Spode window

A strange little window at Spode Works. It’s the only one I’ve seen on the site. I love the way the bricks are built in a circle. A little porthole in the side of an old factory in Stoke on Trent. I love quirky things.

This is an acrylic on canvas. Our Orme Art Group is having a small exhibition in front window of the Brampton museum and art gallery in Newcastle under Lyme in Staffordshire. This is one of two paintings I’m exhibiting. It’s on from next week I think. I might not be able to get along to it as I’m having another cataract operation in a few weeks.

Jumping cat

Bad photo of my old cat jumping before we moved house. It’s blurry with my camera shaking Parkinsons hands.

I used to walk around with her purring, draped round my shoulders. She would follow me everywhere. Once when I walked into a friend’s bungalow via the back door she sat by the door for ages, I’d come out of the front door and my friend had found her waiting for me!

She would jump across from one gatepost to the other when I tapped the wall. I got several photos of her doing this and used them as the reference for the painting. I actually won a small prize in a local exhibition for this painting.

Based on…

Top painting by Theodore Gericault of a French peasant woman. I used it to base my picture on. The bottom painting is my portrait of Molly Leigh. I know mine is a bit rough round the edges, but I wanted her to look wise with a glint in her eye. I hope now I’m getting my sight sorted out things will improve. I will try and keep posting here but I may have to be careful how much I do.

My Molly

My portrait of Molly Leigh the Burslem Witch. Painted after my mural of her at the Leopard Hotel in Burslem burnt down a couple of years ago. Acrylic on canvas.

It was used as a prop in the Who is Molly Leigh? opera that was on last week. I was so proud and excited to be able to display it in public. I like creating narrative pieces of art as well as portrait so of people which I would say is my speciality. I’d like to poss create further portraits of Stoke-on-Trent famous people… Just a thought.

Square sheep

It looks like its been baked in a bread loaf tin. This is a copy of one of those paintings that they did in olden times to emphasise how much wool the sheep could grow I think. There are definite exaggerations in its size.  And a small head and legs. It was fun to try and paint. As it is for a set in an opera it didn’t need to be totally accurate. Took about an hour to paint.

Titchy paintings

Mini paintings, abstract and flowery. When you’re not sure what to paint but you need to paint some work for our art groups little summer fayre.

Canvases this small cost £2.20 for two. So if I’m selling them and I’ve got to give 50% to the art group then I’d like to make 50 pence profit because the people coming don’t have much money. I’m glad I could get the canvases though about 1.5 inches by 2 inches. I love the challenge.