Debra Butterfly Painting

I just found out that the butterfly painting I did for the charity debra has sold at their auction for nearly $700! I'm so excited that I was able to help raise money for this organisation who do such great work to help people with epidermolysis bullosa (EB). There are still a few limited edition prints left that you can purchase from the debra online shop.

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Another Mini

This is my husbands favourite of the mini series so far. I love all the colours in this one and I can't wait to get more completed, they are so happy and cute!

6x6" seascape,  acrylic on canvas

Mini Seascape

Another mini....

 6x6" seascape, acrylic on canvas

Butterflies for Debra of America

I am very excited to finally share this painting that I was asked to create for the organisation DebRA of America. Debra stands for Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association. And just in case you (like me) had no idea what that is, here's a great quick explanation from their website:

Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic disorder that is painful and can lead to disability, disfigurement & early death. There is no cure or treatment today. EB makes the skin so fragile that the slightest friction causes blisters and skin tears. The eyes, mouth, throat and other internal organs are also affected.

The butterfly symbolises the fragile nature of the skin of people with EB and so DebRA has decided to have an artist create a butterfly themed image each year to be sold as limited edition prints. I am very honoured that this piece will be the first in the "artists corner" and as it has just gone live on the website you can follow the link here to purchase a the limited edition print in time for Christmas. All proceeds are going directly to DebRA of America. Happy shopping!

"Butterflies" 18x18" acrylic on canvas - http://www.debra.org

"Shadows on the Sand" - acrylic on canvas, 23x23"

This is the latest large painting in my seascape series. It is based on a moment captured at the beach at Grouville Bay in Jersey. It is now framed and hung for sale at Decor Art Gallery on 3rd Avenue and 19th Street in Manhattan so look out for it in the window if you are passing by!

Hello London!

Wow what a month I've had, in fact make that 3 months. It's funny how life can suddenly turn completely upside down! My husband has a new job which means we had to leave New York for the summer and so we have temporarily relocated to London and with all the chaos I haven't been able to do much painting. Unfortunately, I've had to put certain things on hold, like my Parsons course as well as turn down a couple of amazing opportunities that were offered to me just as we were leaving. However, there's always a silver lining and having just spent an amazing 2 and a half weeks in Thailand, we are now happily settled in a small flat in central london which is beautifully sunny and SO quiet - quite a contrast to Manhattan. I am loving that it's flooded in natural light which is quite a novelty and our living room window looks out over beautiful gardens and tennis courts, very zen. 

As you can see from the photo below, I no longer have the luxury of a spare bedroom to work out of so I've set up studio in a corner of our living room, thank goodness for the dry-cleaning bags, they have once again saved the day (and hopefully the all the landlords white furniture!). Hopefully my husband won't mind living with this mess all summer - then again, it was him who put us here! 

I am trying to finish the painting on the easel before returning to NY for 3 days next week as I'm hoping to take it with me to offer for sale at Decor Art Gallery in Gramercy who recently sold 2 of my seascapes "Tides #1&2". Better get back to work!

New "Studio"

Return to Normal

Well, last week was so busy helping out at the Active Space but the opening night was a great success so it all paid off! Click here to see some photos from Fridays event. There are lots more events coming up over the next few months so I'm looking forward to working with more great artists and learning as much as I can from them.


It's been nice to return to some of my own painting this week rather than painting the gallery walls! Here one painting I did today:

Happy New Year!

I hope 2012 has been good to everyone so far? It's been a bit of a slow start to my artistic year so far but this last week has been much more productive. I've got several painting projects on the go including continuing on with the New York water towers and cityscapes series. I am also planning to start exploring some work in mixed media, here is the first in that series...

"Purple Vase," mixed media on canvas, 12x12"
Click here to purchase this painting

I had been saving up this beautiful tissue paper that my mother acquired from some purchase or other and I thought it would make a fitting back drop to this little flower painting.

More to follow soon!

