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Trecking in Nepal

2012-01-09T03:22:00.000-08:00

Had an amazing trip in November, trecking in Nepal. It was hard work, but not too bad and I would recommend anyone who is reasonably fit to go, as it is the only way of truly experiencing the landscape of this amazing region of the world. Of course I was also making a 'visual' diary of my experiences, with camera and sketchbook and this was such an inspirational trip that I'm hoping to develop my work for quite a while to come.
I have developed some sketches and plan to do a series of oil paintings and prints, but am sure where it all will lead. There are some sketches to view on my website at
www.sueengland.co.uk/latest work

The colour contrasts were very strong and we were lucky enough to have crystal blue skies for the entire trip, except in Katmandu where the smog and pollution tend to obliterate everything.
The linear quality of the landscape and the inevitable flapping prayer flags have also left their mark in my minds eye.

'Up North'

2010-01-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

Have been reading a book called 'True North' by Martin Wainwright (appropriate surname!). If you hail from 'Up North', I recommend it as a study looking at the mixed perceptions of what the north stands for and the unfortunate stereotypes which have developed over the decades. It also lead me to a group of artists called The Ashington Group, miners from the North East and a chap called Ian Burke whose lino prints I particularly like.
As I am going up to Lancashire for nearly 2 weeks on Sunday, I have resolved to try and get some references which relate to my own childhood and roots although Leyland now has even less going for it than it did in the 50s and 60s. As I'm into wet streets and reflections at the moment, perhaps I will be able to combine the two.

Fantastic Mr Fox

2010-01-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

We seem to have aquired a fox around the place and he is very inquisitive and tame. Lovely to see him against the white fields, so elegant and aloof. Walked down the lane to the railway bridge. It was very hazardous, thick snow and rutted, black ice, but got some sketches and photos; everything looks so much more attractive in the snow-any attempt to capture it on paper seems pointless, so I just soaked in the colours and atmosphere. Crows and magpies circling; gunshot sound of breaking ice.

White out

2010-01-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

The south of England grinds to a halt under 3" of snow-how do they cope in Europe, or Russia? Or as one woman interviewed in Yorkshire wryly commented on the news "It's winter-what do those people 'down south' expect, this is normal up here".
Yes, we from the north are made of sterner stuff!
Stayed at home as my art class was cancelled, and painted and sketched out ideas. It was warmer in the studio than in the house. Did some sketching in town at the weekend of the scurrying figures and reflections. If the snow continues, I may brave the fields tomorrow.Saw some lovely paintings of winter on a blog called The Blue Lantern-an artist called William Degouve-never heard of him!

Ring out the old...ring in the new

2010-01-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

The rain, at last gave way to a crisp, white New Years Day. Had a walk along the shoreline between Hayling Island and Emsworth; white seagulls and swans against the dark water and black crows against the pale blue sky-magic.
Took a bike ride into Chi the next day at dusk for sketches and photos. Had great fun with St Richard and his rather frightening shadow on the wall, but couldn't see my camera settings in the dark! A very scary ride home on the bike with no street lights to help. Got some good images to work from. I'll be posting more sketches here this year as 'work in progress'.

Tick tock, tick tock...

2009-11-16T22:41:00.000-08:00

The summer and autumn have seen me working, but not posting! The allotment growing season took up time and dedication, not to mention the preserving and helping out various 'oldies' has also taken its toll-who said retirement gave you more time?! I do paint and draw as often as I can and have enjoyed a couple of short courses and still attend a weekly art group and fortnightly life drawing, which offer support and stimulation. At the moment I am preparing for a joint exhibition in our local Arts Centre, starting on December 6 till 19. I have also got some work in a gallery in Haywards Heath and plan to 'tout my wares' a bit more in the New Year. I still love 'the head' and have worked from myself when desperate and my Mum and Aunt whenever I get the opportunity. They are now 95 and 100 respectively, so I shouldn't hang about...tick tock...
The ordinary and 'everyday' still fascinate, but I have been doing too much 'flitting' from idea to idea, subject to subject and need to get stuck in to a more thematic approach and follow ideas through. That will be my New Years resolution-once Christmas is out of the way-tick tock, tick tock...

