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Working on a larger scale

Work in progress, 120 x 120 cm

Work in progress, 120 x 120 cm

One of my colleagues at the Courtyard Studios, Margaret Carslaw, nearly always works on a large scale.  Her drawings and paintings are rarely smaller than 120 x 120 cm and usually bigger.  As someone who generally works on pieces that are less than a metre square, I’ve always found it fascinating seeing Margaret’s large paintings and watching how she approaches them.  Over the years we’ve had many discussions about our work and she’s tried to persuade me of the merits of working on a large scale while I’ve been trying to persuade her that it’s just as challenging working on something small!  I guess when it comes down to it, we’re probably both right but I’ve certainly found myself drifting towards creating larger work.

Of course, all the creative bumf aside, there is a practical side to this which if you want to exhibit and sell work, does come into it ……..the simple question of how to transport large works.  When we changed vehicles back in 2010 we had originally thought of getting a small van instead of a car.  It seemed to make sense except for the fact that we occasionally need to carry passengers…..apart from the legality or otherwise of it, we didn’t think our friend Guy would enjoy sitting on the floor bouncing around in the back of a van all the way to Glencoe and back and Nita’s parents on their annual visit certainly wouldn’t enjoy the experience either, even if it was just to go down to the Harbourside!  So then, Nita spent many hours pawing through the ‘What car’ magazines before finally coming up with a Citroen Nemo …..a boxy thing that would take a lot of paintings up to a metre wide and a vehicle that was very economic too.  It’s been a very good compromise and I can fit a lot of this smaller sized work in it when I need to and Guy and Nita’s parents can ride in it comfortably.

As I say though, I’ve gradually been moving towards doing larger work and decided last year that I had, in the exhibition / drawing project arranged for Nov / Dec at the our neighbouring Harbour Arts Centre, an excuse to do a couple of larger paintings …..it’s less than 100 metres from the Courtyard to the HAC so no vehicles needed to transport the work ….I can simply carry the paintings across.   I bought what for me is quite a large canvas ….120 x 120 cm back before Christmas and started work on it almost straight away.

It’s been a really good experience and I decided from the outset that I’d try using my father’s big old horse hair house painting brush on this painting.  I want it to be quite bold as well as quite textural.  The brush is at least six inches wide and the course hairs leave wonderful marks in the thick oil paint.   Four months on from starting it, the painting is still in progress but starting to come together now. I’ve been spending a day on it and then letting the paint dry for a few days so that I can build up overlapping layers of colour and mark.  The painting is a reworking of an idea I had back in 2008 but which at the time I did on a much smaller scale and in a landscape format.   I want the painting to be as much about the colour, composition and texture as about the landscape…..but as usual will try to create a balance between the two.

Anyway, with this piece well under way, I’ve just made a note to order another 120 x 120 cm canvas as well as something around 120 x 40 cm ……this to create something based on the wild snow covered landscape that we experienced around Corrour the other week.  Margaret may well be winning the battle of wills…..I seem to be getting hooked on doing bigger work!  And what about my transportation argument I hear you shout?  Well, just last week a lady visited my studio who is planning to set up a small business in the area transporting artwork in a large van she owns.  She’s a painter herself…..so if she gets set up, transporting the occasional large canvas may not be so problematic…..that’s my excuse anyway!

Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, 6th / 7th October 2012

Open Weekend 2012 - Courtyard Studios - Irvine, Ayrshire

Open Weekend 2012 – Courtyard Studios – Irvine, Ayrshire

Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, 6th / 7th October 2012.

Open Sat. 11am – 5pm, Sunday 12 noon – 5pm

Things are getting very hectic this week and I’m running out of time to do everything I need to do in time for our Open Studios Weekend on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th October.  As such, this is going to be a ‘picture’ blog …alright; it’s just a way of saving me some time by not writing a proper blog!  Guilty as charged!  Anyway, I’m the one who is doing the typing …or not ….and so pictures it is.

