpets to the rooms and stairs and made tiny framed pictures to hang on the walls. I made a fitted kitchen out of plywood . The dolls house had some bits of furniture and I added some more, a table, sofa, armchairs and beds. I then got some tile paper from a "model shop" which we had in Chesterfield at the time. I tiled the roof with it. I also bought some grey brick paper and did the outside walls and chimney. It took many freezing evenings but she loved it on Christmas morning when we went downstairs in the dark and all the lights were on. She played with it for many years but when she grew out of it it was put in "storage " and has got a bit damaged. She wants it repaired because her son Archie loves opening and closing doors and taking things out of things and putting them back. She thinks he will love it. I've had a quick look and I think I can fix it ( I've seen enough "Repair Shops").

Some of the furniture is missing but I'm sure it will be in a box somewhere (picture below shows current state of repair).

During our "Art in the Garden", we were having post event drinks in our "leisure marquee " one evening  and one of our neighbours friends Sue, who was up here over the Bank Holiday weekend introduced me to a guy on the Internet called "Hercule" who drew terrible pictures of peoples pets. It had started as a "lockdown" activity but has grown out of all proportion. The drawings are so bad that they're brilliant.  People send him photos of their pets and he draws them. I genuinely think he can't draw but the drawings have something of the character of the pet no matter how badly it is drawn. Look him up on the Internet.  "Hercules Rubbish Pet Portraits" He even has a book out and has raised a lot of money for charity. 

Sue asked me if I could "badly draw" her beautiful Akita Inu dog, Nikki.

As usual, I thought, of course, how hard can it be? Well it is. I did Nikki several times, none badly enough. I did Alice's little dog "Toast", not badly enough despite doing him left handed!! I did Tom's cats. Still not really badly enough. I even did our chickens with the same result. My efforts at "rubbish" aren't bad enough and it's very frustrating!! I will keep at it as the possibilities are endless. We have a lot of pets between us in our family and you could do badly drawn animals and birds in general, even badly drawn people.

I never thought that in my artwork I would be striving for "rubbish".

Friday 29th September 2023

After our Orkney adventure,  this week, while it was still fresh in my mind, I decided to complete my "Orkney Sketchbook"

I had done sketches in my sketchbook whilst on Orkney as well as the collection of watercolour sketches, which I intended to add to the sketchbook. First I needed to add some more sketches from photos I had taken. I felt certain elements were missing. I had no paintings or sketches of the Stones of Stennes or Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae, Maeshow and other key features like The Italian Chapel and all the lighthouses. Although I had a lot of photos I wanted the sketchbook to be a record of our trip. I added these elements in pencil, pen and/or in paintings. When everything was done I stuck the paintings in the sketchbook. I also printed of photos of the 2 A3 pictures of Orkney wildlife, too big for the sketchbook and added them. I had sent for "The Lighthouses of Orkney", a small pamflet from The Stromness Museum.” They sent a nice post card of an Orkney boat which I stuck on the cover. The sketchbook was complete and for now our Orkney adventure was over.

A friend of our friends Matt and Sarah was up in Northumberland this week. She rang and asked if she could come and buy a small painting. I had to re-arrange things in "the party shed" anyway after just piling stuff in there before our holiday. I got out a selection of paintings within her budget and displayed them in the studio. She came with her husband and a friend, the vicar of Warkworth. She ended up buying 2 pictures, which I appreciated.

We are off to Chesterfield this weekend to deliver 3 large paintings to Tom and to see a few people then collect our much awaited new car. I will be bringing back my daughter, Alice's dolls house for some attention in the "repair shop" (more on that next week). 

I finally primed my large boards this week in preparation for some new paintings for Buckinghams, which I will begin next week.

In the art news this week. The Manhattan District Attorney's office has co-ordinated the return of 7 Egon Schiele pictures to the family of a Jewish art collector who was killed in a concentration camp in 1941. So much artwork was stolen by the Nazis during the war, particularly from Jewish collectors and dealers and it is a continuing campaign to reunite any surviving items to the relatives of the rightful owners.

I apologise for the brevity of this weeks blog as I haven't got down to any serious work yet after our break. After the last 2 weeks lengthy ramblings, it may come as a relief!!

Friday 22nd September 2023

Orkney Adventure week two.

As I said in my p.s. to last week's blog, Friday dawned, mercifully quieter and brighter. We decided to take the southern-most route at the bottom of the mainland, mainly because it was the only main road we'd not travelled in the south.

We drove to the Hobbister R.S.P.B. Reserve, which had a car park down a long narrow track. There was miles of heather moorland down to the cliffs with great views across Scapa Flow towards South Ronaldsay,  Flotta and Hunda islands. We walked amongst the heather for a while and saw a Curlew fly by and then a Hen Harrier. We surprised a grouse. After an hour or so and a good walk, we decided to move on and headed towards Houton. At Houton we made a snap decision to try to get over to Hoy. The ferry, full, couldn't take George but we went as foot passengers. The trip over was very smooth, like being on a slow train with great views of the Hoy Hills and the islands around Hoy. As foot passengers there's not much to do when you get there unless you want to catch buses. There were only 2 return ferries so we didn't want to risk to much travelling.  We did spend an hour or so at The Scapa Flow Museum.  An impressive collection, tracing the major role played by Hoy and Scapa Flow in both World Wars. We again got information overload. We did get chatting to a couple from Solihull who were on our campsite and who had also come over on foot. They were very friendly and funny. We got on well and spent the Ferry back discussing mainly art. Graham had a collection of prints by Washington Green artists such as Paul Horton and Paul Corfield both of which I knew from my time there. We talked about my art and Natasha hit them with a sales pitch on the Orkney paintings we had brought with us. Later that evening, back on site, he came over to look at them and bought one. 

Saturday was moving day, so after securing and servicing George and a farewell to our Solihull friends. We set off to the North West of the island and Birsay. We went nearly all the way and decided to turn round as it was too early so we went to a little place called Evie, down another narrow lane to a small car park. It was stunning with views across Deer Sound in the sun. We stayed for a couple of hours, walking along the white sand beach, having lunch, sketching and taking photos. We then headed off to The Broch of Gurness. The remains of the Broch were impressive with surrounding "village" dating over several periods. We then headed off to the site which had impressive views of The Brough of Birsay, an island with a causeway to the mainland at low tide with a Broch and a lighthouse. After my pre-prepared chilli for tea we strolled down the lane to catch the sunset before the evening Rugby.

Sunday was bright and sunny and we decided to walk down towards the beach and the island and the small village of Birsay. We took our portable camp chairs and a flask and sat on the beautiful beach, watching the birds for an hour in the sun.

Continuing along the stunning coast we reached the village. We did a tour round the remains of the "Earls Palace" the remains of a 16th century Manor House. We then went to the beautifully appointed cafe overlooking the coast. We had tea and cake before walking back to the campsite. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening painting, reading and watching the Rugby. 

We had a restless night as the weather turned. Howling wind and battering rain again. Although we had parked on a hard standing the warden had asked us to move onto the grass. She also had us down for a different pitch but relented when I showed her my booking form. With torrential rain and our "Northern Kin nightmare", I decided to get at least 2 wheels on concrete. However, I didn't get the angle exactly right and we had the roof vibrations again during the night. We awoke to grey, mist and rain.

Unwilling to be thwarted we decided to have a drive around. We found "Orkney Antiques" half a mile up the road. They had a large collection of stuff but the quality was variable. It was run by a guy who had lived on Orkney for 20 years and had moved from The Scilly Isles, where his family still lived. He had recently been down to see them and driven down in one day. Now that's a he'll of a drive!

For once I couldn't find anything to buy. Natasha bought a novel!

We carried on and found a co-op in Dounby and stocked up. We also went to a nice little craft shop and bought a few things. The weather was still dreadful, so we gave up and went back. I painted all afternoon and Natasha read (and snoozed). We reflected how lucky we had been with the weather since we'd been on Orkney. We hunkered down and watched an old  "Endeavour " on TV. 

We still had places we wanted to visit and fortunately, after the rain and wind during the night, the morning was bright and breezy. We drove along the East Coast to Skail Bay. The headland jutted into a pounding sea and the spray shot up the cliffs to an impressive height as the waves crashed in towards the shore. We had a passing shower and the skies were shades of grey and purple with bright white highlights as the sun broke through.

We moved on to somewhere we had wanted to visit whilst "planning" this trip, Yesnerby. We had seen photos but, as we arrived at the car park after yet another long, single track road, it took our breath away. The overnight storm had awakened the sea gods and the breakers smashed in against the multiple headlands. The rocks were some form of sedimentary sandstone, once a seabed, pushed up millennia ago and showed clear layers of rock like a giant lasagna.  The soft stone has been eroded and undercut by millions of years of pounding waves and on some of the outcrops, arches and stacks had formed creating a magical coastline, made more so by bright sunshine and crashing, broiling, foaming white water, against the ochre and reds of the rock. We walked a circuitous route around the inlets to each cliff head, each one with towering, sheer, cliff faces below us. It was a magical site but we were glad we hadn't got young children or dogs with us as it had that element of peril that weakens the knees as we crept to the edges to take photographs. On one of the cliffs we finally got to sea the headland of Hoy with the "Old Man" in silhouette against the sky in the far distance. I was overjoyed to see it as I thought we wouldn't get the chance (not knowing what was to come).

After a mile along the cliffs we reached "Yesnerby Castle", not a castle but a giant sea stack standing away from the cliffs with a "doorway arch" cut through it at its base, being battered by the waves. There was also what was technically an arch but was a stack still connected to the cliff by a slender chunk of rock. The views up the coastline were equally spectacular with the serrated coastline as far as we could see.

We didn't want to leave but had one more gem to visit. We headed back up the coast and down yet another narrow road to Marwick Point. A huge cliff undercut by years of pounding waves juts out. The towering headland is surmounted by a large stone tower, known as the "Kitchener Monument"  after the WW1 Commander in Chief. The beach stretched before us with tilted layers of sedimentary rocks which were being thrashed by wave after wave of towering white water tinted with bright emerald green as the huge waves turned over. We sat for a while whilst I sketched with little hope of doing the scene justice.

It was a mental note for yet another possible painting. We walked further along the path for half a mile to the "Fishermen's Huts". Build over a period of time these stone shelters with turf roofs and about the size of a double garage, were constructed by local fishermen for shelter in-between headlands and with a relatively flat and sheltered bay below. A winch was added to enable them to drag their boats up the steep slope and out of harms way. They were very well constructed and almost like small croft houses but with open fronts turned away from prevailing winds.

We walked back and watched the dark ominous clouds building on the horizon but the sun still lit the headland. The photos were good. There was a storm blowing in and it was heading our way so we headed back to camp and batterned down the hatches for another wild night.

It was. Wind and lashing rain but a hint of an aurora over the Loch.

After another rocky rain soaked night I woke early concerned that we had only 2 wheels on dry land. It was a very grim and murky morning. I managed to drive onto solid ground. Later that day we were due to catch the ferry back to the mainland. We had pre -booked our campsites for Wednesday night in Golspie and Thursday night in Perth. Then we got a message from Pentland Ferries saying that due to adverse weather conditions, our 2.30pm ferry had been cancelled! We rang them and there were no sailings that day. They suggested we try Northlink, who sail from Stromness to Scrabster. We did and booked ourselves on the 11am ferry. We had been up early but it still felt like a bit of a scramble to do all our, by now, we'll drilled routine. We set off for the half hour drive to Stromness Ferry Terminal, where we had parked on our visit to Stromness last week. Even with 90 minutes to boarding the queue was forming for check in. We were pleased we got there early.

This ferry was a different beast to the "Pentilina" Catamaran.  It was much bigger for starters. No reversing on here. We eventually drove on at about 10.40am. The decks themselves were much larger. It was more like a cross channel ferry with bars, lounges, restaurants, dog lounges, shops etc. We sat in the cafe area and had a bacon butty and tea, then moved onto the outside viewing lounge as we wanted to see the Hoy Coast. We considered our good fortune.  This ferry took a different route around Hoy, it was cheaper and we were much earlier. We were treated to some atmospheric views of the Hoy Hills shrouded in mist and close up views as we sailed right past The Old Man. My camera blazed away. The sun came out and despite the nights storms the crossing was pleasant and smooth and we disembarked at 12.30pm. We even saw our campsite in Thurso that we had stayed in on our NC500 trip. We headed for Tescos and then on the A9 south through magnificent scenery through Caithness and Sutherland down to our overnight stay at Golspie. We even managed to meet Natashas colleague from work, Lorraine and husband Karl in a layby. They were doing a whisky tour for a few days. It was one of those strange "out of context" meetings.

We set up in Golspie and walked a mile into the village to find the two pubs advertised.  The first, MacGregors had no beer. Maybe some in bottles? There was no one around to ask. A little further on The Golspie Inn was no better. No beer unless you count Tennants Lager, which I don't! Come on Scotland. Get a grip. Real ale is virtually impossible to find outside the main cities.

We walked back disgruntled and as we were passing the chippy it seemed appropriate.  We ate decent fish and chips (no mushy peas. Really what's wrong with these people?) on a bench in a rather breezy park. After a rather circuitous walk home we arrived as the weather set in. 

Whistling wind with motorhome shuddering gusts continued all night.

There was a beautiful sunrise next morning but it was raining and very windy as we headed south down the A9 to our next stop at Perth, 3 hours away.

It was a very stressful drive with huge gusts and a road full of lorries. The A9 is a convenient route but the road surface is shocking. We juddered our way to a lunch stop at Carrbridge. 2 cafés a beautiful Gallery and a pub that said it sold "cask ales" whooo. Too late.  The café didn't seem prepared for customers. The stuff on the menu board, wasn't. We managed some lunch and a drink. We went over to the Gallery run by a family of artists. A father painter and woodturner, mum a ceramacist and daughter in the shop, a painter, jewellery maker and glass artist. We bought a cute pottery basking seal.

We had a brief moment of panic when we thought we'd left my wallet in the garage at the morning pit stop. We found it on the floor. Phew!

The rest of the journey, through some stunning scenery, continued to be precarious with gusting winds. We were both knackered by now. The post code for the campsite first took us up an unlikely, very narrow private lane with overhanging trees. George suffered. It culminated in a farm track. We did a six point turn in someone's drive and legged it. 

Finally arriving at our site which wasn't signposted and down a track to a golf driving range, which was. We set up. Our plans to pop into Perth were scuppered so we decided to drink instead.

We're heading home tomorrow after a wonderful stay in Orkney. Wether we return or not is up for debate. We saw everything we wanted to see (apart from Maeshow) and we have plenty more adventures to plan. I managed about 30 watercolours plus sketches,  which I plan not to sell but put in my "Orkney Sketchbook, with others I will do at home and add notes. I will do some larger, Orkney based paintings too. I would recommend Orkney. The scenery is stunning, it's quiet out of season (even with the cruise ships), the driving is easy(ish) in a motorhome and the people are friendly. The weather is unpredictable but that's expected in Scotland anytime of year. As I finish this, in Perth, its blowing a gale and glorious sunshine!

Friday 15th September 2023

A Hebridean Blog. An Orkney Adventure. 

As I sit here in "George" our motorhome,  writing this blog, outside there is bright sunshine, lashing rain and a howling gale blowing. We are rocking around like a boat on the Loch and the noise is tremendous. Looking forward across The Wide Firth the skies are blue with scudding clouds whilst the rain batters the windscreen. Out the black the skies are Pewter with a double rainbow and all the while is the roaring sound of the relentless wind. I would say that it sums up Orkney weather, but I'd be unfair to Orkney. 

We set off across the Pentland Firth, on Monday morning , on the Catamaran Pentilina, in dreich, miserable conditions but as we chugged into St Margaret's Hope, 1 hour 20 minutes later, things were changing. As we rolled off the Ferry on South Ronaldsay, which is connected to mainland Orkney, we decided to head south, further down the Island. By then the sun was out revealing a glorious view from the Olad Brae viewing point across the Pentland Firth, towards Scapa Flow and across to the hills of Hoy, which dominate many views on this relatively flat Island. The sparkling aqua waters and the emerald green landscape, dotted with farmsteads, were all that I had imagined of this, our most Northerly trip to Scotland. The glorious weather continued as we travelled to the far south of South Ronaldsay, where we stopped at the Summer season Ferry Port to John 'O Groats at Burwick, Viewing the Muckle Ferry lighthouse and distant Pentland Skerries between Orkney and Duncansby Head on the mainland.

We pottered back to the viewing point for lunch before heading off to Kirkwall, Orkneys largest town and our campsite for the first week at Kirkwall Bay. On the journey we stopped to visit The Italian Chapel, a famous attraction on Orkney,  built by Italian p.o.w's in WW2. We managed a solitary visit between two coach trips from the huge cruise ship moored in Kirkwall Harbour. We then crossed the Churchill Barriers across Scapa Flow,  built to protect the navy during WW2 and saw the still visible rusting wrecks of sunken ships. Our site was overlooking The Wide Firth, right by the water. We were pleased to get set up after a long day. We had stopped at a site in Inverness on the Saturday night and at a quaint little family run site at  Gills Bay, 5 minutes from the Ferry, on the Sunday night, on the way up. It was good to finally get to our Orkney adventure. 

I had decided to spend the evenings painting, whilst Natasha read and we had a few drinks and listened to music. Over the weekend we had managed to get the TV set up and spent the evenings watching the Rugby World Cup. With matches over till Thursday I spent time in the evenings painting what we'd seen and more. 

On Tuesday we walked the 2 miles into Kirkwall and had a mooch round the quaint but rather tired town. We visited some interesting shops, had breakfast in a cafe and visited the Orkney Museum, which, like all museums, was fascinating, well seen out but overwhelming with information. We called in another café which looked a bit scruffy but the drinks were great. We were originally put off by a woman who was having a heated conversation with the RAC who had managed to recover then loose her Classic VW Campervan. We got chatting. She lived in Batley but had been here all Summer as an Archaeologist on the dig at Brough of Deerness.  She showed us as yet, unpublished photos of the newly discovered burials. She was very chatty and I ended up showing her my "book" paintings, which she loved.

We had a disappointing lunch at the local chippy and then walked back and decided to set up camp with our newly acquired windbreak.  I'm pleased most of the site were away doing stuff as it turned out to be something from the Keystone Cops. It was windy. The 10m windbreak wanted to be a kite, the poles were in 2 pieces, joined by plastic collars. None of them fitted and I had to tape the ends of all 20 half poles to get a tight fit. These done and with great difficulty, inserted into the sheet, we began to hammer them in. After only a few I knew this was a shonky windbreak. The poles all bent at the join whilst the others flapped with the sheet in the wind and separated and fell out. It was with many swear words that we pulled it all apart and shoved it away in disgust. If only someone had filmed it… It’s going back.

Wednesday was "Archaeology Day". Excited and with a beautiful, sunny, calm morning, we set off early to the Neolithic Heart of Orkney. The Stones of Stennes, The Ring of Brodgar, Maeshow and Skara Brae.

We did Stennes and The Ring of Brodgar first and, due to the early hour, we're alone with the stones. I have painted them many times and they feature prominently in my book, but to see them close up and personal on a glorious, sunny morning, was a joy. We then headed off to Skara Brae. We hadn't booked and were told that in the Summer, wouldn't have been admitted, but we got in. The site is an amazing one. A neolithic village, intact. Orkney is stuffed with archaeology. It has some world class monuments, Henge monuments, cairns, neolithic houses, chambered tombs stone circles and brochs. I haven't the space to discuss, so, if you're interested,  look them up or if you're very patient,  wait for my book! My only regret is that, so far, we missed out on Maeshow. It’s fully booked. I may take the Skara Brae approach and just pole up and play my Archaeologist, Artist or author card.

We left the neolithic sites and drove down to Stromness,  Orkneys second town. It was very quiet but quaint. We visited the Pier Arts Centre. The main display was some sort of textile weaving thing. Lovely white rooms with bugger all in them. It reminded me of The Baltic in Newcastle. A waste of great space. The surprise was upstairs where there was a collection of work by Cornish artists, mainly St Ives School, including Barbara Hepworth (sculpture and paintings), Ben Nicholson, Roger Hilton, Terry Frost and Alfred Wallis. Brilliant!! We also looked at a couple of craft shops/galleries. One looked promising and I asked about taking some of my "Orkney" work. They gave me contact details. It's a bit late in the season for sending work now but a good contact for next Spring. We called at "Jollies" a seafood outlet and bought some Orkney crab, scallops and smoked mussels which we had for tea with salad, our own new potatoes and a nice red, supplied by our friends Sarah and Matt. A real treat.

I again painted in the evening. I've got quite a collection now. My watercolour table set up in "George" works really well. As I painted the wind increased.

When we retired to bed it was really noisy. During the night it got worse with torrential rain battering down and a rather disturbing banging on the roof. We finally managed a few hours sleep but we're awoken at 3am by the noise. We decided to get up and make tea. The banging had got worse and I was worried that something was loose. I slept fitfully and eventually succumbed at 6am. I made tea and went for a shower. The wind was howling but the rain had subsided. I climbed the ladder and checked the roof. I could see the roof panel where it slopes over the cab was vibrating. I decided that it was annoying but not likely to be a real problem. 

We decided to drive to Tescos to test if it was safe to drive around in the wind. We bought a few things and decided to stock up on some beer and wine. For the second time in a month I was told I couldn't buy beer from a supermarket! Scottish Law says they can't sell alcohol before 10am. Miffed we decided it was OK to drive so headed East and wound up at Mull Head Nature Reserve,  with views over to the island of Copinsay with its lighthouse ,where we made breakfast. It was still very windy but the light was ever-changing and beautiful. After breakfast we went on a circular walk along the impressive coast to The Brough of Deerness. Earlier in the week I had been chatting to that archaeologist who had been working on the neolithic burial site there. They had closed it down, on Monday, for the season. The cliffs around there were spectacular. Windswept, we returned to the motorhome and headed off to a spot we'd seen earlier for a crab and prawn sandwich lunch. We ate overlooking the waters of Deer Sound. It was still very windy. We tried to drive to Rerwick Bay on the coast but after miles of single track road we gave in. The views were still spectacular in the sunshine over Deer Sound and Shapinsay Sound. We eventually returned to the site (via Tescos again! Bought alcohol this time). I parked at an angle to try and solve the wind problem and it seemed to work but the wind got even worse and the rain eventually set in but the change of angle worked. Next morning I discovered that a few other motorhomes had copied me and parked into the wind. 

As I said at the start, as I write this we're watching Rugby with armageddon going on outside. It's very inspirational here with loads of painting potential and I will keep recording my impressions as we go along and obviously keep recording my vlogs. If you not seen them on Facebook they are charting our progress along with photos. 

I always write my blog on a Thursday for posting on Friday.  Hopefully tomorrow things will have calmed down as we move into week 2 of our Orkney adventure.

Ps. As we awoke on Friday morning, the wind had mercifully dropped and the the sun was out. A glorious morning. We had had a peaceful night, no banging on the roof despite the wind and rain.

Friday 7th September 2023

First up this week, a couple of bits of art news.

As you should know by now, I love a good story about art heists.

A new documentary called " The Man who stole The Scream" details the extraordinary,  criminal life of  Pal Enger, a Norwegian pro- footballer who, as a child, was obsessed with Frances Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" movies and Edvard Munch's strange and haunting painting "The Scream". In 1994, he stole it.

Enger grew up in the crime centre of Norway, the Tveita district of Oslo, run by the Oslo gang The Tveitagjengen, who dealt in anything from robbery to murder.

After a childhood of petty crimes Enger graduated to the more serious business of burglary, jewellery theft, safe cracking, car stealing and blowing up ATM's. The documentary charters his criminal life culminating in his theft of Munch's masterpiece in 1994.

There are 4 versions of "The Scream" and this was not the only time it has been stolen.

The following information about The 4 versions is taken from The University of Glasgow's "Antiquities, and Trafficking and Art Crime "  online course.

The Scream by Edvard Munch is among the most iconic images of modern art. Of 4 versions of the painting, 2 have been stolen in major museum  heists.

A skeletal figure stands on a path next to the sea. The setting sun bathes the dark water in an orange glow. Two figures approach. The moment intensifies, swirls, swells until it is released as a sound of pure agony: The Scream.

Edvard Munch’s “Der Schrei der Natur” (the Scream of Nature) is among the most famous paintings of the modern era. The now familiar image is interpreted as the ultimate representation of anxiety and mental anguish, a ‘touchstone for our troubled times’.

One of the most interesting aspects of The Scream is that the image is taken not from Munch’s imagination, but from his own experience. While walking with two friends at dusk, Munch experienced the intense colour of the clouds against the setting sun as “a scream passing through nature”; he heard the colour as a shriek. The experience was so important to him that he recorded it as a poem written on the back of one of The Scream’s frames:

"I was walking along the road with two Friends / the Sun was setting – The Sky turned a bloody red / And I felt a whiff of Melancholy – I stood / Still, deathly tired – over the blue-black / Fjord and City hung Blood and Tongues of Fire / My Friends walked on – I remained behind / – shivering with Anxiety – I felt the great Scream in Nature 

That the image comes from a profound personal experience might account for its popularity. However pained the figure in the painting may be, many relate to it. Munch’s paintings show nature out of balance and mental breakdown in the face of modern experience. The emotions they convey are similar to those felt, for example, by many people scarred by the First, and then the Second World Wars. Philip Hook, senior director of Impressionist & Modern art for Sotheby’s London, has called the Scream “the image that launched a thousand therapists”, and that “it has come to symbolise a negative emotional reaction to just about everything”. In other words, anyone experiencing emotional anxiety may find fellowship in The Scream.

Perhaps the universal appeal of The Scream explains why it was stolen.

Twice.

The Four Versions

There are not one, but four versions of The Scream, painted by the Norwegian artist over the 17 year period from 1893 until 1910, as well as fewer than 50 lithograph prints made of it in 1895. Each version of The Scream is unique. Munch clearly experimented to find the exact colours to represent his personal experience, yet all share the same essential composition and convey the same sense of personal pain.

The Scream 1

1893, Pastel, Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway

This version of The Scream may have served as Munch’s initial sketch for the more famous version he created later that year.

The Scream 2

1893, Tempera and crayon on cardboard, 91 x 73.5 cm, The National Museum, Oslo, Norway

This is by far the best-known version of The Scream. It was first exhibited in 1893 in a solo exhibition of Munch’s work in Berlin. It was purchased by Norwegian industrialist and artist Olaf Schou, who in turn donated the work to Norway’s National Museum in 1910.

The Scream 3

1895, Pastel on cardboard, 79 x 59 cm, Private Collection

This version of the The Scream was in the collection of Norwegian businessman Thomas Fredrik Olsen in 1937. Olsen and Munch were acquaintances and the artist had painted Olsen’s wife. During WWII, just before the Nazi invasion of Norway, Olsen hid the painting in a hay barn to prevent it from falling into German hands. It remained in the Olsen family until 2012, when Olsen’s son Petter sold the work at Sotheby’s auction house for nearly $120 million USD. The buyer is reported to have been New York financier Leon Black. This is the version with Munch’s poem written on the frame.

The Scream 4

1910, Tempera on cardboard, Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway

This version may have been created by Munch as a personal copy for him to keep after selling the more famous 1893 version.

The Scream 5

1895, Lithographs

Around 30 to 45 impressions were made of this print. Some were on coloured paper and others were hand coloured in watercolour. Copies are in a number of world museums

Regarding the thefts, the following is taken from History.com.

On May 7, 1994, Norway’s most famous painting, “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, is recovered almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo. The fragile painting was recovered undamaged at a hotel in Asgardstrand, about 40 miles south of Oslo, police said.

The iconic 1893 painting of a waiflike figure on a bridge was stolen in only 50 seconds during a break-in on February 12, the opening day of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Two thieves broke through a window of the National Gallery, cut a wire holding the painting to the wall and left a note reading “Thousand thanks for the bad security!”

A few days after the theft, a Norwegian anti-abortion group said it could have the painting returned if Norwegian television showed an anti-abortion film. The claim turned out to be false. The government also received a $1 million ransom demand on March 3, but refused to pay it due to lack of proof that it was genuine.

Eventually, police found four pieces of the painting’s frame in Nittedal, a suburb north of Oslo, and what may have been a cryptic message that the thieves wanted to discuss a ransom. Finally, in January 1996, four men were convicted and sentenced in connection with the theft. They included Paal Enger, who had been convicted in 1988 of stealing Munch’s “The Vampire” in Oslo. Enger was sentenced this time to six-and-a-half-years in prison. He escaped while on a field trip in 1999, and was captured 12 days later in a blond wig and dark sunglasses trying to buy a train ticket to Copenhagen.

