Artists statement

Posted on September 7, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Artists statement, Exhibition, Landscape, Painting, Spode, Stoke-on trent3 Comments

Usually I don’t include artists statements because I think my art should be self explanatory. However as I was exhibiting a painting about what Spode means to me, I said that it was about how Spode is now, that I have only been there for a few years. I also said that I wanted to include the history of the buildings and what was going on outside the building and how exciting I had found the experience of painting it.

I think it made sense, it’s difficult to know how long to make it and how much information it required.

Extra work….

Posted on September 7, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Colour, Design, Fine Art, Green, Green man, Leaves, Painting, Portrait2 Comments

Sometimes a painting can need work. After a couple of months, and after already exhibiting “my green man” I decided to do more work on it. The canvas was a bit rough, so when you put paint on it, it didn’t spread evenly and it caught on the surface, leaving tiny little dots where the paint hadn’t stuck. That meant that it looked thin in places and the colour wasn’t strong enough so I have tried to improve the pattern of the leaves and the shading on the face. I’ve used some iridescent turquoise to give it the gleam of dampness. If I do another one I might try and paint frost and ice on it.

Solo exhibition

Posted on September 5, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Longport, Newcastle-under-Lyme, opening night, Painting, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Waiting room galleryLeave a comment

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My latest exhibition is coming up next week. The opening is on 13.9.19 at 6.30pm. There will be wine and snacks (thats what you do at openings).

The Waiting room gallery is at Longport in Stoke-on-Trent. It’s a new gallery and art centre who are also working on Longport railway station and who are trying to restore the historic buildings there. You couldn’t meet a nicer group of people.

I’m very pleased to invite anyone who can come along to see the exhibition.

If you can’t make it I’ve also got paintings exhibited at the Brampton museum in Newcastle-under-Lyme from this weekend to the 10th of November and a painting at Acava Open Studios at Spode Site this weekend. The opening of the Spode show is on Saturday evening. So it’s busy busy busy!

Painting upside down.

Posted on August 16, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Blogging, Computer, Design, Landscape, Life, Painting, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Work in progress5 Comments

Sometimes it’s hard to see whether something looks right in a painting. Then I try turning it upside down. It really does give you a different perspective. In the case of the painting I’m doing it also allows me to get closer to the top of the picture as I’ve got it propped up on a chair.

Eyesight is another problem. If I’m staring at my phone looking at the image it’s hard for my eyes to accommodate (called presbyopia) where the lenses in your eyes get stiffer as you get older, so they don’t focus as well.

I’m now starting to paint the cracks in the window frame paint. I may come back to the clouds (thanks Martha, a bit of finger painting helped).

I’ve rotated the photo back to the vertical on my camera so I can look at it without moving the canvas. Eventually I will turn it back the right way so I can paint the bottom half. It’s going to take a while…..

Clouds are a pain!

Posted on August 15, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Blending, Clouds, Design, Landscape, more work in progress, Painting, Shading, Sky, Spode, Stoke-on trent6 Comments

More work in progress photos. I’m struggling to get the clouds right. I need to try and get the detail and shading correct. Also when it’s finished the paintwork on the frames will be all crackled and flakey.

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Looking closer, the greys are dark but not too dark, I may also bring a tiny bit of brown in and thin it down for the wood in the windows. Mostly it’s blending and shading to get a realistic effect.

View of Plymouth sound.

Posted on August 13, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Bay, Bovisand, Cornwall, Devon, Fine Art, Holiday, Landscape, Life, Ocean, Plymouth, Sand, Sea, Water4 Comments

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This was a painting I did a few years ago. I think it’s from Bovisand Bay looking out over Plymouth sound across to Cornwall. I wish I could go back. I live the place. It’s just the cost and the length of the drive. I want to just have one whole week somewhere nice. We’ll we will see. Perhaps I will sell some paintings, enough to go there. X

Yesterday was Oatcake day.

Posted on August 10, 2019August 10, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Arthur Berry, Artist, Author, Breakfast, Food, Lunch, Oatcakes, Oats, Poem, Poetry, Tasty, TeaLeave a comment

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And I forgot! I don’t know if it’s the same day every year. Anyway I’ve written a little poem in its honour. The best Oatcake poem I ever read was by the artist Arthur Berry. Look it up if you can.

Oatcakes are a pancakes cousin,

designed for savoury

not sweet.

Try with cheese and tomato,

can be eaten cold,

but I prefer heat.

Chilli sauce would add a tickle,

beetroot would be neat.

Oatcakes are a breakfast tipple,

with a good strong cup of tea.

Lunch you find with salad topping

grated cheese and pickle too.

Tea for two an Oatcake feasting,

Maybe sweet with cream or jam.

Versatile the little Oatcake,

Made with simple love you see,

Stoke-on-Trents tortilla, tasty.

Makes a meal for you and me

Opening night!

Posted on May 29, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Artist, Blog, Centre space, Eleanora st, Exhibition, Fine Art, Life, Painting, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent9 Comments

Thank you to everyone who came to the exhibition. I think people enjoyed it. I will be putting up more photos if I get some. These are quick snaps but I’ve included all the paintings. The people at Centre Space gallery, Darren and Sarah, could not be more helpful. If there was a trip advisor for galleries (maybe there is) I would recommend them.

If you would like to see it it’s on till Sunday from 10.30am to 4.00pm at the Centre Space gallery, at Spode Site, Eleanora street, Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1QQ.

Favourite photo 2012.

Posted on May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Dreadlocks, Friend, Market scene, Painting, Portrait, Puppet, Red hair, SnakeLeave a comment

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Memories, I don’t know when I painted this but it’s just come up on my FB page as the favourite photo of 2012. It’s a painting of my friend when she ran a market stall surrounded by her objects for sale. It’s based on a photo of her that I had taken. The cardigan and hair really added to the vibrant colours in the painting. I can’t remember what it’s called.

I loved the scarf with the snake on it, and the puppet which may be Thai or Indian. Sometimes it’s good to paint what you see.

It’s up!

Posted on May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Centre space, Eleanora street, Exhibition, Fun, Life, Painting, Spode, Spode Heritage visitors centre, Stoke, Stoke-on trent5 Comments

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I’m so pleased with my exhibition which opens tomorrow. Darren and Sarah who run the Centre Space couldn’t have been more helpful.

I will post some photos of the paintings tomorrow when they are on show. I was pleased with the way the exhibition looks and the careful way that it was put up. I hope I get a few commissions out of it.

Will people understand my passion for painting green men? Or my love if planets and astronomy? My quirky ideas about earth, air, fire and water and a series of national and international animals and birds?

I hope whatever people like there will be something that will pique their interest. Like a victorian collector of curiosities I enjoy the odd, interesting, and fun.

Mallaband-Brown

Category: Fine Art