Michael

I had a great time this weekend at Staithes Arts Festival where I exhibited my new range of seascapes in a characterful cottage which had been kindly leant to me by Jim, a friend of my sister. I had spent several months developing the work and it was great to see it exhibited in the place that had inspired it all. I have added some of the pieces to my landscape section above. (click the landscape tab at the top of this page and then scroll down to the Seascapes)

The moodscapes are beginning to flow again. Here are my latest ones: Gentle Seas Morning Mood Sunrise over the Moors Shadows and Reflections

I’ve been ‘in the zone’ this week with my painting and below are the results. The ‘Innerscapes’ and ‘Abstracts’ emerged through a process of changing decisions – I started with vague ideas, found that they weren’t working out as planned and adapted by adding water, paint, expressive brushstrokes, spattering, tipping and blowing until I felt they had ‘worked’ in some way. The ‘Moodscapes’ fought me a bit too – in some cases I waited for them to dry and then went over the whole area with clean water and,softened some areas and added depth to others. I’m happy with them all in spite of (and maybe because of) the struggle – they all seem to evoke something of value and I’ve tried to reflect this in the titles. Undergrowth Reaching Rising Shining Dark Glow Underworld Moonlit Reflections Stormy Seas Choppy Seas Lakeland Sunrise Stillness

Following my recent moodscapes in watercolours, I continued with the series into soft pastels. Below is a piece called ‘Dark Mountains’ which captures for me, the subtle beauty of night drawing in. This was followed by three ‘Soundscapes’ – pieces which were inspired by the music that I was listening to at the time. Dark Mountains Dark Luminosity Shape-shifting Dark Reflections

Here are some more of my current watercolour ‘moodscapes’ series. Hope you like them. You can see the full collection by clicking the Moodscapes tab at the top of this page. Dawn Mist Evening Glow Misty Moorland Peaceful Waters Rainsoaked

I’ve been working on a series of watercolour moodscapes recently. The technique is wet into wet and I used a limited palette of Indian Red, Raw Sienna and Indigo. The form of each image emerged as the painting progressed so even I was surprised by the outcome! Hope the moods resonate with you Misty Rain Autumn Storm Fade to Grey Evening Light Night Draws In

We have just launched our New Collections 2013 Exhibition at Art & Soul. Below are some photographs of the work, including atmospheric landscapes and skyscapes by myself, evocative black and white work in pastels and pencils by Stephen Ormerod, dramatic photographs of Skye and Pendle by Phil Darby and vibrant, spontaneous watercolour and acrylic paintings from nature by Gill Fox. The Exhibition is on until the new year so why not come and take a look? Also if you click on the link below, you can see a short video introduction to the exhibition which was produced for InPadiham.org by David Hines and Nick Howley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-6nBdgN1Yk

I’ve returned to the skyscape series this week. I really enjoyed this one as it just seemed to flow. The mountboard surface holds the pastel really well and so I could create depth through gradual blending and layering. Blue and Pink Sky

In this second of the Pendle series, I’ve zoomed in a little so that the hill is slightly more dominant. Again, it was the lighting effects around the hill that I wanted to capture. This will also shortly be available as a signed limited edition print Sunbeams Over Pendle