The Shadow

This is a rather expressive painting that I did some years ago now.

Although it is not a brilliant painting it does have a certain atmosphere in it which i think makes it quite interesting and worth talking about.

The first thing that strikes you is obviously the figure of a young girl curled into an almost foetal position. A protective gesture. her face is turned away from the viewer and she holds her hands across her chest - but seems to be doing something with them - fiddling her fingertips, or praying? Her knees are drawn up and her legs extend from these and end in large earth-bound feet. Her feet are crossed as well which closes her body up even further.

So here she is - this rather enigmatic, closed up and turned in figure who appears to be almost floating. The strongest shade in the painting is her cast shadow and this for me is what the painting is really about. The Shadow that takes on a life of its own. The girl is rather faint and ambiguous, but her shadow is strong and powerful. It has a distinct form of its own - I will leave it to yourself to interpret what it might be - and her body seems to skim on the very edge of it - like an insect which hops or floats on the surface of a pond.

I can't draw any parallels to the day I have had today though - i just saw it in my folder and thought you might like to see it. I don't feel like curling up in a protective gesture and I don't feel that I am a shadow lurking anywhere and i don't feel like an insect skimming on a pond.

Today has just been a busy one, preparing some reference pictures for a large-ish relief piece and finishing off another medal - which I will photograph and show you tomorrow.

I have not had the time yet to go hunting for those other beach photos I promised you either - the day is just too short and I have far to much to do every minute.

A suitable picture might have been of the White Rabbit rushing around clutching his large pocket watch and declaring himself 'too late' for i spend a large part of the day rushing around too, trying to fit it all in and sometimes falling short of the mark.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

'Pupa' and the return from Spain

Hello,

I am back from Spain.

I had a wonderful time, very busy (i will tell you a little bit about that in a minute) and it was very warm so I am FREEZING now back in Norway!

I decided to use this picture today because that is how i am feeling. A little bit sleepy and introspective and I would dearly love to curl up in my duvet and have a little sleep today. As you can probably guess this is a little study of Metamoth curled up in her pupa, still dozing but pretty close to being reborn.

There is not a whole lot more to say about this picture except that I really like those colours. I use them quite a lot, especially those sap and olive greens with the pale pink and flesh tones of madder and rose dore. Rose dore was my latest discovery, the last time I was buying watercolours. I love it because it works so well as a flesh tone and then you can blush it up with a little rose madder.

I told you last week that I was off to Spain for a little holiday, this was strictly speaking not quite true as it was in fact a working holiday and fact finding mission.

Two years ago I took the plunge of buying a little house in a pretty little town in Andalucia.

My faithful and patient man, who just happened along as the sale was closing, therefore inherited a vast project that he never envisaged when he asked me out on that first date. You see - being me - I did not buy a ready house that you could walk into, but rather more a shell of a house. That said we have camped there over the last couple of years quite happily - except for the first time trying to sleep on an airbed! Nightmare, as the air just would not stay in it so that in the morning we were sleeping directly on a hard tiled floor. Not very good for my back at all!

About a year ago we began work with a really nice Spanish architect and finally after an awful lot of planning and discussion work has just begun on the house. Only demolition at the moment, but you know you have to break eggs to make omelettes. We have all really enjoyed the process, as there was no real rush at first, although now I have to admit I am just aching for the house to be finished so that we can take up residence there and start having all our friends coming to stay.

This trip was first and foremost a mission to seek out tiles, doors and other such fixtures and fittings. The week flew by in a bit of a whirlwind and I am still trying to remember and process all we viewed and discussed. Of course the couple of glasses of wine with a late lunch every day did not really help my energy levels, but I am still maintaining that it was the sunshine and heat that did for me in the afternoon!

Now, I have for some time been planning to run art holidays when we finally move down there and that was the other aspect of the trip - a fact-finding mission for these art holidays. This could not have been more successful as I had by chance booked into a lovely Bed and Breakfast (Casa de Orange http://www.casadeorange.com/_en/main.html) just around the corner, which has exactly the right ambience that I was looking for. That takes care of the residence for the students.

As further luck would have it there was also another artist staying there at the same time (Natalia Romero http://www.nataliaromero.nl/) and would you believe it, she was actually giving painting lessons to a couple of students who were with her. As you can imagine we got talking and after sharing conversations and ideas we finally got down to the real business of discussing a new plan of running holidays together in future.

I could not be happier as I can be a bit shy, so the thought of setting the whole thing up on my own was a bit daunting. With someone else, with relevant experience it will be a real joy!

She was also delighted at the thought of having the company of another tutor in future so we are really looking forward to making proper plans over the next few months with the hope of taking bookings for next summer. An added plus is the fact that as she is a painter and I am primarily a sculptor we should be able to devise some very interesting programs of study for our students.

So now you can probably understand why I am so physically and mentally exhausted - but also quietly really excited. Life suddenly got more interesting!

Winter Heartbeat

This is my first 'real' painting. it is a watercolour painting on a canvas dimensions 80x60cm. i realise that this is an untraditional method of working, but i like the way the paint responds on the canvas - it is a bit easier than watercolour on paper but has its own challenges. This painting is finished and just awaiting a varnishing which should enrich the colours.

I began a series of 12 paintings in November with this one, which is representative of the month of December. My initial idea was to do a full series of paintings each one depicting a narrative about the particular month. I had three of these completed and then went off on a bit of a tangent. However, this does not worry me unduly as i know that really it was just a stepping off point. I have diversified into, illustration, linocuts (which i cannot print at the moment because i am lacking basic equipment and materials - but this is coming soon), various smaller watercolour paintings on paper, two medals which i have submitted to the British Art Medal Society for approval for one or both as a commissioned medal in the next few months and also one little sculpture of 'metamoth'.

there will be more about Metamoth in subsequent postings.

and i will endeavour to finish the series of 'the year in months' as well. But for now this is December or Winter's Heartbeat. I do not think it needs much explanation and leave it up to the viewer to find things about it that are intriguing and beautiful as they may wish.

The first day of the rest of my life

Good Morning,

Today i promised to enclose the first images of new work.

Here they come....

When looking at these works please bear in mind that they were my very first baby steps after a period in my life of great upheaval and change. These are little warm up excercises, in A4 format and smaller and were created at the end of 2008.

All the same - I was quite pleased with the way they worked out. Although it had been some time since i had made any art they still are 'in my style'

Now you may ask what is 'my style'? i suppose it would be easier for an outsider to answer this question but from my own perspective my work is usually nature based but within that theme i try to convey emotion and feeling. primarily I would use symbolism - so look up the symbolism of different plants - although sometimes the symbolism is personal - i have my own feelings about what things mean - if that makes it any easier! Hehehe!

Now, nature also contains us people and animals, so they will crop up in my work too. Plants are easier, less complicated, so that is why I started here. I love the sinuous form of plants. That is definitely in my style. i have to say i do adore 'Art Nouveau' which is decorative - i would apply that label to my own art - it is decorative. Even when the themes in my work are quite dark I try to make something beautiful out of it.

So - not to go on too long - I would rather the work speaks for itself: Nature, symbolism, beauty, emotion and feelings - those are the elements in my work. Oh yes, and fantasy and imagination will crop up a bit later on too!

the sinuous line in my 'Physalis' and the 'pearl' that lies within,
the sadness of the 'Crushed leaves',
and the dark beauty of the somnolent 'Opium Poppies'

I hope that helps