Head Down

Well I've been travelling again, this time to go back to the UK to see family and attend two fabulous weddings. It was all a bit of a whirlwind as usual and it's nice to be back with a renewed sense of motivation. I have been getting my head down to try and get through my very long to do list and have some exciting things on the horizon which I will be posting about soon.

Today I set about trying to bring to completion a few paintings I have on the go. They aren't quite there yet but hopefully a few more tweaks tomorrow I will get them done.  Here is the third painting from flower series that I posted about below:

"Into the Deep Blue Bloom" 8x8, oil on board

The Bearded Flower

Did you know flowers have beards? Well apparently this one does at least, the "Bearded Iris" is a rather showy flower, all ruffles and frills. Maybe there will be some popping up for spring soon, I actually saw the first green leaf on the tree outside our apartment window this morning, finally!

"Bearded Iris" oil on board, 8x8"

Thinking Pink

This is part of the new series of work that will be going to Jane Packer NY. As it's still snowing here and tropical fresh flowers are not exactly the easiest to come by, I worked on this painting from a photo I took in Bermuda early last summer. I love the hibiscus flower, it's such a happy flower and grows in such abundance, I'd love to have a big hedge row of them at the bottom of my garden like I did growing up.

"Bermuda Pink" oil on board, 8x8"

Sunshine Flowers

Finally, the sun has come out in London! For those of you not currently experiencing the highs and lows of the great British summer, this is BIG news. I celebrated by painting these positively summery abstract florals bursting with colour and expression. Then I went and bought an ice-cream.

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!

Greeting Cards

I have been away for a couple of weeks and been a bit slack with the old blogging so I have some catching up to do! We were on holiday in Arizona and Utah which is pretty inspiring when it comes to landscapes and colour. For now though I have to stick with all the projects I already have on the go such as creating a range of greeting cards. I think I am a little obsessed with cards, I love browsing through rows and rows of them and selecting just the perfect one for each person I need to send one to. I often buy them even if I don't even have someone to send it to just because I think its a great card. As a result I tend to have rather a large stash of them in our stationary draw. Anyway, I would love to design a range of cards and have started with a few little sketches to see what might work. When I get them finalised and work out all the logistics of printing etc they will be available in my Etsy shop and also at Jane Packer New York which is exciting!

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

Flower Blog

Rona Wheeldon just posted her blog about me which you can read by clicking here.  It's very exciting to have been blogged about by a complete stranger!

A Sale for Charity

I had a message from my friend at Jane Packer last week telling me she'd just sold my "Tears for Japan" painting. This could not have come on a better day as I was feeling a little disheartened. I had just had coffee in London with my fellow artist friend who is by all accounts rather more established than me and doing very well. I was just thinking what a lot of work I would need to do to get up to her level when the message came through. It has really boosted my confidence and spurred me on to get back in the studio promptly following our return to New York. Even better was the fact that the lady who purchased it is apparently also an artist - a real vote of confidence. I am also thrilled that it was this painting in particular as I can now donate the proceeds to the much needed earthquake relief fund through the American Red Cross.
So back to the studio first thing tomorrow morning to work on some new flower paintings for Jane Packer as having now sold 4 the walls are getting a little empty! 

Last Nights Event

Thank you to everyone who came to the opening last night, we had a great turnout. Gemma and her team had done a fabulous job of coordinating flowers to compliment the paintings and the shop looked really stunning. It was a huge success and I hope you all enjoyed it. Here are a few shots from early on before my camera died on us!

Tonights Event

The paintings are up and we're just about ready for this evenings event - here's a little preview.  I'm very pleased with how it's all turned out and can't wait for everyone to see them tonight.  Hope to see you there!
(Jane Packer, 328 E 59th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, Manhattan)

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

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.