Open Doors Studio Art Trail

2009-05-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was my first exposure to an Open Doors Trail. I had underestimated quite how exhausting it was going to be, and we have to do it all again next weekend! It's good to talk to people about what you are doing and I guess they wouldn't have picked you out if they weren't interested. We spent all last week turning my dining room into a 'gallery'-looked pretty good-might even leave it for a while! One disadvantage for the participants is that they can't easily get round to see their fellow 'artists' work.
Sold quite a bit which is always gratifying, and feel inspired to continue by other people's enthusiasm.
If you get the chance to join in something similar in your area I would recommend you have a go, but save the wine for when evryone has gone-you will need it!

'Who's been sitting in MY chair...'

2009-03-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Latest everyday objects to tickle my fancy are chairs-Like most objects they can say so much about their environment, social class, time in history, character-who was last sitting in them! And there are some amazing shapes out there from high Rococco to Bauhaus cool. I love the old bashed about ones and wish mine were a bit scruffier or had more to say. I was recently in an old people's home and they were exactly 'right' for their location, with or without occupants. I do also like that idea of a presence just gone, a fleeting shadow,a ghost of past occupants. Not got far with this one yet, but am enjoying looking around. It's also interesting how often chairs appear in the 19/early 20th century masters, within interiors. Matisse loves them, usually draped in exotic fabric and of course there is poor old Van Gogh and his lonely rush bottomed companion. Have a look at Nick Bodimeade, a local Sussex artist-great FUN!

Heads or Tails

2009-02-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

The last thing I would ever have thought I would get into, is trying to paint people. For one thing, I didn't really know where to start and for another I've always thought people are particularly difficult. And why bother painting them when you can take a photo?
But how exciting it's been getting to grips with 'heads'. I came across 2 artists in particular, Alison Lambert and Paul Richards (see Interesting Links) who I really liked and who exemplify the difference between painting heads and what we would normally call 'portraiture'.
It certainly has helped having a two-way exchange with the subject, almost like a visual conversation. And does it matter if one doesn't get a 'photographic likeness'? Should we be trying to go beyond the obvious to the inner personality?
I am lucky in having several 'oldies' available to me to sit and older faces certainly have there stories. Even had a go at a 3D sculpture in clay which was a real eye opener. It's also been fascinating just looking at portrait masters like Lucien Freud, Stuart Pearson Wright, Victoria Russell and even Francis Bacon-(you love him or you hate him!)
So this is one subject area I will be continuing with; I keep staring at peoples heads and assessing how I would start them. What funny eyes that bloke had on the bus, and surely that old womans' nose was far too long for the rest of her face...she would look better with a light behind her!

Into 2009

2009-01-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

Another 3 months gone by but I have been busy drawing and painting when I could! Christmas and New Year was a blur and best forgotten as all the family had flu. A new grandson last week (Reuben George-he's gorgeous) has also deflected me a bit, but am enjoying a new project on 'heads' so have been busy drawing anyone who will sit for me-luckily I have 4 'oldies' I can trap into sitting still for an hour or so, and have also used photos as reference after the sittings. I have started to work up a few of the images in oils, but it will take several weeks work. Also did a clay head from a model this week, which I thoroughly enjoyed; it's great getting your hands dirty! Had several paintings in a local exhibition just before Christmas and sold 5 of them, so was very pleased, and got a lot of positive comments which always spurs one on. I got a bit of a shoe fettish, all shoes kindly loaned from my daughter who actually wears these beauties.

4 months later...

2008-10-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

The summer has been and gone and I haven't been keeping things up to date. It's been a hectic time, with family traumas and several long drives to Lancashire, but have managed to do some art work too!
Had a visit to Wales (wet), Scotland (wet) and the Lake District (!!) and did some sketching which later came in handy for a project called 'Journeys'. Still lots of ideas to develop,but at least I've done some ground work. Found a landscape artist called Lewis Noble and am following a project he is involved with at Chatsworth House. Having also had a project based on 'Reflections', I am very interested in his current work.
Had 2 paintings accepted in the Portsmouth Open Art competition and exhibition, and 2 in the Chichester Stride Open, winning a small prize in the latter for one of my crow paintings! All good fun.
Haven't managed my target of at least 2 full days a week painting/drawing every week this summer, but am hoping things are settling down now, so I should be able to post some newer work soon. The 'studio' is still nice and warm, but am anticipating bleaker conditions soon. Still, one has to suffer for one's art!

