Chesterfield Cricket Ground

On Monday 15th July I painted the cricket ground at Chesterfield where Derbyshire played a Glen McGrath select 11 to raise money for his McGrath Foundation Charity. It was a 20 20 match played in glorious weather conditions. The completed painting will be auctioned off to raise some cash for the charity.

The Sound of the Abundance of Rain

'The Sound of the Abundance of Rain'

This painting is about HOPE.
The hope of a broken relationship restored.
The hope  of employment or promotion.
The hope of freedom from addiction, anxiety or depression.
The hope for an end to poverty and freedom from the chains of debt.
Hope that sickness and disease would end.
Hope that joy would return.

It's inspired by a passage from the Bible in 1 Kings 18. The context of this 

painting is long-term drought.
No rain for 3 years.
Crops failing.
Hunger. Disease.
Not a cloud in the sky for years.

And then suddenly, a cloud appears on the horizon.

A cloud is seen and a noise is heard. The noise of an abundance of rain.
The hope is fast becoming realised.

The hope has been hung on to for a long time. Footprints in the ground
indicate the number of times that the hope has been searched for. Elijah
had to tell his servant to go up and look out to sea 7 times - on the 7th
visit, he reports the sighting of a cloud and shortly
afterwards it's recorded that there were black clouds and heavy rain.

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.