Off and running

Well then... deeply inspired by the painting for June, I have started on a series of local views. Here is the first one.

Harlech Castle - acrylic on 48" x 36" stretched canvas

Delivered... phew!

There is a critical mass for paintings. Once they achieve a certain dimension they stop thinking of themselves as canvases and take on all the characteristics of a kite. I tried walking down the town today to deliver June's painting and one small gust of wind nearly had me flying at altitude! Fortunately I managed to procure a lift for most of the journey otherwise painting and I might have achieved orbit.

Anyway, the moment of truth. The unveiling of the painting for June's first glimpse. Always a nerve-wracking moment but all was well. The 4.45 Train to Barmouth was a hit.

I foresee a series of landscape focal point paintings to follow. Hah.

So here you are, a photo of the painting in situ and a merry June besides.

The 4.45 Train to Barmouth

My very good friend June has moved into a new cottage that she has just finished renovating. For her birthday, her son and daughter very kindly asked me to paint something for her brand spanking new white walls. Well... June said she would very much like a Barmouth scene. So very calm and collected I agreed that such a thing was possible and then went back to my studio and had a series of panic attacks. It occurs to me that one of the reasons I paint mostly abstracts is that when I have a paint brush in hand and a blank canvas before me, all wordy thought goes out of my head and I think merely in disjointed images.. hence the disjointed, abstract nature of my work. To have to not only compose a scene of the town that both June and I live in, but also then translate that composition to a canvas 48" x 36" in dimension was a daunting task. One that I feel perhaps I may have done not too badly at. Here are a series of 6 work in progress photos, followed by the final result... lovingly titled The 4.45 Train to Barmouth.