Below the event poster we’ve put together is a selection of the new paintings you’ll be able to see in my studio if you can get along to the event.  I look forward to meeting you.

'Snow showers, over the Flow Country, Sutherland'

‘Snow showers, over the Flow Country, Sutherland’

 

'Approaching snow shower, Ben Loyal, Sutherland'

‘Approaching snow shower, Ben Loyal, Sutherland’

 

'West from Beinn Griam Mor, Sutherland'

‘West from Beinn Griam Mor, Sutherland’

'Break in the cloud, Beinn Griam Beg, Sutherland'

‘Break in the cloud, Beinn Griam Beg, Sutherland’

'December afternoon, above Glen Shee'

‘December afternoon, above Glen Shee’

'Late afternoon, from Beinn a' Chrulaiste'

‘Late afternoon, from Beinn a’ Chrulaiste’

'In the Flow Country, Sutherland'

‘In the Flow Country, Sutherland’

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‘From Ghlas Beinne, Rannoch Moor – frozen lochs’

'From Ghlas Beinne, Rannoch Moor- frozen lochs' Acrylic-pastel-2010-76-x-23-cm

'From Ghlas Beinne, Rannoch Moor- frozen lochs'

‘From Ghlas Beinne, Rannoch Moor – frozen lochs’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2010, 76 x 23 cm

This is my very latest painting. I think it’s finished, but as with all my work, I like to leave new paintings for a few weeks after finishing them before deciding they’re actually finished! Does this make sense? I do go back to them at this stage sometimes and ‘tweak’ them a little, but I’m fairly confident with this piece that there will be no need for adjustments …and of course having to photograph the piece again.

This, as anyone who has been following my work for the last year will see, is another in the series of small paintings I’ve been doing based on a trip last winter to Rannoch Moor. The paintings are becoming more about the colours and marks and I’m now planning to start working on at least one bigger painting based on this subject. In this piece I’ve mainly used a selection of large flat brushes..the biggest being a six inch wide nylon brush. Re working this painting on a larger scale would give me more scope to develop these large sweeping marks. I guess I’d better get down to the wood yard an order some new large painting boards as ideally I’d like to get a couple of big pieces ready for my solo show at The Strathearn Gallery in February.

Back on the Harbourside

On Irvine Harbourside

"On Irvine Harbourside"

You know, it really is good to be back on the Harbourside. Over the last week I have seen it under a great variety of conditions. Summer is definitely on the way out here and we have had the first of the autumn gales. What makes it extra special at this time of year are the big tides.

With my studio set just the width of the road and the old wooden quay away from the river, I am in a prime location to watch the changing seasons and conditions. On Friday it was a beautiful day here – bright skies, white clouds and the afternoon sun bringing out all the late summer colours of the saltings that lie between the River Irvine and the River Garnock. It was so good that I had to down brushes for a bit and just stand in my studio doorway, taking it all in. There were the ever present calls of curlews, oyster catchers and gulls…it was just great.

By Monday though, it was all change. I walked up the Harbourside to my studio, head down against the wind and rain and with all the usual views across the saltings completely gone – shrouded in a thick murk that was blowing in from the sea. It was great! – well, it was once I’d reached my studio and could watch it from my doorway. We have these old fashioned little street lights along the front of the harbour and for some reason, when there is a gale blowing, many of them create an eerie, but very atmospheric, whistling sound. Even in these conditions though, the light is still very special. Added to this, was a very high tide and as the day went by, the water rose, covering nearly all of the saltings and leaving just a narrow spit of mud and grass between the two rivers. I didn’t have my monocular this day, but normally, in these conditions, the birds congregate in an ever tighter group as the water rises. On this occasion, it didn’t completely cover the narrow strip of land, so I guess their feet stayed dry!

