Oil pastels on paper…basically these are like adult crayons! they come in a beautiful range of colours (no pre mixing necessary!) and by using one over another you can blend them.

Another commission, another emotional handover! It sounds like Monty was a very special dog to many people.

If you’d like to commission a painting please get in touch.

Whilst being mindful of your objective - you must think about every single colour you mix, the size of the brush mark, the placement of it on the canvas…every painting you see below is a million tiny decisions. It is impossible to get them all right- that’s what keeps us painting!

A fabulous Saturday spent having random discussions and oil painting the beautiful model that is @starofthesea.art with @neilmoorepainter and @julieswinsco. I might add some warm colours to the light sections on the blue one this week if I get time.

In this workshop we discussed the work of ‘The Pointillists’, adopting their principles to create an ‘Pointillist’ style painting from a Still Life. It’s not as easy as it looks.  You have to consider the colour, shape and direction of every single brushmark, a thousand tiny decisions in one small painting.

For all the creative introverts out there that have alternative ways to speak….

Great work from a group of students in a ‘Floral Still Life’ workshop last week. We were looking at arranging and lighting a jar of seasonal flowers with different coloured backgrounds, creating interesting and unusual compositions and colour relationships. 

A recent 45 minute talk & 1 hr demo of how to use a ‘split-primary’ palette to paint a still life, to a very friendly and engaging group of artists at ‘Napton Art Group’ this month.

As a rule I don’t paint dressed up dogs…

Spring has well and truly arrived at Micklem’s Farm in Berkshire - we couldn’t have picked a better day yesterday to be capturing light and painting landscapes in the style of ‘The Impressionists’.

You can’t draw the figure as a static object- it is always moving - even it if is only through breath.  This is why it is so important to spend lots of time carefully working your edges- to create the impression of movement, to soften features, to capture light.

When I draw something, or someone, it feels like I am not only looking them- but really ‘seeing’ them…

Try to paint the essence of the scene rather than the scene itself. Remember the light, the temperature, the atmosphere, who you were with.  What triggered you to take the photo- why there? Why then? - paint that!

The 4/7 drawings that just about survived the bin from last nights life drawing class…#RUSTY

Your ideas need time to develop so don’t be afraid to try a scene multiple times and see how it evolves.

Autumn, Archery Lawn, Leamington Spa

The students had a wonderful creative day painting a floral still life in oils. Focusing on tone, colour mixing and brushwork.

When teaching there is always a point later in the day where I find myself saying to students - don’t be a slave to what you see - ‘you’re the artist - you do what works for the painting from this point’…

Completed student paintings from a recent workshop at the beautiful Micklem’s Farm Creative Workshops. Whilst the students are all using the same guidelines, I am keen that they have the freedom to find their own style, take some risks and experiment. It’s amazing how different they all are.

Bandstand Bailando, Brighton Beach