Some recent Life Drawings

Despite good intentions I've had less time spent at my drawing and painting than I'd intended for the last couple of years. It's not that I haven't done any work - I've been questioning the approach I've been taking and changing my working methods. 

I'm determined to use photography less and to draw more, developing ideas through a series of drawings, before starting on a painting. A large part of this process has been driven by Life Drawing, both my own weekly practice at local drawing classes and through tutoring a class several times a term at the Eccleshall Library. 

So here are some recent drawings, including drawings in colour. (I've been really enjoying working with high quality Unison soft pastels.)

Three 5 minute studies

A 20 min drawing in charcoal

Two 5 minute charcoal studies

Landscapes for Adventure Catalogue

 This exhibition has been put on to coincide with ShAFF, the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, which is on this weekend. It's being held at the Workstation, 15 Paternoster Road, Sheffield, S1 2BX. I'm exhibiting there with two other artists, Katherine Rhodes and Tessa Lyons. The exhibition lasts  until 15th March.
Here is the catalogue of my paintings from the show. If you get a chance go and see it - hope you enjoy it.

Piz Bernina, Italian Alps
Acrylic on canvas 1000mm x 1000mm
£600

Forbes Arete, Aiguille de Chardonnet

Acrylic on canvas 764mm x 410mm

£420

Great Portland Street, Millstone Edge

Acrylic on board 607mm x 607mm

£250

Glyder Fach

Acrylic on canvas 700 x 500

£340

Froggatt Pinnacle, Peak District

Acrylic on board 685mm x 685mm

£360

Aiguille du Midi, French Alps

Watercolour on paper 340mm x 286mm (framed size)

£140

Piz Surlej, Swiss Alps

Watercolour on paper 340mm x 286mm (framed size)

£90

Midi-Plan Arete, French Alps

Acrylic on canvas 1016mm x 770mm

£450

Batian from Pt. Lenana, Mount Kenya

Acrylic on canvas 840mm x 600mm

£480

Manchester Buttress, Stanage Edge

Acrylic on canvas 1350mm x 450mm

£600

Mississippi Buttress, Stanage Edge

Acrylic on board 1200mm x 410mm

£260

Aiguille du Midi, French Alps

Acrylic on canvas 700mm x 500mm

£380

Tre Cime de Lavaredo, Dolomites

Chalk pastel on paper 520mm x 520mm (framed size)

£180

Flying Buttress, Stanage Edge

Chalk pastel on paper 520mm x 520mm (framed size)

£220

Gross Bielenhorn, Swiss Alps

Acrylic on paper 520mm x 520mm (framed size)

£210

Queersville, Stanage Edge

Watercolour on paper 520mm x 520mm (framed size)

£130

Gross Bielenhorn, Swiss Alps

Acrylic on board, 1220mm x 600mm

£500

Waterfall at Valnontey, Gran Paradiso

Watercolour on paper, 516mm x 650mm (framed size)

£190

View from Aliezo, Picos de Europa

Watercolour on paper, 480mm x 380mm (framed size)

£150

Landscape near Hathersage, Peak District

Watercolour on paper, 750mm x 640mm (framed size)

£200

Froggatt Pinnacle, Peak District

Watercolour on paper, 390mm x 494mm (framed size)

£130

Aiguille du Midi, French Alps

Watercolour on Paper 320mm x 420mm (framed size)

£110

Landscapes for Adventure - an exhibition for ShAFF

Exhibition on now until 14th March. My full exhibition catalogue will be posted here soon. Meanwhile here are a couple of images:

Batian from Point Lenana ad dawn, Mount Kenya

Flying Buttress, Stanage Edge

Exhibition for the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival

I'll be exhibiting at The Workstation in Sheffield from the 6th 'til 15th March. This exhibition is timed to be part of the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, which is a renowned, annual, long-weekend event in the city. I'm sharing this exhibition with two other artists, Katherine Rhodes and Tessa Lyons - all three of us have an interest in the Outdoors and make pictures of mountains, crags and moors.
I've been pressing myself to finish a number of new paintings for this exhibition and, with a week to go, still have some last minute work to do. I'll post a full catalogue later in the week but here, to whet your appetite, are two recently finished paintings.

The South Face of the Aiguille du Midi

Batian and Nelion, Mount Kenya at dawn

New work for an exhibition in March 2018

After last year's solo exhibition I felt I needed to re-invent the way I was painting. It's been an evolution rather than a revolution, but I'm nearly ready for this year's exhibition. I've been trying to bring colour into my drawing and have worked seriously with chalk pastels, both on landscape drawings and with my life drawing.

My life drawing has been going well using charcoal, so I was keen to link that approach with my landscape work. I wanted to bring in colour so that drawings would serve as closer studies for paintings. My intention is to use drawings as an intermediate stage, rather than working directly from landscape photographs, to make my large acrylic landscapes. The drawings below all try that approach.

Tre Cime de Lavaredo

Flying Buttress, Stanage Edge

Robin Hood's Buttress, Stanage Edge

The colour is a little experimental - for me they still betray their photographic starting point. Once the spring comes I'll be taking my drawing outside, because working directly from the landscape is a habit I've lost in recent years.

Positano Painting Commission

My solo exhibition is down from the walls of La Patisserie and it was, for me, a fairly successful exhibition. People's feedback was good and I sold 8 of the 31 pictures exhibited. I've got to make sure that the next exhibition happens soon-ish - it's no good having a space of several years between them.

Positano

 

I've also been working on a commission, making a painting of Positano on the Amalfi Coast. I delivered that painting last week. It was an interesting painting for me to make as, in some ways, it's not the sort of subject I'd normally choose.

The buildings of the town rise steeply from the sea, piled on top of one another around the lower slopes of the mountainous Amalfi peninsula. The perspective is crazily complex with multiple vanishing points. However, I was attracted by the fact that it is still a mountain landscape, albeit one that's wrapped up with buildings and poised above the turquoise Mediterranean sea.

Exhibition Poster