Harbourside, Irvine

"Harbourside, Irvine"

"Harbourside"

Anyway, after spending the summer painting the buildings in Speyer, it has got me thinking that it might be quite nice to do some work once again, based on the harbourside. When I first moved to the studios back in 2003, I did a number of paintings and drawings based on the buildings and river here. I am not quite sure how I would tackle it now, but here are a few of those earlier attempts.

A change of scene

New Look Courtyard

New Look Courtyard

When I left Irvine for Speyer on May 11th, big changes were afoot at the courtyard studios. WASPS had decided to refurbish the studios and while doing so, were taking the opportunity to create several new spaces in the roof space. The work was planned to last until around the start of July and in a way, it was perfect timing for me as I would miss much of the disruption. As it turned out, I heard tell of the disruption every few days as Anita was ‘studio sitting’. My space is in the old part of the building. I’m not quite sure how old, but a chap came in the other year and told me that my studio used to be his office back in the 1950s…when he was a customs officer. Since then it had fallen into disrepair….understatement. When the builders moved in, they found that a section of the floor joists had rotted through and it was only the patchwork of pink and yellow carpet that was holding the floor up! The rear wall, covered by a chipboard outer, was completely crumbling away and Gordon, one of the other artists, described it as being like a waterfall when it rained…explains the dampness I think.

Anyway, I flew back to Scotland last Thursday evening and went down to my studio on Friday…and what a difference. For starters, the dreadful pink outer walls are now a slightly better, if somewhat strange, green colour….but it does look a lot better and people have started to notice us. As for my own studio, they have done a great job…a new floor, the waterworks completely repaired and a new door that actually fits the frame…and a heater! With a bit of luck, it will be a much more pleasant experience during the winter months and I’ll not need to dress up like the Michelin man.

New Look for the WASP Courtyard Studios, Irvine, Ayrshire

The WASP Courtyard Studios, Irvine, Ayrshire

So then, it has been straight back to work, as I have to get 6 pieces ready for a group show at Scotlandart.com which opens in late October. It’s great to be back in Scotland but although there’s lots of work to do, I am going to make sure there’s time to relax too. Today Anita and I have been to see the magnificent exhibition of the Lewis chessmen at the National Museum of Scotland and the Impressionist Gardens exhibition at the RSA, both in Edinburgh. We’re heading up for a walk near the Cairngorms on Sunday and have already organised a day on the hill with our very good friend Guy…I can’t wait. Well and truly back in business I think.

*** Please note that WASP Courtyard Studios will be having its traditional Open Weekend from the 2nd and 3rd of October. So why not come along and see the changes. Everyone is very welcome!  ***

On the edge of Rannoch Moor, December

149-on-the-edge-of-rannoch-moor-december-acrylic-pastel-2010-76-x-23-cm-600x173

On the edge of Rannoch moor, December

‘On the edge of Rannoch Moor, December’
Acrylic & Pastel, 2010, 76 x 23 cm

This is another of the paintings I’ve completed since our memorable short walk on the edge of Rannoch Moor back in late December. It really was a wonderful mixture of light and colour that day. As the big threatening clouds wandered by it would suddenly become quite dark for a few minutes with just odd patches of dim sunlight catching the moor-land grass. In this painting I’ve used a gold acrylic mixed with other colours to try and capture a little bit of the magic as the sun catches the beautiful winter vegetation.

Speyer Cathedral Wall

Speyer Cathedral wall

Speyer Cathedral wall

It’s been a great few days recently. I’ve managed to get a reasonable amount of work done and there’s been much happening here in Speyer.

I’ve been working on one of the larger boards for the last few days and am starting to put the piece together. Once again, it’s based on a section of the cathedral wall…..quite a large section perhaps twenty metres high, but it does show some scale as it contains several windows. This particular wall caught my attention as lower down it also has two semi circular recesses that make it look a little like a face ….well, it makes me smile whenever I walk by it!

