This afternoon I finished the picture I mentioned recently, of magnolias from our garden. It is not the best work I have done, but it is certainly a workmanlike piece which will serve its purpose. As I had nothing else immediately in mind to do I decided that it might be an opportune moment to … Read more
I wonder if you know the old saying: For the lack of a nail the horse was lost. For the lack of a horse the rider was lost. For the lack of a rider the battle was lost. For the lack of a battle the war was lost. All for the lack of a nail. … Read more
I had an interesting afternoon today, visiting both the Apothecary Gallery, where I am to exhibit next month, and Andy Rushworth, who frames most of my work for me. On both occasions I found that I came away with the same message, namely, that attention to detail is important. I use a professional framer for … Read more
To many (if not most) painters the question of framing one’s work is a problematic one. To begin with, to have work framed by a professional frame-maker is expensive, and we are all aware of the possible savings to be made by alternatives. It is possible, of course, to buy off-the-shelf frames. A colleague of … Read more
I decided that this year I would enter work again for the Sheffield Open exhibition. After my “art retreat” earlier in the year I have a small collection of pictures which are likely to attract local interest on yjat region. In keeping with my usual practice I have photographed all my work, for reference purposes, … Read more
I have just finishing painting over a canvas in order to re-use it. This will be its third incarnation. Is this excessive parsimony? Actually, I think not. The previous images on it never really amounted to much, and are not worth preserving. The decisive consideration, however, is that the steady accumulation of texture, showing through … Read more
…. you’ll always get what you’ve always got. That’s a favourite saying of my wife, and today I took it seriously by taking work to a new framer. I shall be interested to see what I learn from the experience. It’s not that I am greatly dissatisfied with the framer I’ve been using up until … Read more
I have spent the day making new mounts for several of my pictures, in order to recycle old picture frames. After having managed to do only two of these I am beginning to wonder very seriously whether it is worth the effort. Now that I have formed a reasonably accurate idea of the number of … Read more
I have spent a good part of my time recently going through my storage racks in order to find picture frames that might be recycled in preparation for my exhibition during the coming summer. It has been a very frustrating, and largely unsuccessful, activity. I managed to find an old frame that suited perfectly one … Read more
Despite the popular old saying, that this is not possible, today I demonstrated convincingly that it is not true. I have just finished an innovative new piece with which I’n rather pleased. (I think I qualify as an “old dog”.) It is based upon sections sawn through the trunk of an old laurel tree I … Read more