Blog

For the last few months I have been working away on some new canvases ready for the Eastern Landscapes Show at Cambridge Contemporary Art in April 2012.   I am hoping that some new wood panelled work will be dry in time for the show too.  Here are some images of two 100 x 100 cm paintings that will be shown first at CCA.

Hidden Depths, 100 x 100 cm (still working on this one)

Summer Marshes, 100 x 100 cm

Close up of Summer Marshes.

Here you can see the scratches more clearly in the canvas.

Canvases drying.

Hopefully they will all be dry before the end of March 2012 ready for the show.

Here is Feathery Dips. A new painting that will be shown at the Eastern Landscapes exhibition at Cambridge Contemporary Art in April 2012.  Oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm.

Two more 100 x 100 cm canvases will be finished in time for the show.  More to follow later....

Today two year 8 students from Chesterton Community College joined me for their work shadowing day.

Anna and Millie have been preparing wood panels and have been discussing the life of being an Painter. We have talked about the different techniques I use and have also looked at different painting and printing methods.

We have just filled in their booklets and finished the day by writing this blog entry!

I have been working hard already this year getting ready for an Eastern Landscapes exhibition at Cambridge Contemporary Art starting in April 2012.

Here are a few photos of three large canvases I am currently working on.  I am also hoping to finish some new wood panels but that will depend on many variables!

I have just hung a new exhibition with Marcus Nisbet at The Institute for Manufacturing.   The Institute is the public face of Cambridge University Department of Engineering's Manufacturing and Management Division. It was opened in 2009 and is a wonderful building on the University West site.

Eight of my paintings are for sale and the preview date is Thursday 8th March 2012 from 6 - 8 pm. However, if you would like to visit the exhibition, which is very near the reception area, please visit The Institute any work day, or during the upcoming Cambridge University Science Festival.

Last few days to visit the sublime Vermeer's Women: Secret and Silence exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

I loved the collection. Each painting, despite the crowds surrounding them, made you stop and really observe the story the painter was describing.  If you can get to see it before January 15th 2012 I thoroughly recommend it.

Extract taken from The Fitzwilliam Museum website.

Vermeer's Women: Secrets and Silence

Wed 5 October 2011 to Sun 15 January 2012

Mellon Gallery (13)
Free Admission

Please note: Due to popular demand, there have been long queues for entry to Vermeer's Women: Secrets & Silence, from the morning to late lunchtime. If at all possible, we recommend that you attend after 3pm, in order to make the most of your visit. If you come earlier, may we ask you to please limit your visit to 30 - 45 minutes, in respect of other visitors. Thank you.

Late opening hours between 3 - 15 January

Explore the intimate beauty of Vermeer's exquisite scenes of Dutch 17th-century women in their homes in the only showing of this stunning exhibition. At its heart is Vermeer’s extraordinary painting The Lacemaker (c.1669-70) - one of the Musée du Louvre’s most famous works - rarely seen outside Paris and now on loan to the UK for the first time.

The painting is complemented by three key works by Vermeer representing the pinnacle of his mature career, A lady at the virginals with a gentleman 'The Music Lesson' (c.1662-5) on loan from The Royal Collection; A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal (c.1670) from the National Gallery, London; and Young Woman Seated at a Virginal (private collection, New York).

Joining these are 28 masterpieces of genre painting from the Dutch 'Golden Age' evoking the private realms inhabited almost exclusively by women who we glimpse engaged in domestic tasks, at their toilette or immersed in pleasurable pastimes such as music making, reading or writing letters.

Featuring works from museums and private collections in the UK, Europe and the USA, many of which have never been on public display in Britain, this Cambridge showing will be the only chance to see these masterpieces brought together in one exhibition.

Other artists featured in this exhibition include:
Cornelis de Bisschop, Gerard ter Borch, Esaias Boursse, Quiringh van Brekelenkam, Gerrit Dou, Pieter de Hooch, Samuel van Hoogstraten, Nicolaes Maes, Cornelis de Man, Eglon van der Neer, Jacob van Ochtervelt, Godfried Schalcken, Jan Steen and Jacobus Vrel.

Despite the -16°C snowy weather last week I managed to fit in a trip to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.  The buildings of the Museum are worth a trip let alone the treasures that await you when inside.

The original building opened in 1912, however a new extension was built in 1991 by the architect Moshe Safdie, creator of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec.  It is a wonderful, atmospheric space creating a perfect setting for the art curated within it.

On this particular trip I came across works by Bruegal, Maes, Daumier, Tissot, Sisley, Rodin and Dix, to name but a few.

A couple of favourite pieces were by Richter, Alma-Tadema, Picasso, and Dali.

I have a new range of greeting and postcards available.  You can purchase the greeting cards from Jaynes Frames, 8b Station Road, Histon, CB24 9LQ. However the full range,  and postcards can be purchased from my studio.

Greeting cards are £1.85 each or 3 for £5.00

Postcards are £1.00 each.

Tomorrow, 2 December I am taking part in a very special event at The Wildlife Trust.  Ovenden Contemporary Art have organised a one night only exhibition with 20 Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire artists. 30% of all sales will go to The Wildlife Trust.

This special event will take place at The Manor House, the headquarters for The Wildlife Trusts for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire, in Cambourne, a new village just a few miles west of Cambridge. There will be original paintings, prints, sketches, photography and sculpture directly from the participating 20 artists.

You can turn up at anytime between 5.30 and 9pm, entering through the main pedestrian entrance on Broad Street.  I

For more information please go to the website.

These are my first attempts at dry point etching.

Oops first one, too much ink:-)

This weekend the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair is taking place.  Six of my paintings will be on display with The Siott Gallery.