Anyway, the original plan was simply to use this as the basis for the painting but then while I was looking at some photographs I’d taken of very small sections of the wall (just a few large stones) I noticed that one of these had a very similar structure to the larger section. I’ve decided therefore to try and superimpose the close up over the larger section ….once again messing around with ones perception of scale, creating a more abstract picture of the wall. The stones contain a whole range of subtle colours; pale yellows, ochre, terracotta, pale greys and umber. The painting is built up using the paint in flat brush strokes to mimic the stone work from a distance, and the pastel scribbled down to try and capture the structure of each of the stones close up……each layer of paint showing a little of the previous one beneath. It’s quite a slow process but one that I can enjoy while working outside in the courtyard here. It’s been very hot this last week again and the studios are really too hot to work in during the day. Outside, the far end of the courtyard has a large canopy that allows light through but creates a shaded area through out the day. It’s the perfect spot to put my easel as the light on the painting is bright but constant.

cathedral-wall-close-up

Cathedral wall close-up

I really seem to have got into these fantastic walls here in Speyer …and not just the cathedral and the old baths. The other week a friend took me to see one of the other beautiful churches here in Speyer …this was the Trinity Church I think …close to the cathedral but built out of wood. It’s a magnificent building, and with clear glass in its windows there was enough light for me to see much of the interior. On leaving we were able to get a look into the ruins of another building at the side of the church. It was great, especially in the bright early afternoon light and with the intensely blue sky…..another painting? Probably.

another-wall-speyer

Another wall, Speyer

Increasing scale

new-work-on-the-go

New Work On The Go

The studios here in Speyer are quite large and having so much space in which to work is a real luxury. I decided last week that it was about time to work on a larger scale and make the most of the situation.

Thinking about the practicalities of getting work back to Scotland I decided there would have to be limits to the size of the paintings however ….100 cm x 140 cm seemed ideal and Mike went out and got me two pieces of board this size. Being mdf, it weighs quite a lot but I should be able to get the finished pieces back reasonably cheaply with a bit of luck. I also have a large roll of thick white paper …this is 150 cm wide and the roll is several metres in length and so offers me chance to do some pretty big drawings. These will be easier to send home …I’ll just need to find a cardboard tube to protect them.

Of course, working on a large scale means using a lot more materials and although I brought with me a lot of paint, I only brought a fairly small number of oil pastels. But panic not …there happens to be a wonderful art supply company called ‘Boesner’. Their stores are great, the two I’ve been taken to, being situated in large factory units on industrial sites and stocking a HUGE variety of art materials. I’ve never seen anything like it. Mind you, they’re dangerous places …you can end up spending a fortune if you’re not careful! Anyway, I was there to buy pastels. I use “Neopastel” made by a Swiss company I think. They’re fantastic oil pastels, not the cheapest but they’re wonderful colours and are neither too hard or too soft ….perfect I’ve found for working (as I do) on board. “Neopastels” come in a huger range and I was relieved to find the Boesner not only had all of them but also had plenty of each ….this was a serious bit of pastel buying! In the end, I bought just over seventy pastels which should be enough to keep me going while I’m here in Speyer. It may sound a lot, but working with them on board as well as not top of paint, really eats them up, especially when doing large pieces. Anyway, if I don’t use them all here …I’ll have them for the work I’ll be doing on my return to Scotland. Mike Lauter was with me helping to find the colours I needed and he spotted a great little tool for holding the pastels. It’s a bit like an old fashioned cigarette holder and it allows you to use the pastels right down to the end ….should save me having that annoying bag of bits you always end up with! I’ve tried using it and it works well. It allows me to make a greater variety of marks too which is quite interesting.

new-drawing-the-cathedral-speyer-140-x-100-cm

'The Cathedral, Speyer'

So far I’ve used one of the big boards as a drawing board and have completed one drawing this size – a loose and vigorous impression of the one end of the cathedral. As with my hill based landscape work, this isn’t an accurate drawing of the structure, I don’t really see that. It does though try to put over something of the great bulk of the structure, especially when seem from the one end. I wasn’t too sure about the drawing when I completed it, but a few days on and I’m getting quite pleased with it.

