All posts tagged: artist

Frequently Asked Questions

Published by

I get asked a lot of questions at exhibitions or through social media. Although I try to catch up on responding to comments, there is currently a lag. As a way of answering some of the very commonly asked questions regarding me and my work, I have compiled a list of FAQs to answer some! What materials do you use? I paint in oil paints. A few years ago I tried my hand at mixed media work, and have also dabbled with watercolours. Aside from my sketches (which are mostly charcoal or graphite) I work exclusively in oil paints. Oil paints are given a stigma for being difficult to use. Too thick, too hard to use, too long to dry… etc. This depends on how you paint and use your materials. For me, oil paints were the only option in moving forwards with my work, the traditional and classic tools for painting. (In my opinion) Because I had my heart set on painting with oils, I figured out how to make the material work for …

New Limited Editons / Born Free Foundation

Published by

Introducing two new Limited Edition Prints ‘Felid I & II’  These two colourful feline pieces, originally are oil on wood panel, but have been released as editions of 75, with 10 Artist Proof copies and are fully endorsed by the Born Free Foundation. I worked with the Born Free Foundation for The Spectrum Collection with a percentage of proceeds donated to the charity, proudly raising over £4000 The Born Free Foundation work to end suffering and protect species in the wild by providing rescue and care, freeing animals from appalling conditions and misery as well as conservation efforts. They are a wonderful and dedicated charity and I am hugely proud  to have my work endorsed by them, and hopefully raise money for a great cause, as yet again a percentage of proceeds will be donated straight to their efforts. These Limited Edition prints are now available from affiliate galleries mentioned on my website, look for your local stockist, or contact Wishbone Publishing at info@wishboneart.co.uk where they will locate your nearest available gallery and prints.  

New Collection Launch – March 2016

Published by

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been working lately on a new collection due to be released in spring 2016. I did not waste a moment before diving straight into a batch of pristine white, blank canvases and making as much mess as possible. I am currently knee deep in what is one of my largest collections to date, and no one can save me now.. (Go on without me!) As the paintings have developed and taken shape, I have become increasingly excited to show people what I have been working solidly on, and not being able to show any of it yet is painfully difficult! However a date is now set for the launch of this upcoming collection. I am very excited that Robertson Fine Art in Edinburgh will be showing my entire collection of originals from March 25th 2016. I will be at the venue on Friday 25th March evening from 6pm, and on Saturday 26th from 10am. Thank you Robertson Fine Art for undertaking my mammoth collection! I am beyond excited …

New Collection / Spring 2016

Published by

One of the most beneficial ways for me to work, on a personal level, is to produce a ‘body of work.’ It has been a while since I have worked solidly on a collection of paintings. The Phosphenes Collection was released in spring 2015, which led to a period of being inundated with commission requests, following on from Phosphenes and the Spectrum Collection. (Released Oct 2014) In between this influx of work I have managed to work on subjects and styles that I couldn’t hold back on trying in order to keep up my own personal rate of progression and creativity,  peppering small boutique collections of Limited Edition prints throughout the year. With commission waiting lists reaching up to 12 months for an original, it can become increasingly hard to expand and grow with your style and improve on your talent. Commissions can hold a different type of creative beauty in having a framework to adjust to make your own. If the subject is chosen, or a certain size or shape canvas is necessary, then working to fit these …

Why doodling is so important.

Published by

Every morning when I have a long stretch of painting ahead of me I find it beneficial to doodle before I start anything else. I started sketching as a warm up last year and I found that it kick started something in my brain which made my painting flow much easier. For anything that requires any artistic dimension, drawing is one of the fundamentals to the practice. I have known painters, sculptors, architects, designers and jewellers, and although their finished products are rarely a physical drawing, drawings formed the basics of their work and feature at some point in the process. Despite all of the technology needed for the varying careers that rely on some artistic licence, there is something raw and direct about a drawing that photoshop or CAD just can’t meet with. There is an amazing quality to seeing a sketched logo design with construction marks showing, jewelley designs on graph paper, or raw and fast architectural studies in sketchbooks. Being able to draw out what you see in your mind is a way of …