In August 2004, another version of “The Scream” was stolen along with Munch’s “The Madonna,” this time from the Munch Museum in Oslo. Three men were convicted in connection with that theft in May 2006. Police recovered both works in August with minor marks and tears. Yet another version of “The Scream” remained in private hands and sold on May 2, 2012, for $119.9 million.

Munch developed an emotionally charged style that served as an important forerunner of the 20th century Expressionist movement. He painted “The Scream” as part of his “Frieze of Life” series, in which sickness, death, fear, love and melancholy are central themes. He died in January 1944 at the age of 81.

I personally have always found this picture to be a haunting and disturbing work. The problem with art thefts of paintings like this is because "The Scream" is such a famous image, recognised the world over it could never be sold. The only point in stealing it would be to hold it to ransom, use it as "criminal currency" or for it to disappear into a private collection never to be seen again.

The second bit of art news is about yet another "Constable " which has emerged, having been last seen in 1979. The oil sketch showing "Wille Lotts Cottage", the cottage which appears in Constables most famous painting "The Haywain" ,emerged from a house in Guernsey in The Channel Islands, where it had been in a private collection since 1979 and thought to be lost for 40 years. It is thought to be worth up to  £120,000 when it comes up for auction at the end of September.

Back to the real world and I managed another post event sale this week when a friend of Sarah bought one of my "wave" canvases. 

 I did little painting this week but I did manage 4 more pen and wash harbour scenes. I also managed, despite my reservations, to get my studio sorted and back to some form of normality after the show. This was hugely satisfying. 

We're off to Orkney on Saturday via Inverness and Wick, so next week's blog will be a first, coming from The Outer Hebrides! Watch out for my daily Vlogs. We're not sure about the weather but we've packed everything from wooly hats and waterproofs to shorts and T-shirts so I think we're covered. I hope to do a lot of sketching and painting whilst we're there whatever the weather. I've only packed my watercolours as Natasha reminded me that George is our home for the next 2 weeks and not a travelling studio! Spoil sport!

PS After sending you the blog I sold another painting from my show. A 48"×12" sunset with boats on a Loch bought by a neighbour for her daughter.

Friday 1st September 2023

September is here. "Art in the Garden" is over for another year and another successful one it was too.

Despite some dire weather forecasts the weather was kind with some gorgeous sunny spells. 

Our friends Matt and Sarah brought their concertina Marquee, which, despite initial fears, was bigger than last year. We used the front panel as an awning, utilising some extra posts, which doubled the area and with some creative and long debated discussions we fashioned a side tent from the 2 smaller gazebos, giving us, in effect, two rooms, which proved much needed extra space as, I had a lot of stuff.

It took another 2 hours to set up all my work but we finished in time for a post erection celebration in the new double "Party Gazebo" on the neighbours back lawn.

Despite a small shower on Saturday morning the rest of the day was glorious sunshine. The visitors were a steady trickle but sales were far better than last year. The signs did their job and we welcomed past customers and new ones alike. Sunday was again great weather with sunshine and cloud but again the custom was steady. Sales were again surprisingly good. The après sales continued in the party tent. Bank Holiday Monday started slow but picked up in the afternoon and finished with a flourish.  Sales were well above last year and lots of smaller and larger pictures were sold. Constant replenishing was necessary and more stuff left the studio. 

It was great to see familiar faces and new customers. My card machine was invaluable. One child even used his £30 pocket money to buy a picture. People came on foot, on bikes and in cars. The whole event went smoothly and despite a torrential downpour on Sunday night, nothing got damaged. The evening parties were genial and welcome. Matt went fishing in the very early mornings, caught loads of mackerel,  gutted, cleaned and smoked them and we enjoyed them over the weekend.  Sarah did some amazing gardening and Dave even cut our hedge.

I had posted photos of the exhibition on Facebook which proved valuable as my friends Pete and Julie bought a bantle load of pictures after the event significantly boosting my sales. A great ending to a great weekend. The breakdown was all hands to the pump but eventually the tents were down and packed away and all the paintings and props were back in the studio awaiting a good sort out ( after our holiday).

I returned the compliment with the neighbours by helping with their hedge cutting on Tuesday, then inspired, spent all Wednesday in my garden clearing stuff. 

Knackered, I spent Thursday doing some pen and wash harbours.

We're off to Orkney next Saturday so I'll post my blog before we go. I intend doing a daily Vlog whilst we're away as I did on the NC500 so watch out for that to see what we're up to. I'll be painting a lot as usual so might post updates on that.

I always look forward to "Art in the Garden" and its definitely worth doing but it's always a bit of a relief when it's over. We have bigger plans for next year but for now it's time to move onto other things.

Friday 25th August 2023

So this week is the build up to "Art in the Garden". The weather was great until Thursday and its going to be a bit mixed this weekend but fingers crossed. 

At the weekend we had our friends Rob and Caroline to visit. We met in the pub on Friday evening and I managed to collar the owner Chris and ask him if he had any spare tables I could use for my show. After a rummage through the outbuildings he produced 2, 6ft tressel tables which will be brilliant. I also met a friend I'd not seen for a while who has several of my paintings. He wants more but his partner is a bit fussy so I'll not hold my breath! It’s great to be back in the Greys, there's always stuff going on and people to chat to.

We had a lovely day on Saturday visiting Amble and having a mooch round the harbour and car boot sale with my usual giant sausage roll and ice cream thrown in. On the way home we called at Howick and walked along the rugged coastline, with Cullernose Point and Dunstanburgh Castle in the distance, to the Bathing House and onto the tiny beach, where we climbed onto the rocks and with a warm breeze blowing watched the waves crashing in. When we got back home in the afternoon, Natasha, Caroline and Rob went down to the beach and went for a swim. They got a bit battered by the waves. I had a snooze…

In the evening we ate in one of the "pods" at The Craster Arms in Beadnell and then walked through the fields down to the beach and harbour. We saw dead Guillemots,  evidence of the devastating bird flu which has hit many of our seabirds this year. We called in at The Landing, a new beach bar owned by Michael who owns The Craster Arms. We had tea and coffee, Rock and Roll Saturday nights…(they serve some nice fish and  seafood in there for anyone visiting,  but as everywhere,  it's not cheap).

I really enjoyed doing something different and it gave Natasha a break from her dissertation. Walking along the coast and watching the sea at Howick and visiting the harbour and beach as the light faded was quite inspirational for me. I need to do more of it. It always makes me want to paint.

I collected the tressel tables on Monday after shopping. I did a final sort out of the boxes of stuff ready to go in my studio and posted the rest of my advertising posters around Dunstan Steads,  positioned to catch the eye of walkers, campers or drivers visiting Dunstan Steads. We have a double sided A board,  made for me by a friend when we first moved up here, which stands outside the gate catching the attention of anyone driving down to or back from the beach.

I then had an idea for a stand to prop up paintings when stood on a table. I have a variety of stands to hold lightweight pictures and I have also left the cardboard stands on the back of some smaller framed work so they can be hung on the wall or stood up on a shelf or windowsill but apart from a few small easles it's hard to display the slightly larger framed work .

I found some wood and created some long stands that stand on the tables and support the framed pictures. They won't take many but it's a start. They have a string brace at the bottom to stop the pictures sliding (see photo below). I also varnished 6 seascapes that will be on display.

With that all done I had a free afternoon. I decided to tackle my tax return… Its not a massive job as I keep a record of all my expenses and I had previously got that up to date to the end of my tax year at the end of March. I submit my return online as a simplified sole trader account so it's a matter of calculating all my expenses against sales. I was relieved to get it done as usually I get it in early in April but for whatever reason I had left it and although I have until the end of January to send it it's a weight off my mind and a spare afternoon well spent.

On Tuesday I decided, for a distraction, to do some small watercolours again. I painted 7 small watercolours of Derbyshire to send to Treeline Gallery in Bakewell. I mounted them the same day and put them out of harms way in the chaos of my studio.

I also heard back from Bob Corsie, who as I mentioned last week has The Watson Gallery in Edinburgh. He liked the work I sent images of but has a lot of "Landscapers" as he calls them, at the moment. He said he likes the bigger pictures (100×100cm or 120×120cm). We are going to keep in touch as he would be happy to have my work when he has space. For me that's a positive response. I would love to do some large Scottish Landscapes.

Our friends Matt and Sarah are coming today (Thursday) and bringing the Marquee. It will be too late to put it up this evening so this afternoon we are putting up the neighbours new double Gazebo, in their back garden, for evening sessions and genial post event conversations!

Tomorrow will be the main erection day (we all look forward to that)!

Putting up the marquee and 2 Gazebo 's. It will take me the rest of the day to get everything in there and set up ready for opening at 11am Saturday. I have so much stuff, so filling it won't be a problem but I will have to be selective or it will look like a jumble sale (not the effect I'm going for).

The forecast is very mixed but we will carry on regardless. I will post a full report on proceedings in next week's blog.

Friday 18th August 2023

On Monday I had arranged to visit Gallery 45 in Felton to collect the work they had had for a while with a promise that after my "Art in the Garden" event I would take them some new work. 

Over the weekend I had also arranged to meet up with my client to hand over my "Burradon Farm" Commission. I managed to combine the two and after a Sainsburys car park rendezvous and a happy client I headed to the Gallery. With Natasha on a study day, I had the big car and it was a good job, as I was surprised at the amount of work they had for me to collect! One painting leaves my studio and 20 come back in! They had sold some work so I didn't mind.

They also had a strange request for me. One I have never encountered before.

I have to mention here that I am on good terms with the two ladies at Gallery 45. They were the first Gallery I approached when we moved to Northumberland and have had my work ever since. I think it is only because of this that they approached me with a dilemma they faced. A few years ago, I sold, through the Gallery, a fairly large (40"×18") painting,  of a misty sunrise with Lindisfarne Castle, to one of their regular customers. I remember meeting this nice gentleman who really liked my work. I gave him a good deal but it wasn't cheap. Apparently he is now moving to a smaller house and hasn't got room for my painting. He has asked the Gallery if they or me could re-sell the picture, take a commission and let him have any residual money to recoup some cash. If not there would be no problem. I agreed to try and re-sell it for him through my contacts. Certainly a strange one!

I decided that it was about time I started preparations for my "Art in the Garden" event on the Bank Holiday weekend so after my trip out I began by gathering together all the work that might be included in the event. This turned out to be a bigger task than expected,  as usual! I first needed to organise my studio as I knew, at some point, I would have to repatriate all the paintings stored, temporarily in our "Party Shed" we have friends up here for the next 2 weekends and may need to use the shed so this was as good a time as any to clear it out. On Monday I collected all the framed work in the studio, including the work retrieved from Gallery 45 and Cello wrapped the frames. I do this when moving frames around to protect them from scratching. The black frames are the worst. By habit I store them back to back. The fixings on the back of frames are the main culprit for causing scratches. That took all afternoon.

On Tuesday I started bringing the pictures in from the shed, box by box, Cello wrapping all the frames and storing carefully in the studio. I then did a Spring clean on the party shed. That took all day!

During the AITG event I utilise many different surfaces to place work on. I have a few different tables but also use work mates, platforms and anything with a flat surface. We have a long tressel table in our garage which was covered in stuff. I realised that I was going to have to "Spring clean" the garage as well. Our garage has never seen, and never will, see a car. It has always been a dumping ground for stuff we don't want in the house but can't get in the sheds or studio. It eventually ends up in a mess and we periodically tidy it out. That usually involves a tip run and this time was no exception. Whilst there I thought I might as well do the food shopping! Another day of "admin", However,  I will now be able to access the long table when needed and the garage is much tidier. In order to leave me at least one day free for painting on Thursday I thought I might as well cut the lawns!

We (Tom) has also had 2 requests from the website this week. Unfortunately, one of the pictures I had repainted and the other one had been recently sold. This is really unfortunate as I don't get that many requests through the website. I try to update Tom with any changes but sometimes things slip through the net. I did a inventory of the pictures on there last week and it should be all OK now.

I also contacted a couple of Galleries last week regarding taking my work, as promised in my blog a few weeks ago.

One is The Watson Gallery in Edinburgh,  run by an old friend Bob Corsie who used to have my work in several Scottish Galleries (and who Tom worked for in his Loch Lomond Gallery) Bob now has just the one Gallery. I am hopeful but still waiting to hear back.

The other Gallery is Beckstones Gallery, a rather prestigious gallery in the Lake District. I have visited a few times. It's a bit off the beaten track but has some great stuff in there. They have responded and to my surprise are interested and want to see some work "in the flesh". That would be very exiting and would make our Lakeland trips more productive. It goes to show, you can only ask. 

I also sold one of the Cornwall pictures featured in last week's blog to friends, benefactors and great collectors of my work, Pete and Julie James, as a 60th Birthday present for a relative. I used my free day on Thursday to paint some more.

I also received a message from Jetty Gallery in Oban requesting more cards. This will be the 3rd batch. Apparently they are flying off the shelves! They are also selling well at OCG in Ambleside despite the high price. It makes all that time making them worth it to hear things like that.

Friday 11th August 2023

As I've said in previous blogs, one of my favourite TV programmes is "Fake or Fortune" and I'm slightly ashamed to say that having watched all the programmes several times, I'm currently watching them all again?

Its a sort of "comfort blanket" thing. It seemed serendipitous therefore,  that whilst watching it on Saturday I came across this article on my phone about the discovery of a "possible " John Constable painting in a Scottish Castle.

A painting worth up to £2m has been uncovered in a 800-year-old castle.

The work, believed to be by English landscape artist John Constable, was found in the guest wing of the castle at Craufurland Country Estate near Kilmarnock.

The estate is run by laird Simon Houison Craufurd, and his wife Adity, who gave up their jobs in the city to take on the family home.

The couple called in antique experts Ronnie and Clive from Channel 4’s Millionaire Hoarders to help them value items and help drum up cash for repairs.

During their hunt, they discovered the painting – which is believed to be worth between £1m and £2m.

Ronnie said, are you sure it’s not the real thing? and I said ‘I don’t think so. So we’re looking into it further.

It’s kind of like saying ‘You might have won the lottery, you have three-quarters of the numbers, so you may or may not get it.’ We’re not sure yet.

We have to scientifically prove it through paint analysis, which is beyond my own understanding. I’m not an expert – but my fingers are crossed.”

On the show Ronnie after getting a first opinion on the Constable, told the couple: You [Simon and Adity] said it had been looked at and it was considered not to be real.

Caroline(?) and I showed an image to a Constable specialist and expert now, 98% of Constables she gets shown are rejected, 2% she considers. We’re in the 2%. It’s still not definitive but it’s very compelling.

If it turns out to be a Constable the auctioneer would suggest an estimate of £800k-£1m. There’s a big IF but I have a lot of confidence in this.

The next part of the journey will require a lot of confidence backed up by a little bit of money and that could take six months up to a year.

Experts carried out research over six months and identified the original owner of the painting; a man named JP Heseltine.

I must admit that I have never watched the Channel 4 program "Millionaire Hoarders" but might give it a go. As with "Fake or Fortune", it just goes to show that there are still masterpieces out there to be discovered. Natasha keeps asking if I've got anything tucked away. Sadly I haven't although some of the paintings, by other artists, I bought back in the 1980's are getting close to being Antiques. 

The weeks been more of the same really.

On Monday I painted some small Scottish landscapes ready to send to Oban and some landscapes for cards. I also decided, just to change things a bit to do some small flower paintings. I originally intended to make them into cards but really they take too long to paint for the price of a card, even a hand painted one, so I decided to mount them with 9"×9" mounts and Cello wrap them. I'll probably put them in my show. I spent Wednesday morning cutting mounts and Cello wrapping before taking George the motorhome for its M.O.T.

Unfortunately or fortunately, as it turns out it failed, needing 2 new rear tyres which were badly cracked! Despite the cost of these, I was pleased to get new rear boots on George as we'll be doing a fair few miles on our Orkney trip and I'll be much happier to know the tyres are in good shape as they take a lot of weight. Everything else was in good condition. 

On Thursday I decided to wind back the clock. Whilst rummaging last week I came across a few paintings done on paper with acrylic inks. They were seascapes, mainly, with headlands, painted in predominantly blues. The acrylic ink blues are very vibrant and it gives the pictures an abstract quality. During my mount cutting morning, I managed to cut some mounts slightly too large for the pictures, so I had several mounts spare which I have mounted these new pictures in. Hopefully these will go to The Jane Adams Gallery in St Just, Cornwall. They are semi- abstract and a bit unusual so I might do some more.

I did have a few sales with Buckinghams, Oban, OCG and Treeline Galleries last month so after my rather doom laden blog last week, things might be picking up.

Friday 4th August 2023

The Summer marches on and we're into August already.

With my "Art in the Garden" weekend at the end of the month, I decided to mount the  watercolour "potboilers" I had painted last week. There were also other paintings of local scenes knocking around, including the several in different sizes I had painted "en plein air " on the beach a couple of months ago. I had ordered some more mount board from my old company YPO so had plenty to go at. As usual it took ages as there were many pictures and many different sizes. It took a whole day to cut the boards to size, cut the mounts, mount the pictures, sign and label and Cello wrap them all. I am pleased with the results and hopefully will prove affordable and popular at the event. 

I also had an event pre-sale. A friend of mine from the pub had seen one of my larger, framed seascapes on the website and came down to see it "in the flesh" and loved it and bought it. It's great to sell work to locals and know where they've gone.

At the weekend Natasha and I were discussing our forthcoming holiday to Orkney. She came up with a good idea. Although I will do plenty of painting on our holiday, Natasha suggested that I do some Orkney paintings/potboilers, to take with us and take them into some of the galleries up there. I embraced the idea and set about painting some iconic Orkney landscape/seascapes in watercolour. As usual, I went a bit mad and did about 20. I then had to do the mounting/wrapping process all over again. They are all done and ready to take with us. After doing a few of those I decided to do a few of my "Standing stones" pictures again as I wasn't particularly happy with the ones I had done. I did a few replacements.

I realise that, at the moment, I am messing around a bit. Things in the galleries and at Buckinghams seem to have stagnated and sales are few and far between at the moment. I am again faced with the dialema of wether to keep painting or give it a rest for a while. There's only so much stuff I can put in my "Art in the Garden" show. I have a few other projects that might come to fruition.  On Saturday evening we went to a "soul and curry" night at Alnwick Brewery and Tap. While there I spoke to Chris, one of the owners and the guy who bought my painting for our local pub. He said he wasn't happy with the "artwork" on the walls in there, so we had a discussion about some paintings of the local area to put on the walls. I won't do anything until I get the go ahead as I've been there before.

I could start on my new large paintings for Buckinghams but they haven't started selling the last 2 lots of stuff I sent them so I am a little reluctant to crack on with that. I have a lot of work ready for OCG and after the end of August will have plenty of work for my local galleries. I have even got work ready for Oban when they are ready for it.

I have to say that this isn't a new situation for July/August.  You would think it would be a boom time with people on holiday, but even when we had our Gallery it wasn't necessarily the case.

Then I had to go and rummage again?

 I found a box of small pictures from the 1990/200's. I put them in the ring binder.

I also found my box of mounted Derbyshire pen and wash pictures which I put in the ring binder I had created for the black and white "Rock Icon" pictures I did during Lockdown. I really need to get some prints done of these and get them to Treeline Gallery in Bakewell. I could mount an exhibition with prints of the "Rock Icons" but framing them all would be a bit expensive.

I need more outlets and have decided to make a concerted effort in the next few weeks to find some, local or otherwise.

It's been a bit of a frustrating week again but at least I've got some work done.

My Artists life is always a roller-coaster and I shouldn't expect anything else.

Friday 28th July 2023

After my rummaging last week, I decided to order something to put all the pictures in.

I ordered an A3 spiral bound scrapbook for Gillians work and 3 x A3 ring binders plus punched pockets for my old pictures. They arrived on Saturday and I spent the weekend filling them. It took a while but it was worth the effort. At least now all the loose pictures are stored safely and in an orderly fashion. I even found an A1 folder with plastic pockets to put all the larger pieces in.

During the exercise, I decided to try and identify all the pictures as not all were signed, dated or with titles. In order to help I decided to do some more rummaging through some sketchbooks, which I had used as source material. During this rummage I came across a sketchbook from my solo camping trip to Northumberland in August 1999. 

One of the most common questions that I get asked when doing my workshops or demo's is why we moved to Northumberland. I usually explain why we moved here in 2013, as I have in previous blogs but although we had enjoyed holidays up here since 2007, that wasn't my first experience of Northumberland. 

Back in the early 80's my ex wife's sister and husband helped to run an outward bound/adventure club for inner city children,  where they went on a big camping holiday somewhere and experienced life away from the city for a week or so. This particular year it was at Budle Bay in Northumberland.  We joined them for a week, mainly for a holiday, but helped out with cooking, art classes etc. I remember my first experience of Lindisfarne and also Cragside. We stayed with them in their caravan. I liked Northumberland although driving through the Tyne Tunnel in my Triumph Spitfire with the top down nearly killed us.

In 1999, I was 40. Alice who was 11 at the time wanted to visit her friend in Bridlington so I agreed to take her. I decided to make it a road trip so went and bought a small tent for my birthday present and planned a painting trip to Northumberland and decided to visit the place I had been back in the 80's.

I dropped her off and set off up the East Coast. In the afore mentioned sketchbook I had written a diary of my trip. The trip has often been recounted by me, usually after alcohol but I thought I would share the diary in this weeks blog.

Tuesday 7th August. 1999.

(After dropping Alice off) Had long drive to Budle Bay, Northumberland. Decided to find campsite straight away as weather looked slightly dodgy. Found campsite at Warren Mill £6 p.n. set up tent and made tea. Drove to paint overlooking Budle Bay. Sat in field and did quick watercolour sketch. Drove to other side and did w/c sketch from car in rain. Returned to camp for tea. Stew and cup of tea. Painted in car in rain from guide book!! Darkness forced me into tent- tea- heavy rain. Listened to radio. Fell asleep. Awoken in night by terrific thunder and lightning and torrential rain. Tent held up well - not too cold.

Wednesday 8th August 

Woke at 6.30am. Made tea in tent. All day breakfast (bacon, beans, sausage and a scotch egg).. in a tin!  Set off for Lindisfarne. Arrived early. Did painting in car from car park in rain. Able to cross causeway at 10.45am onto Island. Parked in car park. Walked into village in heavy rain. Unable to paint but took sketchbook. Sketched around harbour. Crab sandwich for lunch at 11.30am! Walked around harbour wall- sketched views of castle and Bamburgh Castle on distant mainland. Rain! Good view of Priory. Returned to car for camera. Took photos and walked to castle (National Trust). Half hour round castle. Good views of village and Farne Islands and interesting property. Walked back to village. Cheese Burger. Then to cafe for tea and rest. Look round shops then back to car. Quick sketch from causeway in heavy rain. Drove to Berwick-on-Tweed. Quicksave for milk. Heavy rain! Drove to other side river. Sketched harbour. Fish and chips in car because of rain.  Back to Budle Bay and tent. Very, very windy so Drove through Bamburgh and on to Seahouses. Took photos from harbour. Huge breakers. Very windy. Spray over sea wall. Photo of Bamburgh Castle from harbour in rain. Back to camp. Worried about tent. Bending in half. Checked all pegs etc. Retired to read. Made tea in tent. Wind getting worse.

Very cold. Slept in all clothes, jumper, jeans and fleece. Gale force winds. Moved car in front of tent for shelter. Made no difference.  Very restless evening,  couldn't sleep... tent buffeted by wind and rain in a full on gale. Tent roof down to my face. Scary. Dozed but couldn't sleep. Kept waking..nightmare of tent collapsing. Sat in car for a pipe. Car rocking. Went to toilet and got soaked. Got back in tent and listened to radio. Very restless and long night about 3 hours sleep. Storm did not abate in night.

Thursday 8th August

 In the morning still gales. Carnage on campsite. Someone's large family tent disappeared into hedge. All belongings in a pile on pitch. No sign of occupants. Tents and belongings scattered over campsite.

Packed up my tent in gale. No damage. Left site and headed South. A19, Tyne Tunnel A174 to Whitby via Saltburn-on-Sea.

Parked on front in a howling gale and rain. Huge waves. Good picture of seafront and cliffs. Off to Staithes. Quaint fishing village. Very windy and raining. Will it ever stop?  Walked down steep approach to village. Took photos of classic view of harbour, cliffs and boats and out to sea. Very wet and windy on harbour. Shops seemed shut. Very quiet. Would have liked to spend more time but realised I had forgotten parking ticket? Climbed back up steep slope to car. Very wet so couldn't be bothered to go back ( would like to visit on a nice day).

Drove to Whitby in pouring rain. Drove up to Abbey. Paid car park and entry fee but only spent 20 minutes as wind blowing me off my feet and very wet. Decided to look for campsite. Found a farm but no one around so Drove on towards Scarborough.  Drove through Scarborough and found a site near Filey. Big campsite. £11.50pn?? Pitched wet tent behind a hedge. Much calmer but still raining. Had shower and a change of clothes (first time). Wrote diary listening to test match (surprisingly not raining there!) before curry and rice for tea cooked in tent out of rain......

After a more peacèful night, I collected Alice the next day and headed home to dry out.

The trip was an experience which lives long in my memory and I got some paintings and sketches and photographs I later used for paintings. Having now lived up here for 10 years I shouldn't be that surprised about the appalling weather in Northumberland in August and it obviously didn't put me off.

Lindisfarne (Holy Island) has become one of my favourite places to visit and paint in Northumberland. We often stop at Budle Bay to birdwatch.

 Having survived the experience, my tent finally succumbed to the rigours of Festival life when Tom took it to Leeds Festival and brought it back in a state only fit for the dustbin?? 

I do tend to mention the trip every-time we drive past the Warren Mill campsite at Budle Bay.

Friday 21st July 2023

So last Friday was my Birthday.  I went to the pub on Thursday evening to celebrate and felt so ill on my birthday I've considered giving up drinking.

This may sound self-inflicted and a normal consequence of over indulgence, but it wasn't a normal hangover.  I don't get those with real ale. I'm afraid the effects of that much sugar on my diabetes is debilitating. Although I really enjoyed it, I really can't do it anymore.

On the subject of my birthday,  my son Liam bought me Jim Moir's (Vic Reeves) book "Birds", his watercolours of 100 birds.

I talked about his TV series a few weeks ago but didn't realise he'd done a book.

Most pictures are fine, a few are a bit strange. So much for my bird book idea. This is a Sunday Times Best Seller!

I did get a nice surprise in the post this week. When a large parcel arrived, I didn't know what it could be as, despite my usual online purchases, I hadn't ordered anything that big. It turned out to be a large version of the portrait of me, photographed by my friend Drew the photographer in Chesterfield a few months ago, and it was in a nice frame. Where I'm going to put an A2 framed portrait of me is currently, a matter for debate, in the Big Brother house??

In other news, the clients loved my Burradon Farm Commission. That's always a relief. I also manage to frame all the big paintings this week. It's always great to see a picture in a frame. I had planned to do some more painting in the studio but got sidetracked trying to find an annoying knock on my MG.

I ended up rummaging around my numerous portfolios, full of old work. There's all sorts in there dating back to the early 80's. I wrote about my "Cromacryl" paintings a couple of weeks ago and I found some more of those plus numerous watercolours of different eras and several of my original acrylic ink landscapes. There were paintings of many different styles from across the 80's, 90's and noughties, many, of which, I'd forgotten I still had.

I also found a packet of watercolours by an old girlfriend, Gillian, who I was at school with and kept in touch with. She was an excellent artist and had her own style. She became a Town and Country Planner but still occasionally painted. She had sent a few pieces of work for me to look at many years ago and I think I was supposed to give them back but forgot and never did and she has never asked. I am going to put them in an album rather than keeping them in a jiffy bag in my old portfolios.

It begs the question,  what to do with all  my old paintings? There are so many I couldn't mount or frame them all and even if I did, what would I do with them. I might do the same as with Gillians work and put all the smaller ones in some albums but there are some larger ones, too big for an album.

I have started gluing loose sketches into sketchbooks rather than them piling up in drawers so that may be an option.

I must stop rummaging around in my studio as it creates more headaches with all the stuff in there.

