Poppies in Remembrance

Remembrance

11 November 1914 - 11 November 2014:  The 100 year anniversary is fast approaching.  Today I remember my Uncle Fred who fought in World War I.  He came home.  God bless the ones who did not.

Autumn landscape painting on canvas

Autumn - looking over fields to lane.

Looking across the fields the tree branches looked quite wintery now most of the foliage has blown off in the recent winds.  In spite of that I found lots of beautiful autumn colour to paint today and so much drama in the big sky. 

To buy this painting or see more information please click here.

Big sky art

Big Sky 1

It's difficult not to be impressed by the big skies and countryside outside my window here in middle England.  Constantly changing, of course, with the time of day and atmospheric movements.  Earlier this week I wondered if I could possibly capture even a little of the magnificence of that morning's sunrise.   

I used acrylic paint on a small canvas.  The colours are vivid, but don't come close to matching the reality.

To purchase the painting or for more information please click here.

Was Kandinsky the first art therapist?

There are times when working with abstract ideas and techniques feels right for me.  It's usually when real life is throwing up lemons, and it's my way of making lemonade.  Productive therapy.

Over 100 years ago Vasily Kandinski said that abstract art had “nothing whatever to do with an object.”  When looking at his work some people would agree.  But it's extremely difficult to achieve true abstraction.  The human mind and eye try to make sense of images in terms they can understand.  Like faces in the fire or clouds, landscapes and flowers too, we often see what we want to see.

I've been working with my collection of painted and found papers together with various mixed media on water colour paper to create these small abstract paintings.  For more detailed information just click on each image.

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Cat coat of many colours - folk art

MM6 Cat Coat of Many Colours

I love my three cats but still struggle with their complex personalities.  One minute they're like furry angels, all snuggles and purrs.  The next the blood-thirsty little brats are stalking wild birds and field mice in the garden.  And they're not exactly underfed.  Just another of nature's mysteries.

George - sketchbook

 This drawing of Gorgeous George crept into my sketchbook a while back, lord of all he surveys from the kitchen window.  He rarely stirs from the house, but even he's waylaid the odd feather now and again.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/StudioBee

Cat nap doodling

Cat Nap - mixed media painting - 8 x 6.75 inches

This little snoozy cat mixed media piece started as a watercolour painting that was going no where, but had some pleasing colours that I thought would make a good background for other media.  I softened the colours slightly then added collaged elements of other painted and drawn papers onto it and allowed it to take on a life of its own.  Developed onwards with gouache paint, more detailed mark making with Inktense pencil and fine nib pen and ink.  The idea of the dreamy cat just started to happen. A glorified doodle really.  Doodling is so therapeutic.  If you haven't tried it yet, I can recommend it.

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop

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