Here is Winter Fields in a local Berkshire newspaper.

A few of photos during the installation of my work for The Art & Craft Design Fair, Newmarket.  Last day tomorrow - 6 November 2011.

I am now 5 weeks into my Certificate in Printmaking course at The Curwen Print Study Centre.  Here is my first ever attempt at collagraph printing.

My Collagraph Plate built from old wallpaper, lace, cardboard and fabric.

Prints from my Collagraph Plate

Art Kudos International is an on-line juried competition.  Twenty three countries were represented in the 2011 competition. I was thrilled to find out 'Break Through' was a finalist.  The 80 x 80 cm painting has now been sold.

I am now approaching my third week of a course at The Curwen Print Study Centre, based in Linton, Cambridgeshire.  I decided early on this year to acquire a better understanding of print making.   I don't wish to change direction away from oil painting, but I thought a course in the basics of every type of print making would challenge me.  And challenge me it does!  So far I have spent my time learning to lino print and how to print using a collagraph.  The course is intensive but such a treat.

These are my attempts at lino plates

I will be displaying a new oil-on-canvas paper painting at The Cambridge Drawing Society in October. 2011.

Shifts, oil on canvas paper, framed in birch wood.

A lovely surprise that Moody Marshes is a showcase round winner in the Artslant London juried competition.  I will wait and see what happens...

From mid-November I will have 6 paintings on show at The Cass Business School, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB.  The paintings will be displayed for 6 months and will be available for purchase.

Cambridge Christmas 11 is shaping up nicely.  I started this event in 2008 and it has grown steadily since then.  This year I decided not to exhibit due to other work commitments, but I am organizing it.  There is now a website and I am delighted to reveal the invitation, designed by Alison Hullyer and hot off the press!

I am a big fan of David Hockney and loved this recent BBC interview with him.  He hits the nail on the head when he talks about how we really look at the world.

From October 2011 I will be represented by Cambridge Contemporary Art.  I am very excited about this and I am looking forward to exhibiting some of my oil on wood panels during their Christmas exhibition.  Watch this space:-)

This year I will not be exhibiting at The Cambridge Christmas 11 show but I am organising the annual event for fifteen local arts and crafts professionals. On Monday 21 November 2011 from 4 pm until 9 pm you will be able to purchase work from the local talents of:

Katharina Klug, Ceramicist
Amanda MacPhail, Ceramics
Daniela Stief, pottery
Alison Tait, stained glass
Claire Howieson, Jewellery
Abi Cochran, Jewellery
Tricia Taylor, Jewellery
Janet Powell, Jewellery
Marieke Hordyk, Jewellery
Rebecca Ilett, Jeweller and Sculptor
Birgitte Bruun, Silver Jeweller
Hannah Collins, Bespoke Jeweller
Jessie Hymas, Textile Designer
Roxana De Rond Illustrator
Anna Nilsen, Children's author and illustrator
Alison Hullyer, Printmaker
Rhiannon Thomas, Textile Artist

For more information keep an eye on the Cambridge Christmas 11 website.

I have been away for the last few weeks visiting Lazio and Umbria. During my travels I made a special trip to see one of my favourite paintings. The Calling of St Matthew, by Caravaggio hangs in the San Luigi dei Francesi church in Rome. Having seen it in magazines and books for so many years and then to see it in all it's glory was truly wonderful. Caravaggio's use of light and drama is awe-inspiring. Three of his paintings sit together; The Calling of Saint Matthew is the one on the left.

Here is the video of an interview of me done by Noel Garner, founder of Cambridge Art Academy, on the advantages of having one’s own dedicated studio. It’s an excellently put together production, and features some shots of my Open Studios private preview party. I prefer to be behind the camera so I hate seeing myself like this – but enjoy. Visit Noel’s website, too, since he is looking to turn these sort of interviews into a commercial venture.

I have fourteen mounted original paintings available for purchase at Frameworks, Cottenham, Cambridgeshire.

My gallery and studio are open during weekdays and some weekend hours until mid-August and then I re-open in September 2011.  Please contact me if you would like a private viewing of my latest work.

We had roughly 350 people through the doors during our only weekend opening for Cambridge Open Studios.

Here are a few photos from the day and our private party on Saturday evening.  David and Rosemary from So Mango performed for us which made it extra special.

We are now ready to go for tomorrow.  Opening hours are from 11 am - 6 pm on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th July.  Please check the Cambridge Open Studios website for directions and further information.

Only two more days to go before our Open Studios show.  Joining me this year are Paul Rodhouse, who specialises in Antarctic scenes, and Craig Kerrecoe, an abstract painter and printmaker who shared my space last year.

For 2011 I have quite a lot of small original works for sale.  Here are a few images to whet your appetite. I hope to see you there!

Paul Rodhouse has exhibited with Cambridge Open Studios for many years.  This year Paul is exhibiting with me here at my gallery and studio at Highworth Avenue on the 9th and 10th July 2011. Paul is a scientist whose research takes him to the Antarctic where he finds the inspiration for many of his paintings in which he captures the light, the abstract shapes and the sheer majesty of the southern polar region of our fragile planet. Paul works in acrylic and oil on medium to large sized canvases or board.

Here are a few samples of his work.

Memories of Summer, an original oil on canvas painting, 63 x 63 cm, is currently on display at Heffers bookshop in Cambridge.  Other Cambridge Open Studios exhibitors are Maureen Mace, Henri Schmitt, Helena Alexandra Reut, Paul Rodhouse and Sonia Villiers.  All details on the artists can be found in the guide and on the Cambridge Open Sudios website.