Oak Books .....

I thought I would post a picture of each of the oak books, 

so that you can see the detail of each one .....

  Title - A Deadly Glance

Title - A Kiss Goodbye

Title - Best Served Cold

Title - Fair Warning

Title - Spellbound

Title - Unscrupulous 

These are all available from
Gallerina

Oak Book Paintings

 

Over the last month I've been working on some book paintings which are painted on

oak blocks.

 Each block is about 6" x 10" and an 1½" deep.

The back covers look like this ........

The books are available from Gallerina

New Painting Finished

 New work....
Title - 'The surveyor and the surveyed'
55" x 27"

Available from Gallerina

SunDrop

 Here is the the finished extra large bottle cap painting!
It measures a whopping 80" x 80" which is just over 2 metres square!!!

The painting was a commission piece & is called SunDrop.

Here are some closeup photos of the painting.

The painting was so big that as soon as it was finished it had to be un-stretched so that I could get it through the studio door!

I delivered the painting to Gallerina this weekend & is waiting to be delivered to it's new owners & home!

The Artist Paints The First Red Circle

The Artist Paints The First Red Circle

60" x 40"

One of my latest paintings in the 'Paintbrush Girls' (Haven't got a proper title yet!!!!) series.

The painting is available from Gallerina now!

New Work October 2012

Titled - 

' Even today the battle between Abstract & Figurative still rages on' 

60" x 40"

  

Titled -
' Even today the battle between Abstract & Figurative still rages on (Part 2) ' 

 60" x 40"

 

Titled -  

' Even today the battle between Abstract & Figurative still rages on (Part 3) ' 

60" x 40"

Titled -
' The Artist & the Red Rectangle '
60" x 40"

Superheroes

Batgirl March No. 385 

50" x 40"

Batgirl March No. 385 Detail

50 x 70 cm

I Didn't Have a Choice

60" x 40"

These new paintings are based on superheroes from comics. While I enjoyed comics as a child I would never describe myself as a true fan and so with no real plans I began looking at old comic books not sure what I would find and how it could apply to my process. What instantly returned were memories of intensely studying comics as a child and a love of the artwork, and then what became more exciting was what happened when these line drawings were over scaled onto large canvases. From there I knew that more than any other subject matter before I could be far bolder with brush marks, explore very abstract shapes and repetition without losing the figurative quality.

These first paintings have been a very exciting challenge and I'm really happy with their simple colour, dynamic graphic feel and a chance to reuse Lichtenstein's benday dots in a way that mimics my own 'smudgy' style.

New Portrait

This new portrait is possibly one of my most complicated paintings with a lot of different elements that had to be balanced. The couple (Fritz & Bev) in the painting travelled South America on a motorcycle and the painting is not only of them but of their journey too.

It's always nice to technically experiment and push your work further; however a commissioned portrait is not the safest way to achieve this. After speaking to them I knew they would be very open to new ideas and so I went with my gut and painted without any constraint.

I wanted to capture a sense of movement (but not speed) and so the bike became fractured and I used from their own postcards which acted like markers dotted onto the canvas. On these postcards were images of roads which again added to a sense of travel and movement. One of these postcards depicts a landslide. This was chosen as after talking with them about their trip, you realise how adventurous you must be to embark on a journey of this type. This is not your average package holiday but the rewards are far greater!

Art London

If you are near Royal Hospital Chelsea in London pop in and see my new collection of work which is being exhibited with Heartbreak Gallery at the art fair Art London.

This new series of work carries on my love of pulp or low brow imagery that is re-imagined using a pop art sensibility.

All the figurative imagery (the women and men that appear) have been taken from original photographs in 40s and 50s pulp detective magazines, they have then been ‘tweaked’ and then reworked into imaginary pulp novels with myself as their fictional author.