Local Inspiration

2008-06-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've seen Ivon Hitchens paintings before, after all, he was a West Sussex resident and painted most of his best work locally. But I've never really LOOKED. How does he make oil paints look like water colours? His landscapes are amazing and look so harmonious, so 'easy' and spontaenious. The colours are subtle, yet strong and I can't wait to do my landscape painting week in July, not to try and 'copy', but to admire and to try emulate the 'style'. The sizes and shape of the canvases are also interesting-I think I'll need to invest in a good big brush!
Have recently been side-tracked into a few 'flower paintings', as the garden is so colourful and stimulating. Can't say I'm really into such an obvious subject matter, but again, Hitchens inspired me to use what's in front of me. How many paintings of poppies are there I wonder!
Mines the one underneath!

Memories

2008-05-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am doing a project called 'Snapshots' at the moment in my art class and it has taken me down 'Memory Lane'. I had this image in my head from years ago, and knew I had a photo somewhere (which turned out to be pretty grotty-ideal apparently!). Several hours of searching old albums and I eventually located it. Of course the reality and the memory were different, but I thought it a good starting point for trying to combine the two, and perhaps capture the elusive emotion and joy of an autumn day. I have done 4 versions of this so far and could go on ad-infintitum at the moment, but this is the best so far. I now have several other ideas waiting-going on holiday has rather interrupted the flow. A recent photo of my grandchildren on swings is another starting point and seems related to the original image-children playing is pretty universal despite time passing and I like that idea of a thread connecting generations.

A room of my own

2008-05-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

At last! I have A 'studio', a space of my own where I can leave things out, have all my materials together and hide away. My summerhouse arrived last Thursday and with the help of the 2 men in my life, it is up and functioning with electricity and floor down. No curtains yet (joking) and shelves and bench to come but I've actually used it and it's great.
Latest work is on a 'snapshot' project and I'm working from a photos snapped many years ago of my children running in the woods and throwing leaves. Memory and time are involved and there are other images in the pipeline based around movement and children.
Also enjoyed life painting last week for the first time in 40 years! Need a lot more practice with that one, but very stimulating.

The English Lakes

2008-04-28T01:46:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a mini-holiday with my sister and 94 year old mother in the Lake District. I haven't been there for nearly 30 years-why not? It's fantastic! I didn't have chance to do much sketching but took photos and will try and do some work using these. The colours are what I am trying to retain, the bracken and the lime green of moss and the abstract quality of the fells and stone walls. Unfortunately the only gallery I went in was full of perfectly competent water colours, non of which in my opinion had any 'soul'! What seemed like hundreds of paintings which all looked the same except for the name of the location on the bottom. I must go back to find some more interesting artists, who I'm sure are working in, and getting inspiration from, that stunning environment. Of course photos, no matter how 'artistic' give a completely different 'feel' to what we see when sketching and what we see through a viewfinder. For me, they are only reference points; there seems absolutely no point in trying to 'copy' what the photos has captured in another medium.

Beer and chocolates

2008-04-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

Bruges-According to the natives, all we need for a healthy lifestyle is their beer and chocolates, so I just followed the advice. Got a bit satiated with 'Flemish Primitives', but those guys (and they were, of course, all guys) could paint. Mind you, after a while, one Madonna looks much like another...Would love to see the size of the brushes they used. Van Eyke on the left, Horst Becking on the right
Not a lot else to see on the 'art' front, but came across a gallery with work by Horst Becking, who I had never heard of but liked. His work did look like it had been done in his sketch book though! Took some photos and made a few sketches myself, but not enough. I really am struggling with the sketch book work and think it might help if I but myself a really nice one! The buildings in Bruges are of course very picturesque, but I've never really been into buildings, unlike my old friend Caroline-have a look at 'To Market to Market'.

