New paintings and regular art updates.
The day is coming when I have to take my painting ‘coast’ into the Burslem School of Art so that it can be hung for the three counties open. I hope it will be OK and be displayed in a good place.
I’m thinking of doing a series of these paintings in this style. I might do some images based on the pottery factories in this city. Stoke-on-Trent is known as the ‘Potteries’ and it might be good to celibate its history. I will see.
I cooled down enough today to do some work on the waterfall painting based on the Dorothy Clive Garden. I’m trying to get movement and texture into it. I’ve been busy today, painting the sides of the Coast painting which I need to take to the three counties open exhibition in Burslem tomorrow. I have still got to add mirror plates onto the back of it so it can be hung. I need to add more colours to this painting to reflect the wonderful view we saw back in May. I’m enjoying learning more about how to use this style. Someone’s said it looked a bit like a Van Gogh but I hope it has a bit of uniqueness to it.
When you’ve got a painting partly done it’s interesting to use a photograph app to play with it and see if there are things you can do to change it. Having done this I don’t think I will take it in this direction, but I may change things a bit. I need to have calm areas as well as jazzy patterns, otherwise I think it will be too much just an all over pattern.
When we sang at Bethesda Chapel last weekend this brilliant banner that my friend Kate had painted was on display hanging from the balcony.
The banner depicts an octopus, whale, fish, a ship and people. I meant to ask what it was meant to represent because I don’t think it was created for the Animal Apocalypse show, but it certainly was appropriate. It is painted in a lovely style, slightly abstracted. The colours matched in well with the colour scheme of the Chapel. Maybe it will be brought out again if we do another performance. X
I’m very pleased to say I have had my painting ‘coast’ accepted in the three counties open exhibition in Burslem School of art later this year.
Burslem School of Art is famous for teaching artists their skills in the early twentieth century. I think Clarice Cliff was one of their students. I know the artist Arthur Berry studied there before becoming famous as the potteries ‘Lowry’.
It’s great that a physical exhibition will actually be held this year. I hope many people will be able to come and see it.
New painting, based on the lower photo of Dorothy Clive Garden waterfall. I’m working from a filtered photograph of it that has added texture to it. I will try and post an update later. I was trying to find an image to work from for the afternoon at the Orme Art Group today. I was worried about the yellow and green and purple colours, are they to muddy….? But now I’ve started adding a pop of red in places I’m happier. It is something that is making me happy, so I will carry on.
Thank you Sharon Crisp for sending me a photo of my Burslem Angel mural (lost in the fire in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem). It was painted in emulsion directly into a framed area on the wall that had originally been filled with flock wallpaper. I had asked if anyone had images of my murals a few months ago. This one was missing as was on of a woman standing outside a pottery with a row of bottle kilns. I’m really pleased to see this again.
I think it’s interesting how the clouds in the background look like smoke or flames.
Watch out, there’s a Leopard about. Take a walk in the wild side of Stoke, down a side street, off the main road. Strong colours against a black background. Stars shine out from the painting. I want to find out if this is finished or whether there is more to come. What is it painted in? Will it be permanent or will it flake and fade in a few years. It’s painted directly onto the brick so I imagine it will weather and peel.
I said I would post a picture of this finished painting of a blue crab when it had got to its new home. I tried to make it accurate but its quite hard to work out the fine details. I also brightened the blues and toned down the sandy background. I made the area behind the crab softer so that it goes backwards out of focus and added more detail to the foreground. It’s new owner is pleased with it I think.
Round the back of B’arts are a series of three murals. I think they may be constellations? I know there is a star group called Draco but I’m not sure about the Leopard or the Hare /rabbit? Anyway it’s a random piece of art but I do like it. There are chalked in letters above each animal so I’m guessing it’s not finished yet? Whatever, I love the movement in the animals. Good to see colourful art in the area.
Mallaband-Brown