These small pocket book novels are then oversized to grandiose proportions and paint is applied liberally allowing me to focus on areas that please me and smudging and blurring others with a heightened use of colour. The titles and logos are treated in this same manner which creates a tension between the image and the text imposed upon it.

The collection can be viewed on my website here

How to use Color in Portraits

How to use Color in Portraits 28" x 20"

This is one of the paintings I have completed over the last few months.

It is based upon an old Walter Foster 'How to Paint' book but using a Playboy centerfold as the figure, make of that what you will!!!

It is available from Gallerina.

Styled with Lastex Yarn

Martin White (page 11)

30" x 24"

Slix (page 16)

30" x 24"

Meridian CLINGKNIT (page 12)

30" x 24"

I've recently taken these three paintings to Gallerina.

They are based upon old swim-wear adverts from a 'Lastex' catalogue.

---

Las·tex  /ˈlæstɛks/ Show Spelled

[las-teks]

A trademark used for a yarn having a core of elastic rubber wound with rayon, nylon, silk, or cotton threads.

---

I always like vintage adverts highlighting a new technology for the time, that we now all take for granted!

The first two paintings were exhibited in an art exhibition in Bath last year which was based around fashion.

The paintings are currently for sale from Gallerina & for any more information do contact the gallery here

Modern Memorabilia Opening Night

It's about time I talked about the exhibition opening night isn't it?

It was a really great night & despite the rain a huge amount of people came, so thank you to everyone who came.

The gallery did a fantastic job & I even had my own cocktail named after me too which was electric blue and very potent, see above!

It was great to see that the painting hung so well together & I had a good time meeting & chatting to so many people too!

The gallery itself was incredibly busy all night so photo taking was slightly difficult but my wife Alison, managed to take a number of photos throughout the night so I thought I would post a few of them here.

Jimena & Kat at the gallery had predicted the weather too & had erected an awning outside the front of the gallery so that people could stand outside without fear of getting soaked by the rain!!!

There was even a singer & guitarist to entertain everyone for part of the evening!!!

It was a really great night & I met so many people & received such wonderful feedback from everyone, so thank you again to everyone who came & a special thank you to the GGGallery for a fantastic night!

If you couldn't make it to the preview night I have added the entire collection of work to my website which you can view HERE

The exhibition is on until July 22nd so there is plenty of time to visit the gallery to view the work if you are in the London area.

Visit the GGGallery's website HERE for more information.

Modern Memorabilia - Solo Exhibition in London

Gent (Through the Looking Glass)

40" x 30"

Next week sees the opening night of a solo exhibition of my work in London.

The exhibition is called Modern Memorabilia & is being held at the

GGGallery in Notting Hill.

The exhibition will run from the

16th June until July 22nd.

The opening night is on Thursday 16th June at 7pm.

If you are in the London area & would like to visit the exhibition you can find out more information by visiting the GGGallery's website here

If you would like to come along to the opening night, I will be there to chat about my work & you can contact the gallery & RSVP by e-mailing info@gggallery.co.uk

The work being exhibited will be added to my portfolio next week & which you will be available to see on my website.

Hope to see some of there in London next week ...

Lego Spacemen Paintings

Some new pieces I've been working on recently are these Lego Men.

This is the first set - Spacemen!

Like the paintings of bottle caps, the Lego figures are a simple way to explore colour, form and design. The familiarity of the imagery allows me to almost explode the image while still retaining it, something that I find is only possible with easily recognisable objects.

Also like my other recent work it focuses on an interest in the hobby of collecting in which the displaying of any collected objects (worthless or priceless) becomes more than its individual pieces.

This set of four Spacemen sold immediately in Gallerina last week, on their first day of appearance!

The feedback to the Lego paintings has been great!

But who doesn't love Lego?

***

Update ......
Lego Spaceman Prints Now Available!!!!!!
Find them
HERE

Recent Portrait Commissions

Some of the recent portrait commisions that I have completed over

the last few months.

Visit the Portrait collection on my website to see more work.

HERE