Progress on my proposed 'studio' (I use the word in a very general sense) has got as far as arguing about the size of the garden shed/summer house. But pegs in the grass are a start and I'm hoping the spring weather will spur on my husband to his own creative urges-namely, getting the base laid. Today saw some basic drawing, finishing my 'texture' project and that old favourite 'the apple' as a painting subject. It's not as 'green' as this!

Kid's stuff

2008-03-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

Isn't kids art great? My 4 year old grandson loves to paint and draw and gets stuck in with a frightening concentration which I wish I could match. And he doesn't take kindly to any direction or suggestions. His 'blue' immediately reminded me of Yves Klein's 'Blue monochrome', and Freddie's insistence that no other colour was needed added to the connection. It's just blue! The Klein is the one on the left

The same with composition-it's purely instinctive and natural; no great debates, pre-sketches, trials or anguish about just 'where' a shape should go, bam, it's there, and it works. Would that we adults could keep this pure, un-manipulated intuition. The Roger Hilton painting I think has the same instinctive quality, but I would love to know how quickly he reached his final composition!
Roger Hilton's in the one in the middle, the 'monster on the right, just because I like it.

Looking at other artists

2008-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

I always find it stimulating to look at the work of other painters and artists, especially ones you've not heard of, or seen before. Doing a project on 'texture' at the moment has led me to look at Kurt Jackson, Brain Graham, Ian McKeever, Margo Maeckelberghe, (the latter, entirely due to listening to Woman's Hour!) and lots of others. It can be quite daunting to think of all these wonderful professional artists beavering away producing such interesting work; For me at the moment, it's not the end result that dominates my efforts, but the processes involved. I've been getting a bit sidetracked lately, and this next week, I've promised myself to get back to actually 'painting' and doing lots of sketch book work. On a recent skiing holiday, I sketched and took working photos based on snow an the marks skis make on the mountains. I remember doing the same thing about 20 years ago, so I obviously still find the same subject matter interesting!
Snow study-mixed media on board

Blasts from the past

2008-02-26T01:32:00.000-08:00

Inspired by an old friend to look for sketch books from my school days, I found some early attempts. It was quite sobering looking so far back! I wasn't much good at most things; I was a bit clumsy, had a sister who was musical and could sing beautifully and I was in the 'C' stream at a grammar school, having confounded everyone by passing my 11+. But a new art teacher in my early teens showed me the possibilities and opened a door - a way to escape my 'roots' and head for the dizzyingly sophisticated lights of Manchester and an Art College, 30 miles down the road. My family viewed my new-found ambitions with great trepidation. 'Art students' had a certain reputation in the 60s! These drawings are from sketch books from my days in Leyland, while still at school and being taught by Mr May.
Caroline, Fox Lane Leyland, visit to the Lake District all early 1960s

This 'One Painting a Day' thing

2008-02-14T12:44:00.000-08:00

I'm all for disciplining yourself to paint and draw every day, but finishing a painting, bothering to photograph it and load it up to a website EVERY DAY, seems to inevitably invite a compromise in quality-or am I missing something? Yes, sometimes you can get things right in what seems to be a very short period of time, but as someone said to me only the other day, that 'speed' doesn't take account of a life time of experience, all the preliminary sketches, trials, rejects, over painting, re-drawing, thinking time...
If you're going to jump on the bandwagon, it seems to me the whole idea is better suited to 'One Photo a Day' rather than 'One Painting', more like a visual diary and save the daily painting for doing just that, painting every day but without the pressure of having to finish and 'publish' it.

Getting started

2008-02-11T02:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted to get back to basics. After 30 years as a graphic designer, and working in front of a computer screen all day, I needed to start getting my hands dirty again!
To that end, last autumn I enrolled in art classes, did some short courses and plan to do a summer school and continue with the weekly discipline of working in a studio with other aspiring 'artists'.
'What to paint?' is a frequently asked question, but 'What NOT to paint' seems more appropriate! We see and absorb images all the time; we are moved by the world around us. Dirty dishes on the table, light on a stone, textures in the snow, frosty vegetables in the allotment-any observation is worth recording as that first step to just 'making marks'. Am getting stuck in, and just DOING IT - It's like being back in the sixth form!