Going the extra mile

The vast majority of people that I meet during the average day of promoting my paintings will show a casual interest in what I'm doing, may have a quick look at my portfolio and that will be the end of our interaction. Occasionally though, someone may go the extra mile and it's great when I meet such people.

One such meeting took place last week in Great Brington, Northamptonshire. I called at a house and met the couple who took a real interest in what I was doing and I could tell were keen to find out more about my work. We chatted for a few minutes and they discussed the idea of commissioning something, perhaps a local landscape scene or something from their own garden. I then went on my way around the village and a little while later, bumped into them again as I was heading back to the car. They stopped me to tell me that they had thought about some possible ideas that I may want to try. For example, producing a painting of the village church which had links to George Washington and that would certainly gain some interest if it was displayed in the village post office or pub. I could tell they had really given this some thought and it was a real encouragement to meet them.

A New Year of Promotional Touring

This time of year I need to start traveling again to promote my work and get some new commissions. It's been a long winter and a long wait for all the snow to clear but it's looking a bit more spring-like now which is always promising for new commissions.

Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire are the three counties that I will be focusing on this year. There's some brilliant village names out there...for example, Smeeton Westerby, Dunton Bassett, Peatling Magna, Shangton and Willoughby Waterleys to name but a few.

Last week, I called in on one of my old customers from a couple of years ago in Northamptonshire. He showed me the painting that I did for him hanging up in his living room. It was good to see it there - framed and looking good - I don't often see my paintings framed as I complete them and send them out unframed.

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Our baby is due in August. This means I'm being kicked out of my studio/spare bedroom which will now be the nursery. After thinking about the best next move, a studio space has emerged in an old mill building about half a mile away from home. It looks promising with a good space to exhibit my work which gets a fairly decent passing footfall for a business premises being just outside a popular gym. Photos and latest news to follow.

Limited Edition Prints

Early Sunday morning at Ogden

These are just a few of the photographs that I took on this beautiful autumn morning. I will choose the best ones to work up in to original paintings. Can't wait to get started!

Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge

Last week, the weather conditions were just right so I drove over to Hebden Bridge for a spot of painting.

It was that great combination of autumnal colours on the trees and on the ground with bright sunshine - a clear day, doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I like to take advantage of it and get out there.

Took a few nice photographs which I may well work up into full paintings if I get the chance and also managed to knock up this painting in about an hour and a half.

Working outdoors, away from the comfort of the studio presents a number of challenges like dealing with rapidly changing weather conditions. I really like it though because it forces you to be a bit 'looser' with your painting, you can't be over precise, just have to capture the moment and not get bogged down in too many details.

October 16th 2012

Since the start of October, I have spent 4 days promoting my work in the North Yorkshire area - specifically around York and up beyond Castle Howard towards the North York Moors. Some simple observations....getting colder....I think it's quite similar to the Cotswolds in terms of landscape and architecture. It's a stunning part of the country - no doubt about that.

Thinking ahead over the coming winter, I am going to do some painting on-location in various places around Halifax. Hebden Bridge is the first place I intend to visit - just need to wait for the right weather conditions. I'm hoping for a fairly mild autumnal day - there's a spot called Hardcastle Crags which will be perfect for some outdoor painting. The plan will be to produce prints from any paintings that I complete and maybe establish some links with galleries in the area who may be interested in exhibiting my work.

I'm hoping to collect some great winter photographs over the next couple of weeks and choose a selection of them to work up into paintings. This will hopefully be part of an exhibition that I'm putting on at some point in December. It's all a bit sketchy at the moment though as I don't have a venue or anything organised yet!

I met a well established artist in Wixley, North Yorkshire a few weeks ago. Neil Simone. I came across his home/gallery and went and introduced myself. He showed me one of his latest commissions which coincidentally was a house portrait in Malvern, not far from where I'm from. We had an interesting chat and when I got back home, I e mailed him to ask if he had any advice for an artist like myself. He got back to me and said he would be happy to send me a copy of his book 'Memoirs of an Artist' which document his career over the past 30 years or so. Thought that was good of him.

Luddenden House Portrait

Since moving to Halifax just over a year ago, I've worked on a lot of commissions
from the Yorkshire area which I would not have done had I not moved. This is one
such commission. Not far from my studio, this location is Luddenden which is a
particularly picturesque village just outside Halifax. This house is situated on
quite a steep hill with spectacular views - partly visible to the left of the house
in the painting. I worked on this painting in my studio from a photograph which I
took earlier in the year. It took a couple of visits to get the best photo to ensure
that the lighting was just right. The very distinctive stone, has a completely
different appearance with direct sunlight on it and I wanted to make sure I captured
this. Very satisfied with the finished result here.