Duck Eggs
I painted these duck eggs (in a white ceramic egg holder) over an old figure study that wasn’t worth keeping hold of. I intended this to be a high-key painting, with subtle, pale hues conveying a sense of calm. Instead,…
60 Percent
This is another painting that was completed a few weeks ago – although quite a while after Easter, which was when this Lindt chocolate bunny was bought. It took some willpower to resist eating him until he’d been immortalised in…
Wilted Daffodils
I painted this a few weeks ago as we moved towards the end of Spring. I spent several days trying to capture these same flowers when they were freshly opened, but couldn’t resolve the composition, and regardless of paint passages…
Floral Painting
I find flowers so difficult to paint. They can be structural, but delicate; with light both reflected by, but also travelling through, petals and leaves. To achieve true softness and believability is such a challenge. In many ways, I don’t…
Bergamots on a Delft Plate
In more palette experimentation, I didn’t use any earth colours in this painting; relying on a palette containing Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Red Medium, Alizarin Crimson, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue and White. I again used minimum medium and found the texture…
Beacon
I used a more subdued palette for this painting of a lemon, where nonetheless, the subject seemed to shine out of the darkness. I made a conscious effort to use little medium, put down thicker paint and not fuss the…
Yellow and Green
A little citrus still life with some stronger colours than those usually found on my palette – namely Viridian and Pthalo Blue. I was particularly interested in the light shining through the glass bottle and reflecting its beautiful green on…
Giving things some time
Completed before Christmas, this painting was so difficult to bring to resolution, the only reason I kept it was because I persevered too long to scrap it. Firstly, I set up in a very dark corner of the studio where…
ING Discerning Eye Exhibition 2016 (updated)
I am absolutely delighted to have had three of my works selected for this year’s ING Discerning Eye exhibition – two of my small scale figure paintings and my still life painting of sprats (a painting which has consistently, and…
Lone Feather
Found on a walk where I saw 11(!) Red Kites, a couple of Buzzards, a Woodpecker and many little Partridges. I don’t know which bird this feather is from, but my guess is that it is a raptor of some…