Midweek Natasha asked me to do a painting for a friend's birthday which coincided with the start of the 4th Ashes Test so it was indoor painting for the rest of the week. I decided to do some watercolour "pot boilers" (see previous blogs) for my Art in the Garden event on August Bank Holiday weekend.  You may see posts on Facebook promoting the event for the next few weeks. Hopefully I can get rid of some of the painting mountain in the studio/party shed or maybe not?

Friday 14th July 2023

It may be Bastille Day in France but over here it's my Birthday. 

Queue Beatles song. Yes I'm 64. 

Until I reached 60 my age never really bothered me. I've always looked older than I am since I started turning grey at 25. I've started to think more about my age recently and get really frustrated that after all this time I can't paint what I want to paint and wouldn't really know how to start as I don't really know what and how I want to paint? That may sound crazy but it's true. The trouble with age is that you don't really know how long you have to do stuff.

If I was still in a job I'd be looking forward to retirement but doing what I do, I have no plans to retire, ever, for as long as I can paint I will. The problem is I still need to earn a crust and so, have to paint stuff to try and sell. I know I've gone through all this in a previous blog(s) but I've been doing a commission this week and it's OK and the client will like it but I really can't say I enjoyed painting it. I know I have control of what I paint to some extent and ought to be able to give myself time to let loose and paint something I really want to but I seem to freeze at the thought of it. Anyway enough of these ramblings.

My commission of "The Simonside Hills, late evening, with Super Moon, from Burrandon Farm" (see below) is finished, subject to clients approval. As usual with these things, it didn't go completely smoothly. The clients live with this view day in and day out and are therefore very familiar with it. Although I have a little artistic licence, I cannot deviate too much from the actual landscape. I am not particularly happy with the composition of the picture but it is the view they see. I have tried to show some perspective by using paler colours and less detail in the distance with a darker, more colour saturated and detailed foreground, all whilst trying to keep it as loose as the brief will allow. I have to say that this is not how I would have painted this view, given free reign, but I'd rather the client be happy.

With Natasha doing Uni work on Saturday and then going for some much deserved pampering at Doxford Hall on Sunday, I again did some work at the weekend,  finishing glueing and pinning the rest of my frames. I, however,  decided that they  needed painting and so, after completing the commission, I did that this week. Even this, seemingly simple task, did not quite go as expected. Initially I painted a couple of frames with a white primer but the resulting coverage was not satisfactory so I decided to use an oil based, white, wood paint. This went on well and I was happy with the result. It says on the tin touch dry within 1-2 hours, but, after 24 hours it was still tacky. I have no idea why?

I managed to do the 3, 24"×24" frames and safely place them out of harms way in the studio whilst still giving me space to paint but this will cause big problems when I come to do the 36"×36" frames which, given the space I will only be able to do one at a time. On the plus side, they do look good and they are all square with perfect mitres, a first for me, so I'm pleased with the results. I just need to get the paintings in the frames now and work out what to do with them. I know my Morso Guillotine was a lot of money but taking into account the moulding costs and my time I reckon I've saved myself around £360 by framing them myself.

Last Friday we made a rare but pleasurable sojourn to The Greys Inn. I finally remembered to take my painting of Embleton Bay and leave it at the pub where it will hang. The owner Chris agreed to buy it on Bonfire Night so it's been well overdue. He was happy to have it, eventually,  and I just need to get the cash now.

You know how I like to educate, so, I thought I'd just conclude this week with a couple of Art News items that you may or may not have seen, involving two premiership names from the Art world.

Firstly,  a few weeks ago, in June, Gustav Klimt's final masterpiece came up for auction. Titled "Dame Mit Fächer" (Lady with a Fan).

Klimt's final portrait was painted in 1917 and was on his easle when he died in 1918. It had previously been auctioned and sold by Sotherbys in 1994 for $11.6m. This time it achieved a record price for a European auction of $94.3m. The painting shows a lady with oriental dress showing Klimt's interest in Chinese art. Not a bad investment for whoever owned it!

Finally, according to recent research at Cambridge University, it has been discovered that The Renaissance Master, Albrecht Dürer painted his own self portrait into a 16th century altarpiece commissioned by a wealthy Frankfurt business man, Jacob Heller, after a bitter row over pay. Dürer placed himself, a forlorn and surprising figure, right in the middle of the monumental work depicting the apostles gazing to see the Virgin Mary's ascension and coronation. Although like other artists Dürer sometimes placed himself at the edges of paintings rather like Alfred Hitchcocks own cameo appearances in his films, to place himself right in the centre appears to be an act of revenge against his miserly client. In a series of letters Dürer bemoaned that the miserly commission would not even cover his materials. Unfortunately, few people saw the altarpiece and it was destroyed in a fire in Munich in1729. Only an inferior copy remains by Nuremburg painter Jobst Harrich.

The moral of the story is if you commission an artist, pay him what he's asking or there might be something surprising in the finished work.

Friday 7th July 2023

So after the wedding weekend I decided I had put it off for far too long and so I retrieved my 120cm ×100cm canvas from the party shed and got it on the easle. 

It's just about the largest I can fit on there and there's no a lot of space to work. I decided that I was going to do a painting of Little Langdale Tarn in the Lakes. OCG is big enough to take the painting, so that's where it will be heading.....eventually.

I needed to get the composition right and the fells fairly accurate. I wacked in the sky, quickly, with the largest brush I had and worked into it a bit whilst still wet. With a canvas this size and quick drying acrylic paint there is no time to mess around. I added a little cloud texture later with a palette knife when it was totally dry.

I then worked on the fells from left to right, combining colours fairly loosely with brush and palette knife. There were several layers which took the rest of the afternoon. The left side was mainly in shadow and the right brightly lit but with shadows where the undulations and outcrops were casting them. My aim was to keep this loose and impressionistic but retain the identity of Little Langdale, a place I know well. I certainly didn't want to get into painting individual trees. I kept standing at the other end of the studio to check that all the marks and colours were making some sense. I was using paint straight from the bottle and mixing on a palette or on the canvas whilst adding heavy impasto gel to thicken the paint. It is a long process and involves a lot of paint.

I left it to dry overnight. The next day I began putting in the lake and the middle ground fields with a woodland area to the right, which I again wanted to keep quite loose, and a copse of trees to the left. There were a few trees and bushes which I put in loosely.  Two thirds of the large foreground was in shadow. I didn't want it to be a uniform colour and look dead, so I mixed combinations of different darks and Trowell them on with a large palette knife. After lunch I refined a few areas and added more random marks, sashes, lines and even a hint of two farms, without detail. I left it there but will come back to it later after I've lived with it for a while. The picture below is as it stands at the moment. I think I like it but as usual I'm not sure!

Whilst I was watching the test match during the rest of the week I decided to do some indoor paintings using acrylic inks. I managed 10 of The Lakes and Scotland. Acrylic inks are bright and it's difficult to control tonal values but the end results are quite vibrant and a bit different. 

I spent time on Friday cutting 16 mounts and mounting the new acrylic inks along with some watercolours I had unmounted.

I've spoken before about how long the other stuff takes. I was in the studio at 7.30am on Friday and finished the mounting, backing, signing and Cello wrapping at 11am.

We had an expensive start to this week. We booked and paid for our holiday in Orkney in September and decided on a new car. All before 9am?? We went to a dealer in Morpeth on Saturday morning to have a look at them and came back and ordered it. It wasn't as impulsive as it sounds as it was time to swap our car and we have been looking for a while.

On Monday I decided to take the bull by the horns and do some framing. I have sort of putting off using my Morso Guillotine but don't know why. Recently I have built up quite a few paintings on standard canvas (not deep edged) which need framing. There were 4 36"×36" pictures and 4 24"×24" pictures needing frames. I found a piece of cut off moulding to practice on.

Once set up, the Guillotine worked brilliantly cutting perfect 45° mitres. I have had quite a few lengths of moulding in my studio for over a year now. With a bit of careful measuring and cutting I managed to cut the sides for all 4 36"×36" frames and 3 24"×24" frames. The Guillotine proved to be less scary than I imagined but care and respect for the machine is paramount as one careless move can cause a serious cut or even loss of digits  on the razor sharp blades. I like that it is foot-operated and not electric as it gives a little more control and thinking time.

That, of course, is only the start of it. Each frame has to be glued and pinned. My first frame glued together with perfect mitred corners, however, I used the wrong size v wedges to pin the joins which burst the frame. I then had to push them out, fill, sand and paint the frame with 2 coats of white paint. I managed to fix it but it was a pain. I also discovered that one of my canvases was not square so won't fit the frame. I can only make these frames one at a time because I need a large flat surface to glue them and fit a frame band around them so it's a slow process. I used the time in-between to do some more painting, paint edges and on Wednesday I decided to varnish them all. This meant every available surface was covered, forcing a break. The varnish dried and I could get on with other stuff. I then got a message from my Oban Gallery wanting some mounted watercolours. I spent Thursday and Friday doing those.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks really. 

I've received some large boards from Buckinghams and so that will be my next painting project. I've also had another commission from the lady at Burradon Farm. This time for another sons birthday in August but of the same view, this time in Summer. She sent some photos, with the huge super moon we've had this week so, I think I'm going to get that in somewhere.

It's good to be busy in the studio again but Buckinghams warned me that things have been slow for all the artists because of the current economic climate. 

Now they're words I've heard before and they don't fill me with joy as the work piles up in the studio.

Friday 30th June 2023

We had a great weekend at Amy and Will's wedding in a woodland retreat, at Camp Katur, in Beadale. 

It was good to spend time with the family and the weather was kind to us. George behaved himself. The gear knob stayed on and we used the awning for the first time without breaking it. I did manage to reverse into our gatepost when we got home and crack the rear bumper. In my defence, it is very tight getting it back into our drive.

Whilst doing the ceiling in the studio last week we had to move a few things. I came across a little picture in a dusty old frame that I'd forgotten I had. It is really small but I realised it was really at the forefront of my "professional " Art career.

Back in 1997 , I "acquired" some paint from work called "Cromacryl". It was weird stuff. A sort of mix between acrylic and basic school paint but was bright, fast drying, waterproof when dry and could be mixed with various additives to be used for different techniques such as impasto painting or printing or painting on textiles or even clay.

I originally got a set of small bottles but later got some larger ones. Whilst playing around with it one day I dribbled some paint straight out of the bottle onto a sheet of card you used to get when you bought a shirt. It had a slightly shiny surface. I placed another sheet on top, smoothed it down and pulled them apart. The results were interesting with the paint creating frond like areas of colour. As I experimented with different papers/card and placed the colours more strategically,  I found that I could create some interesting abstract landscapes.

I tried various ways of varying the effect by sliding the sheets apart or scraping into the finished piece with a spatula. They say that nothing in art is new but I'm always looking for something no one else is doing and I thought this might be something. Looking back now I suppose it was a sort of monoprinting. It was just the type of paint made it slightly different. As usual I went a bit mad on the production side. People I showed seemed quite fascinated by the effects and were always asking how I produced them. I framed quite a few, gave some away but also sold some in various places. I know of a few people who bought them at the time. I have very few left but this little harbour I found was one. My favourite I named "Mariana Trench" as it looked like an underwater scene with weed and coral. I had 2 (I always had two of each because of the way I created them). Some friends of ours had one of the "Mariana Trenches" as they loved it, but I can't remember if I kept the other one. I also made cards from them. The "Mariana Trench" below is a card I still have and am loathed to send to anyone.

Later, when we had the Gallery we became friends with Romey Brough. I have talked about Romey in a previous blog. She created, (and still is creating) monoprints using a similar technique with acrylics on glass and she then takes a print off that. A technique I love and despite her explaining to me how she does it, have still never been able to replicate. It infuriates me and every so often I give it another go. I get interesting but different results every time but I will persevere and hope to crack it one day. We have 8 of Romeys pictures so I have something to go on.

The pictures I created using this technique was my first time of dipping my toe into commercial art, selling pictures through a shop or gallery. I remember a café in Chesterfield at the side of the Town Hall car park, whose owner was a friend of my Aunty's Anne. She had them all round her walls and sold some for me. It wasn't the big time but it was a start and encouraged me to try approaching other outlets and I suppose was a fore-runner to "Altered Images" and eventually "Charisma Gallery"

I realise that I have loads of stuff secreted in my studio from the early days. Most of it is crap but there's still the odd nugget. That's why, despite being accused sometimes of hoarding, I don't like to throw stuff away. Doing this blog has often forced me to remember things that I haven't thought about for years. I think it's actually good for me. I have no idea who reads all this mental meandering every week (apart from the faithful few who leave comments or likes every week, to who I am eternally grateful) but it does make me think, which at my age, I am told, is a good thing.

PS. After writing this I remembered that I do have the original "Mariana Trench" framed (cheaply) somewhere! It will be in a box somewhere in my studio. Something which I say on a regular basis. All I have to do now is find it!!

PPS. Later that day... I have found it, tucked away on a shelf at the back of a lot of paintings. I am known for my persistence. I think it deserves a re-mount and a new frame and I'll find a spare bit of wall somewhere to hang it.

PPPS Even later that day. Unfortunately I discovered that over the years the painting has stuck to the glass in the middle and I can't get it off without tearing it. I have managed to get the dirty mount off so will have to replace that and leave it in its current frame or get a new frame of the same size. It was really only for me so I'll put up with it.

In the studio this week I finally girded my loins to tackle one of my big canvases…

More on that in next week's blog.

Friday 22nd June 2023

First this week a car update.

Finally, after 3 weeks I've got my damaged MG back! I've no idea why it took so long. Perhaps it's the price you pay for having a convenient local garage with only one owner/mechanic. I also needed a new battery which, annoyingly,  cost more than the repair to my suspension…

Secondly, I failed to mention the little incident after the Steve Earle gig in Whitley Bay. On our way home I managed to clip a roundabout with a brick rim that immediately burst a tyre on our 4x4. We limped into a nearby Sainsburys, which, although shut, had a big car park. The tyre was flat and the supposed tyre inflation kit (there is no spare), was absent. We had no choice but to call our old friends the AA.

It was 11pm and they arrived by 11.30pm.

The tyre was unsalvageable and he agreed to let us have his "pram wheel" which we said we would return to our local AA garage in Seahouses when we had the tyre replaced.

We had to drive home the 50 miles at 50mph, which seemed to annoy a lot of people in the queue behind us on the single track bit of the A1. Some people are so impatient. I was amazed at the amount of traffic on the road at 12.30am but remembered the Sam Fender concert at St James's Park was also on that night. We've certainly had our moneys worth out of our AA membership. 

It's our Neice Amy's wedding this weekend so we're off to a wood in Beadale in George. We had fun cleaning George on Sunday! We used our extendable window brush and Natasha climbed onto the roof to get a years worth of grime off (I was again banned from doing this rather precarious task due to my propensity for falling off things). George looked much better for his wash and brush up and we were both soaked.

I have, predictably, done a painting for Amy's wedding present but had forgotten that, a while ago, I had promised her sister Lucy, (who married an Aussie, Dominic, last Summer), a bird painting of a Kookaburra. I decided to paint it on Monday whilst watching the Ashes cricket. They're funny little birds, members of the Kingfisher family with a beak that looks disproportionate to its head and body. 

I painted it in watercolour on an A3 sheet of hot-pressed (smooth) watercolour paper and mounted and framed it for her as a surprise. 

On Wednesday I enlisted the help of Dylan who is a lot taller than me and we set about doing the studio ceiling with the black plastic. I knew from the start that it wasn't going to be easy, and it wasn't. I intended to try and do it in one piece but manoeuvring a large piece of plastic sheet was virtually impossible and so we did it in 3 stages stapling the edges to the solid wood beams in the roof and venturing amongst the cobwebs, spiders and mouse shit. Dylan loved it…especially as it got hotter and hotter in there. However, he was great and we finished the job. I'm really grateful to him as balancing on wobbly step ladders is not something I find easy nowdays. It looks so much better and cleaner. We finished by cutting slots out around my strip lights and by the time I'd tidied up and put everything back it had taken us about 4 hours. We did have some comedy moments when trying to cut the 5m×4m plastic sheet to size on the lawn with a handy Northumberland breeze blowing. I really should have photographed Dylan spreadeagled like a snow angel on the plastic to hold it down.

I've also had a request to do a workshop for a Leven Art Group, in Stokesley, North Yorkshire. I was recommended by someone from Warkworth.  I have agreed and are currently sorting out dates.

If you get  chance, have a look at the website.  I asked Tom to update it with some new work including some of the big paintings I've done recently, so there are 10 new paintings on there.

Hopefully next week I can get back to some painting.

Friday 16th June 2023

On Saturday we went to Whitley Bay for the afternoon.

It was a gorgeous day and Whitley Bay was bustling. After a fish and chip supper on the promenade overlooking the sea with St Mary's Lighthouse in the background we went to see one of my heroes, Steve Earle in concert at Whitley Bay Playhouse. It was an excellent set, just him on stage with a variety of instruments. He played acoustic versions of many of his best known songs. 

He was brilliant with nowhere to hide in such an intimate setting. He also talked frankly about his politics, his sons death from an accidental drug overdose and his own heroin addiction and recovery. It was quite a privilege to hear him close up and personal. He's on a big tour and is at Glastonbury this year.

The weather has been great up here this week. I was getting overwhelmed by the dishevelled state of our garden. I spent Sunday and Monday cutting, strimming, weeding and planting and although knackering in the sunshine I felt much happier. It was time to get in the studio again. It's very frustrating having a studio that is freezing in winter but gets very hot in the Summer. I can only work in there until mid afternoon before it gets very sweaty. 

I woke on Tuesday morning with an aching body but a bit of a plan. I decided, with no real aim, to re-use some old canvases. I knew I had some big 36"×36" canvases with paintings that had been around for a few years. I have spoken before about re-using canvases. The dilemma is always what, if anything to retain of the old paintings. Having some colour on the picture can be helpful or distracting. I could just cover the old work with primer and start again or integrate some of the original picture into a new painting. I ended up doing a bit of both on 5 large paintings.

On 4 of them I used mainly a palette knife and thick paint and transformed the old, tired pictures into new, contemporary ones.

On a couple I kept the buildings but re-painted them more loosely with a palette knife. They are unrecognisable from the originals. I have realised that I have some more canvases to re-use. Whilst rummaging through boxes I also found 2 36"×36" boards with dreadful paintings on them. I decided to do 2 large semi abstract seascapes which can go to Bucks as they are on board. They are loose and impressionistic with lots of paint, drbbles and spattering, using a big brush and palette knives.

Re-using old paintings is good recycling practice and I have had some of this stuff for ages. It doesn't help the painting build up of course but at least they're not additional paintings. 

I have managed to keep my studio tidy whilst working in there. I also bought a big roll of black plastic sheeting and intend to re-cover my horrible, mouse effluent stained clear plastic sheeting on the roof space. With my recent record of falling over I have been forbidden by the missus to do this on my own as it involves much balancing up tall steps with several sheets of plastic and a staple gun. A recipe for disaster??

Friday 9th June 2023

After the weekend back in Chesterfield for a family party, it was back to the studio this week.

I'd already sketched out my new "Croft" pictures and I decided to work on all five at once. It's often easier that way as its saves on mixing paint. First I painted the skies on all five. This by necessity is a fairly rapid process with the style I am painting in. A big brush and applied it on then a palette knife for some chunkier clouds. The background hills were put in next with a palette knife and brush, with combinations of blues and purples and greys. Each painting has a segment of water and this was done next. The crofts themselves took time. First with a brush and then with thicker impasto with a palette knife.

The thatch (on 4 of them) is done with a combination of brush and palette knife. The thatch on old crofts varies in colour from pale ochres and yellows to greens and browns, where moss has formed. I then stipple with an old brush with splayed hairs. This gives a sort of thatch effect. The that casts a deep shadow under the eaves and this shadow feeds into the deep set window and door recesses, built to protect the windows and doors from the weather. This I put in with a dark blue/red/black shadow. I don't like to use pure black as its a bit of a dead colour. The windows in the recesses are very dark and a hint of frame where the light catches. The walls are often whitewashed but are rarely clean except on the "croft museum" examples. Most are stone but the white ones look better in a picture. The chimneys are thick and were built to rise above the thatch for obvious safety reasons. 

The construction of the crofthouses or blackhouses varies from area to area or island to island. Crofters could not afford to import materials so, often used what was available. Wood is scarce on some Scottish Islands and often the roof structure was fashioned using washed up driftwood or even wood from shipwrecked ships. This was an era before lighthouses and shipwrecks were common amongst the Highlands and Islands along the Scottish coast and proved a godsend to Islanders for materials. The roofs were simply constructed of a cross beam and purlins and "divots" or turf sods were then placed on top as a base for the thatch. The thatch itself was made of whatever materials were available and had overhanging eves, where the water would run off, and was usually held down with large stones or pebbles held together by rope. Some crofts have later tin roofs, which still look attractive in a painting.

The thick walls were necessary for protection against the elements. The windows were very small and the houses must have been very dark and smokey, lit only by candlelight and an open fire.

It is quite easy to get too detailed on the crofts but to keep with the loose style I have tried to keep the detail to a minimum and details are painted in a loose way. The restored crofthouses can look very pristine but I prefer to paint them a little more dishevelled. 

I then painted the foreground with a variety of colours,  in a semi abstract way, using a palette knife  and plenty of paint mixed with texture gel and paste and even grout.

The final touches are added when dry; the odd bush, fence posts, walls and occasional telegraph pole.

I will give them the once over next week but I am generally happy with the results.

When signed, named and varnished, they, along with the 2 large landscapes, 1 seascape and a woodland picture, will be off to Buckinghams. I still await my very big boards and they will be another challenge.

Friday 26th May 2023

I can't believe it's June as another year rushes by I went to my local, The Greys Inn, on Friday evening for the first time since Bonfire Night.

It was a great evening and I predictably over did it but was reminded that the owner Chris had agreed to buy a painting of Embleton Bay from me. I must get it to him. It's a bit unlike me not to follow up on a sale!

On Saturday lunchtime I walked, with my neighbour Ray and our friend Dave (the tree surgeon), along the beach to The Ship Inn at Low Newton. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours taking in the fabulous view with some local beer. The tide was out and the coastline was fantastic with an aqua sea and white frothy waves bathed in glorious sunshine. I forgot how Dunstanburgh Castle looks so different from the angles along the beach. It was very inspirational and made me want to paint it.

After my meeting with Jonathan last week I realised I was going to have to get my studio space sorted, especially the end where I paint. I always end up doing this on hot days and Sunday was hot up here. I made a good start but eventually succumbed to the need to sort the garden out which we did during the afternoon. 

On Monday I got stuck in and by dinner time I had the studio tidied and sorted with lots of crap thrown away. I can now do 3ftx3ft canvases in relative comfort. I always feel so much better with a tidy, organised studio. However, I achieved it by dumping several boxes of paintings, previously housed in the motorhome, then studio, in our "party shed". I know I'm repeating myself but, I need to find a permanent home for them. I can't keep shuffling them around from place to place, especially as they're all framed and any movement risks damaging them.

With the studio tidied, I cracked on with 3 largish pictures with a palette knife and lots of texture, in a very loose style. 1 seascape and 2 moorscapes. I was quite pleased with them and enjoyed doing them. Mid painting, I got a message from Buckinghams to say my "croft pictures " had hit their website. They now want some more crofts, in a different style, similar to the smaller ones they have on the website.

So, that's my project for next week. I'm not sure where this "croft" thing is going. It's not really what I discussed with Jonathan but I'll carry on for now. The 3 paintings I've done this week are also for Bucks so they'll have a bit of a mix for their next collection!

I'm sort of veering to the style I painted in this week, although I also did a woodland picture which I'm not so thrilled with. It's the same old story with me. I see some fabulous "realistic" paintings on Facebook and Instagram and sometimes wish I could do that but I have to accept that I will never be a "realistic " painter. I haven't got the patience. As I get older, I'm getting "looser" in my work, something I have wanted to do, but "looser" doesn't mean slapdash. There's a huge difference.  I quite like the loosely painted, semi abstract nature I can depict a landscape with but I tend to do it in a hurry. Sometimes you need to slow down a bit. I have so many different styles of paintings in different galleries, that I can become in danger of losing my "artistic identity".

These are inner torments that keep me awake at night. This sounds terribly "arty angsty" and I realise that considering the state of the world, problems that are minuscule in the bigger picture of life, even in our lives but they manifest themselves as huge issues to me as this is what I do and to me its important but I also see that voicing these thoughts can get a little tedious for others. Even for seasoned listeners like Natasha, especially when she has so much stuff on her own plate. I daren't even voice it to my children, who are working whilst bringing up young children or struggling through life with a disability. However, it does affect my moods and my wellbeing. 

My concentration is terrible. I can be doing one job whilst thinking about painting and suddenly realise I've no idea what I'm doing or why!

This can obviously get quite risky when, for example, driving, chopping vegetables, walking round town, using a Morso Guillotine! etc....

This is why I laugh my socks off when people tell me how lovely it must be to be an artist. Doing something which relaxes me all day and how good it must be for my mental health? No! .... but I shouldn't complain.

Friday 26th May 2023

So I decided to work again at the weekend.

I wanted to get the croft pictures finished and varnished so that I could give them to Jonathan, Bucks CEO, on Thursday when we met. I managed this and to be honest they look great. Hope Bucks think so. 

My Cornwall paintings arrived safely at The Jane Adams Gallery, which is always a relief. I also managed to get a couple of seascapes and my neice, Amy's wedding present done. My sister Jill and mother in law Marissa are proof reading my Standing Stones Book and my mate Paul from University has read it and given me some pointers and offered to edit it for me, so it's all happening at the moment.

After an impromptu session on Saturday teatime, at The Craster Arms in Beadnell, watching a band with our neighbours in the sun, we returned for a couple more in their garage bar. I found myself suddenly very emotional about my underlying self doubt with regard to my paintings. Its not like me but I sometimes wonder what the hell I'm doing and why? Although my paintings do sell they don't sell in the quantities I would like. I need to sell more so I can justify painting more. I seem to be in a funny situation at the moment. All my galleries have relatively new work plus cards. I think I need some more galleries. This is really the hardest bit for me as approaching galleries is always a tricky business and I hate it. Its also the lifeblood of an artist and has to be done. I've not done a gallery mailshot for a while. Perhaps it's time for another.

On Thursday I finally had my long awaited meeting with Jonathan Kearns, CEO and owner of Buckingham Fine Art. It went very well. He has big plans for Bucks in the future. He's said he will do more to promote my work and I should carry on doing what I'm doing but perhaps do more, larger statement pieces with lots of chunky impasto. That's fine with me. I'll have to order buckets of paint and texture paste.

They will sell for a lot more so its worth giving it a go. It was going so well but on the way to the meeting I hit a pot hole and a very loud bang emanate from my little MG. Natasha managed to bring the paintings over in her lunch break and meet Jonathan. After the meeting he went off with the pictures. As I set off home Natasha alerted me to the smoke coming from the rear and I could smell the distinct smell of burning rubber as my tyre rubbed on the wheel arch. The suspension was knackered. We called the AA whose van had actually been parked in the pub car park where we'd had the meeting. He confirmed a sheered off suspension bolt. We had to wait in a lay by for the tow truck which towed the car back to the garage in Embleton. Brilliant…

On the bright side Jonathan offered to help with my book. He knows people and stuff about publishing so, that will be really helpful. 

Bucks are looking at around 10 statement pieces per month, so, it's back to the studio next week...

Friday 19th May 2023

At the weekend my sister Jill and partner Keith came to see us. We had a great day.

After popping into my studio and "rescuing" a painting that I had decided to paint over (Jill has a large quantity of my paintings already), we spent the afternoon walking and birdwatching (Keith is a keen birder) on Holy Island/Lindisfarne. Keith showed me some paintings that his brother had done of birds. They were beautiful, of birds in situ painted in great detail in oils. I thought, could I paint like that? Possibly, but unlikely as my boredom threshold is so high that I probably wouldn't have the patience. I do appreciate artists who can paint in a photorealistic style but I don't think I ever could.

At the weekend I also received a surprise email from the creative director at Buckinghams who suggested I paint a new series of "croft" pictures with flat colour backgrounds of dark blue or grey, detailed crofts and heavily textured foreground. To me this sounded like a bit of a mixture of styles. I have previously painted crofts with flat colours and a very limited palette and also pictures painted loosely with texture, painted with a palette knife, but not a combination of both styles. I didn't think it would work but said I'd give it a go.

