my life as an artist

For the next two Wednesdays, I will be giving workshops in London titled 'White on White'

Given that I am known as a 'colourist' - this theme came as quite a surprise to the organisers!

Today I was playing with water colour and white objects and came up with the following sketches: What I hope they demonstrate is just how much colour and tone there is when we place white objects against a white background.

Garlic.

White objects on a white cloth. Note that in this monochromatic water colour, it is the tones of light and shade that reveal each white object.

This exercise is excellent in moving towards an understanding that tone is every bit as important as colour in creating a painting. In indicating the tones throughout the painting we get more of a sense of the overall harmony and balance of the image.

Traditionally underpaintings were painted in this manner. There is a saying that if the underpainting works, then the over painting in colour will work. If however, the underpainting/composition does not work, no amount of fiddling around with colour with correct it!

Here is another example of a very large oil on canvas I painted many years ago...For this series of paintings, I began with monochromatic underpaintings. 'Quilt on Wicker Chair'.

It looks a little misty this morning, but it's supposed to be another sunny day in London.

A Bientot

Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday in November, the Sunday nearest to 11th November which is the anniversary of the end of WW1 at 11a.m. 1918.

I don't think any sane minded person wants or condones war, but I do know that it is vital that we remember those who gave, and continue to give their lives so that we might experience freedom.

People of my age will undoubtedly know heroes from WW2 within their own familes. In this post I want to talk about my own parents experience during that war, and at the same time remember those that died along side them.

On October 2nd 1942, my father was serving in the Royal Navy on the cruiser HMS Curacoa. The Curacoa's job at that time was to escort the Queen Mary, which was carrying 20,000 American troups from the 29th Infantry Division to Glasgow where they would then join the allied forces.

The Curacoa

Using a zig-zagging technique to confuse U-boats in the area, it was later said by those on the Queen Mary that the Curacoa seemed to be too close for comfort to the hulk of the massive ship.

In fact, the Queen Mary hit the Curacoa and sliced it in two. Moving at 25 knots, policy dictated that the Queen Mary could not stop to pick up survivors. It was too dangerous as the threat of U-Boats was always present.

My father was one of just a few survivors from the Curacoa. Many years later, sitting in my beautiful little cottage garden in Wales, totally free and at peace, I read a book about this incident, and it was then that the real impact of what so many young men and women experienced during that and all the other terrible wars, hit me.

Here is the cover of the book covering the incident.

My Mother was a nurse with the VAD, and was stationed at Halar Naval Hospital in Portsmouth during the Normandy landings (D Day 1944). She was one of 140 young nursing members of the VAD waiting to treat the thousands of wounded soldiers and sailors who would be brought there from the battle field.

My Mother says that during the 24 hours prior to D Day and the injured arriving at Haslar Hospital, there was a complete silence - they were totally unaware of the huge manouvres taking place. To this day she marvels at the discipline and organisation shown at that time.

By telling these two stories, it helps me to understand why it is so important that we remember all the young men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

By remembering those who have given so much, it also helps me to be grateful for the freedoms I have today, and the importance of not wasting any of this precious life.

A Bientot

I painted this portrait of Jean Frohling about twenty years ago during an important turning point in my life.

An 'ala prima' painting, (painted in one sitting) it is oil on canvas.

I do believe that sometimes people come into our lives at just the right moment, and this was definitely the case with Jean Frohling.

We first met, when Jean and her daughter Laura came to a workshop I was giving at the Chester County Arts Association. It was during the period when I had made the decision to 'step out on a limb' and live and work in my studio. At this time the building had no heat and running water, but I knew that if I were to rent a flat and keep the studio, I would have to get another job which would detract from my work as an artist, and that was not an option. In short, it was a defining moment for me.

Jean, a top notch interior designer, commissioned me to produce paintings for the many projects she was working on. Work which I was most grateful to receive.

She became a good friend and mentor in the real sense of the word. Fifteen years older than me Jean had a wealth of experience, and was able to guide me through some real mine fields. She became a teacher and counselor, and it was through her support and encouragement that I was empowered to move forward, and achieve the goal of making my studio habitable.

With her fantastic sense of humour and ability to cut through all the nonsence, Jean was a life saver for me. I will always be grateful for her help and love.

Today she, and her daughter Laura, are living in Asheville, North Carolina...a beautiful area. I do hope that I see Jean again before either one of us departs this zone!

