Friday 18th July 2025
We decided to try and drop off the paintings to Beckstones Gallery on Friday as they were stacked up on our bed in George and we weren’t sure where we were going to put them overnight. The journey was fine until we hit the road works traffic 3 miles from our Penrith turn off. The roundabout was gridlocked. It took us 45 minutes to get the 2 miles to Beckstones, arriving a sweaty, overheated mess (that was me not just the overheating motorhome).
Fortunately Karen was ok with it all and we unloaded the painting. I offered to take some back and on Sunday we called on our way home. They had agreed to keep all the new ones and only returned 4 they had had for a while. They liked the new work and on Sunday, when we returned to collect the 4 paintings, had it on the walls.
They were looking forward to the “Ullswater mixed artist Exhibition“ in August and were sure it will be a success. They pay for AA signs on the A66 by-pass which swells visitor numbers substantially.
It was so hot on Saturday that after an early walk to a local Café/farm shop called Base Camp (recommended if you’re in the area) we chilled and read and listened to Test Match Special. I hadn’t even bothered to take any painting stuff (actually I forgot) but it was too hot anyway.
On Monday I suddenly turned into an O.À.P and decided to give myself the day off and watched the intriguing final day of the Test cricket.
On Tuesday I got back to work and decided to use a 36”×24” blank canvas to do an oil painting of Bamburgh Castle. It will be good for AITG and if it doesn’t sell I can send it to a Northumberland Gallery. I wanted an interesting sky but not too heavy and a sunny, hazy feel without too much fine detail on the castle. I added a faint reflection in the water. I was pretty happy with the result. It took longer than expected but I also managed a few smaller oil seascapes, one of Coquette Island from the Amble shore.
I spend some of my birthday funds on some new canvases and brushes. I did some “Peter Wileman “ type seascapes in oils which have a brighter, more abstract feel. I really enjoy doing these and there will be more to come.
I also framed the “Ailsa Craig “ painting in a plain white frame which brings out the many blues in the painting.
I saw a post online, this week, from Heart Gallery, who had been prompted to “rant” about the amount of AI artwork being posted online nowadays. See below:
⚠️ Rant alert. Because we’ve bloody had enough. ⚠️
We’re Heart Gallery – a small, independent shop that’s been championing real artists since 2006. And we are sick to the back teeth of seeing AI-generated “art” popping up all over the internet, masquerading as the real thing. It’s not art. It’s a soulless mash-up of other people’s work, churned out by a machine with zero emotion, no life experience, and not an ounce of creative spirit.
Meanwhile, real artists – you know, the ones who actually put in the hours, the training, the blood, sweat and flipping tears – are being pushed aside, priced out, and ripped off.
This isn’t just frustrating. It’s insulting. It’s dangerous. It devalues every brush stroke, every thrown pot, every carefully carved lino block and every lovingly stitched textile piece we sell.
So here’s the deal. If you care about art – actual art – shop from real humans. Support galleries and shops like us. Don’t be fooled by shiny fakes and lazy shortcuts.
We’re not just fighting for small businesses – we’re fighting for creativity itself.
🖕🏼to AI art.
❤️ to the real art and the artists and galleries trying to scratch a living
I have to say I agree. I did a blog on AI art a while ago. There is more and more AI stuff online now. Often it is difficult to tell but the point is that most of it is created by stealing other artists work and amalgamating it into a digitally bastardised piece of work and passing it of as an original piece of art. There probably is a place for “digital” art somewhere, but not that created by stealing other people’s work. Art created digitally can be creative but it’s a whole different world to actually physically creating original work. AI is here to stay and can be used to good purpose in many ways but I can understand Galleries, like Heart, that struggle to survive and artists likewise who despise this soulless image making infesting the internet.
Having said all that, my son-in-law is actually looking at using AI to create animated versions of my original artwork but that is a whole different ball game. I don’t understand the process but he has my permission to use my images to experiment with.