Thursday 26 July 2012

Post 22 Break from the studio

It's been a real mixed bag of weather since my last post. In the last two weeks we have had 7 dry days, two of these have been sunny the rest just dry.

We have tried to be super flexible and made every provision to take advantage of these dry days ...no hardship in this but it does mean being ready at the drop of a hat to change your plans at the last minute. I can't remember a time when we have been checking the forecast so avidly !

In amongst the going and coming back, the packing and the unpacking of rucksacks I have managed to get some more paintings on the go. The process of osmosis is still at play and my current inspiration surrounding crags and rocks is not surprising. When you spend time in a particular landscape and environment it tends to seep into your sub conscious.

Some of the days have been really overcast and broody, others the cloud cover intermittent, and then beautifully sunny like yesterday. The sandstone rock in Northumberland is really beautiful on a bright day.
 The colours,textures and  weather induced formations  come into their own on a sunny day.It's as if the  the sunlight reveals the rocks hidden  secrets. 
Bowden Doors, Northumberland.



Lovely jugs, aka Monkey Toes !!


Nature 's sculpture

Walking out from Bowden, overcast but humid

Bright blue skies at Kyloe
Small oil & wax on card

Small oil & wax on card



I have no desire to paint the rock formations as such. I have come to know these paces through rock climbing of course but as an artist what attracts me to them and the landscape in which they sit is the overall textures and colours of the rock and how these elements interact with the different weather conditions. 
The bees wax is a useful material when used underneath oil paint..it is suggestive rather than being descriptively specific. This is an element which I really like ....it's unpredictability and revelatory nature is akin to how the light can open up the surface of the sandstone. With the rock it's something that is not always obvious and when it comes to my painting is doesn't always work but when it does it feels like a little pocket of magic. Very satisfying.

Wheat field, cypresses and wind  
Finishing off the week last Sunday we climbed a number of multi pitches in the Lakes. All very enjoyable but I was utterly taken aback to find out how literally freaked out I felt due to the gusty conditions, especially on Sunday !! 
I kept thinking about Van Gogh, which might sound strange but I am sure there is some connection between windy weather and madness ? I didn't exactly feel like I was going mad but for the whole of our time climbing  on  Troutdale Pinnacle I felt tense and not at ease. The whole atmosphere was dramatic and foreboding.
 Oh well nothing like a little bit of drama  to help make you put  the calmer, less exciting moments  in life into perspective when they come around.

Looking down from Grey Crag onto Buttermere water

Climbers on Suaviter, Grey Crag

John after the traverse on Troutdale Pinnacle

Gillean makes the moves !

Derwent water

Half way up Little Chamonix, wind and rain coming in up the valley.

Friday 13 July 2012

Post 21 Rainy days

Rain clouds over Fatlips
Green Barley fields 
How about a post that doesn't mention the weather ?! I have to say I am thoroughly washed up complaining about it as I suspect everyone else is too. After several weeks of pretty wet weather we thought things couldn't get much worse but we've just had 4 days of solid rain give or take a few hours. Yesterday we took off to the Lakes for the day and actually saw some blue skies and felt some warm sunshine, incredible. The west of the country has been getting the better deal this year. Funny to think that Keswick on average is one of the wettest places in the country....it  seems to be one of the sunnier places these past few weeks.

 Anyway we had a nice experience at Castle Rock crag, apart from a great days climbing we had the pleasure of meeting Sir Chris Bonington ! What an inspiration, there he was at the grand age of 77 shimmying up a  hard severe like a man half his age. Such a gracious, friendly and good humoured individual.


Needless to say my inscapes have been coming along. I've had a good spell of creative output. Cloudy skies, wet trails and plenty of studio time are resulting in a fairly interesting painting time for me. Thanks to the awful summer weather the  fear that I wouldn't have much time to work has been unfounded.  The value of one good day as opposed to days of ponderous nothingness in the studio is something I have to remind myself of when things aren't going so well. At least that hasn't been the problem this last while, although the one good hour rule still applies...if you are lacking inspiration,motivation or both get out no matter what the weather is doing.
In the meantime lets hope the jetstream gets back to where it usually is positioned this time of year, wishful thinking ? I hope not.
Small cloudy oil

100x100cm Oil and wax on canvas  Work in progress

Quick water colour sketch 

Working out compositions

Sunday 1 July 2012

Post 20 Inscapes

 You can't fail to notice the past few weeks in terms of the weather...I know we as a nation regard it as our favourite conversation starter but this is getting ridiculous! I have given up chipping in at the check out, the post office, the dentist, the chemist ...enough!!
It's a rum situation for those who have been flooded, some incredible images here. I am just thankful we live in a slightly elevated position and that here in the Borders we have mercifully missed the worst of the downpours so far.

In the studio I've  been busy, new paintings are here. It's a veritable rain fest!! Joking aside it has been difficult to get going..inspiration has been tinged with frustration. The usual no go situation with regards to getting some solid time outdoors. Any days we have had time has not been on my side with regard to research.....climbing has taken precedence and I'm not complaining on this score.

Inspiration comes in many guises and when you least expect it something  pops up and gets the  heart racing again and you feel it's all worthwhile. An artist who's work I have admired for a while now is Minnie Fry.



Windscape Etching 21.5x30.5cm

Moody Skies  Etching 23x3cm

Storm Clouds  Etching 19.5x29.5cm
Her beautiful etchings restore my faith in abstraction. In her short bio on  Eye Storm a reference is made to' inscapes'....

"Her semi-abstract landscapes are the very definition of what the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins referred to as ‘inscapes’; emotional responses that, although derived from external reality, steer clear of the direct depiction of the traditional landscape."


I really can identify with this notion of inscapes, it releases a multitude of emotions and  possibilities with the  promise of more things to come.