More Flowers

Pile of Pansies, 8x8, acrylic on board

I've been back to the flowers today - this time a pile of blue pansies. This is a small painting, only 8x8 but I love the vivid electric blue colour. I chose to back it on a pink/red background so that the whole painting is pretty much based around the 3 primary colours which I think works well here.

I also did this slightly larger anemone painting (got to love anemones!) which is going to be part of a tryptich... watch this space for the next two!

Red Anemone, 18x18, acrylic on canvas

Seascapes

I recently returned from a trip home to the Island of Jersey where I grew up. There is definitely something about growing up on an Island that draws you closer to the sea. There is a strange hold that it has over me and it I never fail to be amazed by how powerful it is.  Here are some photos of my beautiful Island....

I felt so inspired by the sea that I have embarked on a series of abstract seascapes. Here are some of the little sketches I did today to work out the compositions...

Blocked

Magic Vase 12x20

I've had this whole week free and set aside to paint and was starting to have that sinking feeling that I'd completely wasted it as I just hadn't been in the right frame of mind and had been doing absolutely anything else to avoid having to sit down and paint. Finally, today I have managed to produce something that I am pleased with, a painting I began yesterday and thought was not going to work, turned a corner this morning and has finished as a winner! Thank goodness, hopefully I am out of my slump.

Japan

8x8 acrylic on canvas

Back to the flowers today. I have just been watching the BBC news reporting on the tragic situation in Japan and it's just shocking how vast the destruction is. It's so hard to wrap your head around. This small painting is entitled "Tears for Japan" and will be for sale in Jane Packer Flowers, New York from mid April, 100% of profits from the sale will be donated to the relief efforts in Japan.

Poppies in Disguise

I finally finished the first "poppy" painting, not that you'd recognise it!  The second one I'm afraid is definitely a lost cause.  However, I am really pleased with this one.  I like the way the flowers are just bursting as if they are about to drop all their petals. I also think the colours, finally, work well together something that I struggled to get right for hours and hours.  It will be available to buy in Jane Packer New York (just as soon as my work permit appears!)

Overbloomed 10x30

Tanneries

I'm keeping going with the Moroccan tannery painting as I'm in the flow of it now.  As always it's tending to lean to realism slightly more than I had planned and I have to keep reminding myself not to paint too tightly and in so much detail.  I am in love with the colours though and because it is 3 feet square I think it is going to have real impact.  Can't wait to finish it.

Change of Scene

After a disastrous day yesterday I thought I'd take a break from flowers and started a completely new painting as part of my Moroccan series.  I was so inspired by this scene as there is so much interest and colour to entertain the eye.  I remember standing at the edge of the tanneries and being given eucalyptus to hold against our noses to stifle the smell of animal carcases in the heat... It didn't work very well and we politely refused the offer of yet another mint tea as the need to escape the smell was too great! I love how this this painting is developing with the bright pops of colours in the dye vats but I need to remember to complete the under painting before I get carried away with too much detail.

Flower block

 

This is the second reworked poppy painting... As you can see it's had a complete make over several times!  It is not going well, to the point where I've completely painted out the poppies and turned them into roses and lily's!  I can't get the colours right, and I can't decide on the compositions - lesson learnt, make all these decisions in small studies before embarking on the main painting!  It seems too dark and dreary and I am very conscious it's looking too patriotic - red, white and blue. 

I am so bored of this painting I just want it done and dusted but I fear it's already over worked and probably a lost cause. I think I should just let it go and move on but I'm just not very good at admitting defeat! 

Poppies

I have been wanting to paint poppies for absolutely ages, I have no idea why. But it seemed appropriate as I am now working on a series of flower paintings for Jane Packer New York.  So, I started two paintings, both of which I strongly disliked after the initial underpainting. These images show the first one as it started and at various stages of how it has changed. It wasn't working, so I decided to add other flowers to the poppies and darken the background but that didn't work either! However, once I returned to a lighter background, changing the colour palette and rearranged some of the flowers I think it is starting to come together. I am aiming for an impressionist feel with this painting, I don't want it to look too structured, however, as I am used to working from life or photographs, I am finding working from my imagination pretty challenging.