Sci-fi landscape – Acrylic Painting

Acrylic Painting of a Sci-fi Landscape with Colour Abstraction

A view from the bright orange beach over the peaceful , purple sea   - a sci-fi landscape
A Sci-fi landscape with Colour Abstraction

I’ve finished my little acrylic painting at last, my sci-fi landscape. Despite all this extra isolation free time , I still haven’t done much art . Well, I have actually been finishing off another large canvas – so that’s my excuse. And I’ve also started an art journal ( more for art therapy than anything else) .

This was an exercise we did a couple of weeks ago at Art Group. We all looked at the same copyright free photo and produce your own version . And then we tried to make as many changes as we wanted to or to add anything to it . So I changed some details such as omitting the bench and moving the cliff .Then I tried changing all the colours , which was surprisingly difficult , if you wanted to make it look harmonious . ( Apparently this is called colour abstraction ) . I also found patterns in the leaves, rocks and waves and exaggerated them . Of course , I am quite used to doing this when I paint my semi-abstracts. And I have been told that it now resembles a sci- fi landscape ! In fact , it was quite enjoyable to do , if you like a little challenge.

What changes would you make? You could see more abstracts in this post here .

Exhibition of Story Pictures – Cancelled

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in an Exhibition of Story Pictures by Northern Fringe Artists

A fantastical giant-sized medieval knight with green skin equipped for combat. In our exhibition of story pictures.
The Green Knight, waiting at the doorway of his church for Sir Gawain

We had to cancel the launch of our latest exhibition this week due to the present situation. But the artwork is now on the walls of our pop-up gallery at the Ridings Centre , Wakefield. And , it’s all ready for the time when we can safely open it to friends , family and the general public . Our exhibition of story pictures.

Actually, I belong to the Northern Fringe group of artists . And this latest show is all about Yorkshire Makers inspired by Yorkshire Writers. Of course , I chose Simon Armitage from Marsden , near Huddersfield. As you can tell from my painting Simon reworked a medieval poem about the Knights of the Round Table . In doing so he created a superb piece of his own in modern English. To be honest , it was so easy to picture the scene. You see, the Green Knight is waiting for Sir Gawain to continue the fight . But I’ll not give away the ending , you’ll have to read it yourself !

Another Story Picture

As you might have heard me say before , I love painting story pictures. And it’s really good to take up challenges from groups I belong to for fresh inspiration . For example, last year I responded to an artist’s call-out on the theme of ‘ Iconic ‘. And I came up with this semi-abstracted view of a ring of standing stones in the Lake District , England . In actual fact, I found it wasn’t too difficult to imagine the stories connected to the site . Somehow just being there makes you think about the lives of the people who built this monument . And also those who looked after it all those years ago .

Still Standing

Happily, this one was on display last year so I can’t really complain. Anyway , that was another exhibition of story pictures.

Stay well .

Purple Flowers in Acrylic

Acrylic on Canvas – Purple Flowers

A close up of beautiful purple flowers  against a background of vibrant green leaves
Purple Flowers in Acrylic

I just finished the fourth in my flowers in acrylic on small canvases – so I can’t call it a triptych anymore ! Do you know , I always find such a lot of inspiration in flowers . And I think that these purple flowers are some kind of ornamental thistle . Anyway , I’ve just bought three 8 by 8 inch canvases so I can paint some more . Happy Days !

See ” Floral Art – a Triptych “ here to see the other three pictures.

Story Pictures – Tales of the Silk Road

Local Artist’s Story Pictures at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield

I went to see a great exhibition at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield a couple of weeks ago . And it was called Nomadic Tales by Richard Bartle , including lots of story pictures .

Honesty , we were so delighted to be able to walk round with Richard himself . Because he told us the fascinating stories behind his huge paintings . As you can see , they were painted on canvas material , just like banners . I know that Richard took inspiration from the medieval illustrations of a 14th century artist and storyteller Siyah Kalem . Interestingly, the artist used the motifs of men and demons in his paintings . In this way , he could comment on the everyday life of the nomadic tribes .He concentrated mainly on those who lived on the Silk Road in Asia .

A banner , painted with two fierce  demons fighting  - one of Richard's story pictures

Living in Istanbul

Richard lives part of the year in Istanbul , Turkey. And he has put his own interpretation of the life and political turmoil of the area into his story pictures .

Its a really inspiring show – try and catch it if you are in the area . So , I hope you enjoyed my exhibition review !

To tell the truth , I do enjoy painting story pictures myself . And , funnily enough , I painted the story of how the secret of making silk was smuggled out of China . Actually, it was done by a Chinese princess . To explain , she hid the silkworms and cocoons in her huge headdress , according to the legend . ( See more Story Pictures here )

My Story Pictures

A Chinese princess in medieval dress showing us the silkworm she has smuggled out of the country . She's standing on the Silk Road . One of my story pictures
The Silk Princess – Acrylic on Canvas

This is a romantic version of history , of course . But I am also drawn to putting social comment into my pictures . In fact , I have painted a series particularly highlighting the problems of women in our modern world . Just like this one in the image below.

The Caged Bird

This one ‘ Caged Bird ‘ was painted for the exhibition ‘Vote 100 – a Century of Change ‘ for the Cooper Gallery ,Barnsley here .Now , the exhibition was last year and all about the suffragettes and their struggles to get the vote . Incidentally, I was lucky enough to sell this one to a lovely lady at the exhibition !

Women in Modern Society

A semi-abstract acrylic painting in soft , muted pinks and greens . A woman confined at home -  one of my story pictures .
Woman at the Window

As you can see , in this painting , I explored the idea of the restricted lives that some women lead . Subsequently , I followed this theme over quite a few paintings . And I sort of brought it to a conclusion with this last one below ‘ Women in Chaos ‘ . Here I show a woman trying to deal with all the pressures and problems modern life can throw at us .

Woman in Chaos

Perhaps this is pretty heavy stuff – I suppose it is . But I like all kinds of art . And that means including the kind that really makes you think and I particularly enjoy a story picture.