Newsletter May 23

Free UK Shipping on all paintings until June 1st!

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Free UK Shipping on all paintings until June 1st! 〰️

It’s nearly the end of the month again, and I’m not sure where time has gone! May has been weird in Nidderdale; stormy and cold until nearly the end, when suddenly it’s all gone a bit mad…exploding with green lushness!

Surprisingly, given I have a lot going on at the moment, it has been a good month for studio time, so quite a lot to share with you…

I’m really interested in layers in landscape, whether they are geological and historical layers, evidence of past industry and settlement, and also visual layers in the landscape space. The painting below is playing with some of these ideas…the shapes and overlaid colours represent scudding clouds, field boundaries, swathes of grass and pathways.

A Place Among The Stones

I really enjoyed working on the canvas panel above…it seems to sing with spring colours, even if the weather hasn’t always matched it! It’s about a particular high field, not far from here…the landscape is full of interesting shapes and of courses incorporates these strange erratic rocks dotted all about.

I do love its freshness, it might seem simple, but these pared back abstracts never are…it has tons of layers!

The painting is mainly in acrylics with a mix of opaque and translucent layers, with a little gouache and a touch of dry media. I’ve also used one of my favourite techniques, which is drawing through the paint layer to reveal what’s underneath, making fine s’graffito marks. Gouache can be quite useful paired with acrylics as it’s easier to control small details with it, and there don’t seem to be any compatibility issues. The only thing you have to watch is that, unlike acrylics it will bleed and spread if you add a water-based varnish.

The way to cope with this is to use a ‘watercolour’ varnish on any areas with gouache detail, (literally just do the specific sections which include gouache paint), and then add an isolation coat, like self levelling gel. You can then finish with a final coat of varnish, which will be archival as it can be removed in the future without any affect on the painting beneath (the isolation layer provides a permanent safety barrier). This might sound like a bit of a performance but it is worth it if you sell your work, and actually I usually finish my acrylics with an isolation layer followed by cold wax or varnish.

This one is called, A Place Among The Stones and is now available in my shop…just click the link below. I also have some other new work available so do have a look!

I went on to make a second painting about the same place, Sky Path…both abstracted landscapes are inspired by walking the high fields near home; strewn with rocks, bounded by dry stone walls and punctuated by the occasional scrubby tree.

The slideshow shows both of them and some in situ shots.

I’ve also been working on some more of my Atmospheric Abstraction paintings…there is some work, that just takes ages to resolve, and I’ve gone back to a bunch of paintings inspired by the Scottish Coast, which definitely come into this category! A while back we had a short break in Dumfries and Galloway, and I loved its sense of space and peace…the beaches sometimes remind me of the Atlantic Coast of Cornwall, with their wild and rocky beauty, just with fewer cliffs!

Anyway I have three paintings which I think I’ve finally finished, which come from this trip…loads and loads of glazed layers, built up slowly…I’m showing the three paintings together in the in situ shot below.

From the left they are:- Lingering * Ebb and Flow * Still on the Sea- they should all be on my website next month, so keep an eye out, but as usual if you’re desperate to get your hands on one, just send me a DM.

Earlier this year I was telling you about the painting wall I put together with the help of a local carpenter, and promised to update you with how it’s working.

So the answer is I’m really pleased with it. The whole thing is super flexible, and I can easily work on 3 or 4 pieces at once. In the photo you can see the wedges I use to make the pegs work if the size of canvas doesn’t fit exactly…they work a treat and are very simple and quick…actually this canvas also hangs direct from the pegs as it has a deep profile. If you wanted to do something similar there are much more detailed instructions in my

March newsletter- the only thing I would add is, make sure you get plenty of the dowels cut down to make pegs and a really good selection of wedges in different sizes, as this really makes the system work. Below you can see a close up of some of the dowel pegs and wedges, plus groups of paintings in progress…The back board is quite thick marine ply and it seems to wipe clean pretty easily. I’m sure it will get messy but for now, it has stayed remarkably paint free!

I’ve also begun work on some new moorland pieces…I said I’ve been busy!

The idea comes from walking on a local moor, and watching the colours change- I’m intending to do some more with a different colour palette, but the first ones are full of glowing sky and heather. In the images below, you can see my experimental initial paintings, studio journal pages and some in process shots.

Below left: Awakening and right: Early Morning Moor -available soon!

Ok I’m off to paint edges, seal and varnish, so I think that’s probably all from me this month! As always, I hope you’ve found it interesting and I love to hear your feedback and any suggestions for things you would like me to talk about!

*Oh and don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter if you haven’t already, that way you’ll always be first to hear about shows, new work and courses.

Until next time take care and hope you have a happy and creative June!

Jo xx

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