Yesterday I met my friend Tony and returned his hat and then went to another theatre production at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. This time it was 'Miss Julie' by August Strindberg.

Written in 1888, sex and power dominate Strindberg's scandalous masterpiece. Dealing with class, love/lust and the battle of the sexes and the interraction among them, it is a story for all times.

However last night's production, in my view, failed to inspire. Nevertheless, I am delighted to have such a lovely theatre just ten minutes from where I live. Having been in my flat for almost one year, I can now begin to really enjoy the many attractions right on my door step.

It is another beautiful sunny day in London.

A Bientot

Going through portfolios yesterday I found this sketch of 'Sid the Boxer'.

When I first moved to London from Wales in the autumn of 2005 I stayed in Barnes, in south west London.

I found a bench in a little park between Barnes and Mortlake, which sits right on the river. It was there, while making some water colour sketches looking up river to Chiswick, that I met Sid the Boxer.

It was a picture perfect morning. Other than some people sitting on a bench on the other side of the park, I was alone. After an hour or so, the group got up and began to walk towards me. All of them, except for one very big man with a can of beer in his hand, walked down to the river bank. The big man came directly towards me and asked, as you do "You wanna paint my portrait"?

Surprising him, much more than he had surprised me, I said, "yes - sit down at the end of the bench I will paint one portrait for you and one for me".

It turned out that Sid the Boxer had spent most of his life in jail, specifically Wandsworth Prison, where, as he put it, he had respect from both the black and white inmates because of his prowess as a boxer. When I met him, he was living in a half way house. When I asked him what he had been in jail for, he said "attempted murder" Apparently, Sid who came across to me as a gentle giant, was also capable of serious outbursts, especially when too much alcahol was involved!

He was in his fifties, had been born into a 'travelling' family and had a daughter, who he hadn't seen or heard of in over thirty years. Clearly at one point he had been a very big, fit young man and a promising boxer. It was also clear, that through the accident of birth, Sid the Boxer's choices and options in life and been very limited.

After I painted the two portraits, Sid asked me if I had gone to a special school to learn to paint. I told him that I had gone to art college in Rochester, Kent. His response was that he had gone to the Borstal youth prison in Rochester! So there we were two people with very different life experiences, sitting on a park bench enjoying one anothers company.

I will always remember and be grateful for meeting Sid the Boxer, and often wonder where the portrait I gave him is hanging today. Maybe it's in Wandsworth Prison, who knows!

The second part of this post is about Tony's hat.

I began a portrait of my friend Tony Morris several months ago, and kept his hat so that I could work on that part of the portrait without him having to sit. Given that winter is just around the corner, it occurred to me yesterday that I should complete the painting of the hat so that Tony can wear it.

Here's where I left off a couple of months ago

Here's the painting after working on the hat yesterday.

I still have much work to do in the back ground. I will show again when completed.

Another lovely morning in London, with more seasonal temperatures.

A Bientot

Two names were mentioned in yesterday's post on the subject of feng shui - Adze Mixxie and Howard Thorne. Both men, now dead, played a very important part in my life.

I met them in West Chester, Pennsylvania at a critical time in my own life. Recently divorced I was living and working in my studio. Viewed has having gone mad by many of the locals, the fact was I had gone 'sane' for the first time in my life

West Chester, Pennsylvania was a very conservative town. Governed by the 'good old boy republican contingent', it was very wary of anything or anyone who was different! Today it has opened up in many ways, including the fact that my dear friend Carolyn Comitta is now the first female, democrat mayor of the town, ever!

Adze Mixxie was a gifted astrologer. Way ahead of his time, he was the first person I knew to talk about the importance of the internet, antioxidants, feng shui and much more. He practised tai chi every morning, and all in all was a fascinating human being.

I painted this oil on canvas of Adze about twenty years ago - 1.8m x 1.2 m. After his death in 1996 I lost track of where the portrait was. Then about six months ago it was shipped to me in London

Howard Thorne was a fantastic 'sign painter' of the old school. His original signs must be worth a great deal of money today. He had been a war artist in WW2, and was making installations long before it became the vogue, as well as being a prolific painter and all round creative.

For years I would observe Howard and his work from afar. I always felt too nervous to introduce myself to him. Then one day when I was living in my studio with no heat and running water, - a day when I almost thought I could give up the ghost, a letter was put under the door.