Plagiarism in Art – An Artist’s Perspective

Published by

To help me shape this Pandora’s Box of a topic,  I have spoken at length to other artists and people who work with their own creative content. This scope is large and can span over many varying careers. But the answer we all seemed to agree on was the same. In the nature of all creative content, originality is a fleeting concept. If the idea has already been done unbeknownst to you, then it may about to be done, unbeknownst to them. This is my perspective, with opinions peppered through that I have learnt along on the way to writing this. I began using this blog as part of a project for my 3rd year of my Art Degree; under the instructions to show that you could create an online space that held information about your work. I noticed that I could increase the footfall towards my page. Then in 2013 I took social media platforms more seriously after finding them to be a great place to share my paintings and garner views and interest in my …

‘Flutter’ Limited Edition Prints

Published by

A common question that I am asked is the distinction between ‘finishing or abandoning’ a painting (in terms of completing work) and which one applies to me?  There are two very different feelings when a painting is complete and is at most an unpredictable part of the process for me. Occasionally my idea is crystal clear enough to see when the finished version is in sight, or be unable to stop until I meet this mark in my mind. This is finishing the work that you set out with a cause, process and visual in mind. Abandoning the painting is a very different but equally as satisfying feeling, in when you reach a stage in the work where you feel it is right to stop. For whatever reason, it may be that the balance is right and anything more could be overworking it. Maybe you feel that what you are trying to put across has been successful and in going further could potentially spoil that. A number of reasons, even just that it ‘feels’ right to …

‘Talent is a pursued interest’ / My Personal Artistic Evolution

Published by

A few years ago I had never painted with oil paints. I used paints (watercolour or acrylics) to splash some colour onto my mainly charcoal sketched pieces. The image below shows the work I had for sale at a stall in an art fair in 2012. After a closer look I saw so many familiarities with the work I used to create and what I paint now. There are abstract birds in flight, loose portraits, proud stags, elephants and dripping florals. I realised that your work doesn’t change over time, it only evolves as you progress. My decision to move to oil paints was based largely on the opportunities that they hold with colour. Being such a malleable material with so much depth to play around with, you can create any style or look that you want to achieve with the right techniques. Back before I taught myself to use oil paints I loved incredibly loose work that oozed energy and movement above all else. I wanted to show the construction marks and leave them raw and …

Micheal Zavros / Inspiration

Published by

Just a quick internet search can tell you that there is no end to the amount of talented artists in the world. Instagram in particular has been great for unearthing these exquisitely talented humans who happen to document their creations and I love to ‘follow’ them. There is an infinite amount of inspiration that you can gain from looking at and enjoying the work of others, without copying/plagiarising. (A post about this topic in particular to be uploaded soon..) Taking inspiration isn’t about stealing, or at least shouldn’t be! It is noting the feeling you get when you see a particular piece of art and translating that into your own work in your own way. A painting might have an electric energy with movement that leaps out at you. Another might have solemn or moody overtones that gave you a sense of atmosphere when you looked at it. It is more often than not the ‘vibe’ of the painting that you most likely enjoyed. Inspiration should be transferring that feeling/vibe/energy in your own way, to …

‘Life Imitates Art’

Published by

In the age old debate of what came first; the chicken or the egg, I find myself deep in a philosophical tangent inspired by a late night online shopping purchase. I bought a necklace that gives the impression of an elegant snake coiled around the neck. Unappealing to some, beautiful and ethereal to me. This internal debate reminded me of a quote from Oscar Wilde – ‘Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.’ My exact reason for clicking my purchase straight over to the checkout was because it reminded me of a painting I did in my last collection (The Phosphenes Collection) which depicted a bizarre image of two symmetrical women holding up snakes, which are coiled deliberately around their arms within the confines of the symmetrical intension. (Original piece shown below / ‘Serpens’ oil on wood panel) This is one of my stranger pieces, this and ‘Nectar of the Gods’ which I also hold an unhealthy emotional clingyness to even after sold and gone. The reason behind loving these stranger pieces is …