Newsletter: June 2024
This photo tells you all you need to know about June so far…hopefully it’s getting better!! Still on the very positive side, gorgeous skies! I never really know what to do with those cartoon blue skies with Simpsons clouds, so these are fun!
As my lovely subscribers already know, I sometimes make small paintings as starting points for larger work. This time I’ve made a collection of 8 mini landscape paintings, which I’m calling Moorland Minis, and as I get loads of requests, I thought I would offer them on the website. They are all unique and add a pop of jewel like colour to any space, plus they are a really affordable way of starting a collection.
Each one is a small original abstracted landscape in its own right, and don’t be fooled, they take just as much love and care as large paintings do! They are all mounted on solid wooden blocks, so they stand beautifully on a window sill or shelf, but they can also be hung with mirror plates….each one is 15cm x 15cm.
to view each painting, please click on the image grid below
each painting is £110 including UK post and packaging (if you live outside the UK, please contact me direct, and I’ll confirm cost)
To purchase one of more of my Moorland Minis, just click the Buy Moorland Minis Button below, which takes you straight to my webshop.
Please enter code: S648GTR at checkout for Free UK Shipping
I don’t know about you but I love podcasts, they make up a lot of what I listen to in the studio, and some of the Art ones are really special. Authentic Obsessions Podcast is exactly that, and I was thrilled finally to meet up with the driving force behind AO, the very lovely Margret Petrie, and with her Rachael Singleton who is a super talented textile artist, and really worth checking out on Instagram.
I loved being interviewed for the Pod and you can listen to my episode, which is no: 36 here: https://www.authenticobsessions.com/jo-york-walking/
Rachael is no: 73, and you can hear her episode here: https://www.authenticobsessions.com/rachael-singleton-stone/ You can’t beat an artist meet up, and how brilliant it was spending time with these two!
My studio has been weird this month; freezing early on and hot now as I’m writing this towards the end of the month…it’s all very confusing!
I’ve been working on a couple of new paintings, which come partly from a feeling I’m experiencing; a strong desire for peace and tranquility in the face of everything that’s going on in the World…they both explore the calmness that comes with walking (coincidentally, my Authentic Obsession!); the rhythm of moving softly through grass and air.
This one is Pale Grass Blue, about a calm walk and the soothing rhythms of stepping softly through the air.
75 cm x 75cm on a deep canvas and painted in oils and cold wax.
Pale Grass Blue was one of those that has taken a good while; it started with an underpainting in acrylics, and then it sat looking at me for a while….I began building up on top with layers of oil and cold wax, which gives a lovely texture and soft feeling, and I felt really suited what I was trying to convey. It’s quite a slow process, because it helps to let paint settle a bit before you continue working, and you really don’t need much cold wax-it does have the benefit of drying quicker though!
While I was working on Pale Grass Blue, I had a second canvas on the go, working in exactly the same way-this second painting is Stealing Time (shown below)…it’s name comes from feeling like I’m halting, or ‘stealing time’ away from the rest of life when I’m out walking, especially first thing in the morning. It’s definitely my thinking time and where all my ideas come from.
Stealing Time
Oils and cold wax on deep canvas: 75cm x 75cm
I’ve had a good amount of studio time this month, so I also went back to this painting which I’d worked on a while ago, but felt needed just a bit more…we seem to have more than our share of misty mornings up here, when you can be walking in thick cloud.
This one is Aeterna, and I think it really is done now!! It’s full of rich darks, and a surprising range of colour, but is an absolute nightmare to photograph-definitely not happy with this pic as it doesn’t bring out the richness of surface and all the layers of colour and tone…I’ll have another go and see if I can post something better.
By way of a little studio tip:
One of the things I often do is use up paint, and play freely with marks and combinations, working on scraps of paper I have lying around. Then I can grab a bunch of them and experiment with collaging the pieces together-they can make great starting points for paintings, and it’s a nice thing to do as a warm up or if you’re feeling a bit stuck or lacking in inspiration!
I love history and especially economic and social history, so I really enjoyed looking around the old mill works at Sunnybank Mills recently…it’s a huge former mill complex near me on the edge of Leeds. It reminded me of some work I did a long time ago for an F1 team, designing wall hangings inspired by engine parts; weirdly some of the mill machinery looked strikingly similar! I have no clue how I could work them into current work, but you never know…
I’m off to deliver work to Hayden Gallery in Marlow in a couple of weeks, ready for a show with them in August, so watch out for more info: next month, meanwhile check them out online: https://haydengallery.co.uk
If you fancy seeing work face to face I have work currently available from Silson Contemporary in Harrogate and online, Northern Lights Gallery in the Northern Lakes and online and Look gallery in Helmsley.
I think that’s just about it from me this month, so until next time have a lovely summer, take care and keep in touch!
Jo XX
All content, text and images ©Jo York 2024