It simply said - 'I have just seen some of your portraits, and whatever you do never stop painting!' signed Howard Thorne! Even as I write this I am moved. That letter came at exactly the right time and heralded the beginning of a wonderful friendship, which continued to his death in 1995.

Before I left the United States to return home in 1993, Howard asked me to paint his portrait. I was the only aritst he had ever allowed to do this. I painted the portrait in his studio with one of his contemporary canvases behind him. A very special moment for me.

Howard died in 1995, and had left all his body parts to the University of Pennsylvania medical school. At the funeral, which my son Jarrod attended in my absence, was the portrait of Howard draped with the American flag to honour his time as a war artist in WW2.

The portrait is an oil on canvas approximately, 1.2 x 1 m

I am so grateful that both of these men played such an important part in my life.

I looks like yet another beautiful day in London.

A Bientot

Within the context of the group 'Hopechild1' fellow blogger 'Stmms', posed the questions - 'Do you have a favourite Building and is there something in feng shui'?

My first experience of working around the principles of Feng Shui were twenty years ago when I was given free rein by architect, Carl Massara to transform a large 100 year old building in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Massara had done an amazing renovation on the building, with a view to renting the spaces out as offices. However, after a year where there was no interest at all from prospective tenants, he came to me with a proposal.

He gave me three months to transform the building with my art work, at which time there was to be a grand opening. If tenants signed up after this event, then I would be given a free studio space in the building along with my fee. I love a challenge and so agreed to do this.

Before starting work on a mural, I asked my friend Adze Mixxie the astrologer if he would come and look at the building. Adze, always ahead of his time, was already talking about the benefits of feng shui. He immediately said, this building is on a 'sick site'

With his guidance I painted the following oil on panel, 8 x 5 meter mural in the very beautiful, 13 meter high atrium. Within the mural were hidden many symbols representing the history of the town, along with astrological symbols which Adze felt would benefit the building. Note some of my recurring image themes also feature in this mural, i.e. peacocks, birds of paradise, humming birds, and calla lillies.

He then said, that the large cross beams which hung beneath the glass roof, would have to be broken up with mobiles. One of the key princiiples to feng shui is keeping the positive (chi) energy flowing through a space. Any dead ends, or beams can interfere with this flow.

This is where another wonderful friend and artist Howard Thorne came into play. He suggested that I use 15 cm housing insulation, which could be easily cut with a jigsaw and at the same time be very light. That's when I got the idea for three 6 meter hanging kinetic mobiles. In other words mobiles that would gently move as air circulated through the antrium. I call these three mobiles - 'humanoids'

Here is a picture of them in situe and another of the installation process.

By the way the reason we are looking up, is because Howard Thorne, (who was in his early seventies then) was at the top of the ladder!!)

The bottom line is that once the mural and mobiles where installed it was as if some magic had taken place. People were already signing up to rent spaces, and by the time we had the gala event three months after I began work, all offices in the building were rented.

Adze always said, that what we had done was merely a temporary fix. That were the mobiles to be removed, the energy in the building would change. Several years after installation they were removed, and everything did change!

It turned out that there had been an Native American Indian burial site in the area of the building - and so I feel that Adze was right.

Since this time, I have used basic feng shui principles in my living spaces, and it really does make a huge difference to my general well being.

A Bientot

I have just read a post from 'Mala', one of my fellow bloggers, who talked about how when her family was young she had enjoyed with great gusto all the different events that parents celebrate alongside their children. In recognising that particular phase of her life is in the past, she is now able to enjoy her life today.

About a year and a half ago, my then 86 year old Mother, became ill. For the most part my Mother has always enjoyed very good health, and so during this past year, the knowledge that she is permanently housebound, and unable to do the things that she has always taken for granted, has come as a huge shock to her body and mind.

It struck me when I read Mala's post, that if we are to enjoy each season of our lives fully, we must move on from the past. Once again it's all about living in this day, and not days that have long gone, or days yet to come.

It has been very good for me to be with my Mother during this final chapter of her life. It has allowed me to see my own life more clearly, along with understanding more fully exactly who my Mother is.

I will be 64 in January and, although I feel extremely well and am fortunate to enjoy excellent health, the reality is that I have now entered a new and different phase in my own life. A phase that I am finding particularly freeing!