Buckinghams had sent me the boards which apart from some square 24"×24", were not my usual sizes. They needed priming first and I gave them 2 coats of white, acrylic primer followed by 2 coats of the colours, grey and dark blue, applied with a roller. The grey and blue are both matt emulsion house paint. When dry I sketched in the compositions with a white pencil crayon. I painted the background hills with flat colour then the crofts with textured paint. Working on 3 paintings at a time I built up the detail. I used combinations of texture paste, modelling paste and heavy duty gel plus the acrylic paste to build up the foreground texture waiting for a layer to dry before adding more using a combination of palette knife and brushes. The foreground colours are a mixture of reds, oranges, ochre and yellows with darker passages of blacks, browns, blues and reds. I added purer, brighter colour when dry. Having finished 3 I'm still not sure they work. Natasha likes them and thinks they are "commercial " which is the point. I'm finally meeting the CEO of Buckinghams next week to discuss moving forward and possibly my books. I'm not sure I can get them finished by then to give him but I might. I desperately want to add a moon to the flat skies but have been asked not to for this series. I'm not sure "crofts" are the way forward with Bucks. I have painted loads of them and had success with them, in all their forms, in the past but whether it's the future I'm not convinced.

My other big news this week is that I have made another purchase. This time it was serious and expensive and I had to run it by the boss. Fortunately she agreed to it.

It's a second hand Morso F Delux, framing guillotine. It's what framers use to cut mitred mouldings to perfect corners. It arrived on Wednesday on a big lorry on a palette from Essex with a delivery cost of £80. Most of them you see for sale are collection only as they are very heavy.

My neighbour Ray and I managed to get it down to the bottom of the garden on a sack truck and install it in my recently cleared outhouse which has a concrete floor. It works with a foot pedal and has 2 incredibly sharp blades which cuts a length of moulding into 2 perfect 45° angles.

I can't wait to use it and still have some lengths of moulding. I have become disillusioned with trying to cut perfect mitres on my chop saw. Despite all the adjustments and YouTube videos, the corners were never perfect enough for Gallery quality frames. It was expensive but hopefully it will save me money in the long run...... that's how I sold it to The Boss anyway...

Friday 12th May 2023

We've gradually been recovering from the loss of Ella this week.

I distracted myself over the weekend by working, something I don't do often but it was only making more cards. I now have plenty. We had our friends Matt and Sarah here on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday and had a busy day driving around on Tuesday, so, I didn't begin work again until Wednesday.

I returned to my studio and continued with my Cornwall paintings. I was specifically asked to paint the South West around Sennen Cove and Cape Cornwall. This happens to be a special place for us despite its connections with our previous Gallery partner Mike. I had been to Sennen before but we stayed there 3 times in Mike's properties.

Our first visit was at New Year. We had Liam, Dylan and Natasha’s mum, Marissa and husband Paul with us. We stayed in a little cottage virtually on the beach. It was a great place to stay and as well as having a great New Year's Eve in the pub, ‘The Old Success’ with the locals, we travelled around a bit along the West Penwith coast, to Cape Cornwall, Zennor and along to St Ives, which at New Year is mercifully quieter. This is an artists paradise and home to some of Cornwalls most notable artists like Roger Hilton, Barbara Hepworth, Peter Lanyon and Terry Frost and more recently Kurt Jackson, amongst many others. The light is magical and the whole area is an inspiration. I love it. I also did a lot of sketching, visited Galleries, including Tate St Ives, took in a few lighthouses and visited a few Megalithic sites as well.

I painted quite a few Cornwall paintings afterwards including a small personal painting I still have called "Little Man, Big Bird". A painting of a very young Dylan in his coat and wellies on the beach with a huge Herring Gull (see below). I also did a picture of Liam and Dylan with a bucket collecting shells. I remember it well as Dylan fell in a rock pool and got soaked head to foot. These were unusual for me as I don't usually paint figures. It was a great holiday, often with misty, mysterious weather, we even had some snow, something I hadn't experienced in Cornwall before. It was all lovely, Cornwall out of season.

We visited another of Mike's properties in Sennen one February half term with Liam and Dylan and our friends Rob and Caroline and their son Tye. It was a very different property. An upper floor of a large house perched high on the cliffs above Sennen village with magnificent views over to Lands End in one direction and Sennen Cove and Cape Cornwall in the other seen through the floor to ceiling picture windows. The changing light was amazing over the sea which changed from a dark, brooding pewter to a bright aquamarine and turquoise in seconds with crashing surf and skies to die for. We again travelled around West Penwith and beyond. I was building a collection of inspirational photographs and sketches.

The third visit was with my mum to the same place. It was freezing and we had all the seasons in one week. We went to "Lands End Experience" which was horrible, but the kids enjoyed it. The scenery, however, was spectacular. We only had a short walk from the apartment over the brow of the cliffs to get stunning views of the Lands End Peninsula and The Longships Lighthouse perched on its rocky island out to sea. We met Mike in St Ives and he also gave us a tour of Galleries in Penzance. We visited Newlyn and St Michael's Mount. I fell completely in love with the area and would have moved there in an instant if a) we could have afforded it, b) we hadn't got jobs and a Gallery back home and c) it wasn't so remote from all our family and friends. Hmm? We'd leave that to a few years later. (The distance was only half of that to Cornwall when we moved up to Northumberland). I think I must have been Cornish in a previous life. I feel so happy there and really "at home.” At my age I think that dream has probably passed and I think the hoards of tourists would drive me nuts. I am incredibly happy though that I have a Gallery to paint Cornwall seascapes for. At one point I supplied 4 Galleries down there but the moving around of paintings got too much.

Talking of Cornwall and Northumberland, I have watched a couple of Sky Arts "Painting Birds with Jim (Vic Reeves) and Nancy Moir.” He is quite a talented artist and apart from the inane chatter (I'm afraid Nancy drives me nuts), the painting and the birds were great in Northumberland, where they sought The Curlew and Cornwall painting The Chough.

In the Cornwall programme he was exhibiting his work at Cornwall Contemporary Gallery in Penzance run by Sarah Brittain, who we knew from our Great Atlantic Cornish Artists Exhibition we had at Charisma Gallery. I tell you my "Art World" is a small place...

Friday 5th May 2023

The Art of Frustration. 

In my introduction to last week's blog post I mentioned that we had been delayed, setting off for Northern Kin by mice chewing through a wiring loop in the engine, which the brilliant AA man eventually discovered and repaired. Still we were 3 hours behind our intended set off time. 

We were meeting our friends Rob and Alison at the site but they rang to say that they had arrived to find a massive queue to drive in and that they had been sat in it for 2 hours without moving. The stewards weren't allowing any more traffic on site as it had become a mud bath. Vehicles arriving pre festival on the Thursday had struggled to get parked and only 1 of the 5 car parks was being used due to conditions.  Rob said they had made the decision to go to the off site parking 4 miles away. We decided the same, despite paying for on site camping. When we arrived it was a farm down a steep hill with several fields being used. We slid our way down to some other fields and eventually found a flat bit to park on. The ground was wet and manoeuvring the 3.5 ton motorhome on it was tricky. To add to the fun my gear knob snapped off in my hand.

The Festival opened at 4pm and by now it was 5pm. We quickly changed and went to catch one of the "frequent " shuttle buses.

We had just missed one but we're at the front of the next queue. 50 mins later the same single decker returned?? The driver explained that he couldn't take a full bus as it wouldn't get up the hill approaching the festival site. We got on and left about 200 angry people waiting. Once arriving on site it was apparent there were problems. It was now after 6pm. The queue for wrist bands was massive we eventually got in around 7pm. The site was getting muddy and it was only Friday night. After seeing Jethro Tull headlining we made our way back through the mud to catch the bus back. Returning to the motorhome we had a nightmare with the gas which we couldn't get fixed up and so no heating or cooker to make tea. We went to bed. Saturday morning was brighter but it had rained in the night. We got the gas working and had tea and bacon butties before setting off to catch one of the now numerous shuttle buses. We again joined a long queue to get in as there was a "technical problem"!!

Eventually we got on site and set up camp on the perimeter of the main big top and intended to stay there. It was a long day, cold and damp but we had a good time. The food and drink helped. The actual real ale was good. During the day with thousands onside and 3 stages conditions got worse and the site was a quagmire.  The bands were great though. Our highlights were The Tom Robinson Band, last seen by me in 1978 (he was brilliant), Ferocious Dog, who we had seen before and love and top of the bill The Levellers, who are always great. We decided to leave half way through as it was stair rodding down and we wanted to get a bus without standing queuing in the downpour. The site was waterlogged.

On the way back we discussed Sunday.  It was going to be chaos on Monday when everyone was trying to leave as everyone was stuck in mud. We decided, regrettably to pack up and leave on Sunday morning. It rained again in the night. We had left poor Dylan looking after a worsening Ella and he was really worried about her. Others, on site, were thinking the same and Sunday saw a mass exodus, well it would have done, except for the mud. No one was going anywhere as cars and motorhomes got completely stuck. We tried to leave at 10am before getting bogged down at the far end of the field. We were promised  tractors by the "on site security" (2 youngsters on a quad bike who knew as much as us).

The farmer, whose farm we were on spent his day off continually towing people off site. He had cleared leavers from the first field which had a large slope, by about 2pm. Rob and Alison got pushed out in their car. The farmer started on our field but there were lots of vehicles and not in any order. Tempers were fraying a little. We organised a number system for a towing order. At the far end of the site we were missed. It was now 4pm. It took him 15 mins per tow and he worked on his own, tirelessly all day.

We worked out we might get out about 8pm! Two ladies who had a lower number than us had seen us trying to leave at 10am and offered us their ticket. At 6.30pm another tractor arrived and after 8 and a half hours we were towed/dragged off site. The new tractor charged us £10 for the privilege!! After an interesting/tense drive home with the gear knob coming off every time I changed gear, we got home at 9pm.

Ella was obviously struggling and couldn't really stand. Dylan, who'd been sleeping downstairs with her, was knackered and upset. On Monday morning she couldn't stand up. She couldn't go outside to do her business or get up to eat or drink and obviously wouldn’t ever go on a walk again. We discussed the situation and agreed to put her out of her misery. We took her to the emergency vet hospital in Morpeth (as it was a bank holiday) and had her put to sleep. We were in bits. After 15 years of routine and having a dog around the house it was heartbreaking. I don't need to go into details, any dog owner will know the sense of loss. On Tuesday,  Natasha and Dylan had to go to work. I was left in a silent house staring at an empty space where Ella had always been as I reluctantly tried to work on some more cards as a distraction. The week has been hard but we made the right decision for Ella. It was her time. She has been the most gentle and wonderful companion and we loved her. I will get another dog later. But for now I've lost my sketching buddy and morning companion. I have painted a lot in doors to be with her the last few months and it's weird now she's not there. I think I need to get back in the studio.

R.I.P. Ella Bella.

Friday 28th April 2023

Our ageing Labrador Ella has got very dodgy back legs. They've got worse in the last few weeks. We took her to the vets last week and she's now taking a cocktail of drugs but she's still going.

As a consequence I can't walk her in a morning except to gently stroll to the end of the lane. It's a shock. For the last 15 years I've had my daily walks. Exercise for both of us. To suddenly not do it is very strange.

Why am I including this in my Art Blog? Well it is affecting me greatly. I've not wanted to go into my studio despite the canvases waiting for me. I've wanted to stay in with Ella, so this week it's been back to the cards. I've painted and made about 100 cards. I do have galleries wanting cards as my last batch seem to be selling well. To be honest I really enjoy doing them. This week it's been whilst watching "Waking the Dead" and the World Championship Snooker. I've also been getting stuff ready for the "Northern Kin Festival" this weekend. As I've said before, it's not the most profitable use of my time. Most of the galleries seem to have bought into the idea of the miniature paintings. OCG are selling the cards at £14.50. Even so, I wouldn't make a living out of it. 

Doing something on a daily basis has always been my preference when it comes to art. There are exceptions. I've said before that weekends are generally no working zones. There are other exceptions but part of the deal when I gave up my job and moved to Northumberland, was that if I was going to be a professional artist I would work hard at it. It's easier, of course when you have projects to aim for. Covid was an interesting time, still,  I painted nearly all the time. In my position, it's easy to slacken the workload. Losing my routine with Ella has thrown me a bit. It's like losing my routines with everything. We'll have to make some big decisions about her soon but I'm loathed to give up on her. I'll find a way to work round it but making cards everyday probably isn't it. I'll end up with hundreds. Perhaps back to small watercolours or acrylic inks for a while or even start on some lighthouses!!

Friday 21st April 2023

After I had posted my blog last Friday I received a message through my website  from my friend Jane Adams who has The Jane Adams Gallery in St Just, Cape Cornwall.

I have mentioned Jane before when I first put some work in her Gallery. She was one of our most popular artists in our Charisma Gallery with her quirky hare and dog sculptures.  We have 3 on our shelves at home. She even came to our wedding in Keswick. After we finished with Charisma Gallery we were slightly surprised to find out that she had married our partner in Charisma, Mike Mason and moved to Cornwall. Mike had always had connections in Cornwall. It was whilst we were on holiday down there that he offered us a partnership in Charisma. He also had 2 properties in Sennen Cove where we stayed. He had always wanted Galleries in Cornwall and had some connections. He arranged the "Here comes the Sun" exhibition at Charisma with lots of well known Cornish artist displaying work. We even went to view a couple of Galleries in Penzance.

Eventually after Charisma he had 2 Galleries in Cornwall. One in St Agnes and one in St Just. Jane had a rough time financially with Mike (as did we, so no surprise there) he was eventually jailed for fraud. She got the St Just Gallery and Pottery in their financial settlement after they divorced. Our connections with Cornwall are well documented.  As well as holidays there for many years, I exhibited in several Cornish Galleries. We have not been down there for years. It's a long way from North Northumberland. I do really miss it though. I always felt at home there and despite the numbers of tourists that go every year I never really had a problem. We also sometimes visited out of season which was great.

The artistic traditions associated with Cornwall made me love it even more. I even felt part of it, slightly. 

Anyway, Jane contacted me because she wanted to pay me for some sales. Mainly my hand painted cards. I asked her if she would like to have some larger work. We have been to the Gallery before and I know she doesn't have much space so I hadnt suggested sending larger paintings before but she said she would love to. I have to say, that put a spring in my step and gave a new purpose for my intended new seascapes. I immediately got my Kurt Jackson books out. Kurt Jackson as I've mentioned before, is my favourite contemporary artist. His Gallery, The Jackson Foundation is also in St Just. He paints Cape Cornwall endlessly. He's another "marmite " Artist. People love him or hate him. He's an activist and campaigner for Greenpeace and fairly vocal about it. He is against anything that destroys the natural environment. I have to say I agree with a lot of his views. He's also a massive advocate for the area of Cornwall he lives in and records it in his paintings. He paints large canvases en plein air and can often be found around The Cape recording the changing moods and weather of the Atlantic Ocean as it meets the Cornish coast in this area. I have collected his many books over the years, and I even have some signed copies, but they are expensive. He's appeared on radio and TV with Rick Stein and on Countryfile. Some say that he's got a bit too big for his boots and his paintings command high prices but his Gallery attracts a lot of visitors to the small village of St Just. Some find their way into The Jane Adams Gallery. I intend to send her 4 pictures of the local area on box canvas, which saves on framing and are lighter to post. I am looking forward to painting them. Sennen and Cape Cornwall are right up my street. 

I began with a re-used and high textured canvas on which I  painted a seascape of Sennen Cove. I then started a slightly smaller canvas of a seascape with "The Brisons", an island off  Cape Cornwall which is said to resemble General DeGaul lying in a bath. On Tuesday I got a bit distracted and ended up painting 30 small pictures of seascapes and landscapes which will be made into cards. On Wednesday I intended making the cards but again got distracted. I had ordered a reversing camera for the motorhome. As it was such a beautiful day, I decided to fit it.

30 minutes it said on the instructions. Hmm!! I won't bore you with the details but it took a bit longer than that by the time I'd sorted the vans wiring out and watched several YouTube demonstrations. Its all working now.. Whilst working on the motorhome I decided to get it ready for next week's trip to The Northern Kin Festival. I checked and charged both batteries, bought a new LPG gas bottle, hoovered and emptied and refilled the water tank. I then got my gear ready for Thursdays demo. I intend to turn the demo seascape into another Cornwall painting. It all took most of the day. Why does everything take so long. The cards and the other canvases will have to wait till next week.

I actually managed to glue my cards on Thursday morning before going to my demo. The WAGS (Warkworth Art Group) were a great bunch. I was warmly welcomed and they all brought along their painting gear to paint along. After a brief introduction to me and my techniques I did my seascape demo over about 3 hours with constant commentary. The group were very enthusiastic and there were plenty of questions. I managed to spatter their new floor with white paint but a brief clean up sorted any potential embarrassment. I was happy enough with the painting and they even allowed me to add "The Brisons" in Cape Cornwall to my Northumberland seascape.After plenty of thick paint ,spattering and spraying with my water bottle the painting became too wet to work on, so I called it a day. Despite spattering their floor they're going to ask me back. Again,on the way home, I wondered why I don't do more of these demos.

Friday 14th April 2023

We went down to Chesterfield for the Easter weekend, it was my Grandson Archie's 2nd Birthday on the Monday.

When we arrived on the Friday we arranged to meet friends for drinks at The George in Clay Cross where the food and beer are excellent. My old mate Gav is the Chef there. We sat outside on a beautiful sunny evening and drank some fine real ales. During the session we met Gav's brother Drew, another mate from the past. He runs Leading Imagery Photographic Studios, next door to the pub. 13 years ago, as a present, Natasha booked me a studio session with Drew to take photos for a new profile picture I needed for Washington Green. He did loads, all in black and white in various poses and I used one for my profile for years. He is brilliant at catching a face. He was at the pub with his family having a meal and a few drinks.

After they had gone home, literally 50 yards from the pub, he joined us for a catch up at our table. He was well into his rum and cokes by then and I'd had a few beers. Suddenly he said. I'm going to take your photo again, jumped up, and went home and collected his camera gear. He opened up his studio and sat me down. Took out his camera and took 4 photos. He then went into his office, cropped them and posted one on-line and emailed them to me. I was amazed what he'd done in 10 minutes for free. I will use the image (below) for my profile picture in my books. I like it a lot as it is very moody, although Dylan thinks I look like an axe murderer. 

We returned to Northumberland after Archie's party on Monday. I had Tuesday off. We had to go into Alnwick and Natasha suggested buying a new petrol mower to replace the one we've had for 10 years and which now can't cope with our large, sloping and uneven back garden with its network of mole tunnels. One day I'll just disappear underground. The old Jasper Carrot "shotgun sketch" comes to mind (look it up if you're too young) I had to take out a small mortgage but got a new, shiny, Honda. It will make my life a lot easier, so it's worth it. In the afternoon I tied up my studio again and had a sort out. It feels very satisfying when it's tidy (a relative term for my studio). At least I can move about and things are sort of back in place.

I decided to try and get back to work in the studio, so in preparation, I got out the 14 new canvases I have. I wanted to paint landscapes and seascapes but with more texture in the foreground so using some modelling paste, sand texture paste and filler I textured up the canvases. I also wanted to re-use some paintings I no- longer liked. It’s a good way to save money and the advantage is when they're covered in a couple of coats of primer they already have some texture underneath. If they're ever forensically examined in the future they may reveal some interesting results. The problem was that everytime I got some paintings out I didn't want to get rid of them. I do have some in the studio somewhere that are rubbish and I will find them at some stage. Despite my reorganisation, I still have paintings on my shelves which are boxed or wrapped and not easy to get to. I desperately need to get rid of some pictures. We're off to the "Northern Kin Festival " in 2 weeks so the studio will be storing a few more boxes of paintings currently housed in the motorhome. 

I have decided to do my 100 Lighthouses book. I keep thinking about it but Natasha has told me, in the strongest terms, that it is a project for next winter. I agree so will park it until then (I've still started making lists of lighthouses I've visited and want to include, much to her annoyance).

Next Thursday I have my demonstration for The Warkworth Art Group. I'm doing a seascape for them. I've booked Dylan to take me as I can't get the canvas and easel in my MG. I'll use the time until then to get some practice paintings done on my newly prepared canvases whilst still thinking of lighthouses to include in my book!!!!

Friday 6th April 2023

So, as usual I became a bit obsessed with the "Bird Book" idea.

I continued with the bird paintings this week and before I knew it I'd got 114 bird paintings, well, 114 different birds. I'll have to cull some as 114 bird sketches doesn't sound as good as 100 bird sketches. I've made myself stop and photographed them.

It got me thinking of other obsessions I've  had in painting, not counting the art book thing. The "Standing Stones" book was the latest but there have been others, some for good reasons. "Crofts" became a bit of an obsession. They did sell so there were sound reasons behind painting them but I have done a lot. I got a bit obsessed during lockdown with flower painting, birds and my "Rock Icon" series. 

When I was painting for Washington Green Fine Arts, between 2007 and 2011, I developed a bit of an obsession with painting lighthouses. I have always been fascinated by lighthouses. I think it started when I was young but trips to Cornwall increased my interest. I think living in the land-locked centre of the country made visits to the coast even more special. My stays in Cleethorpes with my cousin Simon gave me a sense of freedom I didn't have back home. Cornish lighthouses, like most lighthouses have a real sense of history with many stories attached to them. It seemed a romantic notion to be a lighthouse keeper but it was anything but. Watch "The Lighthouse" film on Netflix!!

I was attracted to the Cornish lighthouses at Lizzard, Godrevy, Pendeen and  Lands End and sketched them. I began to buy books on the lighthouses of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and then books about their construction and the role of Trinity House who now look after them. The "Lighthouse Stevensons"  were an engineering dynasty who built many of them. Imagine building one of the remote "rock lighthouses" out at sea with the elements against you throughout construction. The feats of engineering are staggering for the day. The origins of lighthouse construction is a little hazy but certainly The Pharos of Alexandria, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, at the mouth of the Nile was recognised as the first true lighthouse tower.

The Romans built many. We can see a surviving example at Dover. The need to guide ships along the treacherous coastlines has continued for centuries. During the medieval period bonfires were lit and maintained on towers, usually by monks or hermits. During Elizabeth I’s reign beacons were used to warn of danger and during the reign of Henry VIII, groups of merchants and sailors formed guilds to protect coastlines and ports with beacons and were known as Trinity Houses. In 1514 Trinity House received a royal charter and has been maintaining lighthouses ever since.

Technology has moved a long way from bonfires, candles and mirrors. The power supplied to lighthouses has moved through oil, gas and eventually electricity and solar power. Modern lighthouses are fitted with modern lamps and reflectors emitting powerful beams of light. The lighthouses are all automated now and the last lighthouse keepers left many years ago but they still need maintenence.  It somehow taints the intrigue somewhat but they still fascinate me. When we travel and there's a lighthouse nearby, we're almost certain to visit. We have quite a few up here. Longstone, the Grace Darling Lighthouse has its own museum in Bamburgh. There is also another lighthouse on The Inner Farnes with Longstone further out. We can see the light flashing at night from our house.There's another at Bamburgh also Coquet lighthouse on Coquet Island at Amble and St Mary's Lighthouse at Whitley Bay to name a few.

Lindisfarne has light beacons to warn off the sandbanks and there are several on the coast up to Scotland. I've been to several whilst on holiday in Scotland. We had morning coffee in Causewell Point Lighthouse on the West coast of Dumfries and Galloway now a hotel and been to Mull of Galloway Lighthouse several times, high on the cliffs with the Mountains of Mourne in Ireland visible across the sea on a clear day. The keepers accommodation is now a holiday let. I've also painted the famous Turnberry Lighthouse on the golf course, an hour up the road from where we used to stay in Ballantrae. I chose to paint Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, off the coast of Shetland, the most northerly lighthouse in Britain, for a painting demo in a gallery in Peebles.

 I decided to paint lighthouses of Britain and Ireland, for Washington Green and intended to paint them all. I got to about 150 of the 388 in Britain and Ireland. They started not to sell and I got bored painting them.

A few years ago Natasha got me membership of the Trinity House lighthouse supporters club. It gave me access to many lighthouse sites, day visits and meetings, regrettably, none of which I did.

I have painted some quite a few times. They are not easy with curving tower sides and a light emitting finial but the settings are often spectacular.They could be a subject for a future book. How about "100 Lighthouses of Britain and Ireland " Food for thought...

Friday 31st March 2023

So close to being April 1st??  It's not though so that story will have to wait…

It's been a mixed week. I had problems uploading all the photos for the book onto the laptop from my iPhone. Dylan came home at the weekend and between us we managed to sort it.

I did my final edit and a few minor rewrites and sorted the photos on Monday. Its about as done as I can get it. It needs proof reading so I've sent it to Tom and Alice. I also contacted a "vanity" publisher, just to test the water. They will publish it to my specifications plus a load of marketing stuff but without sending the draft they can't give me a price.

I'm a bit reluctant to send it all through to them just yet so I'll leave that for now. I have sent it to my mate Paul Pattison to read and do the Foreward. I also may have Buckinghams interested. The CEO wants to see it as apparently he has contacts. We'll have to see how that goes.

Feeling a bit anticlimactic having finished the book after a lot of time and effort I decided to distract myself by doing some watercolour painting. That went OK and I did 8 landscape/seascapes,  but still feeling restless so I decided to do another book! Yes I know its a bit soon but this one's called "100 Bird Sketches" so it's a bit different. 

During Lockdown I did about 70 bird watercolour paintings/sketches. I've been wondering what to do with them since so I thought I could add to them and make a book. I went through them and discarded some. I listed the remaining ones and made another list of what else I'd like to include. I then set about drawing the new ones and will start painting next week. I also have a few photos of ones I have given away which I can also include. I reckon I need another 30 birds.

My idea is to make it just another art book and not have any text apart from an introduction and the titles of the birds. There are so many bird books out there that I wanted to make it a bit different. Natasha thinks I've lost my marbles but we'll see how it goes.

I appear to be having another break from studio painting but it has been cold again and I have nothing to paint for at the moment. The other weekend Natasha and I were in Alnwick and called into The Brightwater Gallery, a new gallery that's not been open long. We had a good chat with Laura, the owner and hopefully I will be putting some stuff in there soon. I still have plenty of pictures stored in the motorhome so no need to paint more at the moment.

So next week it's bird book project full steam ahead. I'll update the blog on the progress. 

Friday 24th March 2023

Well I've been continuing with The Book this week whilst being ill so, I thought I'd talk about something different. 

I'm afraid I've added to my art book library this week with 2 books from World of Books, a great site for 2nd hand books. 

One was on "Winslow Homer Watercolours", the other was "Watercolour Secrets" by James Fletcher Watson. I've talked about my obsession with art books previously and also about James Fletcher Watson. Two of my earliest art books were by him. He was a renowned Watercolour painter and member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Society of British Artists. He died in 2004.

I have 3 of his books, 4 now. I used to read them over and over, almost as a comfort blanket. I took them on holiday or when I stayed away with work. It wasn't the quality of the artwork as much as his descriptions of his painting processes in Scotland, The Lakes, Norfolk or his home in the Cotswolds.

I have found some of the exact views he painted whilst visiting these places. He was a bit of an old codger but believed in the pure watercolour process and even formed a society for that purpose in the years before his death. I also had his videos, recorded naughtily from library copies, which I watched over and over until they wore out. Its a weird thing because there are many painters who's work I admire more than his. I have seen his work "in the flesh" as it were and although they were good I wasn't blown away. He did have a style and a technique which he stuck to and I sort of admire and covert that.

I've spoken before about my love of other artists studios and watching them work in them is even better. I love to see which paints and brushes they use, which palettes and paper and how the studio is organised. The videos showed all of this and he talked you through it. He was an avid plein air painter and whilst on his trips he often painted from his car in poor weather. I've done it and it's not that easy to do. I loved the way he talked through his paintings. It made you feel like you were in the back seat watching him paint.

His books are the same. I was only painting in watercolour at the time so it was all relevant. I think it was that he loved to paint the places I loved. Scotland, The Lakes, Norfolk even Northumberland. I still get a strange nostalgic feeling every time I look at them. The other comfort blanket book I always took on holiday to Cornwall was a tiny little thing called "A Pocket Guide to Sketching" by Ray Evans. I loved to sketch "found objects" "objet trouve" that the kids brought me on the beach. Small crabs, shells, feathers, pebbles etc and also the beaches and quirky things we saw on holiday.

This book was all about sketching quickly in places for sketching’s sake and with no agenda, using a variety of tools, pens, pencils, watercolour pencils, chalk, pastels, conte sticks etc. It reminds me of those Cornish holidays every time I see it on the shelf. It might be an age thing. I've collected art books all my life and certain ones evoke lovely memories. I still take an art book with me whenever I stay away. I have to admit that I've just got another book from WOB called "British Art; Ancient Landscapes" by Sam Smiles. I thought it might be useful for The Book. Any excuse!!

Friday 17th March 2023

It's been more of the same this week with the book. Everything takes so long. I've been working on some re-writes and editing,  the bibliography and the listing of the pictures. 

I've also managed to photograph all the pictures with my SLR camera, tripod and studio lighting and downloaded them onto the laptop.  I've accepted that, despite the huge inroads into this project, it is going to take some time to get it all together. 

I may have mentioned in a previous blog that this is not my first venture into publishing. Back in the early 80's I was asked to illustrate a cookery book called "All the Kings Menues" for Kings College Hospital in London. They produced a cookbook every year to raise money for the hospital. It was all black and white pen and ink drawings of different food. I enjoyed it. I still have my copy Francois Pascall, the actress who opened the book launch. My sister Jill found a copy in a booksale in Bakewell, last year.

When I left my brief teaching career, I joined Arnold Wheaton, the publishing arm of E.J.Arnold Education. I sold books to schools. We had a reading scheme called "Story Chest". I won salesman of the year and a weekend trip to Paris for getting Story Chest into every school in Leicestershire. I also got promotion and spent some time in the office. I got to know some of the editors. They found out I painted and eventually asked me to illustrate a couple of stories in two anthologies of children's stories and then a cover illustration for a book of Ray Bradbury's short stories. The process was fascinating, fitting the illustrations around the text, doing the initial drafts etc. I still have the books (see below). They're not great but they are what they are. Now I've got this far with this one I appreciate the whole process. The problem is, it's set my mind off. I'd like to do my bird sketches one, my icons one and one about Islands.

I don't even know how to publish this one yet. Possibly getting ahead of myself… I'm still itching to paint but I need to get stuff sorted first. Whilst I've got all the photographic stuff out I might do some more photography for my website, which needs refreshing as most of the paintings on there are sold. 

I recently sold 4 small paintings off the website to a guy in Germany. They were small, flat and easy to pack. I followed all the international postage guidelines and Royal Mail even picked up the package.

The guy still hasn't got them as they appear to be stuck in customs?? The perils of posting artwork abroad. Perhaps they're checking them for smuggled diamonds??? Those of you who read last years April 1st blog will get the reference.  If not go back and have a read of that one, I think my most popular one so far.

Friday 10th March 2023

We got back from our Lakeland jaunt on Saturday. It was great and pretty chilled and my paintings looked good in the gallery when we went back on Friday.

They also kept loads of the driftwood stuff, which was a surprise. They were also very interested in my book.

We stopped off at Corbridge on the way home. I managed to spend some money on 2 art books. One was new and a bit expensive, the other was in an antique shop with some expensive second hand books. This one had no price. I was going to offer £5 but the lady behind the desk just shrugged and said would £2 be ok. We gave her cash and left. We had a look round our usual haunts but the Gallery that used to be there and that I used to have some work in,  has gone, replaced by a restaurant. Corbridge is a lovely little place and worth a visit if you're in Northumberland.

The weather forecast for our region was not looking good. Freezing temperatures and the threat of snow. As most of my galleries have had new work recently and I've sent my new collection to Bucks,  I made a decision not to paint for the week but to type up my book on the laptop in the warmth of the house. I don't like leaving my studio in a mess when I'm not going to be in there for a while, so I spent a couple of hours on Sunday morning tidying it up. It makes me feel a whole lot better when it's organised in there. It will be ready to go next time I'm in there. 

As I said, I've spent the week typing up my book. 9-5pm on the laptop is not my usual week and I've started to ache in the neck and shoulders and my eyes are sore but to my amazement, I've broken the back of the job (if not mine) and should have it all in one place ready for the next, boring bit of doing all the referencing and checking spellings of names and standardising things like measurements, capital letters, speech marks and general grammar that hasn't already been corrected. It takes ages and will have to be proof read by others. I then will have to photograph all the pictures that I don't have quality images of. That will probably mean setting up the studio with lights and using my good SLR camera on a tripod. All the images will need sorting and sizing for the pages (come to that, I need to decide on the size of the book). I then need to do the bibliography, recommended reading, glossary of terms and get the forward done. So, plenty to do but it is coming together. I do sometimes wonder what I've let myself in for but I hope it will be worth it in the end. I never really thought I'd get this far so quickly. I've still not decided how I'm going to publish it?

I'm actually itching to get painting some more landscapes/seascapes on my new blank canvases but there's no real rush. I just get twitchy when I'm not painting. 

It's a bit like most things I do, once I get into something, it's just full steam ahead until it’s done. Sometimes I need to check myself, calm down and plot my way forward.

The snow arrived on Wednesday night big style. Good time for writing a book indoors.

Friday 3rd March 2023

A warm welcome from a not so warm but still beautiful Lake District.  A Happy 50th Birthday to my wife Natasha for yesterday!

As usual we're combining a lovely break in Ambleside with delivering some new work to the OCG. I've been delivering work to this lovely Gallery for many years now and it made me think about my relationship with both the Gallery and The Lake District which, as the saying goes, has been a game of two halves (or two wives, two lives).

I had never been to The Lakes until the early 1980's. As a child, the majority of my holidays had been in Cornwall, Devon or Scotland. I knew virtually nothing about The Lake District until my ex-wife Julia's parents booked a family sized house called "The Fold" (if my memory is correct), near Loughrigg Tarn.  We spent 2 weeks exploring this new area and from the moment we drove into The Lakes from the M6, I absolutely loved it. What's not to love. Mountains, lakes, cottages, little villages, small towns, Galleries and good pubs. We discovered loads in those 2 weeks and as an artist (although I wasn't calling myself that in those days) it was heaven.

From that moment my love affair with The Lakes hasn't changed. When Julia's parents moved up there, to a beautiful house in Chapel Stile in The Langdale Valley I felt at home every time we visited, which was a lot. We didn't so much visit like a holiday but moved there for a time. We felt and behaved like we lived there. We got to know people, took part in events like The Langdale show, went to talks like the time I heard the great Lakeland artist W. Heaton-Cooper give a talk in Chapel Stile Church. We always tried to visit the "Lakeland Artists Exhibition" held every year in Grasmere. We spent our visits driving around all over, discovering new places, walking and climbing mountains, walking round Lakes and immersing ourself in Lakeland life. We visited climbing shops, cafés and Galleries.

I spent a lot of time out walking and climbing with and without the kids, sketching everything in all weather. In one of my previous blogs on "sketchbooks" I explained how Tom and Alice used to get fed up on our walks hanging around while I sketched some farmhouse or barn. I have sketchbooks full of drawings with accompanying notes from this period. We visited in all seasons, too. The advantage of having a home base. It was always beautiful in rain, snow or sunshine and I felt that I got to really know the area. I did a lot of walking often with Jodie our dog and with the kids who were still quite young. Now that I'm too old or decrepit for all that climbing I look back on those days with great fondness and miss all the spectacular views from the high fells. However, it all registered in my memory and I can still recall the moments with all my senses. Painting the Lake District landscape helps bring it all back.

The one thing I didn't do during this period was approach any galleries.  At this time, although I was painting I didn't feel confident enough. 

When I met Natasha and began, with her help, to start approaching galleries all over the place and getting work accepted I needed a gallery in The Lake District. My favourite gallery was always The Old Courthouse Gallery in Ambleside (closely followed by The Thornthwaite Gallery near Bassenthwaite). When I started painting in acrylics, I gained enough confidence to approach the OCG and they accepted my work. Since then, with only a small break when the Gallery changed hands, I have been exhibiting work there. I consider it a great privilege as most Lake District galleries exhibit mainly Lake District artists. My good mate John Connolly from my Charisma Gallery days also exhibits in there. I once, when living in Chesterfield, drove to Ambleside and delivered some paintings on a Saturday morning and then drove back to Chesterfield in time for lunch. I think JC still does the round trip. It’s a bit of a treck (although a scenic one along the A69) from Embleton, so we tend to make a break of it nowadays.

When I met Natasha, she had never been to The Lakes (or Scotland as it happens). I soon remedied that. I had been working on a "sales blitz" for two weeks, based at The Skiddaw Hotel in Keswick. After it finished, on the Friday, I booked a b&b in Keswick and arranged for her to travel up by train. I met her at Penrith Station. She had spent the lively journey with a bunch of guys from a rugby team going on a stag do in Glasgow and she arrived slightly worse for wear. That weekend we visited Ambleside and I got her some decent outdoor gear. We also went to visit Castlerigg Stone Circle, the first of many occasions.  

After that she was a Lake District convert.

It wasn't always sight- seeing. We came up several times and stayed in b&b's in Keswick with her Mum Marissa and her husband and my mate Paul and spent Saturdays on  Keswick pub crawls. When we got married 2005 we decided to do it at The Skiddaw Hotel in Keswick. It was a great weekend with all family and friends coming up for the wedding and staying in the town. The night before the wedding, we took over The Golden Lion pub, amazingly run by a guy from Chesterfield. We honeymooned for a week in a cottage on Coniston Water, aptly named "Potters Wheel." Since then we've regularly visited. We had Christmas in a cottage at Bowness one year and even took a free weekend offered by a timeshare company near Carnforth. We came for Natasha’s 40th and stayed once more in The Skiddaw and recently we've been regularly delivering work to OCG and staying in Grasmere, Bassenthwaite and now for the first time in Ambleside. We've also been several times fishing with my old mate Mike Haigh on a trout lake near Hawkshead. Natasha went early morning skinny dipping in the lake.

Mike and I also went fishing and stayed in a bothy on Loweswater. It had no electricity and a compost toilet.  We cooked by open fire and battery powered fairly lights and slept in a hay loft. It was magical. A couple of years ago we stayed for a couple of days with Tom, Jade, Dylan, Gilly and Jude in a house near Grizedale Forrest and drank and played outdoor kub (a skittle game) till the early hours.

In a recent blog I said that I was looking for another gallery in the North Lakes. Keswick proved a no no. The galleries weren't right and one had my Bucks prints so I need to avoid it. I did get a positive response from Thornthwaite Gallery who looked at my work on-line and asked me to send some images, which I did. I'm not sure what happened but despite numerous efforts to contact the owner, I got no response? I may try again. It would make our trips better value for money. The OCG is still going strong and has recently extended. Its well worth a visit if you're in the area. It gives me a good reason to keep painting Lake District subjects. I'm not sure where else I would sell them and it would be hard not to paint them.

This trip is really all about Natasha's Birthday. We are staying in a hotel in Ambleside for the first time ever. I've always liked Ambleside but it can get very busy especially in Summer or school holidays. Fortunately, on this trip, it is neither and apart from dropping the paintings and driftwood harbours off (its now the only Gallery in the country that I sell the driftwood sculptures), we intend to chill and not go gallivanting around sight-seeing. The hotel is The Salutation which, years ago, was a bit grotty but it has had a massive make-over and is now well posh. It's also conveniently, right next to The OCG. Very handy.

My love for The Lakes is still as strong as ever where ever we stay and whatever we do. The scenery and weather inspire me. It’s a bit like Cornwall with woodsmoke. I feel a sense of belonging. It might be, like Cornwall that its because of the many memories I have of the place. I want to paint it all. It is a spectacular jewel in our landscape. 

Friday 23rd February 2023

Firstly, in answer to last weeks quiz question - the answer was Statement Two.

Now, back to this weeks blog and I am very excited.

I have completed the first draft of my book, rather grandly titled The Standing Stones of Britain and Ireland: An Artist View (working title). Painting in the mornings and working on the book in the afternoons and some evenings, throughout January and February, I have managed to get through all the text to accompany my illustrations, which I have also added to.

I never thought I would have actually got this far. Really, it is only the start. I will need to edit the whole thing and transcribe my scrawl into a typed script on the laptop. I need to photograph and collate all the artwork and insert it into the text, complete all the referencing (a Royal pain in the arse) get someone to do a forward, do an appendix and a bibliography and lots more stuff. I will then get it re-edited. Then I can think about how I'm going to publish it.

I've been helped by seeing the amount of work Natasha is putting in to her degree assignments. She spends hours during most evenings after work and at weekends. She's a real inspiration to me and I don't think I would have got this far if she wasn't doing the work she is doing.

My book may never get published but I'm giving it a go. I must say I've got the bug. If I can find a way of publishing this book I might give my bird sketches a go!

Over the last year I've been looking through my archive photos for "standing stones" pictures. I have done a fair few over the years, some go way back. As my book is an "Art Book" I would like to include as many pictures as feasible.  Last July/August I mentioned in my blogs about getting some paintings back from Trident Gallery. My mate and collector of St Mary's Lighthouse pictures, Graham did come up here on holiday with his campervan and brought me a load of paintings from Alex in Cornwall. We met and exchanged stuff in Amble. Amongst the larger pictures was a box of small stuff that I'd completely forgotten about. To my surprise there were many small acrylic ink on board pictures of a variety of standing stones and stone circles. I've been going through them and hope to include many of them in my book.

As well as the large paintings mentioned in previous blogs I have been working on a new collection for Buckinghams. 3 large woodland pictures, 5 croft pictures and 7 seascapes. I've nearly finished them and they'll get varnished and off to Bucks soon.

 Much to Natasha’s dismay I have taken possession of some more blank canvases. 

The old "where are they for?" came out the other day when a big box arrived! I intend to do some more landscapes/seascapes on a smaller scale but similar style to the large ones I did for Tallantyre and OCG.

I am currently able to work reasonably comfortably in my studio in the mornings.  Still with hat, fingerless mits and fur lined boots I can stand the temperature in there.

Next weeks blog will come from The Lakes. We're off up there for a couple of nights to celebrate Natasha’s 50th. We're staying in a hotel right next to OCG and so we'll be taking the new big pictures up with us and a box of driftwood harbours. We might be able to walk them round. I might even make the subject of the blog The Lakes and OCG as I have a long history with both.

Friday 17th February 2023

The Language of Art.

"Modern Artists have taken all man's plastic achievements and separated (them) into different antagonistic components, therefore in their abstraction, they have carried the world of tangibility and the tactility of their plastic world, to their logical conclusions, producing pictures which have made of the painting a thing in itself, as free as possible from human associations."  The Artists Reality, Mark Rothko.

The subject of this weeks blog is something which I call "Art Speak". We have all read unfathomable statements by writers, politicians, sports people etc but "Art Speak" refers to the psycho-babble written  about, artists and their work by writers, Galleries, critics, websites and promotors and yes, by artists themselves. 

The problem occurs because people are trying to express in the written word what is a visual medium. There are, I suppose, only so many words or phrases you can use to explain to someone what a picture or collection of pictures look like and their  "meaning" or what an artist is trying to convey. "Modern Art" and in particular "Abstract Art” has its own challenges as the whole point of most "Abstract Art” is that it is freeing itself of the need to explain itself. However, many Galleries or museums feel the need to anyway. I don't mind explanation, it's often the language used that makes me shout "Art Speak."

Natasha was great at it when we had the Gallery. She could talk for ages to customers about why an artist painted like this or that or used this material or that technique. She made a lot of it up but it worked. People buying art like to know these things.

"Artists Statements" are always good for some "Art Speak". This is when an artist, either for a website or Gallery writes a statement about their work and often their techniques and motivations. I have done this myself many times. The idea is to explain what you and your paintings are all about without sounding pretentious. 

Some examples are below. Naming no names I will leave it to the reader as to what they think. 

".............. main aim is to create work that is most definitely painted and accomplishes this through rich textures, multiple layers and mark making. Whilst there is a passion and intensity to the work it has a therapeutic overtone and the ethereal quality of the compositions offer a sense of serenity and calmness to the viewer."

"Colours sink below a piercing white surface as oceans and Landcapes drift in and out of a sweeping hazy mist. When shapes and figures do reveal themselves  they appear lost and fragile against the infinite space of the world around."

"This method employs numerous semi-transparent layers of paint which modifies the appearance  of the underlying structure. Each colour and their mix on the canvas has deep spiritual meaning( ) creating the "landscape of the soul" and a symbiosis between the artist and the viewer."

It's hard enough, as an artist, to explain what you're doing and why. I don't always know. There is so much going on when you're painting. A lot of your actions are intuitive and can't be explained. However, as in this next excerpt,  when someone else is trying to explain, in this case, the author of a book I've been reading about a Cornish Abstract Artist, it comes out as classic "Art Speak".

"The initial process of notation serves as a development of ............'s visual language.  It begins the process of filtration,  of getting to the heart of the elements which pre-occupy his eye, sketching permits .......... to superimpose different ideas,  to play with a layering of form, to understand the effect of intersecting lines. He captures transient observations and allows the artist to inhabit a searching stretching position,  one which endeavours to seek out interesting glimpses and interactions. "

You get this a lot in books, articles or reviews about artists and their work but it doesn't help the further understanding of the general reader and without the picture in front of you (or in some cases, even with the picture in front of you) you are non the wiser.

As the quotation at the beginning of this blog from Mark Rothko shows, artists aren't always very clear when explaining their own work or ideas. Here is a quote from Russian Abstract Impressionist artist

Kashmir Malevich, who painted geometric forms against a white background, explaining why he used the white.

"I have torn through the blue lampshade of colour limitations and come out in the white. After me comrade aviators sail into the chasm.  I have set up semaphores of Supermatism" Hmm? Clear as mud.

Critics or reviewers also have a stab at explaining artists work

"Although .............s work vibrates with melodramatic paint strokes the minutiae  of the mark making is not lost. The sprawls are interspersed with deliberate and controlled marks which pull the viewers eye expertly, ensuring depth of field. This allows her paintings to retain a controlled and finished quality amongst the energy."

Much of this esoteric language is written to make the artist work more mysterious and give credence to artwork that is not obvious both in meaning or technique. However, the descriptions are often imbued on artwork that may not actually have been created with that purpose in mind. Adding "Art Speak" to intuitive artwork where the artist creates work that they themselves cannot really explain serves to justify it in the eyes of the viewer (there you go, now I'm doing it!!!)

With many descriptions of contemporary paintings you will hear words like; distillation of thoughts and ideas, capturing a moment in time, essence of place, multiple layering, mark making, sgraffito, impasto,  visual language of paint, depth, texture, ethereal qualities, energy and catching the light.

I have no problem with this and have often used some or all of these phrases but surely if an artists work must be explained it should be done in a way that is understood. The language should not be used to mystify, confuse or mislead rather to clarify, guide and inform and let the viewer decide. Some of my best moments have been when someone has told me that they see something in a painting that I haven't noticed or intended.

As I explained in my blogs on "Abstract Art"

Modern Art is not easy to unpick and understand. A few guidelines can help when looking at any work of art but they need to be helpful and not so esoteric that the viewer, doesn't understand the painting or the description. At some point an artist does have to explain their work, it often makes commercial sense. There are some good articles on how to write an "Artist Statement ", what to write and what not to.

It all goes back to what I said at the beginning of this blog. Art is a visual thing. It can be a tactile or emotional thing and it is a difficult thing to describe in language that doesn't sound pompous, esoteric or sometimes, frankly, ridiculous. 

Next time you read about art or visit a gallery or exhibition,  beware the "Art Speak"

I will leave you with a final statement and a tiny quiz with the image below.

"One of the points of these new paintings is to paint quickly and intuitively, without too much planning, letting the surface of the picture gradually develop. Using a variety of brushes, tools and techniques  (thick paint, thin paint, brush marks, palette knife, dribbling, spattering, scratching,scraping, spraying with water, drawing into the surface with pencil or oil pastel), gradually build up the layers and add to the surface history"

Yep. That's me describing my abstract work in a previous blog. We all do it!!

Can you link the image below to one of the "Statement descriptions" in this blog?

Answer next week.

Friday 10th February 2023

If you missed part 1 you need to look at last week's blog.

The Artist and the Opera Singer

"The Marriage of Figaro " part 2

So, having cut all the sections of MDF for the 8ft trucks, doors, window bases, 2 fireplaces and "throne chair", my cricket mate borrowed the works van and we drove it all up to a small hall in Huddersfield where the students were rehearsing the Opera. We only had a few weeks before the dress rehearsal at the theatre and I couldn't be in Huddersfield all the time. Fortunately, it was half term week and so I went to work up there with various members of my family, Mum, Sister, Tom, everyday for a week. I assembled one of the big trucks with a door to show the students what they would be working with. 

Everything seemed fine. The removable doors worked and so did the brakes on the casters. Everything needed painting and the fireplaces and "throne chair " needed assembling and painting. I also needed to make some small decorative details to make Everything look a bit smarter. I had to keep reminding myself that things on a stage set only need to look good from a distance. We also needed to tart up the scrounged table and chairs and make some candlesticks.

The smaller stuff could remain assembled but the big trucks would have to be assembled on stage on the Friday for the dress rehearsal and after the performance on Saturday, taken apart for transportation to York the following day and reassembled for the second show on Sunday evening. 

During the half term week we had travelled every day to Huddersfield.  I had put in a lot of hours and clocked up some miles. By now I was way past the budget of £500.

I had managed to paint everything (quiet activity during rehearsals) and assembled all the small stuff (noisy with the drill/screwdriver, hammer and sander), before, during and after rehearsals. I had had a briefing meeting with the students and talked them through the set and what to do and, more importantly, what not to do. I had made some wire panels covered in fake foliage (bought and scrounged) which the cast would have to hang on the reverse side of the trucks when they were turned for the garden scene. We also had to practice Susanna climbing through the window, not easy in a long dress. I would have to help her from the back without being seen on stage. 

We were ready to go. On the day of the dress rehearsal we drove to the theatre.

The set was fortunately collected by a van from the University and delivered to the theatre. I had my Mum, Sister and my tools.

 We were going to do 2 run throughs. It was the first time we were working with the student orchestra and also with theatre stage, lights, costumes and make-up. I was introduced to the Stage Manager. She was obviously in charge but I would take care of the set and help out when necessary. I would also watch, when possible from the auditorium to check the set in the lights.

We had a stage direction meeting and sorted a few things out. The 1st run was predictably stop and start as lighting was changed, entrances and exits practiced and set changes honed. It was the first time the cast had worked with the full set, orchestra and the scene changes. They didn't have much time. I have to say that on stage, under lights the set looked good but it was a very long day. Afterwards I drove home to Chesterfield knackered.

I was back on the Saturday, 2 hours before the start to check the set and change into black so I could move around behind the scenes unobtrusively. I have to say, as the orchestra began the famous overture, I was buzzing. I was reminded of the school plays and concerts, and Gilbert and Sullivan Operas I did at school and the Theatre 94 plays I was in after University with mainly old school chums. The stage, lights, costumes and greasepaint has an atmosphere that I love. The Overture had to be repeated as Susanna missed her call and I had to run down to the changing rooms to get her. The audience which filled the large theatre didn't seem to notice!

The rest of the show went smoothly. The doors all opened, the brakes worked, with my help Susanna got safely through the window, the doors came off and the cast hung the foliage without a hitch.  After several curtain calls the cast disappeared to celebrate but I still had work to do. I did manage a quick drink with the cast who gave me a lovely card signed by everybody.

I still had to dismantle the set and pack it in the van for the journey, next day, to York.

It was a very late night.......again!!

The next day, Sunday,  the van was driven to York and Andy drove me up in the car.

The venue, The Masonic Hall, was a much smaller venue and not really designed for theatre sets. It was difficult getting into the centre of York and not easy to get the set in. Eventually we managed but had to use 3 of the 4 trucks due to lack of space. After we'd had a run through and tweaked things the students went to get something for tea. Andy and I found a pub for some much needed refreshment before the evening performance. Andy had been singing elswhere on the Saturday, so missed the show. This was going to be the first time he'd seen it. It was very different to the theatre. There was not the same lighting and the audience were close up and personal. However, the show went fine again and again I had to dismantle the set and load it in the van, which was going to take it back to the University. Andy drove us home. I was really knackered and a bit anti-climactic as it was all over. However,  I was looking forward to some normality having spent so much time working on it.

No one had actually told me what was going to happen to the set. Several days later I got a phone call from Andy saying when was I going to collect the set as it was in the University reception area and they were getting a bit snotty about it! After ringing round I eventually managed to persuade a mate from the village to take me up there in his work van. I would pay for the fuel…

The next day, we drove up to Huddersfield Uni. We had to unscrew everything and reduce it to flat sheets of MDF again to fit it in the van. He helped me load it all into his van, which was groaning with the weight.

I had no idea what I was going to do with all this wood. I made a grovelling phone call to my mum and an hour later we turned up at her house and my mate helped me unload it all and store it up in the garage loft space. I was seriously worried about the ceiling collapsing.

He dropped me back home and I bunged him £50 which didn't really cover his efforts but as a mate he was fine. I was just more out of pocket!!

Taking into consideration the time, effort, fuel and materials I was well out of pocket.

Was it all worth it for 2 performances. At the time, I thought not and cursed Andy and his bloody proposals. Later, on reflection,  I thought it was an experience I wouldn't ever forget and it probably was worth it for that.

The wood remained in the garage attic. Occasionally I would go and take some out for various projects and the weight eventually diminuished. The other props were eventually dismantled although my mum hung onto the "throne chair" for a while.

After Mum's death, when we sold the house, I remember the surveyor, in his report, suggesting that the garage attic ought to be checked as there appeared to be a lot of heavy stuff up there which might cause the ceiling to collapse! We sold the house without clearing it out. I wonder what the new owners thought of it all? They'll never know the full story..

Friday 3rd February 2023

For my regular readers I issued a spoiler last week as to the subject of this weeks and next weeks blog. 

As an artist I have been asked to do some strange commissions. Others may feature in subsequent blogs but the strangest thing I have ever had to do was…

"The Marriage of Figaro"

Apologies for going a bit Conan Doyle there but it became a rather unusual phase in my artistic life.

For non Opera buffs "The Marriage of Figaro " is a Comic Opera in 4 acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Without boring you the opera is all set on the Marriage day of Figaro and servant Susanna who foil the philandering attentions of her employer Count Almaviva in a comedy with many twists and turns and set to the magnificent music of the genius that was Mozart.

The Marriage of Figaro " part 1

At the time my sister Jill was married to Andrew Slater who was, and still is a fine Opera singer. Andy and I were good mates as well as family and he was a regular on our Friday night sojourn to various local hostelries for games of "Solo" (a card game we all loved) and real ale.

One night he asked me out for a pint as he had a proposition for me. Intrigued but somewhat nervous, as Andy’s propositions did not always bode well, I agreed.

At the time he was,  amongst his singing commitments, teaching Opera to students at Huddersfield University. He had attained funding for his students to put on an Opera as a finale to their studies. They were to perform "The Marriage of Figaro " at two venues, The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield and Masonic Hall York.

Andy’s proposition then emerged.

"Would I like to design and build the set?"

I was intrigued and somewhat flattered but had no experience of set design. 

"No problem " he said. "I'll tell you what we're wanting and give you £500 to do it."

At the time, it seemed like a good deal but I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.

Sometime later Andy discussed the requirements which consisted of:

A) 4 x 8ft high, 5ft wide, 12" deep blocks of MDF set on "Trucks" (low platforms with wheels for manoeuvrability) 3 x to house full size removable doors and 1 x functioning window. The whole thing to be reversable.

One facade to be the interior and the other, with doors removed to be arches in the final garden scene.

B) 2 x fireplaces

C) A table

D) Some chairs, one to be high backed and throne like.

As everything had to be built, mainly from MDF and be manoeuvrable, transportable and easy to set up and dismantle. It sounded like quite a challenge.

I started by drawing out schematics of the various parts of the 4 huge doorway trucks, each of which consisted of a large box to house the doorframe and a separate box to fit on top as a pediment. I then headed off to my cricket mate who worked in a local DIY shop and told him what I needed. 

Having no room to work at home I commandeered my mums empty garage and a few days later 15 x 8ft x 4ft sheets of MDF were delivered. My mate, bless him, had, at my request cut the sheets down to 6ft 6" for me. The remainder of the sheets would form my pediment boxes to fit on top.

