Newsletter: November 23
I’m writing this from a very cold studio in North Yorkshire…we’ve had so much rain this month, and eventually the rain came in via my slightly dodgy studio stable door, and flooded the floor. Still I was very lucky, no work was damaged and the problem has been temporarily fixed until the spring when we’ll sort it out properly. We really could do with some dry days; the moors are saturated and as you walk down the lanes all you can hear is the rush of water coming off the fields, and into the gullies…the road at the bottom of our lane genuinely looked like a flowing river earlier in the month, but today all is calm and quiet; grey-skied and cold!
It’s been a very busy month, with a lot to fit in, and totally failing to get some stuff done that I really wanted to do….for instance I intended to upload some small pieces on my website but that just hasn’t happened! Anyway here goes to catch you up on the things I have managed to get done!
Towards the end of last year,( I wrote in my Instagram post earlier this, but had totally lost track of time!)I was approached by a production company, working on a new BBC Drama series called Boat Story. It was filmed in the North of the UK and I was asked to supply a painting and also some sketches and samples to set the scene for one of the lead characters who is an artist….it was such an exciting project to be involved with; even in a small way, and so exciting for my work to be featured!
Apparently it’s a really great series, but unfortunately there is an irony to this story, which is that I really can’t watch it. I absolutely cannot watch violence; if I do it haunts me and I can’t get rid of the mental images, which get seared on my brain- I guess it’s the peril of an over-active imagination! As a student I went out with a small bunch of friends with the plan to watch a movie…for some reason we couldn’t get into the funny one we intended to see, so before I knew it we were sat watching Midnight Express- I spent the whole time staring at my lap!
Anyway, I’m reliably informed It’s great and Louise Fletcher even recommended it in this week’s Art Juice…My husband watched it on my behalf, so I could be sure the whole thing didn’t end up on the cutting room floor, otherwise I would have looked more than usually ridiculous if I had posted about it!!
Completely unexpectedly, I’ve had a load of requests for prints of the painting, which will definitely be staying with me as it has quite a story to tell. I’m going to produce a very limited run of 20 high quality, hand signed giclee prints- let me know if you’d like one!
Oh and on that tack, the response I got made me realise that some people would really love a print of one of my paintings…it’s not something I’ve ever done, but I’m thinking about occasionally offering limited editions which would be offered first to my lovely subscribers… It would be really helpful if you could let me know if you think this would be a good idea, and especially if you might be interested in having one yourself. Just click the button below:)
I have loads of gallery news to share this month…
The lovely Northern Lights Gallery in the Lake District and online, now have a lovely group of my paintings including two fell paintings in a similar style to the Boat Story painting.
Secret Pool
They also have a selection of my atmospheric abstracts, including Secret Pool, which means a great deal to me as it’s about a small, pretty much unknown pool where I walk most days…I love its quietness, reflections and the Dragonflies and Damselflies that we see in the height of summer.
If you’re interested in any of these paintings, please contact the Northern Lights Gallery on this link:
I’ve also been finishing off some of the Moorland Paintings I was working on last month, and I’m delighted to say they are now available from Look Gallery in Helmsley North Yorkshire and via email: Contact the Look Gallery It’s a lovely gallery in the heart of historic Helmsley, which is really worth a visit if you can get to North Yorkshire! I’m excited about them; they are absolutely full of rich, glowing colour and would bring warmth and atmosphere to any space.
Two of these Moorland paintings, both approximately 90cm x 80 cm are shown below:
L.H: Autumn Flow
R.H: This is Your Land
*In a final bit of gallery news I will be showing with the very cool Silson Contemporary in their Winter/Spring show, starting early next year…Look out for more details coming soon.
Obviously I’ve spent quite a while dropping off work at Galleries this month, but I have also put in a lot of studio hours working on another large piece. This one really shows how much I’m affected by the weather and colours around me…it’s about a local wetland reserve, which I often paint. On this particular day the sky was heavily laden with cloud; deep dark and full of drama! Below you can see some development shots that record how the painting developed.
This time I was working on a very thick canvas taped to my painting wall. A bit of an experiment to be honest and I quite like it…the only issue is that I am constantly transitioning from working upright on my wall to working flat on my painting table or even sometimes on the floor,, depending on what I’m working on and the techniques used. It’s a bit tricky with floppy canvas, however thick, so I think I’ll stick to pre stretched canvas and panels for their ease of moving around.
Hopefully it’s quite interesting as you can clearly see the way I played with the horizon line. Even if the painting changes along the way, the underpainting makes a huge difference as it still appears subtly, under the many over layers, and it also gives me marks, textures, tones and colour to respond to.
This is a very shortened process, as there are a huge number of layers which honestly. I completely forgot to photograph-they develop the rich colour and tone and also the complexity of the painting surface itself…I also love to include small details of texture, and fine marks which you can only notice on close inspection!
It’s about 90cm x 80cm and finished, I think!!? Just need to seal and wax and get it stretched!
I’m calling it Storm Song, as that really is what it is.
It’s been a really busy month, so that is pretty much all for me this month except for a quick reminder of courses coming up in the Spring. I think these will probably be the only courses I run next year, and courses at The Lund do book very quickly. The 3 day course only has one place left and the 1 day is only just live and booking fast, so please have a look if they might be for you!
Three Day Course: 30th April-2nd May 2024 at Lund Studios ‘Developing A Personal Response to Landscape’
One Day Course: 23rd March 2024 at Lund Studios. ‘Abstracting The Landscape’
Hope you have a lovely creative month, and since the next one comes just afterwards, have an absolutely lovely Christmas however you celebrate it, keep in touch, take care and see you next time,
Jo xx
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