Becoming a better artist.

Just a brief announcement to let you know that after many years of teaching myself, I've now enrolled on a fine art course working towards a degree. The time taken to decide on a formal art education has been long;  some might say too long! 

I was all set to go to art school to study Fine Art after O Levels as a teenager, and had visions of eventually going to the Slade.  I came down to earth with a bump when  I discovered my art master had put me forward for Textile Design at the local art school.  This was not where my ambition lay, so in a fit of stubborn indignation, I left school and as a result, for a while, my life took a very different path to the one I'd dreamed up.

I hope to become a better artist, as I am stretched and accept new challenges ... time will tell.  Art and life go on. As always, I'm fascinated to see what happens next.  The content of this blog will change, not sure how, so it'll be a surprise to both of us.  Thank you for your interest in my work so far.

OLIVE TREE painting

 SOLD

We had a beautiful spring day here yesterday; the grasses and wild plants on the mountain are still lush from the winter rains, and the sun isn't hot enough to have frazzled them yet.

The breeze was too strong for a full scale outdoor painting session, but I managed to capture this little impression of an old olive tree.  It's oil on canvas, ACEO size 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

DRINK ME Alice in Wonderland inspired collage

Alice in Wonderland and the bottle that says 'Drink Me'.  Decisions! Will she? Won't she?  Of course, if she hadn't, it would have been a whole different story. 

As you can see, I've again been playing with a collage background and painting folk art style imagery onto it.  I'm liking this Alice with her wide eyes and indecisive mouth.  Her squiggly hair is kind of cool too.  

For more information please click here.

Home Sweet Home mixed media painting

I'm back working with the collages I made recently.  They make interesting backgrounds on which to add folk art drawings and paintings.  With this one I took a drawing of a little house from my sketchbook sticking it to the background, then painting it to look like a stone built rustic cottage.  To me the background looks like a fantasy abstract landscape. 

For more information click here.

Portrait of The Portrait of Carlotta

One of the reasons I love my work so much, is that I'm never quite sure what I'll be painting next and the current project is definitely different from the norm.  

A very nice client has sprung a really unusual commission on me;  it's the first time I've been asked to paint a portrait inspired by another portrait.  Not only that, the subject is not a real person, but a character from a film;  Vertigo a 1950s film starring James Stewart alongside Kim Novak and directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

 Here is a loose painted sketch I've made to begin the process.  It's going to be a tiny piece, ACEO size 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  I'm working in acrylics on thick mount board.  Eventually I hope to add as much detail as possible, given the obvious size constraints and will update the blog with a number of 'work in progress' images as it takes shape.  Should be fun :)  

 Update:  Work in progress image 2.

 Image 2 shows progress after more layers have been added to the background.  Also I've begun work on the dress, which will be very interesting to paint and eventually I'd like to achieve the effect of shot-silk brocade fabric if possible.  A long way to go.

I've left the face, bouquet and jewellery almost untouched, as I'm leaving those elements almost to the last.  They will be such fun to paint and I like to give myself a final special treat.

 Update:  Work in progress image 3.

During this session I tried to develop the appearance of lace around the neckline with a hint of gold, and added highlights and texture to the fabric, with pretty pink roses surrounded by white lace in the bouquet.

I am looking forward to adding detail to the face and jewelry during the next session.

 Update:  Work in progress image 4.


Carlotta now has a face.

The final version of this painting can be seen HERE.

Girls best friend

I've painted this happy little dog-walker, with green striped top and red shorts, onto another collaged background.  I like her skinny legs and equally skinny dog.  

If a man's best friend is his dog, then I'm four times blessed.  I didn't set out to have a dog pack, but that's how it's turned out ... and as for the 2 inside cats, 1 outside cat, with one pending.... just don't go there!


Each have joined the family in a variety of circumstances, but all were following their near death experiences.  As each one arrived and wrapped themselves gratefully around their first meal chez Skelton, we avowed each time that they were absolutely the last four-legged additions the family would be getting  ....  till next time ;)


Teddy we rescued as a tiny traumatised puppy from the centre of a main road 8 years ago.  We suspect unbelievably, she'd been dumped from a car.  Choo Choo was found in almost similar circustances a few months later;  Sally was found senseless on the motorway, after being hit by a car, and Daisy was dumped by hunters on the mountain where we live....  I won't describe or publish photos of the thick metal collar she was wearing when found, nor her festering flesh protruding through the gaps in the tight links, it's too sickening.  Suffice to say these horror stories have happy endings, their lives have been transformed for the better and so have ours.

Mummy Angel folk art

Yesterday I played with more little whimsical folk art characters in my sketchbook. This Mummy Angel, patiently presiding with folded hands and extended wings, spoke gently to me, so I painted her onto a collaged background.

For more information you can click here.




The sketchbook is becoming steadily more populated with other wee folk, all jockeying for attention and loudly calling for their turn to get gussied up with colour and a fantasy life of their own. Fun stuff! :)

Alice in Wonderland - Art Workshop

You may remember a few weeks ago, a friend and I had a ripping time making collage! Yesterday, I managed to push enough of the studio-mess towards the walls, to squeeze 2 of us in for another workshop. A different friend this time, who has never in her life considered making art. I don't think she really believed me when I promised she'd be making art to be proud of.

She is a mathematician/physicist and, she won't mind me telling you that her only memory of art classes at school, was when she was required to draw a chair. As she was only able to actually see 3 chair legs from her viewpoint, her logical mind got totally banjaxed, was unable to deal with the invisible other leg, and that was that.

I could have explained that Picasso would have understood her dilemma, and if we hadn't had other stuff planned, we could've Googled some of his paintings to demonstrate how he dealt with showing things from all angles, all at the same time. Instead we helped ourselves to some seriously colourful self-expression of our own, with acrylic paint, paper ephemera, gloss acrylic medium, heat transfer printing and handmade papers.

We had such a good time. It was so brilliant to see my friend's excitement when she realised she'd created something really stunning! Next week she's off to the framers.

'Alice in Wonderland' is one of my original whimsical folkart collage paintings inspired by the book / film. She's a character with a funny little face, who started life as a sketchbook drawing, and was then applied to a collage background, where she stands very prim and proper.