Latest News and Progress

5 February 2018

Affordable art: In aid of Salcombe Town Regatta

I always support local charities and community activities and also like my art to be available at affordable prices.
Now, I can now kill two birds with one stone: providing affordable art in the form of my fine art greetings cards and financial support to Salcombe Town Regatta at the same time.

The hard working Salcombe Town Regatta team provide great fun and excitement each year for the local population, and encourage visitors to Salcombe to book their holiday in Regatta week.In 2018, that’s 11-18 August.

The Salcombe Town Regatta also makes donations to local charities from the profits made in what may seen like one frantic week of activity but, as we all know, is the result of many months of planning and preparation.

So, I am delighted to be a supporter of this excellent event. These individual cards, of my usual 350gsm quality, with a 100gsm envelope, are presented in a cellophane wrap and will soon be available at the usual stockists and also – NEW! – at the Cater Cove Hairdressers.

How does your purchase support Salcombe Town Regatta?

Wherever you see this card – your purchase will result in a donation to this very worthwhile cause. Please buy one. Or two!

The original oil painting (the featured image above) has sold, but another, larger, oil painting, Salcombe Dawn II with slightly different pink/purple tones is available for £475.

Where can you buy these charity cards?

My main fine art greetings card stockist is Malborough Post Office where all 59 designs can be found.

But my cards are also on sale at the Salcombe Information Centre, Bonningtons the newsagents in Salcombe, The Gallery @ Avon Mill, The Gallery Project at Noss Mayo, Bloomers the florists in Kingsbridge – and direct from me.

Will there be more designs sold as charity cards?

Yes!

The Hope Cove Charity card is already on sale at the Cottage Hotel, Hope Cove and other outlets.

I am currently in discussion with other local charities and will post news as soon as designs are decided and texts agreed and I have an image of the new card to show you.

If you are working for a local charity and you think you might like to adopt one of my designs to raise funds for your charity, please contact me to discuss this further.

29 January 2018

Sketchbook Notes: Merlins Racing Past the Venus Cafe

Merlins are by far the most exciting craft to grace the Salcombe Estuary. The excitement – and the beauty – when they hoist their spinnakers is breath-taking, and their races always promise thrills and spills.

I take hundreds of photographs in any one year, and many of these are of the Merlins. These snaps are sure to provide inspiration for a painting; the tricky part is choosing which photo to use.

The year before last, I painted one image of Merlins (featured above) and it sold within days of going on show at the 2016 Salcombe Art Club Summer Exhibition.

So I had to paint another, and have actually done three!

Merlins Racing Past the Venus Cafe

This is the photo I chose as my main source of inspiration for Merlins Racing Past the Venus Cafe. The boats consist of horizontal lines (the hull) and strong vertical lines (the masts and sails) and I find this combination pleasing. The composition is not perfect but I feel I have captured the excitement of the race.

The next step is to create a sketch, deciding which elements of the photo to keep and which to lose, and applying ‘rules’ such as the rule of thirds. This is my sketch.

Notice that I have placed only those Merlins in the foreground and that they create movement from right to left. My shoreline is positioned just below centre, and I have scaled the boats so as to include their full height as best I can.

In drawing this sketch, it became clear that the closeness of the two boats on the left hand side would only lead to confusion. So, while this sketch provided the outline for the composition, I knew that when I moved to the painting stage, I would need to tweak the composition even more.

So, having done my preparation and having a clear idea in my head of the main features of this painting, I move to the next stage, and this is where I’m at right now.

It was a sunny day, so I started with fairly pure colours and have yet to address shadows or indeed reflections in the water. I have also left the surface of the water and will at some point decide how rough to make it look.

I have also yet to decide whether to include additional craft, for example on the shoreline. Time will tell… I have much to think about before this painting is finished.

THE SKETCHBOOK NOTES SERIES

This is one of the Sketchbook Notes, a series of posts explaining what inspired me to produce a particular painting.

If you own one of my paintings, or are just curious about an image, let me know; I’ll then write a blog post especially for you!

22 January 2018

Postcard from Milton Keynes: Howe Park Woods

If you are near Milton Keynes – you don’t need to search out galleries or museums to see works of art. Many are on show, for free, in the countryside.

Milton Keynes – the frog band sculpture

These four frogs, called ‘the Frog Band Sculpture’, provide no sound but much entertainment for children. They are the work of American artist, Roland Lawar.

Donated by the community arts charity, Inter-Action MK, these four sculptures are situated conveniently close to a welcoming cafe in Howe Park Woods, Milton Keynes. For those used to the traffic system it’s easy to find: it lies between Chaffron Way H7 and Tattenhoe Street V2.

Milton Keynes community arts charity Inter-Action MK

According to their website: Inter-Action MK use the arts to bring joy and purpose to all communities and especially to improve the life chances of people with support needs or disabilities or in challenging or vulnerable circumstances. Their innovative programme of inclusive arts successfully brings people of all backgrounds together in shared creative activity. Their programme helps participants to develop creative, personal and social skills.

A good place for a muddy walk in Milton Keynes!

Anne and I visited this location one cold January morning, along with her son and his family. In the photo above are Charlotte and Edward, wearing full woodland walk kit.

And I was wrapped up warm too.

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling.