Sprouts on Brown Paper + New Website!

4x4 inches,  acrylic on canvas board  
SOLD

I found some sprouts in the kitchen the other day and had fun painting them- it's interesting trying to capture the way their leaves unfurl.

In other news, my new website is live! You can check it out here!

All Cut Up

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

When I first started painting with oils and acrylics, I was terrified of two colours in particular- orange and yellow. So easy to muddy them- only a touch of blue, and they turn grey. I'm getting better at working with them now, though. The fear is fading. Here's a little painting of lemon and clementine slices to celebrate.

Clementines: Blue Vase

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

Another installment in my ongoing clementine series. In this one I've used a small blue vase I found at a charity store while looking for interesting painting subjects. I like the way the wedges reflect in it.

Clementines: Quarters

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board.  $25  Available at Daily Paintworks

The hardest bit of this painting by far was mixing the right colour for the blade of the knife. I really like the shape of the clementine wedges, I'm happy with how they came out. Cutting up the fruit takes this series in a slightly different direction.

Clementines: Safari

8x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $65. Buy with Paypal

Here's the largest of the Clementine series so far- I found this zebra-print tissue paper and was eager to use it in one of my paintings.

I’ve been working at all different sizes this year- massive paintings on A2 paper for college, and tiny ones, like my 3x3 paintings. I think I prefer smaller sizes for oil and acrylics- 8x10 inches and under is good. There’s an attitude of ‘bigger is better’ in some parts of the art world, but I tend to disagree. Small paintings are easier to store and to display. They’re more affordable as well- I’m slowly building a collection of smaller pieces I’ve bought at local galleries. And I like to think small paintings can still stand out and make an impact visually. That’s something I’m trying to achieve with these little ones.

Clementines: Premiere

6x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $50.  Buy it Now

Another installment of my Clementine series. When I was arranging this set up, the strip of red paper reminded me of the red carpet at movie premieres, thus the title. I really love the black and white patterned paper I used in this composition, and I will be using it more in future- it adds drama to the arrangement and it's a very fun challenge to paint!

Clementines: Queue

6x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $50   Click to Bid

Part of my ongoing Clementines series. I think this is the best of this series so far in terms of capturing the form of the clementines. I tried a slightly different process here, working a little faster into wet paint and letting the colours blend initially. I will have to try it again in future.

Clementines: Diamonds

6x6 inches, acrylic on canvas board. SOLD

Here's the next clementine painting: this one features a metallic diamond patterned paper. I really liked how the gold reflected the orange in places.

Clementines: Stripes

6x6 inches, acrylic on canvas board.   $20    Place a Bid

This is the first in a series of paintings I've been working on. I got the idea while wrapping a present last night- why not use patterned wrapping paper in the background of my still life paintings? Then I discovered a bowl of clementines in the dining room and it fell into place.

I've already done a whole bunch of clementine paintings using different papers- and I still feel excited to do more. It's great when you're in the midst of a wave of motivation!

Green Against Blue

6x8 inches, oil on stretched canvas. $50.  Buy With Paypal

I love painting blues and greens, so I had to do a painting with just these colours. I really like the way this one came out. It's fun to do a vertical still life after all of the square compositions I've been doing lately.

Pak Choi II

 6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. SOLD

Here's another of my Pak Choi paintings. I really enjoyed mixing the range of colours in this one, and the wide tonal range.

Pink Rose

6x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas. $50    Place a Bid

I created this little painting for the weekly challenge on Daily Paintworks. I used to paint flowers a lot, but it's been a while since I did one. This was a nice reminder. I only used four colours, quite a limited palette for me- Cadmium Red, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre and White. I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Pak Choi I

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board.

SOLD

While getting a drink from the fridge, I discovered a bag of Pak Choi and just knew I had to do some paintings with them. Here's the first of the paintings. I don't use pure white in my paintings a lot, so I thought I would give it a try here; I quite like how it complements the relative simplicity of the arrangement when paired with the soft grey in the background.

Sauze d'Oulx Street

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board. $18   Place a Bid

This was painted from a photograph my dad took while staying in Sauze d'Oulx, a ski resort town in Turin, Italy. I had great fun trying to capture the way the light fell on the snow, and the colours of the shadows.

Glass, Surrounded

6x6 inches, oil on canvas board. $20.   Place a Bid

The cherry tomatoes are confronting an interloper. I've been playing with using very dark darks in the background to make the highlights pop. It works quite well with glass and reflective surfaces, I think.

Blue and Green Marbles

4x4 inches, acrylic on canvas board. $25. Place a Bid

Here's a study of marbles with light shining through them. I love the colourful shadows they cast.

I've been working in oils for the most part recently and while I love the way my paintings are coming out, I hate waiting for them to dry so I can scan and post them! I really have to take a photo of my fancy new 'drying shelves' and post it to my Facebook page one of these days- but it's been so rainy I've not even wanted to brave the ten-second run across the patio to the art shed! In the meantime, I'm posting my backlog of acrylics.

In The Bowl

29 November 2015- and we're up to date now.

6x8 inches, acrylic on stretched canvas.

SOLD

I like painting reflections, and one of my favourite subjects, cherry tomatoes, make another appearance. I love how the bold background colour looks in this painting.

White House Among Fields

23 November 2015.

5x7 inches, oil on canvas board. SOLD.

A little landscape with a stormy sky. I love painting grey skies, maybe it's because I'm English and we have a lot of overcast, rainy days here. I think they have a beauty to them.

Apple and Radishes

21 November 2015.

6x6 inches, acrylic on canvas board. $40. Place a Bid

I love painting radishes. Their squat, round shape and the bold pink colour against their bright green leaves makes for a wonderful subject. And I love eating green apples, so this was a fun still life to paint. I was eating the other half of the apple as I painted!

A New Blog

I've been using Tumblr as my Daily Painting blog, because it's quicker to update for me, but in the long run I think Blogger is better for networking with other artists.

So, about me. I'm 21, I live in Hertfordshire, England, and am studying for a Degree in Painting with the OCA. I use Winsor & Newton water-mixable oils and Daler Rowney acrylics, and mostly paint still life and landscapes. When not painting, I'm drawing, taking photographs or watching football. When the weather allows I try to get out and sketch buildings and people in town- I'm hoping that in the coming year I'll be able to do some plein air painting as well.

You can find me on the following sites:

My Website (which will soon be redesigned)
My Daily Paintworks Gallery
My Redbubble Shop
My Facebook Page
My Tumblr Blog

If you're in Hertfordshire, you can find original paintings by me for sale in Framework Photographic, Letchworth GC.


I'll start this blog off by posting a few of my recent paintings and try to keep it updated from now on!