It was only a normal size garage so there wasn't a lot of room in there and it was January and freezing cold, but working most nights after work and driving the 5 miles over to my mums and back, I managed to eventually construct the frames. I had no bench saw so had to cut everything with a hand circular saw, using 2 workmates and wearing a mask,  as the closed garage soon filled with MDF dust which is very harmful. It took a long time to cut all the panels to construct these 4 huge boxes.

I then bought 3 cheap doors and fitted special slip joint flag hinges so that they could be removed by the cast. The doors had to close but didn't have door latches, so, I had to devise a clip that would enable them to stay closed but open easily. 

I then had to make the truck bases for the whole thing to sit on and attach industrial size coasters to allow them to move in any direction but devise easily accessible stops to prevent them moving across the stage.

The pediment had to be fitted for quick removal but had to be secured enough to pass Health and Safety checks, we didn't want them falling on the Opera singers mid aria. The truck which was to house the functional window posed new difficulties. 

Susanna had to climb through it! I had made the truck with a window sized whole but had to install a sill across from back to front to allow a human to climb on. I made a window frame and fitted it with a catch for opening and closing and made it low enough for someone to be able to climb through.

The whole project had taken me 4 weeks of evenings and the odd weekend. I still had the other stuff to make and all of it to paint then transport to Huddersfield.  

It was getting a bit expensive. The sheets of 18mm MDF were about £15 each, even with my mates discount and free initial cutting. I had to buy a new electric drill/screwdriver, hundreds of screws, doors, hinges, extra wooden battens, masks, gloves and those expensive casters x16 (which I eventually got Andy to buy).

There wasn't much left of my £500.

I still had the fireplaces and the "throne chair" to make plus source a table and some posh looking chairs, plus paint and transport!

I next made the fire surrounds with MDF and stuff I had knocking around. I made them in bits ready to assemble on site. We manage to scrounge some old chairs and a table that would look OK painted but I had to make the "throne type chair". Using MDF I made a box for the seat and a high back and using a jigsaw cut a carved top. I made some arms and made a padded seat and back and attached them with brass studs. It needed painting but looked OK. 

Andy said that rehearsals were ongoing in a room near to the University in Huddersfield and thought it would be a good idea to bring the smaller stuff and a truck up to the rehearsal room for the cast to see. I could also continue work on the set there even though it was 100 mile round trip, and so the whole process moved to Huddersfield. I thought "is this really a job for an Artist?"

To be continued......

Friday 27th January 2023

I started the week in the studio, new fur lined boots, fingerless mitts and all.

I worked on the last of the large paintings I was producing for OCG and Tallantyre. These completed, I had to wait for them to dry. This was a slower process than normal as with no heat source the acrylic paint takes much longer to dry us the paintings are quite textured and the thicker paint took ages. My new frames arrived on Tuesday, so I started to frame the small paintings I had done recently.  I have previously explained this rather tedious process and it took me 2 days. Annoyingly, the 10"×8" frames I had ordered were actually in metric and slightly smaller. I had to trim the 15, 10"×8" pictures I had mounted down to size. This all takes time.

Meanwhile, the large paintings had dried. 

The paintings were on deep edged canvas and so I always paint the edges black. Normally, this is not a problem, but having 6 of them in the studio, made the process more tricky. Further work in there was impossible as I had the large paintings balanced on every surface until the edges dried. I am waiting for a fine, windless day to do the varnishing…

I realised I had only spent one and a half days actually painting. The amount of extra time spent on actually producing finished paintings is rather shocking. Actually painting the things is only the start of a long process. The work I do for Buckinghams is a much simpler process.  I gesso the boards, which are supplied and paint on them. I then only photograph, title, then parcel them up and send them on their way. The rest is taken care of. So why not just do that all the time? Although I do sell a fair few paintings through Buckinghams,  sales are inconsistent.  I have always liked to have other Galleries showing my work. It gives me a chance to paint different subject matter in different media and keeps my life interesting. 

When I worked for Washington Green they were very demanding and laid claim to any artwork I produced. I was expected to provide work (generally large work) on a regular basis which took all my painting time. I also did appearances, launches, meetings and conferences and also drove my work down to HQ in Birmingham every month. Although I do complain about Buckinghams, for genuine reasons, I would find that sort of schedule very difficult from up here in the frozen North. As two more boxes of framed paintings are stored safely in "George " the Motorhome, I again repeat Natasha’s consistent message to me "Where are they going?" Managing the Galleries I have now is hard work and time consuming but I do think I need a few more. 

Two very good friends of ours, Matt and Sarah have, this week lost their beloved, ageing Jack Russell, Zoe. It is very sad and upsetting.  Having pets is always a double edged sword. When we lost Roxy, our chocolate Lab I was distraught.  My own ageing black Lab Ella is getting on. She's a bit deaf, a bit blind and a bit daft but still charges around the golf course on our morning walks like a puppy. She gets me up and out in a morning. I have wondered wether I have spent so much time working in doors recently has been to keep her company rather than leaving her whilst I spend hours in my studio. I have taken her with me before but there is so little space and she doesn't settle for long as I move around. It's also cold in winter. She seems to like it when I paint or do framing  inside and settles down once I get my painting table out. When in my studio I always come in for lunch then take her on her second walk. She is so pleased to see me as all dogs are. It seems crazy that my working life revolves around my dog but it does to some extent. After her morning walk she tends to sleep so my studio work tends to be in the morning. I am happy to do this whilst we still have Ella. Fortunately, I do paint quickly and can do a lot of damage in a morning session in my studio. I have, again, mentioned how crowded it is getting in there. Perhaps in my next big reorganisation I can find a safe space for a dog bed.

Spoiler for next week's blog:

The Artist, the Opera Singer and a lot of MDF in

" The Marriage of Figaro "

Friday 20th January 2023

What? More cards?

When I made my Christmas Cards I produced a lot of monoprints. After making the cards I was left with a few that either didn't fully work or that I wasn't happy with. Not one for waste I cut them up and turned them into perfectly acceptable but much smaller monoprint cards. Cutting them up really makes a difference. It's a bit like cropping with a mount. Choosing a successful piece of a picture within an overall failed painting.

On Monday, despite the snow and ice up here I was determined to get last week's acrylic ink pictures mounted. I had to cut the mount card to size on my bench in the studio that, despite the heater being on, was still freezing. Having cut the 3 different sized mounts to size I came back in the warm house and finished cutting the appatures with my mountcutter. I was then able to mount all of the pictures and even frame 6 of the long ones I talked about in last week's blog. Compare the pictures from last week's blog to those at the end of this week to see the difference a mount makes. I was pleased with the results.

On Tuesday I was determined to bite the bullet and despite the freezing temperatures decided to get cracking on some large paintings on 36"×36" canvases. 

A small digression:

Talking of the freezing temperatures, it has been pretty treacherous walking the dog. The snow turned icy and the ground froze. The lane we live on is an ice rink. One lady dog walker I know slipped and fell on Monday and smashed her elbow bad enough to be hospitalised. Natasha had to have a second attempt at going to work having aborted the first attempt as despite our 4x4 and having Dylan to help, she couldn't get up the steep hill to the village. Regular readers of my blog will know that I have managed to take a few falls in the last couple of years. With that in mind, for Christmas,  Natasha bought me some "cleats". Rubber and elasticated with small studs, they attach to the bottom of shoes or boots. They work brilliantly and have been a Godsend this week. I recommend them to anyone needing to walk about in icy conditions. I know my Daughter-in-law, Jade has some already after a bad experience on the icy streets of Sheffield. 

Back to work:

I've been ruminating on these large canvases for months. I've sort of got out of the habit of painting big. It was still a shock being faced with a 36"×36" blank, white wall. I just went for it with little plan in mind and slapped some paint on with a big brush. I want to do some atmospheric landscapes/seascapes without worrying where they're of and who they're for. I like to make decisions as I go along and seeing what starts to appear. They sort of grow organically with marks and textures with use of a big brush and palette knife and sort of emerge from chaos. They have texture and familiar dribbles with smoother areas. Highlights are added last. They're really about the light. Then I need to know when to leave it alone, think and be prepared to stop. It's easy to ruin this sort of painting by overworking and fiddling about smoothing and tidying things. I am trying to keep them loose and impressionistic with a limited palette. I will worry about where they're going later, I just need to get some painted and enjoy doing it without freezing to death.

Friday 13th January 2023

After much cajoling by Natasha, cards are packed and posted.

Last Friday I delivered my 12 paintings and 18 hand painted cards to Gallery 45 for the "Affordable Art" exhibition. 

The week started with something slightly different but again working in the house.

It is traditional in our family on Christmas Day evening to have a family get together at someone's house. This year it was my recently married neice, Lucy and husband, Doms turn. 

I was surprised to see that they had so much of my artwork in their house although I had given them a painting as a wedding present and they had also recently purchased one from my website. 

Returning from a comfort break, Natasha said to me "have you seen the picture in the toilet?" I hadn't, so I went to look. It was a slice of a painting I had apparently sent Lucy as a card and was about 2" wide and 12" long. It was a landscape with sky, moon, mountain, farm building and large abstract foreground. Natasha said she really liked it and so did I and so decided to do more in a similar vein. 

I had some 15"× 4" mount-board offcuts and decided to use those. I randomly put some thin gesso on them and left them to dry. Then using acrylic inks I painted sky, moon, mountain, farm and a large abstract foreground. They look different.  I even managed to find some frames to fit and will add a thin mount. Although I generally like to paint in standard sizes, as it gives the purchaser the option of buying a ready made frame, it's sometimes good to do something different.  People always have thin or long wall spaces in homes between doors or on landings or stairs and these different shapes can often fit them.

This set me off so using some smaller off cuts I did the same with the acrylic ink technique. 

I then moved onto some slightly larger works again with acrylic ink on gessoed mount-board. This time I tried to go with the flow and create some slightly more Abstract but colourful landscapes/seascapes. They are recognisable as landscapes/seascapes but are much looser and painted with an element of freedom. I have said in previous blogs on "mounting" that I get a large amount of off-cuts from the centres I cut out. It's a good way of using these and mount-board isn't cheap. I have boxes of off-cuts. I keep them all on the understanding that they will come in useful sometime. That is, of course, one of my problems and the reason I have so much "stuff" in my studio and elsewhere!

I realised a while ago that as far as I am aware, (and I realise that my awareness is limited) nobody else is using my acrylic ink on gessoed board technique. It's good to do something in a unique way. I have sold some of these and I can also combine this technique with acrylic paint, black in etc. I've yet to see if I can scale them up to a much larger size. Then again I have problems. The acrylic ink is very expensive and I would use a lot on bigger paintings and you can't buy big bottles of the stuff.(except my old company YPO, who do large bottles of drawing in in basic colours. Red, yellow, blue, black and white. I know sometimes you have to speculate but I am always aware of how much money I spend on my art. Natasha’s words keep running through my head. Every time she looks at the new stuff I do she always says (mainly tongue in cheek but, to be fair, genuinely) "where are these for?"

I can see her point as work is stacking up in the studio and elsewhere. I need to find a gallery that will take this stuff and sell it. It doesn't fit with most of my galleries, although I do keep slipping them in sometimes. Now if we had our own Gallery again there wouldn't be a problem but that's not on the cards anytime soon.

My website is an option although the recent work is mainly smaller pieces and they would all need photographing and putting up there. As I keep producing the pictures in quantity, it would need constant updating (I can hear Tom sobbing) - Perhaps another 2023 project.

Friday 6th January 2023

A Happy New Year to you.

I hope the seasonal festivities went well.

After returning after Christmas I made the decision to spend some time making cards. A glance back through previous blogs revealed that although I've touched on the subject before I've not really talked much about cards. So in my first blog of 2023 I will.

Selling cards has always provided a bit of a dialema for me. On the one hand it was at the very beginning of my professional artistic life and on the other it is something that I have generally shied away from more recently.

I have previously talked about our first business "Altered Images" which we set up in order to earn some money after Natasha had been illegally made redundant whilst pregnant with Dylan. We spent our evenings printing images of my paintings as cards and prints from our computer, making up the cards and mounting the prints. The cards and prints were mainly of Derbyshire landscapes and Natasha visited many outlets around the county including cafés, Galleries, book shops, tourist centres, in fact, anywhere that would take them. It wasn't easy especially with a baby but it was successful in that it got my name and work into the public eye and that of some Galleries, which was useful later when we approached them with actual paintings. Although not terribly financially rewarding, we made some useful contacts.

One in Matlock led to our venture with Charisma Gallery. 

In order for selling cards to become financially successful they need to be mass produced, not handmade as ours were. Having multiple images produced as professionally printed cards needs a considerable outlay upfront. The more you have printed the cheaper it is. We couldn't afford to do this and so our method was very labour intensive. The time spent, plus materials (cards, envelopes, cello bags, labels, photo paper, printer ink and travel costs), made profit margins too small to be viable as a business. It wasn't possible to sell enough cards to make any real money.

Selling my cards in our own Gallery worked reasonably well. I had my own card stand and sold hundreds, a useful addition to my painting sales. Even so, I was only making £1 per card and it cost me about 30p to produce. 

This is the dilemma, made worse when I started making non printed, actual hand painted or printed cards. It is virtually impossible to sell my cards in galleries with all the production costs plus Gallery commission at 30-50%, and make any money. So why do them at all? I have just spent several days painting and making up about 140 cards for all my galleries. I can only ask £3 per card to sell at £4.50-£5, which is expensive for a card to the general public.

They have to be sold as hand painted miniature works of art that people send for special occasions or take home and frame.

I know people who do this. I myself collect "art cards" to keep, mainly for reference but also as reminders of events, exhibitions or places I have been. Most are printed but many are hand painted.

Those of you who are on my Christmas card list will receive a Nick Potter card. I have always made my own Christmas cards, either printed from one of my paintings, or a print of a specially painted Christmas card or hand painted or hand printed card as in my latest monoprint cards. Some people collect them I am told.

So why I am making cards at the moment? They are complimentary to the work I already have in these Galleries. They help spread my work to people who perhaps can't afford to buy a painting. I won't make very much money at £3 per card but I think it a worthwhile exercise and I really enjoy making them. The process is time consuming, the painting is easy but the rest is a bit monotonous. Perhaps I am prevaricating rather than getting back into my cold studio. I began making some after Christmas to go with some paintings I am putting into an "Affordable Art" exhibition at Gallery 45 on the7th January.  It sort of ballooned from there!

I might, in the future, consider getting some printed. I can afford it now but again why?

I have seen that they can be a way of approaching new galleries. I could also sell packs of them on my website.  I can always sell them at fairs but I don't do enough of those. I could probably sell them at demo's too. Food for thought!

Many, many artists have their work on printed cards. Not all sell hand painted ones. Imagine the price of a hand painted David Hockney card?

Friday 30th December 2022

I hope you all had a peaceful Christmas. 

We saw an abundance of family and friends back in my home town.

I must say that returning to Northumberland is never an anti climax and makes us appreciate where we live. The peace and quiet and open spaces and the sea are a welcome relief from traffic, traffic lights and speed humps.

I must say a word about the gift I received from Tom and Jade who gave me my blogs from the start in November 2020 to September 2022 in a hardback book called "The Blogging Years"

It was a great surprise and made me realise how many of these things I'd actually done. Unfortunately it won't have a chance of making the "Sunday Times Best Seller list",  as its a one off copy. 

At least I've managed one book this year. One of my goals for 2023 is to get the "Standing Stones" one done.

As this is the last blog of the year I usually look back on the year in my artistic life.

It started badly with both Natasha and Dylan having Covid over Christmas and New Year. The cold weather prompted me to begin, what has become a more regular occurrence of painting inside. The Lake District pen and wash pictures eventually found their way to OCG in Ambleside and have sold quite well. January began with frustration with my lack of progress with Buckinghams.  My arranged meeting with the CEO didn't happen then or since and my frustration with another change in styles and the general lack of direction and communication continues today. I also started the first of 2 major studio reorganisations. This was a short term fix, as was the second one on the hottest day of the year in July. A problem which sadly continues (I also noted that I finally got my studio roof re-felted after the damage from Arwin the previous November).

I also note from my book (that does sound a bit grand but it's proving useful) that it was January when I ordered my large canvases. Sadly, they are still lurking in my studio untouched. I must do something about that in 2023. I didn't think I got "white canvas syndrome" which is a bit like writers block, but I think I need to throw some paint at them (the "once started, half finished" theory).

I also started planning and executing the illustrations for my "Standing Stones " book. Crikey,  was that a year ago. Enough said!

The 4 large Castlerigg paintings I did which are at OCG in Ambleside,  still haven't sold and I don't know why. I thought they were a banker!

We visited Edinburgh a few times in 2022. It's only an hour on the train from here and re-visited the wonderful galleries there. We'll definitely do that again. The March visit coincided with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and I wrote my Ukraine blog which prompted two Ukraine support fund efforts.

I was pleased that Buckinghams got on board and sold my large painting donating all the funds to the cause, and my sale of "sunflower pictures" raised £600. Sadly the conflict continues. 

April 1st  saw the first of my 2 'spoof' blogs. The reactions to it amazed me. It worked because it was unexpected. My Christmas blog last week was a bit of fun. If you haven't read it it's worth a read and a laugh.

This year I've also enjoyed a couple of workshops. Something I've not really considered but have more planned for 2023.

I have said before that I like to vary my blogs. I like to include the odd "educational" blogs such as those on 'Abstract Art', 'The History of Watercolour Painting in Britain' and  'Plein Air Painting' plus information on Galleries and Exhibitions as well as some about my working practices such as monoprinting, watercolours, framing, mounting, miniatures and materials. I also reflect a lot about my "artistic life," none more so than in my blog on "Family and the Artist." Not all these will be for everyone. I try not to "preach" but do like to voice my opinions and also have the occasional "rant." My blog is part diary, part story.

 I write what comes to mind. I like to log events like Gallery visits, workshops and fairs. I do the blogs both as a cathartic exercise and, for anyone interested as a record of what I'm up to on a weekly basis.

I also like to inform about things we are involved with such as trips, visits and events such as  my "Art in the Garden" on August Bank Holiday weekend which was enjoyable and successful. We have more plans for 2023.

We have had the usual family and friends visiting us this year and a couple of people I'd not seen for many years which is always a pleasure. I may have mentioned before but we have also bought a motorhome (currently storing a lot of recently framed paintings) but a great opportunity for us to get out and about. Dylan suggested taking it out on the road with paintings on board and visiting Galleries and even selling from it on stop-overs. Food for thought. We've also had some major personal events in 2022. We have 2 new Grandchildren, Noah and Lily-Jean. My neice Lucy got married. Natasha has re-started her degree and Dylan has moved (well nearly) to Newcastle. Also on the sad side my Art teacher, friend and mentor Bob Widgery sadly passed away.

 I reflected a couple of weeks ago on some things I need to change in 2023. The good or bad thing about my blogs is that you will hear it as it happens.

So as 2022 comes to an end I feel I have just about justified my existence as a Professional Artist. I continue to sell paintings on a regular basis but I feel my Art teacher, Bob Widgery would write in my  end of year report, "Doing alright but could do better."

As 2022 comes to an end I would like to thank Tom not only for recording my exploits in the book but for running my website and publishing and occasionally editing these blogs every week. Just a reminder that all my previous blogs are available on my website at www.thenickpottergalery.com

It only remains to thank all of you who read these ramblings (either on a regular basis or pop in now and again) whoever you are, for your support and tolerance during 2022 and wish you all a peaceful, happy and rewarding New Year in 2023.

Nick Potter 30th December 2022.

Friday 23rd December 2022

It's been a funny week.

On Tuesday night as we slept soundly in our bed after a few too many sherberts round at the neighbours, we were awoken by a very loud banging at our door. This woke us and annoyed me as I have only recently replaced the battery in our doorbell because of all the Christmas deliveries. Sleepily I ventured down stairs, thankfully without falling and opened the front door. I was amazed to see a man and a woman stood, shivering. They apologised profusely for the disturbance at such a late hour but their car had broken down in the lane. I asked what they were doing down here at this time of night (the only people who come down this lane at night we always suspect are "dogging"). They explained that they had come to watch the stars from the beach. It was a particularly clear, starry night with a blazingly bright full moon. Wanting to be sociable, even at 2am, I asked them in for a brew.

The man explained, with panic in his eyes that they needed to ring a doctor as his wife was heavily pregnant and was about to go into labour. Their mobiles couldn't get a signal. I offered him the house phone but warned him that it was unlikely he would get a doctor as no one round here had seen one for 3 years! I explained that I would have offered them a bed for the night but Dylan was asleep in his room and we'd converted our spare room into an office for Natasha.

The woman was obviously struggling but I had an idea. 

I said that although we had no room in the house they were welcome to stay in our 'party shed' in the back garden. I could put the heater from my studio in there. It would be cozy and if things got critical, Natasha could help as she had given birth, and knew what to do. I showed them to the shed and put on the heater and the ambient party lights having turned them off 'disco' mode and told them to keep trying the doctor. I'd only been back in bed a few minutes when I heard more strange noises from the garden. She's having the baby I thought and woke Natasha, told her to get some towels and boil the kettle (because they always do that on the telly, although I'm never sure why) and we went to investigate.

What we saw in our back garden was weird and I thought this night was starting to resemble some strange film or story from a book! The party shed door was ajar. A strange glow came from within. They must have been playing with the party light settings and put the disco lights back on? They also must have got the CD player working (we tend to use Spotify) as Christmas Carols were playing softly. A sleeping baby lay in our empty bottles crate, one of our 'globe lights' at its head. In the garden were some rough looking locals who had obviously been to a fancy dress party and had drunkenly staggered into our garden, although we're a mile from the village. Several sheep, that must have got out, again, from the field across the road they’re always doing that I must remember to tell the farmer), were happily munching through what remains of our herb bed, my chickens were running amock, a donkey lazed languidly in my onion bed (a bloody donkey? where the he'll that had come from I do not know as we dont have donkeys on our beach), some cows had got out from the local farm and were, what can only be described as "lowing" (according to Google,  "the ordinary sound a cow makes?").

But strangest of all there was someone dressed as a carrot, a dolphin and what can only be described as a large, Brussel sprout. Someone had brought a 1/10th size model of The Angel of the North and stuck it on the shed roof where it glowed in the light of the seemingly ever brighter full moon. One of our fat pigeons was sat on its head and, with no sense of occasion, was defecating over its angelic face. There was also our resident troop of female pheasants and the big silver cock, a muntjac deer and woody our resident woodpecker eating nuts from the bird feeder. My resident mice from my studio had also come out to join the party. "What the hell" I said rather too loudly. "All we need now are 3 wise men"! At which point The Neighbours, obviously disturbed by the unholy racket, emerged (it was only 2.30am and they might have still been supping in their garage ). So, 2, not so wise men and a very wise woman. Martin carried his magnifying glass, Sheen's her tablet (they must have been doing a quiz) and Ray a bottle of Hobgoblin. "What the e'll going on 'ere" he said in his best Lancashire accent.

"Looks like a bloody Nativity scene"

And it did, sort of as we gazed in wonder across the rather unusual scene, with a starry, starry night and the glow of a heavenly moon.

"Can't be" said wise Sheena, "It's only the 21st of December?"

The alarm sounded its hateful tune at 6am, which was even more annoying as Natasha had finished work for Christmas.  As I emerged from a troubled sleep I turned to her and said " You won't believe the dream I had last night?" Then I heard a donkey bray outside!!

Merry Christmas Everyone. 

Friday 16th December 2022

It's baltic up here.

I've been struggling to find the enthusiasm to paint in my studio. 

Although the ground and puddles have been frozen for days it has been beautiful with bright winter sun on an icy landscape.

Without my heater my studio is icy. I had my heater on for 2 hours the other morning, in preparation for painting, but there was still ice on my water. I find it difficult to paint if I'm cold. Must be my age. Hence all the watercolour painting indoors, plus, of course the distraction of the world cup, now nearly at its end. My dreams were again shattered on Saturday night. A dreadful referee and a missed penalty. Things could and should have been so different? C'est la vie!!

I have thought about my work ethic this year and I think I have been less diligent than in the past. I find it easier to become distracted. I did spend a couple of days in the ice box this week to do a commission.  Once my painting area was heated it was OK and I finished it. One problem is that acrylic paint begins to 'act' differently in the cold. It becomes more difficult to manoeuvre. Once 'into' the painting I tend to forget about the cold until I stop. 

It really makes me respect artists who paint ‘en plein air' in all weather's. This weeks beautiful but freezing weather, is an example. The light and skies have been magical. My photographs don't do them justice. The best way to capture this is to be out there in front of it but as I explained in my recent blog about 'en plein air' painting, I find it difficult anyway but to do it whilst you’re freezing. I took some photos the other morning and had to take my gloves off to do it. My hand was nearly dropping off when I'd finished. Whether it's my age or my diabetes I just don't get 'out there' enough. It is a most magical time of year here in Northumberland.  It's very quiet and the scenery is stunning. I should find a way to capture it. 

So in 2023, what do I need to do? I really need a secretary.  I can't always ask Natasha,  she is too busy, especially at the moment. I am fairly disorganised as an artist and I find the admin, planning and even promotional side of being an artist tedious. We bought a new laptop a couple of years ago in order to 'organise' me and my work but somehow I've managed to mess it up. I don't really do even the basics properly or consistently. I have only just begun to put labels on the backs of my artwork again. "Name, Title, size, media etc. Terrible, I know. I have been hand writing them directly on the back for ages.

Not very professional! I often don't know which work a gallery has. I created a form which I used to give to a gallery with new work with all the pictures, titles and prices on. I still do, sometimes but not always. I send new work but don't always keep a record for myself. I don't always photograph my smaller work. I don't always send photos for the Gallery website. I don't always record what's been sold and what's been returned. These are 'basics' and there's no excuse. I wasn't always like this. I have, at various times, done all this. I find that with flitting from one style or media to another, continually, I lose respect for the value of the work I've done.

This all has to change in 2023. I am running a business here. All the surplus work piled in my studio is a good example, it has to go (as does all the recently framed work now stored in “George" the motorhome) I need to take control of my own website and Instagram,  for my sons sake as well as mine. I need to find time to learn how to use it. I need to start keeping more accurate records of work in a format I can work with. I will have to do it. We are too far away for any help and I can't afford even a temporary secretary. Oh, and I need to finish my book!

All this is very frustrating and it only because, at the moment, I have some time to think about it. I have done all this before. I am no 'dinosaur' when it comes to technology. I was using a computer back in the 80's and had a laptop with work in 1990. I hate the new format of the system on our 'new' laptop. I had got so used to finding my way around the old one. I get scared to do things as I have no idea what I'm doing. I used to use my tablet all the time. Natasha bought me a new one some years ago that is hardly used because I can't use it properly. Also things don't always work up here in the 'Frozen North' The Wi-Fi is shocking as are our mobile signals. We're nearly in 2023 for God's sake. Sort it out.

I am not arrogant enough to believe my work is good enough to 'sell itself'. Its not and it won't.  I need to make more effort and be much more proactive. I am, as I keep telling anyone who will listen, not retired and don't intend to be anytime soon. All this handwringing and self deprication is only a result of my own frustration. 

I can and will sort it out. I will organise my artistic life better in 2023. 

I have only ever submitted work to an "open exhibition " twice. That was ‘The Derbyshire Open’ when I was much younger and to be quite honest, my entries were poor. Perhaps I should enter some "open exhibitions" next year. Perhaps some of the "big" ones. I have always avoided them as a) they take some organising and b) some fear of failure.

Many are much easier to enter now as initial submissions are online but also more subscribed to for the same reason.

Although winning would be for me like a gold medal at the Olympics, it might be worth trying to get to the exhibition stage.

It certainly bumps up your prices. I have recently been looking at the watercolours of RWS (Royal Watercolour Society) member Richard Pikersley. Tom bought me his book for my birthday. I was astounded at the prices of his very small watercolours, although I loved them, his reputation as an RWS member obviously counts when it comes to pricing.

Buckinghams set my prices for my acrylic paintings and with most galleries I tend to use their pricing (taking framing etc into consideration) but for my other work I don't really have a fixed guideline and tend to leave it up to the galleries to retail price them as they know their customers best, plus I'd rather sell work than have it stuck in a gallery because the pricing is wrong. 

I do also sell too cheaply sometimes at local fairs etc. I may have to rethink my pricing.

Talking of which, last week I sold one of my flower pictures from my blog. I said I would offer more but the Post Office informed me that now, because of Christmas and all the strike action, it is unlikely that anything will arrive for Christmas. So, I will leave it until all that stuff is sorted and try again in the New Year.

We will be deep into the Christmas build up next Friday but I will try and get a blog out amongst the chaos perhaps a Christmasy one?

Stay safe in the deep freeze.

Friday 9th December 2022

It's been a funny old week.

I spent sometime over the weekend working on the framing I started last week. 

Working at weekends is not something I normally do but Natasha was doing University work so I carried on framing.

It's amazing how long these seemingly simple jobs take and how repetitive and boring they can be. Each frame needs removing from its packaging and the back opened up. The pictures need removing from their protective Cello bag and placing in the frame making sure the glass is clean with no specs of dust that show up annoyingly against a white mount. The frames are then sealed and the edges taped to prevent dust entering. Holes are measured and made for the hanging rings, which are screwed in and the chord cut and attached then the ends taped before adding a label and writing it. Yeh. Boring I know but imagine doing it 70 times!!

It took until Wednesday to finish them.

I've done a few watercolours since then in the warmth and finally varnished my Burradon commission. It's been baltic up here all week and I've been ill for a couple of days, a combination I hate.

I have had the World Cup games for company in the afternoons and evenings until Wednesday. So I thought of a couple more World Cup Memories. 

The World Cup of 1978 was in Argentina. 

I was at University and seemingly unaware of all the political controversies around the tournament.  The final was Argentina v Netherlands. On finals day we organised a five-a-side football tournament. The winning prize was a front seat view in the TV room and a crate of Pedigree beer.

We made the final despite only me playing University football and were up against a team with 4 members playing football for the University. After a hard battle we won and watched the game with no obstructions whilst quaffing the beer. It was a good Dutch side but we're inevitably defeated by the home team.

The Italia 90 tournament had England v Germany  in the semi final. I thought it was England's best team for years with a chance of winning. I was annoyed that I had been sent to Swindon on a training course with Allied Dunbar, who I had joined out of desperation having been made redundant at E.J.Arnold. We watched the game on a small TV in the hotel lounge.

For some reason, one of the group was happy for Germany to win (he was always an arse). Inevitably we lost on penalties. He was cheering which nearly started a riot.

We know that won't happen this time as the Germans will be watching at home after their ignominious exit. Good luck to England on Saturday night against the French.

Natasha came home with a Christmas tree the other day, a subtle hint perhaps?? It is not huge and as we are away for Christmas this year we have decided, for the first time, not to put up our main tree. We will still dec up the house, but she may have been hinting that the dining room, which currently resembles my studio, might need clearing soon. That will be a job for next week.

The many paintings I have framed recently are a real mixed bunch. Watercolours, monoprints, acrylic inks, pen and wash and even the 2 acrylic flower paintings below appropriately named Mixed Bunch 1 and 2. 

Over the last few blogs before Christmas I am offering up some paintings at a "special Christmas price" If you are interested DM me or Tom and I will try and get them to you before Christmas (postal strikes permitting). This is initially a special sale for my blog readers but I may put them on Facebook in a few days if I get no offers. 

The picture size with frame and mount is 12"×12" The frames are black with a white mount and a black edging strip.

The paintings are original works in acrylic on board. This is not an auction so first come first served.

Friday 2nd December 2022

I had some interesting responses to my World Cup Blog last week. As the competition continues I have continued to work inside whilst watching the games.

As an addendum to last week, I forgot to mention the conclusion to my 1966 World Cup experience. In order to try and rectify my German kit problem I made an England badge out of material which I cut into a shield shape and used felt tip pen to draw on the 3 lions. My mum sowed it onto my shirt but unfortunately on the first washing the felt tip ran and the 3 Lions disappeared!! I had to re-draw them every time the shirt was washed. Not ideal.

I also acquired some memorabilia from the tournament in the shape of the tournament programme. It contained all the squads and fixtures and included information about the venues and some very 1960's adverts promoting healthy stuff like drinking and smoking. I still have it as one of my treasured possessions. In the final fixture I had written in my 7yr old hand. "England 4.(Hurst 3, Peters 1) Germany 2 (Haller 1, Weber 1) after extra time. England World Champions" and I had drawn the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Little did I think back in 1966, that would be the only trophy.

Last Saturday was the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair. I had my usual table in the downstairs Gallery and had on display some framed originals, framed monoprint landscapes, some local watercolours and a random selection of handmade Christmas cards. Although I didn't make a fortune it was worth doing and was an enjoyable day. My first taste of Christmas this year with Christmas music, mince pies and a good deal of Christmas spirit. I also bought some frames from one of the customers who knew me which, I have made use of this week.

I managed to write all our monoprint Christmas cards and envelopes on Tuesday which always takes longer than expected. I keep threatening to just buy them next year but I know I won't!!

So, the rest of this week has been mainly framing and mounting in the warmth of the house.

I have framed lots of small pictures and mounted 10 of my pen and ink harbour pictures in larger mounts (which came with the frames from Saturday). I have ordered new 12"×12" frames for them. I also decided to add mounts to the monoprint landscapes, which set them off much better. I have also utilised the frames the harbours came out of to frame some more abstract landscapes and painted a few to go in them as well. With 30 more frames arriving soon I have more work to do

I enjoy seeing paintings in mounts and frames. It does transform them. When I have completed all the framing I really do need to decide where they are going (as Natasha keeps reminding me). It would be a real shame to put them all back in boxes.

Friday 25th November 2022

First I'd like to say that this is my 2 year anniversary of doing this blog. I think I've only missed 1 when I had Covid. When I started 2 years ago I never dreamed that I would still be going 2 years later. Sometimes I wonder what I'm going to write about but I always manage something. I hope they have given the readers some insight into my "artists life".

I have no idea who reads them so I try and mix the content up to suit all tastes. Hopefully I will continue and hope my slowly growing followers find them reasonably interesting. Thank you all who read them and any suggestions for future blog subjects are welcome.

I have to say that despite all the controversies around this World Cup, I was always going to watch it. I always do. I don't mind that not everyone wants to or can. I do and and I can, so I will. I always have from way back. I am old enough to remember the romance of England winning in 1966 and, at the age of 7 can remember watching several games and of course The Final. I had been nagging my dad to buy me an England kit to wear during the tournament. He eventually succumbed and took me somewhere dodgy in Chesterfield to get one. Now for all you youngsters football kits back in the 60's weren't what you see nowdays. No badges, no sponsorship, no fancy patterns. Everything was plain. White, red, blue. You couldn't get specific team or countries kits.

The ancient guy in the shop must have seen us coming. He told us the closest thing he had to an "England kit" was a plain white shirt (fine) black shorts (England's were very dark blue so fair enough) and white socks which had 2 black stripes round the top (England's were plain white, but no worries). To my dismay, England played the final in their red kit and to my horror, Germany played in white shirts, back shorts and white socks with black stripes round the top. Dad never batted an eyelid but I watched the 1966 World Cup Final wearing a West Germany kit !!!!

After the game I remember kicking a ball around our garden, re-living the game wearing my German kit!!

The following World Cup in Mexico I was old enough to enjoy it but remember being devastated as England lost to Germany after being 2-0 up (Bobby Moore stolen necklace fiasco, Gordon Banks and greatest ever save ever from Pele and Peter Bonnetti and all that). Those of a similar age will know what I'm talking about. If not look it up. I missed the final having been "forced" to go on a club day trip to Bridlington. I saw the awesome Brazilian team win later on Match of the Day.

I have watched 15 World Cups over 56 years and apart from the 3 England didn't qualify for, I have never lost faith that we might win again. The 2 semi finals in "Italia '90 " and last time in Russia were the closest we've got but I live in hope. I think we could have won in 1990. That was a great team. I think we may have lost to France in the final in Russia if we'd beaten Croatia.

So sad as it may seem, I will sit with my World Cup Wall Chart and try and watch every game. I will have to catch up on Saturday as I'm doing the Gallery 45 Christmas Fair.

4 games a day are hard to fit in. I manage to fit all my jobs around the matches, dog walks (twice), sorting chickens, housework and cooking meals, washing, drying etc but I find it hard just to sit and watch all the matches, so out came the table and watercolours in front of the TV and I've been painting some more miniatures all week. I was asked to make some slight alterations to my Burradon commission, which after 3 attempts I managed to do. So, only 3 more weeks to go. Bring it on.....

Friday 18th November 2022

I had ordered some A4 frames which came last Saturday and were perfect for framing my monoprint landscapes done last week.

I decided to frame them without cutting mounts for them so spent Monday cutting the monoprints down to size and mounting them onto white card before framing them.

I have to say they look good framed.

On Tuesday it was time to get stuck into the Burradon Farm Commission. The canvas was quite large for me, 3ft×2ft and the bare white canvas is always a slightly intimidating sight especially when doing a commission. Using the photos I had taken when I visited and the photos the client had provided I sketched out my preferred composition and transferred it to the canvas with a very watered down acrylic.

I hadn't decided how I was going to paint it but decided on an interesting but not overpowering sky using a brush not a palette knife and keeping the paint quite thinly applied. Sometimes a sky with thick paint and done with a palette knife can appear too close and this view had some distance.

The Simonside Hills were also distant and an almost uniform, flat, dusky blue.

Once I had completed the sky and hills I could relax a little. The distant landscape was vague but had some muted colour in it. It was important to keep the tones muted in order to maintain the distant feel.

I wanted to keep the whole painting as loosely painted as possible whilst maintaining the integrity of the view. I didn't want to go too abstract as the clients wanted this view painting for a reason but I didn't want it to get too fiddly and photorealistic. Painting like this from a photographic reference, can be challenging. Trying to convey a 3D image on a 2D surface can be tricky. The only way to show distance in 2D, when painting a semi realistic landscape is with weaker, bluer tones and less detail. I often see amateur paintings where the tone, colour and detail is the same intensity throughout. Distant trees must be less detailed and the colours toned down. A photograph can give them too much colour and detail. It is a difficult balance. especially when I got to the trees in the middle distance. I used a combination of line work, palette knife and brush as I got closer to the foreground.

The view was set in early Autumn, basically, when I visited, so there were lots of greens still present, which I don't usually like. The trees were turning though, which provided some Autumn shades and bared branches but not in full Autumn glory. I tried to keep the foreground trees quite loose but with some texture and variety of colour and tones. The nearest field was painted loosely with a palette knife.

The picture was completed in 2 days but looking at it again I may decide to make the sky a little more dramatic. I will probably ask the clients for their opinions.

I have said before in my blogs that I find commissions difficult and don't particularly enjoy painting them. I am rarely satisfied, even if the client loves it. I would like to do this landscape again without the constraints of a commission. I think I might approach it differently

As this is an art blog, I suppose I ought to mention the recent activities of the "Just Stop Oil", environmental activists in throwing a "black liquid" over Gustav Klimt painting "Death and Life" in Vienna. Following the other art attacks with Tomato soup on the Van Gogh "Sunflowers" painting, mashed potatoes on a Monet, glueing their hands to the frame of a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" and taping an alternative poster over Constable's "Hay Wain"

As you know, I don't like getting political in my blogs. Most thinking humans are aware of the environmental damage we are doing to our planet. The scope of this damage is huge with "climate change" the most obvious. Perhaps it is an issue too huge for most people to contemplate. We all try to do our bit with recycling and sustainability but it is the Government's of the world that can make a real difference and I believe many are trying but not hard or fast enough. There have been many protests on environmental issues. I think that the latest batch are obviously targeting what they believe to be "the capitalist elite".

Is this what these paintings are? I have done a previous blog on "The Price of Art" and tried to explain that the huge prices placed on these items are down to 2 main reasons. 1. Their rarity. They are one off pieces by long dead artists who have achieved superstar status with incredible desirability. 2. The desire to own these rarities creating competition amongst private collectors, auction houses and galleries resulting in soaring prices.

It is interesting that these protests have been aimed at "easy targets", ie. Priceless masterpieces that are hanging in Galleries which have purchased them to display for the general public, not paintings hidden away for a private collectors desire to own something his rivals haven't got and never to be seen by the public.

It has to be said that although these acts have appeared sacrilegious, they have not damaged any of the paintings which have been enclosed behind glass for their protection. The problem, as I see it is that protests of this kind, although headline grabbing, seem to achieve the opposite effect. It turns the public against these people and groups and does nothing to rally them to the cause. I read recently that conspiracy theorists have suggested that these people have been hired by the oil companies themselves in order to instill outrage amongst the public and thereby turn people against these activist group causes. Indeed seeing people attacking rare works of art does not indear me to their cause. Stirring up vitriol against them surely can't be their aim. If they're looking for a £90m target to throw soup over I could think of a few premiership footballers that might be a better target.

Friday 11th November 2022

As mentioned in last week's blog I continued with some monoprinting this week before my workshop for The Acklington Art Group on Thursday.

Having done all my Christmas Cards last week I decided to do a few landscapes/seascapes, portraits, fish and flowers. The landscapes/seascapes are produced using paper stencils cut from newspaper to mask out the main landmasses; headlands, or mountain ranges. The ink is then spread very thinly onto a piece of polythene which is placed very lightly onto the paper and with fingers and a skewer or cocktail stick marks are added to the paper. Once the stencil is removed the remaining white paper can be delicately marked with the same inked polythene sheet creating a landscape with printed marks and lines. Colour is added later with inks or watercolour. The portraits, fish and flowers are done using a similar technique but mainly scribing the desired image using the sticks and later colour added.

Acklington Art Group. Monoprint Workshop

For my workshop I had provided small working kits for all the members with a frame (previously described), different sheets of polythene, skewers, cocktail sticks and a range of papers.

There were 20 members attending with some new faces who had come along.

They were all a bit apprehensive, none of them having done any monoprinting before.

I had taken along quite a few of my Monoprints including all my pieces done over the last couple of weeks including a selection of my Christmas Cards.

Once I had chatted about monoprinting in general and demonstrated the basic technique I let them loose and soon they were producing their own work in quantity.

The idea was to show them how to create the printed black marks which give the prints their identity and with 3 demonstrations show them how to create the basic prints including line drawings and stencil work based on the examples I had created with various themes and techniques. The afternoon session would involve bringing their efforts to life with added colour, which I also demonstrated for them.

The day went well with everyone engrossed in creating their own batch of monoprints in their own style. I encouraged them not to throw work away as the later addition of colour can transform what might appear to be a failed print initially.

They are a lovely bunch at Acklington and always enhance the day with lots of homemade cakes and scones. I took a substantial doggy bag home.

The workshop finished about 3pm with the group enthused at learning a new skill and taking a substantial number of prints home with them.

One lady had come having heard about my previous workshops and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was also a member of the Warkworth Art Group (WAGS) and the Howick Art Group (HAGS) and asked if I would be prepared to demonstrate for them. I agreed and have already received an invitation from the Warkworth Group. I have also received another invitation from the Lesbury Art Group (the ones with the big screen) which I have also accepted.

I have said before, these workshops do take a lot of preparation but I do get a real buzz from doing them and should do more.

It's been a hell of a week in other ways and this workshop was a nice distraction.

We've had between us, lost phone, found phone, lost laptop found laptop, suspected car tax fraud, phone insurance fraud, card cancellation ( me and Natasha), delivery fraud, missed phone delivery due to DPD trying to deliver 4 hours before time stated and 2 so called "computer glitches " where vital items have not been sent and have had to be resent. We've been hours on the phone talking to mobile phone providers, bank fraud teams and insurance companies. We've had a rat problem in our outhouses, been to A&E with Natasha spraining her ankle at University and to cap it all on Thursday a heating boiler shut down due to leaking heating oil. Thankfully this was solved promptly and leaking oil caught in a bucket and returned to the tank. We're hoping for a slightly less stressful week next week whist awaiting 2 new bank cards. Its a good job the Workshop paid in cash.

Friday 4th November 2022

Our trip to Burradon Farm on Saturday was only spoilt by the weather. With low cloud and rain it wasn't the ideal conditions for taking photos.

However, it was worth it. We met Una and Nick who were commissioning the painting and had a good chat. I did take some photos and they sent me some of theirs. They are a lovely couple and the picture is for their son. The view they want is beautiful and I hope I can do it justice.

As I said in last week's blog the rest of the week has been about re-aquainting myself with monoprinting. At the same time as practicing for my workshop next week, I intended to make this years Christmas cards. My frame I made last week worked well and I did about 100 6"×4" monoprints with a mixture of handmade stencils and freehand drawing with a skewer.

I have explained my process before but basically a piece of thin plastic (I used a combination of dog poo bags, thin carrier bags and thin acetate) is inked or in this case painted with black acrylic paint on one side and then either pressed around the stencils or drawn on with a skewer, cocktail stick or even a pencil to create marks on the paper taped in the frame.

For some cards I inked the stencil directly and printed it onto the paper, adding lines and marks afterwards.

This is only the start as I spent a day with watercolour and acrylic ink adding colour to the Abstract forms. To make cards the monoprints need to be cut to size and glued onto a blank card. They then need to be signed and a message written inside before putting in envelopes and addresses added. I always like doing Christmas cards early even though I don't like thinking about Christmas until December.

I have made my own cards for decades and I always get to a point, usually at the gluing stage, where I wonder if it's worth it. It's certainly not cheaper and is very time consuming but it's sort of expected now and some people even collect them.

I used to sell loads in our Gallery but the cost of producing handmade cards makes it of little commercial value as the price I need to charge plus the Gallery or shop commission added make them too expensive, even though the customer is actually getting a small piece of original art. In terms of time, production cost and materials I wouldn't make a profit selling them at £5 each (£10) in a shop or gallery which seems expensive, but not for an original piece of art. I end up selling any spares in Christmas Fairs for a ridiculously low price.

Next week I need to do some more monoprints, perhaps some flower and landscape ones before my workshop on Thursday.

The good thing about making cards is that after the initial monoprint phase I can work in the house thereby saving money by not using my studio heater which bumps up the daily consumption considerably. I think I will have to pick and choose when I work in my studio over winter and make the hours work for me.

Both Treeline and Flat Cat Galleries received the pictures I sent, which is always a relief. My Buckinghams paintings were also collected and are now on their website at bucksfineart.com/nickpotter.

After next week I will work on my Burradon commission and try and get some new work to Tallantyre and Blagdon. On Saturday I collected my pictures from Taste of Northumberland so I will have some small, framed, local pictures for my craft fair at Gallery 45 at the end of the month.

Friday 27th October 2022

With Natasha busy with University work, I decided to be proactive last weekend.

This took a slight detour on Sunday afternoon as the Cider we made in the Summer was ready. So with "The Neighbours" we siphoned it into a barrel.

Tasting had to be done, so we did. It is remarkably clear, very dry and 10% proof.

It tasted good, though I'm no cider expert. We didn't have very much, about 3/4 of a pint. We called it "Dunstan Dry Death" and it was. After "tasting" I fell immediately asleep!

With new work off to OCG in Ambleside and Jetty Gallery in Oban, I was aware that there were a few galleries I had not been in contact for a while.

I have been aware that my Abstracts haven't been selling at Tallantyre Gallery in Morpeth and so I messaged them as I knew they were at the "Affordable Art Fair" in London. I suggested I bring in some completely different paintings and collect the abstracts.

The "Taste of Northumberland " in Alnwick Market Square had on display a number of my small local pictures which originally sold well but it is a shop that sells mainly local spirits, beers and food goods and sales had seemed to dry up. The problem is that they never tell me when they sell anything so I have no idea what or if any pictures had sold. I have decided to remove what they had as it was good wall decoration for them but no use for me.

I also contacted Blagdon Gallery and requested that they provide me with a list of work held and asked them to pay me for any work sold. I also suggested I take them some new work. During my August Bank Holiday "Art in The Garden" weekend Rob from Blagdon had contacted me regarding a commission to paint 3 landscapes of the view of The Simonside Hills from Burradon Farm for the owners of the farmhouse. It had all gone a bit quiet on the subject so I asked for an update on that.

A few years ago I messaged a host of galleries in Northumberland and Scotland asking if they would like to take my work. Not all responded but a few did. Jetty Gallery in Oban was one and another was The Flat Cat Gallery in Lauder, a small town in the Scottish Borders. We visited a few years ago and took some work in. It's a lovely Gallery with a nice cafe. It is however, a proper Gallery not just a coffee shop with pictures. They sold a few pieces but we haven't been back. I contacted them on Saturday and despite the lack of contact we have had, they quickly replied. They would be happy to take some new work. I am sending them 6 small, framed, mixed media pictures for their "Winter Exhibition ".

I met Tony Huggins Haig a few years ago. I was visiting an Art Fair being held at The Willowburn Centre in Alnwick. Gallery 45 had a stand there and had some of my work so I went along to support them.

As I was having a wander round I got talking to a tall bearded guy dressed in immaculate tweeds. His stand was promoting the Tony Huggins Haig Gallery and he was the man. His Gallery was in Kelso on the Scottish Borders. He was a well known and respected Naive Artist and sold his own work through the Gallery. After chatting for a while he explained that he knew who I was and they had showed some of my work in the Gallery which they had taken from Buckinghams. He suggested that I bring some pictures into the Gallery. At the time I was doing some very bright, collage landscapes. I framed some and on the same trip as we visited Flat Cat Gallery, we visited The THH Gallery in Kelso. The staff were pleasant and we met Tony's wife who said they used to sell a lot of my early Buckinghams pictures of Landcapes with sheep. A few years ago I had a request for a "print" of "Neidpath Castle" in Peebles, from a lady who had seen the original in the THH Gallery. It was a wedding present for a friend who got married there. She loved the print and was eventually to go back and buy the original.

That was the only picture I had sold there in several years and I never really understood why. I found out when I finally managed to chat to Tony himself on the phone on Saturday morning and it is a strange and worrying tale.

I had messaged the Gallery a few times in the intervening years and they always encouraged me that my work was on display and I was welcome to take in new work. I had seen on social media, that the Gallery appeared to be moving premises and suddenly I couldn't contact them. The phone numbers didn't work and there was no Facebook. On Saturday Tony explained everything.

Back in 2018 he and his wife had decided that it would be much more economical for them to relocate the Gallery from its central Kelso, expensive location to their large house outside the town. They re-named the Gallery "Arthouse Scotland " and had done some major renovations to the property to accommodate it. Just after they reopened Covid hit and as with most galleries they couldn't open. They decided that in order to keep trading they (like many businesses) would take their Gallery on-line. Tony explained what unbelievably happened next.

They had just set up their on-line Gallery when they were attacked by Russian Hackers, who took over the website and held it to ransom demanding payment in bitcoin for its release. Tony refused, so they blocked all trading and destroyed the website. Tony had to build a secure storage unit to house all the artwork and the Gallery ceased trading. With all their funds tied up in the house and business they were forced to sell their house. Tony explained that they now live next door. They have managed to hang on to the Gallery next door but after Covid restrictions had ended they again tried to build up the business on-line. They were then targeted again by the Russian Hackers with the same demands, which they refused to meet. The website once again was destroyed. Tony explained that he didn't know if he'd got the energy to carry on after 30+ years in the art business. I don't think I could either. He was very amiable and agreed to seek out my remaining pictures from storage and drop them off for me, which I thought was very generous of him.

On Sunday I heard from Treeline Gallery in Bakewell that they had sold another 2 paintings and were running low. I ordered some frames which came the next day and on Monday I framed 6 pictures plus 2 I had painted that day, ready to send to them.

I also varnished (twice) my Buckinghams paintings ready to send next week and on Tuesday completed the "Ibiza " commission for my Buckinghams clients.

I heard back from Tallantyre, who are happy to take new work and from Rob at Blagdon who as well as doing my requested inventory had contacted the lady from Burradon Farm who wants to go ahead with the commission. I needed to ring her and arrange a visit.

I did contact her and arrange to visit for Saturday and take some photos. It is a 3 painting commission so should be worth the visit.

On Wednesday I photographed and titled my Buckinghams pictures and with the Treeline and Flat Cat paintings and packed them all ready to send off. This takes a while in order to make sure everything arrives without damage.

On Thursday I began to prepare for my monoprint workshop by making the A4 Acetate appatures and hinged backing card carriers that the paper goes into whilst being worked on. I am doing a number of these, one each for the group plus a couple for me (spoiler alert) one will be with a 6"×4" aperture for my 7"×5" Christmas cards which I will attempt to do next week as practice for the workshop. This will involve acrylic paint, card, dog poo bags, cocktail sticks and cereal packets (all very Blue Peter!).

Looking back at this week you can see how varied my "artists life" can be.

I've contacted 6 galleries, painted 4 watercolours, finished one commission in acrylics, arranged a visit for another commission, varnished 9 paintings twice, titled photographed and packed them, titled, mounted, framed, photographed and packed 14 small paintings and made 20 Acetate monoprint carriers. I don't just sit and paint all day. Sometimes I only wish I could but I'd have to lay off the cider!!

Cheers!!

Friday 21st October 2022

This week I was back in the studio.

I wanted to get the Autumn Woodland paintings done and sent to Buckinghams whilst it was still Autumn!

First I was back on the roof of my studio last weekend after the gale force winds we had on Saturday blew off a piece of roof felt. After my recent tribulations on the stairs I wasn't keen on going up the ladders but with some help from Dylan I managed to patch up the roof in gusting winds. A good job as we had torrential rain overnight.

I have explained the process of my woodland paintings before. I paint in layers. Usually with several paintings on the go. The first almost wash layer sets the tone. Sunny, misty etc. This is followed by the distant landscape and trees. Usually pale trunks, even paler in the mist. A composition, although usually thought out before painting, emerges and can change. An original reference photo is usually only a starting point and the whole thing can change quickly. The light source needs to be established and the distant foliage indicated. There may be some colour spattering at this stage.

The nearer trees, still quite indistinct are added and more foliage. The more distinguishable middle ground trees and foliage are then placed. A pathway becomes more obvious. The colours become more intense. Possibly more spatter added. The woodland floor starts to be defined. Out comes the palette knife and thicker paint. When the foreground tree trunks are placed in the ground and pathway are firmed up and then the final thick layers of foliage added with thick paint with impasto medium added to get a juicy thick layer. Details are then completed and usually the puddles and reflections complete the picture. I then leave them overnight and consider additions the next day.

These pictures aren't supposed to be an accurate depiction of a scene. They are intended to be more impressionistic and colourful, more about the colour and the painted surface. I tend not to paint individual leaves or detailed trunks. It's more about the overall impression of the riot of colours or moods of an Autumn Woodland.

They do take a while and can't be rushed but I find it works better when I paint them reasonably quickly. They are more spontaneous like that. I was amazed when I came to do a clean up. I used 15 different brushes and 8 different palette knives. This is very unusual for me.

I also did a couple of Scottish landscapes of Skye with palette knife and brush to add to the Buckinghams collection.

I also started the Ibiza commission on my only 16"×16" board (the size specified). The board had been gessoed and some texture added, intending it for another landscape and had tried to sand it flat again but a shadow of the texture still remained.

Half way through the painting I didn't like the texture. It's a calm, sunny, seascape but the underlying texture was too obvious. I needed a smooth surface. I had a deadline to meet on this piece and hadn't really time to order new boards.

Sometimes I just seem to lose the plot and forget the obvious. I was explaining my dilemma to Natasha in bed and as she turned off the light before sleep she said.

"use the other side" I can be so stupid sometimes!!!

On Thursday I heard on the news that an "iconic" LS Lowry painting had been sold at auction for £7.8m. The 1953 picture "Going to the Match" depicts a crowd scene at the former home of Bolton Wanderers, Burnden Park. The painting had been loaned to The Lowry Gallery, Salford by The Players Foundation but the financial crisis had forced its sale raising fears that it might disappear from public view. However, thanks to a generous benefactor, The Lowry Centre has been able to buy the painting, securing its future at the Gallery.

Lowry lived most of his life in Salford and it seems fitting that the picture should reside there. Lowry, who died in 1970, was a very private man who lived in some austerity during his lifetime. I wander what he would think about his painting being sold for £7.8m? Galleries and museums face a financial uphill struggle trying to hang on to works of art to enable the public to view them and for them not to disappear into private collections and never be seen again. However, as I have discussed before, these Galleries and Museums also have vast amounts of artwork in storage, never seen by the public. Even the Big Galleries haven't space to display a fraction of what they have. It would be great to see a new massive space, central to the country where these buried artworks could be on show. However, with the current financial situation in this country at the moment , I think it would be way down on the priority list. I live in hope.

