Progress of Mankind – New Show

The Progress of Mankind

Good morning everyone. This is my new show. And I was delighted to see my five part series ‘ The Progress of Mankind’ displayed at Urban Commune gallery in Wakefield. In fact, I had dreamed of seeing it like this all through the pandemic when I painted it. Of course, I didn’t see it as a story when I painted the first piece ‘Paradise’.

Paradise

As I painted this intuitive abstract, I realised it was an attempt to portray an idyllic world, completely unspoiled by man. If you look closely, you can spot hints of a bird, an insect, foliage and flowers.

Hell on Earth

Maybe this piece needs no explanation, it’s a scene of pollution and destruction on an overheated planet. Perhaps you can feel the heat from the monstrous red sun and smell the toxic smoke.

Flying Away in my New Show

Free Spirit

Actually, I created this acrylic painting ‘Free Spirit’ out of my subconscious. Because I finished it completely and then afterwards understood its significance. If I can explain, I painted my dream of floating away from all the worry and trouble, just like a kite in the sky.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Now this one is the only one of the series that was partly planned. Really a bit later on when we were aware of vaccines being developed. So I thought of a painting trying to show the feeling of seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. And I decided to use the figure of a young man to represent the human race, naked and vulnerable.

Connections

Finally, the last part of my story of my new show – Connections and it’s all about family and friends. Because, this is what I learned during the pandemic, the importance of connections with people. In effect, I painted this without a plan. And, I see here an abstract portrait of me and my nearest and dearest. So, that’s how this work came about and what it means to me. If you like, you could see more of my Story Pictures here.

Looking at Free Spirit

Drylands – Art for Sale

Picture of the Month

Drylands

I just finished this acrylic painting today , and I wanted to show it to you straight away ! This painting – Drylands – Art for Sale – needs to be featured all by itself, I think . To be honest, I am quite pleased with it . You see, it’s another experiment with a restricted palette of colour. And this time, I used soft browns, vibrant orange and a touch of gold. In fact, I mixed the shades of brown from blue and a ready made orange. Surprisingly, this combination includes the three primary colours red , yellow and blue. Because, of course, the orange is a mixture of red and yellow. ( In actual fact, it took me a while to figure this out ) . And I had never tried to mix browns before, always using the brown umber straight from the tube. But, I must say, I really prefer the DIY mixtures. And, that’s what I like about these experiments – I always learn something!

Drylands – Art for Sale -The Dead Trees

A detail from ‘Drylands’

Clearly, when I painted this parched landscape with its swathes of dusty foliage, I must have been thinking of the climatic changes taking place in the world. For example, it seems that dry, hot regions seem to be getting hotter and drier. If you would like to see another surreal landscape painting, look at this post here .

A close up of the sky

I’m including this shot in order to try to show the intense and rich colour of the sky . There are also passages of interesting textures, as there are on most of my paintings. Unfortunately, these details don’t show up so well on a screen.

Well, I hope you like my painting ‘Drylands’ . As I said earlier , it is a work in acrylic on paper, 16 by 20 inches, unframed and without a mount. And , it’s priced at £60 plus shipping ( I’m based in the UK ). So you can pay by PayPal and I’ll package it up and send it off to you without delay ! Just go to the Contact Me page here and send me an email for further details. Then you can frame it to suit your taste and enjoy soaking up the evocative atmosphere it seems to create.

Drylands – Art for Sale

Flash – an Acrylic Painting

Three red zigzag lines flash on a soft blue sky  over a strange ochre coloured wave
Flash

This is just a quick post today, to keep you up to date with what I have been painting- Flash. So have a look at my latest 16 by 20 inch acrylic composition. To be honest, I am getting really comfortable with this size of paper. To explain ,it’s not so small as to cramp my gestural style of painting. And also, it’s not so large that it seems a bit of a chore to cover all the canvas with paint. Hopefully, you can see what I mean . In addition, the paintings are done more quickly. And I do enjoy finishing off a piece in roughly three sessions. But sometimes I like to take my time and develop a piece gradually. Perhaps, it’s a sign of the times that I am too restless to commit to anything that will take more time and concentration. I wonder if anyone else has felt that the Covid situation has altered their art practice?

Artist’s Inspiration for Flash

The idea for this piece literally came to me ‘ in a flash ‘ ! Suddenly , I saw some red, zigzag flashes on a beautiful, blue sky. Apparently, there was also some kind of ocean wave or strange sort of rolling landscape underneath it all . So , I just picked up my paintbrushes and started ! I must make it clear that I don’t create all my abstracts in this way. Actually, I might write a post all about it soon – so stay tuned ! Click here to see more abstracts, intuitive or otherwise !

Flash

Please don’t forget, all of my art is for sale at reasonable prices. This painting is acrylic on paper, 16 by 20 inches . It’s unframed and without a mount. I’m selling it at £60 plus shipping. And I’m based in the UK. If you feel like treating yourself . So, go to the Contact Me page and send me an email for more details.

Painting in Red – Three Abstracts

A mixed media abstract composition in red and black.  The black is collaged paper.  The shapes are bold and gestural.
Red and Black

This time , I’d like to show you three new abstracts where I was painting in red plus a couple of other colours.

The image above is the latest page in my art journal ( 9inch square ) – a mixed media piece using collage, watercolour , pen and coloured pencil . It was quite instinctive . However , the only idea I consciously brought to it was using a restricted palette . I think that red and black go very well together and I added greys to get some mid tones into the design . The white you can see is the paper showing through . To sum up , I feel that the mood is loud , upbeat and , possibly confrontational. Can you see any images in this ? I know I can, but I’d be interested to know what your interpretations are.

This abstract is in my Gallery – Abstracts – along with lots of other interesting paintings . Click on the link here

Painting in Red and Blue – Mixed Media on Paper

Sinking

In this one , as you can see , I paired red with blue and added black for more emphasis . And you’ll see collage , watercolour , pen and oil pastel. The red is subdued in places and the blue is quite pale . The atmosphere here is more uncertain , confused and , because of the suggestion of deep water , more sinister. It’s definitely Lockdown art ! I love the way that my feelings come through in the work – but I only realise it later .

Painting in Red and Purple

The last image I want to show you is my ‘ Hell on Earth ‘ acrylic painting on a 2 foot square canvas . As you can see , I chose red and purple colours mainly . This was actually done in response to a challenge from an online group that I belong to : paint in red and purple and orange. To be honest , this is a colour combination I wouldn’t normally choose . But I was quite pleased with the outcome . The subject matter , a ravaged landscape , really sets the scene. And the red and purple help to give quite an eerie feeling to the atmosphere. As you can see , working with a restricted palette leads me to fresh ideas and inspiration which is always welcome !

Hell on Earth

All of my one-of-a-kind artwork is for sale at reasonable prices. If you see anything you like , email me for more details , using the form on the Contact page . It’s Affordable Art !

More Blog Posts

Don’t forget to check out my blog more often – I’m writing two posts a week now and you might not want to miss out on anything !