Finding a new way...

At the beginning of this year I had no work for sale in my own name. I forget that sometimes.
In January I made the decision I'd been working up to for ages- to give up trying to sell the work which is now wrapped and archived from the two years I'd painted under a different name. If you want to see my old blog to see why I used a different name and where it all went wrong click here, but you need to be over 18...

If not, here's one of the two pieces I've stolen from that portfolio and now claim as my own. It was painted in January and I only painted one more piece before I decided to concentrate on work which is easier to exhibit and less controversial. I'll still work on them occasionally because I love them and I spent a lot of time and work with models producing some great images, some of which still demand to be painted.


Because I jumped so suddenly, I had no idea what my work would be like. And quite honestly, when I look at it, it's not what I thought it would be at all! I do love painting flowers, they give me a lot of the same feelings I had painting nudes, but I didn't really think I'd be painting  some of the landscapes which are on the walls drying all around me.

My work on the left, Claire's on the right

Today I took my work to art on the railings in Norwich with my talented friend Claire Cansick, and when I put it up and stood back to look at it I realised I need a new direction. At least A direction, my work is all over the place in style and subject. The paintings I have in my head don't look like the paintings I've been doing. I need to narrow the gap between what I like to look at and what comes out of my paintbrush. I guess it won't be easy at first but I need to get back to basics, have some fun with paint and see what happens.

I also need to work on my sales skills. Hiding behind Claire isn't really working

Watch this space :)

Why oh why do you paint..... flowers?

 Yellow orchids for sale on Affordable British Art

Nobody has asked me that. As I once predicted in another blog I wrote when I was still painting subjects which permanently attracted lively debate and often blatant rudeness. But I can answer this one, and hopefully not provoke any strong reaction at all. Life's much easier now!

 I didn't expect to love painting flowers at all but I've found a way to approach them which really appeals to my own sensibility. I don't want to end up painting things I wouldn't have on my own wall. Infact, if the rose painting doesn't sell fairly soon it could be one I decide to keep. It'd really go well above my bed. I daren't put it there though in case I don't want to sell it at all.
When I was painting nudes, the process was as important as the finished work. Over a few years I'd developed a technique for the photo sessions. I'm not a quick painter, my work evolves over many layers and I'm impatient. Live models are great for drawing but for me I have to work from photos so if I want to get up and paint at 2 a.m. I can! The photos were sometimes taken on a very basic camera, using various lighing including but not exclusively using professional studio lights. I used colour gels and often produced very dramatic sensual images. The photos were never seen in their own right as the women I used were people I know rather than professional models, so there seemed to be a lot of secrecy around it. Now if I want to show the photos I can.

Sometomes I bring flowers in or borrow from bunches of flowers in the house and stage them in the same way. Going through the photos after the session gives me the same excitement. Of course I can't share the joy in the same way with my subject, but I still love the results, and I think it's probably a very different way of looking at a subject to imagine it as a painting. The photo above is lovely but I know it's going to take some patience if it ever becomes a painting.

Flowers are definitely giving me what I miss from nudes and lingerie, the fine detailing and sensuality are all there. An added bonus is that more people can imagine them above the mantelpiece, even if the vicar drops by for tea. All the beauty and none of the controversy. And I'm very sure I'll never be asked what I'm wearing to paint a chrysanthemum. That's the best thing of all..... :)