Friday 14th October 2022

Well this week was a bit uneventful compared with last week's drama.

I was thinking about this weeks blog and that it might just end up as a bit of an update on my activities this week.

I finally got in the studio and started some Autumn woodland pictures for Buckinghams. They are going OK but it takes a bit of getting back into painting them. I have several on the go at once and paint them in layers. Over the weekend I managed to pack up securely (hopefully) my watercolours for OCG and Oban. On Friday, I managed to do 7 extra watercolours that Annie at Jetty Gallery had requested and so was able to pack them with the framed ones. I have said many times that I always worry about sending framed pictures by post but thanks to some sturdy "Hello Fresh' boxes and packaging they should be OK.

On Monday I posted my watercolours off to the galleries.

Natasha and I watched "Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art." 3 episodes on BBC Two. I can recommend it to anyone interested in Modern British Art and the so called YBA's who changed the face of British Art in the last few decades. Like it or loathe it its a good watch.

I also ordered some product for my upcoming monoprints workshop including

Acetate sheets, rollers, plastic palette knives, small carrier bags and dog poo bags. It got me thinking of the diverse activities that I do as an artist and some of the stranger ones I have done. I have mentioned before the workshops, demonstrations, appearances, book illustrations and fairs I have been involved in but I don't think I have ever mentioned the "Marriage of Figaro" Opera set (perhaps worth its own blog sometime) or my "Artist in Residence" at The Stainsby Folk Festival.

I had my flu jab and Covid booster this morning. As I dressed in my "Northern Kin" festival T shirt I got my idea for this weeks blog.

I am not really a "Festival" person. I usually hate the crowds, cost and toilets. Before the "Northern Kin" Festival in 2020(which was actually great) and taking and collecting offspring to or from them, my only experience of "Festivals" was the rather small but iconic and long running Stainsby Folk Festival just on the outskirts of Chesterfield. I had been a few times before and enjoyed the intimate nature of it.

In 2011, through a contact of Natasha at work, I was asked by one of the organisers, to be "Artist in Residence" at the Stainsby on 22nd - 24th July that year.

It was a rather grand term for what was a not so grand role but it gave us "all access" passes for the weekend activities and bands and free access to a pitch on site for "my activities " and for camping and all the bands.

An "Artist in Residence " is usually applied to museums or galleries where the "Artist" is offered a chance to produce work, advise and interact with the public in order to promote that particular institution.

It has become popular in several other areas including Festivals.

Kurt Jackson, the Cornish artist has been "Artist in Residence " at The Glastonbury Festival for many years. He records the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the event in paintings and sketches.

My role at Stainsby was whatever I wanted it to be, I was never asked? I decided early on that I wasn't going to do the "Kurt Jackson" thing. I wanted it to be a bit more publicly visible and interactive. I also wanted it to have some sort of environmental message if possible with a visible impact. After some thought and a few false starts I decided my theme would be recycling. One thing that is guaranteed at a festival is large amounts of rubbish. The majority during the weekend was plastic bottles and cans (most festival rubbish at the end is damaged tents and chairs but Stainsby was really too small for this) I wanted to come up with an idea that recycled the bins full of cans and plastic bottles in an artistic and interactive way. Easy eh?

I eventually came up with the idea of "Spinners". I was going to create, on site, a small forest of spinners or windmills that moved, spun and made noises in the wind (a bit like wind chimes but not as annoying)

The idea was to cut the bottles and tins to form blades that fanned out like a flower with a hub (the bottom of the bottle or can) that was attached to a spindle, mounted on willow canes that bent and rotated in the wind. The idea was that I would make them from the refuse during the festival and other festival goers could come to my stand (a recently purchased Gazebo) and make their own. It took a bit of design technology but I designed the spindle to hold the spinner onto the willow cane, whilst allowing them to rotate, using plastic straws and raw plugs and galvanised nails. The cans or bottles were cut using scissors or tin snips.

I made some prototypes which amazingly worked. The spinners span round with a gentle whoosh (bottles) or tinkling (cans) and the flexible willow bowed and swayed in the wind.

A friend of ours knew a neighbour who had tons of willow to spare so I went along and cut what I needed.

During the festival daytime hours we made loads of them sat outside in the sunshine drinking beer and eating. Friends and family came along and made their own. Lots of festival people came and made their own. We used lots of discarded bottles and cans. Next to my Gazebo we created a garden full of rotating spinners. They looked and sounded great but gentle as the multicolured heads rotated.Some people took theirs away and at the end of the festival we gave them away. It was good to create something out of festival rubbish. At night we secured the Gazebo, which had 4 sides, and enjoyed the music.

We could hear the daytime bands from our base whilst making the spinners.

We were only able to do Friday and Saturday as we were off on holiday to Northumberland on the Sunday. We packed up on Sunday morning having enjoyed being part of the whole event and not just visitors to it. We left a few spinners on site but took any others with us. I used them for a couple of years as bird scarers around our vegetable patches. We still have a few willow canes in the house.

I came across the photos below in a sketchbook. I remember making them very well as I did them on my hospital bed, to try and calm my nerves, whilst waiting for my first lot injections in my back in 2011. I had no idea what to expect, or that I had to be wheeled down to an operating theatre at some point during the morning and would be allowed home later if someone collected me. The surgeon kindly showed me the X-Ray of the 4 huge needles injected around my spine. These sketches, unfortunately remind me of that as much as of the fun we had at Stainsby.

Friday 7th October 2022

I often say in these blogs that although they are generally about my art they are also about my artists life. Despite what some of my family think I do have a life. Often life gets in the way of my art. Frequently things happen which prevent me from working. I also sometimes use them as excuses for not working. It can't be helped. I am my own boss.

Last Friday, I spent the day cutting mounts and mounting and framing recent work.

I cut 20 mounts for the miniature watercolours I painted last week and ordered frames. I also mounted and framed the 8 12"×12" oil paintings I did recently, which, thanks to the liquin paste, had dried quicker than expected. The frames I had ordered for them had glass. Instead of my usual procedure of varnishing the pictures I framed them behind glass with mounts which hid the untidy edges, not something you usually do with oils but they look great.

Like I said at the end of last weeks blog I had every intention of getting back in the studio this week to work on some paintings for Buckinghams. I had decided over the weekend to do some more Autumn woodland pictures. I had seen one on a photo of the new Aurora Gallery just opened in Stratford-upon-Avon and it looked good. I have quite a few boards ready to go.

Natasha had been away for the weekend in Manchester but was back on Sunday. After United's crushing defeat to City on Sunday I was looking forward to exorcising the humiliation on Monday by getting stuck in to the work.

However, life once again intervened.

During the night, in the early hours, I did my usual and got up to use the toilet (somewhat of a regular occurrence at my age). I had been deeply asleep for a couple of hours and was a bit disorientated and ran into the bedroom radiator, stubbing my toe and waking Natasha. I must still have been disorientated on the landing. As I went through what I believed to be the bathroom doorway, I soon realised my mistake. I fell forwards down 2 stairs onto the platform step at the top of the stairs, hit the wall and then tumbled backwards head over heels down the stairs to end up in a heap at the bottom. My cries of shock on the way down were echoed by Natasha from the bedroom as she heard my descent. I had managed to cover my head with my arms somehow and as I lay there, taking stock, I thought a) I'm not dead or unconscious b) I didn't think I hit anything on the way down and c)I don't think I've broken anything despite an excruciating pain in my shin. I was very dizzy and felt sick and was apparently white as a sheet and shaking. After Natasha arrived we checked me over. I had obviously bashed my leg which was bruised and numb, I had a few abrasions and a painful neck and quite a few carpet burns and was still dying for a pee. As Natasha got me to the downstairs toilet and then administered naked first aid we reflected that all in all I was very lucky. It could have been so much worse. We determined that I didn't require A&E and after a cuppa returned gingerly to bed.

I apologise for this lengthy description of this event but it was the biggest shock I'd had for a while. I couldn't believe I had not damaged myself more seriously. The next day I was bruised and sore virtually all over and my neck hurt but nothing major.

My daughter Alice, with her usual wit, suggested that having survived 2 World Wars I was made of tough stuff. Liam suggested that if I start painting like Salvador Dali I should be rushed to A&E and Dylan has entitled a siblings chat group "Fall Count"

Very bloody funny!!

On Tuesday, overwhelmed with sympathy and feeling much better, I decided to get into my studio and start these bloody tree paintings. I usually paint them in layers, back to front and work on several at the same time. They do take ages (for me) but hopefully will sell well. I also got a commission through Buckinghams for an Ibiza seascape, which I will work on too.

Martin, one of The Neighbours, has recently had a birthday and it was Ray's this week and Sheena’s in a couple of weeks so instead of doing individual cards I painted a cartoon Happy Birthday trypich for them entitled "The Three Amigos" whilst "resting up" on Monday after "The Fall".

We've also had a visit this week from Andrew and Sue Fairhurst, 2 of my most faithful blog readers and art supporters, who are up here on their, now annual, holiday just up the road. Andrew is family from my first marriage and I went to school with Sue (just one of those strange occurrences in life). It was great to see them for a catch up.

It's happening again. My studio is filling up.

I have 10 framed "Hill Farm, acrylic ink" Paintings, 8 framed oil paintings and 20 framed miniature watercolours plus the pictures returned in the Summer from Alex and Trident Gallery in Leicester and a host of other pictures that need a home. I have Galleries in mind for some pictures but need to get some stuff out. Practicing for my monoprint workshop will no doubt create a pile of new monoprints. I still have a load of "Rock Icon" pictures and about 100 bird pictures plus all the stuff for my book. I also have a lot of my "Abstract landscape" paintings in the style of Lewis Noble, pictures returned last year from Buckinghams, plus some bigger canvas paintings.

I haven't even started on my new large blank canvases!

It can all get a bit overwhelming .

Natasha has finally managed to secure a place at Northumbria University to finish her degree she started before Covid. Her employers Northumberland C.C. have agreed for her to do her 3rd year on day release. She was originally told she would have to do the full 3 years again but she has persuaded The University that the 2 years work she previously completed, with a different University should be accepted. It will be hard work for her whilst continuing to work but I hope to use the evenings when she has to work to work on my book.

Hopefully we can both get our projects finished together if I don't keep falling down the stairs!!

P.s. We have now purchased a "night light" for the landing, which should help.

Friday 30th September 2022

We had a lovely weekend down in Derbyshire visiting family. We went to see our new Grand Daughter, Lily-Jean in Sheffield. She was gorgeous.

Tom and Jade looked smitten and remarkably relaxed. Amongst everything, Tom had managed to frame his 5 watercolours I gave him for his birthday and they look great. We also got to have a meal with Alice and Jay and Archie our Grandson and even saw Toast the very lively dog. We had lunch with Natasha’s mum and our niece and nephew. My niece, Sofia gave me a crash course in using her digital paint programme on her tablet. It was fascinating. I can see why David Hockney got so interested. I takes some time to master. Sofia produces some great artwork using it and she is getting noticed. She has some celebrity followers already. Not bad for a 15 year old. She wants to go to Art College and we had a good chat about that too.

Our elderly Labrador, Ella was a bit poorly over the weekend and we were a bit worried about her but fortunately, when we got back she quickly recovered and is eating normally and running round on her walks like a puppy again.

We stayed at Natasha's mums house at the weekend whilst she was away child minding for the week. Since we sold our house, she has quite a bit of stuff stored in her garage. I said I'd have a bit of a sort out. The first thing I found was a 25m hook up cable I must have had with my old Mazda Bongo. I couldn't believe it after all the farting around we did on our motorhome trip. I have now sent 2 cables back to Amazon for a refund!!

We had a bit of a blow on Monday though when our golden Silkie, Babs, died unexpectedly. We only have 3 and it was very sad as although we do get eggs they are really pets.

I was feeling a bit low after that and the weather has been awful, so instead of painting in my cold studio I decided to set up my indoor watercolour station using the table from the motorhome.

I decided to do some miniatures 6"×4"

First of The Lakes and then of The West Highlands. They worked quite well and after mounting and framing will probably go to Oban and The OCG. It is very hard not to get too fiddly when painting that small. It is very easy to get carried away with details. I tried to keep them fairly loose but I think I could do better. I managed to do 20 small watercolours.

I was very pleasant painting whilst "watching" (listening) to Netflix whilst the rain was battering down outside. "Dubbed" crime programme from Norway, Sweden and Holland aren't so bad when you’re only listening and not really watching.

Next week I really will have to get back in the studio. I need to get on with some larger work. Buckinghams are due another collection and I need to refresh a couple of galleries. I have also been asked to do another workshop for The Acklington Art Group in November. They want me to do some of my monoprinting using carrier bags, sticks, cardboard and acrylic paint.

I will need to practice that again as it's been a while since I did the last lot.

It was good to get a delivery on Wednesday of some paint and mount board from my old company YPO. It wouldn't have happened in my day as we didn't supply the general public. The prices are still great especially for system 3 acrylic paint.

As the Darkness of Winter descends here North of The Wall, I will need to motivate myself. It is easy to retreat indoors and not get much work done. I have promised myself I will get on with my book this winter and I refuse not to have my heater on in my studio despite all the increase in fuel costs. It is my place of work and I can't paint if I'm cold. I feel for the pubs, shops and Galleries who have just survived Covid and must now be worried about their businesses due to the rise in energy bills. I don't usually get political on here but The Government are a joke and out of touch with the ordinary people. The new Government have already cocked things up and need to go. I am off shopping now but won't start a rant on the increase costs of food as this is supposed to be an art blog.

Back to the art next week.

Friday 23rd September 2022

So we packed up "George" the Motorhome and set off for Paxton near Berwick-upon-Tweed, on Sunday. On the A1 it threw it down but our spirits were not dampened.

First trip out so it was a little test to see what we needed. The site was small and very tidy within the walled garden of Paxton House, a Palladian mansion just over the border in Scotland. We'd popped in to "Go Outdoors" on the way to get a fresh water hose but they hadn't got one. No problem as we'd filled the water tank at home. We also called at the great little cafe next door and had some lunch.

We arrived on site a found a nice corner pitch. A cup of tea and then we were going to have a walk round the gardens. That's when the first minor problem occurred. The electric hook-up I had bought, assuming they were all standard fit, wouldn't fit "George". It had a large flange around the plug which, no matter how I tried, wouldn't connect with our plug point. We had pre-cooked our chilli and taken microwave rice. With no hook-up we couldn't use the microwave on the 12v leisure battery.

We could have used gas and thrown it all in a frying pan we'd taken but it was annoying. We decided to pop back to Go Outdoors and buy a new hook up but they didn't have one of those either!

After chatting to the caravan owner next to our pitch, he lent me an extension lead he had spare and combined with my lead we managed to hook up. Great. We then decided to try the awning. There were no instructions but how hard can it be? We managed to snap a plastic bit off one of the leg joints so abandoned that idea.

We went for our walk and it was lovely around the house and gardens. Natasha saw one of her favourite animals, a herd of Highland cattle. The sun came out and I wandered off to do some sketching. I wanted something to paint in the evening. That evening I did 3 loose watercolours from my sketches whilst Natasha read and after our chilli we chilled to music and drank the best part of a box of Malbec!

We slept above the cab. We had experience of this on our NC500 trip. Up and down the ladder for the toilet in the night is always interesting. However, I managed it without standing on the dog! After a comfortable night we were up early. I took Ella for a walk whilst Natasha cooked bacon butties. There was a small gate in the walled garden next to us, leading to a lane. Whilst out with Ella I noticed a pile of wood ready for a bonfire. On it were 3 chairs. 2 were a bit plain but the other one was a nice but slightly wobbly pine carver chair that must have been off the estate. I decided to rescue it. It is now in the Potter repair shop awaiting revival.

After breakfast we decided to head off. Stopping a mile up the road for a short walk along the River Tweed.

We wanted to listen to The Queen's Funeral, so decided to head to Lindisfarne. The tide times were good and we were able to park up in a large lay-by along the causeway with a fabulous view across to the mainland and left towards the village. We even had a view of Bamburgh on the distant horizon.

It was a glorious sunny lunchtime. I set up our table outside and we listened to the funeral. I have always wanted to stop and paint this view. I did 8 watercolours during the afternoon, whilst we sat in the sunshine and watched the light changing on the landscape in front of us. I have managed to put together a useful "plein air " painting kit. Easily transportable and compact. It will work well indoors and out in the Motorhome and I am looking forward to many more trips out.

We didn't really want to leave but we had to get back home. On the way we reflected on the trip and a few things we might need and on the funeral. We decided to watch it on TV when we got back. We found the pomp and precision amazing and the pipe band especially moving. Only we can put on an event like that.

Friday 16th September 2022

I have to admit that I often write this blog on a Thursday and send it off to Tom to publish on my website on Friday. I had already sent my blog last week before the sad news of the death of our Queen Elizabeth 11.

I have to say I have never been a staunch loyalist but have always had a huge respect for The Queen, though not all members of the Royal family. She has been the only ruler I have known in my lifetime and has given long, loyal and unerring service to the welfare of our country. Her presence will be sadly missed. May she rest in peace.

I have to admit that the sad events of last week put a bit of a downer on our weekend. That said we did pick up our motorhome on Sunday and are planning our first trip this weekend. We're only going to Paxton House on the River Tweed about 30 miles up the road from here near Berwick-upon-Tweed. It will give us chance to sort stuff out and see how everything works.

I did manage to get cracking on some oil paintings this week. I started small to get back into the swing. I was using a limited palette of oil paint on 12"×12" canvas and intended to use mainly a palette knife (mainly to prevent fiddling). I also wanted to do some less obvious Northumberland paintings. I've managed 10 so far, painted quickly and loosely. Painting with oils is different to acrylics. Obviously the paint doesn't dry(usually for weeks or even months) , allowing easier blending and wet into wet work. That also has its own problems especially when using a knife as the layers aren't dry when applying another layer. The only way to do this is quickly and spontaneously.

I haven't yet addressed the problem of where to store them whilst they dry. I may utilise the party shed.

I am moving towards larger work next week, although it will use a frightened large amount of paint with the style I am painting in. The only medium I am mixing with the paint is Liquin impasto medium. This not only helps thicken the paint but also speeds up drying.

I am, remarkably, reasonably happy with the results.

I also got to see my old mate from University, Col Douthwaite and his wife Margaret. I'd not seen them since my 50th Birthday Party. They are having a holiday up here in nearby Beadnell and seem to be making the most of it. It was great to have a catch up over coffee and a brief visit to my studio. I was Cols best man many moons ago and gave them a painting for their wedding present, which he still has on his wall. They left my studio with a picture of Beadnell to remind them of their holiday.

I also received news that I had sold several works at The OCG in Ambleside including 3 of my driftwood harbour sculptures. I will need to make some more before I revisit the Gallery. That's always a big project.

Just as I thought things were stalling a bit with Buckinghams and my new chunky style, I sold 11 paintings last month. I still find it hard to work out what sells, why and when. That's just the art business for you!

Friday 9th September 2022

I apologise in advance if this blog appears on-line a little late. There's a reason it might. My son Tom who controls all things website may be a little preoccupied.

On Wednesday evening Lily-Jean Potter finally arrived into the world. A huge congratulations to Tom and Jade on the birth of their first child. I can't wait to visit and see my 5th Grandchild!! It was Tom's birthday on Tuesday, so they avoided the double whammy.

Talking of Tom's birthday, I asked him what he would like as a present and he said he would like a nice watercolour of The Langdale Pikes, Coniston Old Man or Helvellyn. So I got cracking on that little project. After the euphoria of the "Art in the Garden" it was quite pleasant to paint some watercolours quietly at my drawing table. As usual however, I got a bit carried away and did all three landscapes plus 2 extra. Later in the week I cut the mounts and mounted them. They are 20"×16" mounted but I'm sure he'll find some room.

I also had a message from Jetty Gallery, Oban to say they had sold another 4 pictures and could I do some more of the same subjects, which were, Staffa, Kilchlurn Castle, Castle Stalker and cottages on Mull. When I was in the mood I did watercolours of the above and also mounted those.

This week also turned out to be a bit expensive! After buying a new washing machine a couple of weeks ago, we've now had to buy a new freezer. We have a tall fridge-freezer in the garage but with our garden produce and other stuff we've needed another. Ours was truly knackered and uneconomical, so we bought a new one, which came on Thursday.

However, it gets worse (or better).

Ever since our NC500 Road trip in 2019, we have talked about getting a motorhome. We love the idea of taking weekend breaks and we holiday in this country a lot. Also, we are always popping around delivering or collecting paintings and inevitably end up staying overnight. Our reservations have been parking at home and cost. With Dylan now living mainly in Newcastle we have space on the driveway and although prices went a bit mad during covid and enforced stay cations, people are now going abroad again and more motorhomes are coming on the market. We often have a look at local sites but many are way out of our budget. However, Natasha saw a couple last week that were reasonable. One had sold but the other one looked good. We enquired and arranged to see it. Owned by a lovely couple, who met us halfway (they live in Seaham, South Shields). They had looked after it and were only selling to upgrade. After a full tour and quick test drive we both really liked it. It was the right size and had everything we needed and some nice extras.

Natasha and I often talk about how much we enjoyed our road trip, but I have to admit, the motorhome was a bit big and we were terrified of damage as the costs were scary. We also talk a lot about trying harder to make the most of our lives, and not letting it pass you by. "Live your life" and all that. It is true. As I get older, time moves so quickly. It's hard when you like routine like me. I've mentioned before it's also hard on Natasha what she's working. Living where we do it's easy to get a bit complacent. There are so many places in Britain we'd like to see. I realise that all this sounds like I'm trying to justify our decision, but we had decided to use some of our savings for a motorhome years ago. We could keep putting it off but as I say, time marches on.

Anyway, we bought it and collect it on Sunday. We have vowed to use it. We are also aware that if we don't, for some reason, it has a decent re-sale value.

As I discovered on our road trip, they make a cracking mobile studio. It also has a wind out awning which I can sit under an do some "plein air " painting. We are very excited about it. I have had to do some overhanging tree pruning on the drive, but if I could reverse the other monster in I can get this one in. We have joined the "Caravan and camping club" as we know they have some nice sites and of course we can "wild camp" in Scotland.

We're already planning our first trips.

Here's to Freedom on the road.

Ps. We have had loads of apples this year. Our trees are groaning. A couple of weeks ago I bought a fruit masher and press. Currently together with "the neighbours " we are engaged in making cider (more like Scrumpy). Not to be drunk before a road trip. My brother in law Phil and I once had a bit of an experience with Scrumpy on a holiday in Ilfracombe.

Friday 2nd September 2022

I can't believe it's September already!

As you probably know by now, August Bank Holiday weekend was "Art in the Garden" down here by the sea at Dunstan Steads.

I mentioned my preparations for it in last week's blog and said I would tell you how it went this week.

Last August, I wrote part of a blog about the event that we put on. It was really done on a whim, and the idea really emerged whilst drinking round at our neighbours.

Despite it being an experimental thing with 2 gazebos, a few tables and easels and some small pictures on their garden, it went well, despite the poor weather. We only did Sunday and Monday last year but we're amazed how well it went.

This year, we went all out. We borrowed a lovely white marquee which gave us much more space and looked more professional.

I had a lot more pictures including some larger ones, Sheena even put some of her knitwear on display. It looked great and the weather was fantastic. Very warm and (unusually for here) no wind. We also decided to do Saturday as well. We had a gazebo set up behind the marquee for shade, admin and the inevitable after show drinks. Despite having 2 friends up for the Bank Holiday there was even room on the drive for "exhibition parking". I had my large "A" board at the roadside and a large painting of the castle on an easel to attract passing vehicles and walkers. I had put some posters around to grab people walking to or from the beach and in the village.

Natasha had bought me a card machine for Christmas, which proved invaluable.

The size of the marquee meant that I could string a lot of my mounted work on strings across the sides with pegs for even more exposure as well as tables dresses with cloths and easels. All we needed were punters.

As usual, as Saturday dawned I got my usual insecurities. Is it worth it? What if no one comes? What if I don't sell anything?

It happens every time I do an exhibition or fair. My mind was put at rest when the first people arrived 15 minutes before we officially opened and I made my first sale.

We were off and running.

Saturday was very hot but despite that we had a steady stream of visitors and sales were good. We even managed an online sale to the neighbour friend Jill. We celebrated in our usual style afterwards.

Sunday was again very warm. The visitors came in clumps. The first, of which, again before we opened. Sales were even better, boosted by selling one of my larger pictures to a couple from the campsite. One family stopped mid bike ride. The parents bought a painting and both children wanted one. The youngest wanted a picture of St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay. Despite desperately trying to dissuade him (he was only about 8) he wouldn't budge and ended up in tears until, eventually the parents gave in. He was so happy it gave me goosebumps. They had to leave the paintings to collect later after their bike ride. Apparently he was terrified they weren't going to come back for his picture. On his return he insisted on taking it out of the bag and clutching it to his chest.

A colleague of Natasha's from work came with her husband and were looking for some larger work. I ended up getting a bunch of larger pictures from my studio. Although they liked them they ended up giving me a commission for 2 large pictures. They also bought 2 framed abstract landscapes that I had brought out as replacements for an empty easel plus some miniature watercolours.

As the big pictures were out we decided to put them in the exhibition. With no room in the marquee, we propped them against the hedge.

A couple from back home in Chesterfield had told me they were on holiday up here and we're going to pop in. Joanne was the sister of my childhood best friend (we are also cousins) I played football with her husband Paul and their son Josh is friends with my sons best friend and my "adopted" 4th son Gilly.

It was a nice reunion as I hadn't seen them for about 30 years.

Late on a cyclist stopped and asked if I had any fridge magnets? It was the only thing he could take that wouldn't get damaged.

Maybe an idea for next year? We again celebrated in our usual style and Ray, bless him, had even made supper for us all.

Sunday was a good day. I met some lovely people and plenty of dogs. Sales and takings so far had nearly trebled last years total with a day to go.

Monday began very quietly. For around an hour and a half it was truly dead. So dead I did 4 watercolours sat on a chair on the drive.

Then the ladies from one of the local art groups that I demo for turned up "en mass". It was chaos. They are all lovely and bought paintings. We always have a laugh. I was a little distracted when a young couple recently moved into the village turned up. I had called in reinforcements and whilst Natasha chatted to "my ladies" I finally got to attend my other visitors. They had selected 2 of the smaller pictures but seemed very interested in the large ones propped against the hedge. I explained that as I had had them all for a while and they had done the Gallery rounds, I could do them for a good price. Natasha was telling one of the ladies this also. It appeared that she might have serious interest in a "Lake District " picture I'd had for ages when my customers bought it from under her nose.

We ended the event with another couple, he was from Buxton, buying 3 paintings. They had a holiday home in the village and were out for a walk. It turned out to be an expensive walk! They later collected them in their car.

So it turned out to be a very successful weekend. Sheena even sold some of her knitwear in the heat. Sales were far beyond anything we had imagined, and I had shifted 34 paintings out of my studio. I also had the commission and got another one from a gallery for 3 large paintings over the weekend.

I am always amazed at what sells. I had, over the last few months, produced quite a number of smaller paintings, including some miniatures, especially for this event. In the end, I sold quite a few of those. Last Thursday, because I had some frames I hadn’t used, I framed some local watercolours that I had shoved in a drawer. They all sold. I found small, framed pictures in boxes, non specific harbours, I had done a few years ago, some of which sold. I hadn't sold any of my "Abstract landscapes" until this weekend and a "Dunstanburgh Castle" collage painted a few years ago, in very bright colours also sold as did a watercolour of boats at Polperro in Cornwall. I will have to learn not to second guess the general public. They like what they like.

Talking to people about style and techniques also works very well. People are fascinated how work is created and the inspiration behind it. Others just want a souvenir of where they've been on holiday. We were pretty organised with lots of spares and we had a large variety of sizes and styles on show at very reasonable prices.

Will I do it again next year, hell yes. We might even do the May Bank Holiday.

I may need to invest in a marquee as we may not have access to this one again. Anyone got one going spare?

It makes me wonder whether I should do more of the many craft fairs they have around here. They are usually at weekends though. Our "family time".

Finally I should give a big thank you to my lovely neighbours Ray, Sheena and Martin for hosting the event in their garden and providing tea, beer and food. Nigel for the use of his marquee and of course Natasha, who looked after the usual household stuff we normally do together and provided help and technical support when needed. Also to Dave and Woody who ensured a lively weekend.