As a 'creative' this phase brings with it great promise. I think it was Picasso who said that an artists best work should be their last work. During the final phases of life, we can tap into all the knowledge, experience and information that we have gleaned over the years, and explore it more fully, without self imposed or societal restraints! Very freeing.

Two quick sketch of woods in the autumn

I leave here about lunch time to return to London.

I expected to awake to rain in Kent, but so far sunshine and some clouds....and definitely a few degrees cooler, which I like.

A Bientot

Among all the mundane and often depressing news, this weekend I came across a lovely article in my newspaper.

A tiny self portrait of the great renaissance master Caravaggio, can be seen clearly for the first time after technology was used to peer through decades of grime.

The tiny image is hidden in a carafe of wine in his 1597 oil painting, 'Bacchus'

Here, along side the painting is the 'detail' of the carafe with the self portrait which appears in the reflected light that plays on the surface of the wine! Amazing!

At the beginning of the 21st century with our mobile phones, computers, iPods and generally more transient way of life, it's reasurring to know that the work of such a great master can still amaze and surprise us, four hundred years after his death.

I am off to my Mothers this morning, back tomorrow evening.

From my window it appears to be a beautiful day - with clear skies. Gone are yesterday's wind and rain.

A Bientot

Yesterday I went to a matinee performance of the play 'Alison's House' by American born playwright Susan Glaspell. It was shown at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.

It was one of more beautifully performed and crafted plays I have seen in a long time.

'Eighteen years since Alison Stanhope, the country's foremost poet died, now the house she worked and lived in must be sold. However, the house holds secrets, raising questions for her surviving family. Namely, is it right for the family to protect itself and its past, or does Alison belong to everyone'?

Inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson, the play won playwright Susan Glaspell the 1930 Pulitzer Prize.

Set on the last day of the nineteenth century, I feel that the play captured an American quality and spirit which we tend not to acknowledge or even be aware of at the beginning of the 21st century.

Having been married into an east coast family, I was fortunate to know some much older American women who had the kind of spirit and tenacity shown by the women in the play, and the playwright, Susan Glaspell.

Susan Glaspell, 1876-1948, along with her husband George Cram Cook, playwright and director were founding members of the 'Provincetown Players', an amateur group of writers and artists who at the beginning of the 20th century wanted to create a company committed to producing new plays by exclusively American playwrights. Among others, Eugene O'Neill was part of this exciting group of young artists.

Most of them lived in Greenwhich Village New York, and spent their summers in Povincetown, Massachusetts, which sits at the extreme tip of Cape Cod. A wonderful area to visit.

Given that this was such an American play, and I came away with the good feelings that I have when I think of this era in america and particularly the women with their amazing pioneer spirit, today I will show two very American paintings.

I painted these in the United States twenty years ago. Part of a large series of work, they featured objects which symbolise my life in America at that time.

This is a detail of a very large oil on canvas. All the objects, including the very old spinning wheel, were either owned by me, or other people who I knew. Quilts, a continuing theme in this series, symbolise a time in American when the early settler's values were still in tact.

Another large canvas encompassing gifts given to me by American friends.

Well it's doing what they said it would do today, which means here in London we have much needed rain, with wind....a great day for staying home and relaxing.

A Bientot

I lived in the market town of Crickhowell which sits in the Usk Valley from 1993 til 2005. This is where the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons meet. Designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' and part of the Brecon Beacons National Park, people come from around the world to enjoy its particular beauty.

I was never really interested in landscape painting, other than to make quick sketches for my personal records, until I moved to Crickhowell. What I found in this beautiful area was an ever changing and dramatically beautiful land and skyscape. There were times when the drama of it all was so intense, it took my breath away.

Using some of my rapid sketches produced from my daily walks in the area, over the next few posts I want to explore more deeply the intensity of the feelings I experienced as I observed this ever changing colour and light.

This view from Gelli Rhyd Farm - was from the Llangenny side of Tabletop Mountain. A very fast pen sketch.

In the following watercolours I begin to look at the intense colour drama. It is impossible to capture the often rapidly changing land and skyscapes, and so much of it has to be stored within.

These water colours are 'impressions' from my memory bank.

We might be getting some rain in London this weekend, and our first autumn winds. After an amazing Indian summer, no complaints

A Bientot