I’ve started a painting on the other big board. As I’ve said in the past since I’ve been here, I really like the walls of the cathedral. There’s one section that has two semicircular indents that I really like …it reminds me of eyes. So then, very simply, this painting is about this section of the wall. I’m not quite sure how it’ll end up but it’s going to be interesting and great to work on this scale again.

I’m also working on two smaller pieces (80 x 80 cm), one of which is based on the other end of the cathedral and is a fairly abstract piece. The other is a reworking in paint of an earlier smaller Scottish painting. I’m hoping the two pieces will work well together. They’re both coming on well although there’s much work to be done but it does leave me with no new boards to start …..have to speak nicely to Mike and see if he’ll go get another four for me. Right then, typing finished …back to the paint….

Finding more

Speyer Cathedral Door

Cathedral Door, Speyer

I’ve now been in Speyer for a little over three weeks and the more I look around the city the more I find I’m drawn to the detail. In a city of magnificent and very large buildings this may seem odd, especially when I look at them and I see so little detail. But, as when I’m out on the hill in Scotland, with everything being so big, I need to use a monocular to get a better view of things. This certainly allows me to see more of the subject but of course it creates strange views ….which I really like.

This morning I spent an hour or so just wandering around the outside of the cathedral. As I’ve said before, it’s a vast and magnificent structure and even in my first painting here, I only looked at a small section of it. This morning though, I started to look more closely at some of the smaller elements. In particular I found a great door, presumably constructed of metal that like the roof has oxidized to create rich colours. I was really taken with this but didn’t go up close – I just viewed it through the monocular. It reminded me of some of my landscape paintings and I may well attempt a painting based on it. When I got the photograph I took of it, onto my PC and was able to enlarge it with the screen magnifier I was amazed to find that the door had writing on it.

On the other side of the building I found a section of wall that I really liked. It was a big section made of different finishes of stone …presumably built at very different periods. There was a real abstract quality to it and viewed from a little distance away with the monocular it was difficult to judge to scale ….then panning around I realised that someone had park their bicycle against the wall….and the size of the wall it was leaning against became very evident.

Cathedral and bike, Speyer

Cathedral and bike, Speyer

I’m not sure quite how I may go about using these elements to create paintings, but I have started one piece that may lead in an interesting direction. On Friday (as I said in my last blog) I was taken to see the ancient baths. Rough stone stairs led down into the ground to reach a room. In one of the walls was a large opening and through this you could look down four or five metres to the bath itself. The walls enclosing the bath rose up to above ground level and it was an amazing sight. The stone, reddish sandstone I think had the remnants of what was possibly white paint covering them and everything was beautifully lit from above, creating a very vivid image, especially against the dark green / almost turquoise waters of the bath. I didn’t have a camera with me and so this wonderful image, that immediately suggested a painting to me, had to be remembered as best I could. In its early stages the painting suggests a landscape but I don’t know quite how it’ll end up.

It’s good though to get some work done and I’m already getting a lot of ideas for paintings and drawings – I’ll have to get more painting boards in …I have a feeling it’s going to be a very busy three months.

The Cathedral, Speyer

The Cathedral, Speyer

Irvine Studio Update
Finally, I’ve just heard that my studio back in Irvine is still in the hands of the builders. The refurbishment works at the Courtyard Studios were going well apparently … and then they started on my space in the old section of the building. The floor was rotten, and the dampness in the rear wall was more serious then expected! Oh well, at least I’m away while it’s been going on. My partner Anita though is going to use the space while I’m away and has been told that it should be ready by the end of next week. It’s going to be quite exciting to see it on my return – dry and draught-free with a bit of luck!