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Had a great time painting a Belted Galloway Cow at Exeter Art Society the other night, thanks to everyone who came along!

Here's the finished painting
(above) that I did for the demo, this Belted Galloway cow was created
using Atelier Acrylics over the top of dried conventional acrylics, one
of my favourite techniques.


Everyone at Exeter Art Society made me feel very welcome and there was
lots of insightful (and humourous :-) ) discussion during the demo. The
photos here (above) are: top left: setting up for the evening, as I painted, my progress was projected onto the screen; mid left: people starting to arrive, there were about 37 people in attendance; bottom left: an audience member grabs a pic of the finished painting; right: micro exhibition and laptop slideshow for the half-time break.


Recently discovered this mixed media paper (above) and it's great to
paint on especially after sealing the surface with a coat of acrylic.


To start, I did some very quick and very loose line drawings (above)
where I don't worry at all about the results, it's a good way to warm up
before moving on to the main picture.


These patches of colour (above) were used to demonstrate the unique
properties of the Atelier Acrylics. The paint on the left is
conventional acrylic, the patch on the right is Atelier interactive.
Initially, they both looked identical and, once dry, I asked each person
in the audience to feel that both patches of paint were dry. Once
everyone was satisfied, I sprayed both with water and demonstrated that
the patch of conventional acrylic was completely waterproof by rubbing a
brush over the top. However, when a brush was used on the Interactive
paint it was reactivated and was easy to move around on the paper (this
makes for much easier blending than conventional acrylics allow).

As mentioned in recent posts, I was lucky enough to be named a finalist in the Devon Life Magazine Landscape Artist of the Year 2016. The work of the six finalists is now showing in an exhibition at the Mayne Gallery in Kingsbridge and here are some photos from the private view that took place the other night.

I have some paintings going on show for the first 3 weeks of April at the Mayne Gallery in Kingsbridge, South Hams, Devon. The exhibition is to celebrate the work of the six finalists in the Devon Life Landscape Painter of the year competition and also features work by James Tatum, Cherry Lyons, Peter Blakesley, Laura Boyd and Johanna Mcweeney

Very pleased to hear that I have been selected as one of six finalists in Devon Life Magazine's Landscape Painter of the Year Competition. My painting 'Feel The Heat', an acrylic landscape painting of a Devon landscape was the image selected. You can check out the article in the February issue of the magazine.

Final part: In episode 8 of Focus for Five, I continue to block in the clothes, including a stripey shirt and then begin to fill in some of the negative space. The idea behind this painting of a group of people is to paint or draw for just 5 minutes a day, hence "Focus for Five", which allows one to be creative even on a really busy day when life would otherwise get in the way.

In episode 7 of Focus for Five, I add some highlights to the faces of the people and begin to block in the clothes. The idea behind this painting of a group of people is to paint or draw for just 5 minutes a day, hence "Focus for Five", which allows one to be creative even on a really busy day when life would otherwise get in the way.

In episode 6 of Focus for Five, I demonstrate how to mix a flesh tone so that I can begin to define the faces, hands and arms of the pedestrians. The idea behind this painting of a group of people is to paint or draw for just 5 minutes a day, hence "Focus for Five", which allows one to be creative even on a really busy day when life would otherwise get in the way.

I continue using acrylic to block in some more of the buildings in
episode 5 of Focus for Five. By blocking over the first layer of paint,
you can selectively allow parts of the textured, multi-coloured
under-layer to show through e.g. on the people. I find this is a really
efficient way to create interesting effects. The idea behind this
painting of a group of people is to paint or draw for just 5 minutes a
day, hence "Focus for Five", which allows one to be creative even on a
really busy day when life would otherwise get in the way.

In episode 4 of Focus for Five it's back to the acrylic to add some blue sky and work on the buildings. The idea behind this painting of a group of people is to paint or draw for just 5 minutes a day, hence "Focus for Five", which allows one to be creative even on a really busy day when life would otherwise get in the way.

In episode 3 of Focus for Five, I complete the line work for the picture
using watercolour marker. The idea behind this painting (of a group of
people) is to paint or draw for just 5 minutes a day, hence "Focus for
Five", which allows one to be creative even on a really busy day when
life would otherwise get in the way. Check out the video below: