Today it was sunny, really cold but sunny. Even though I have loads of studio work to do I decided to make the best of this rarest of days and do some work outside. Grabbing my gear I took a short walk through the village and out on the hills at the back ofRead more…
I give away a drawing with each of my newsletters. The winner is picked out at random from those who wish to take part in the draw. The last drawing which was a preparatory drawing for an oil painting was won by Bea from Hove, UK. She was kind enough to write a fewRead more…
I will be giving away this (8cm x 16cm) mounted drawing in my next newsletter which will be sent on the 4th March. The winner will be picked randomly from all those who put in a request for him. A drawing will be on offer for each newsletter from now on so if youRead more…
Getting to New York The flight we were told would take around eight hours. I mused on the fact that eight hours is a whole working day. Nothing wrong with musing I thought as I fiddled with the hopelessly optimistic ‘What to do in case of a crash’ card, I can muse all I please;Read more…
Dogs, dogs and more dogs East 17th Street and 3rd Avenue My first mornings drawing taught me that New York is a city of dog owners; there must be thousands of them parading up and down day and night. 5th avenue is a pampered pooch dog/catwalk show and one soon realises thatRead more…
The House, 121 East and 17th Street When embarking on any large city break I always try to find a place which is a sort of ‘home from home’, a place I can just take it easy at any time and feel welcome with good food and drink. Never too loud though not dull either.Read more…
Times Square As I ambled back to Times Square I felt guilty about being a bit pleased to see a proper NYC mugging just like in the films, I consoled myself to the fact that he would never catch them so would not incur any injury and his phone will be insured too. I stillRead more…
A typical house in Hudson I could describe this street to you in detail though you know it already; you have seen it in those films. The white and pink clapboard houses, the squeaky screen doors, the stars and stripes on every cane chaired porch. The crickets chirping the church bells chiming and somewhere thereRead more…
Verdigris Tea Room 135 Warren Street Hudson, NY 12534 This is an olive and white painted corner tea shop and gallery along Hudson Street, as well as tea they also do a nice line in cakes, chocolate and cookies too, not to mention the odd Tarot reading evening. The interior is a perfect mix ofRead more…
Those nice people at The Royal Society of British Artists have put me on their website for the 296th annual exhibition at The Mall galleries. The exhibition begins on the 6th March until the 23rd of March. I am looking forward to it, Its good to get out a bit.
Not the biggest news in the world though I am rather pleased with it. It was taken in an allotment in Portsmouth. This allotment is one of my favourite hang out places for gardening and person inspiration. I wanted to capture the idea that I am every where. Everywhere that is with my sketchRead more…
I heard late last week that my painting ‘Brick Lane Market’ has been selected for The 296th RBA Annual Open Exhibition at The Mall Galleries. I am really pleased about getting in as I know the competition is rather brutal and the gallery is such a lovely place to show work. I didRead more…
I am currently working on an oil painting for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. No guarantees of getting in of course as the competition is brutal as the whole of the Cotswolds apply. They have, however, let me in a few times before so it is certainly worth a punt and the pageant is goodRead more…
I am currently working on a commission to paint a number of scenes around the Waterloo area of London. I began just before Christmas drawing in the main façade of the station featuring commuters, Christmas shoppers, and those going on holiday. All pouring in and out of the main entrance. On site atRead more…
Just before Christmas I was commissioned to paint a Vespa and rider. It was for a clients husband. He got in to Scooters in his younger years and the love of all things Scooter never quite left him. The client specified a 1960’s model and in light blue too. Well I was happy toRead more…
A big thank you! As it’s coming to the end of the year I thought I would take the opportunity to extend a big thank you to everyone who bought my work, commissioned a piece or indeed just passed on encouragement, whether it be face to face or via whatever social network is your particularRead more…
I am exhibiting at this year’s Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, London. ‘The Affordable Art Fair is returning to London this Autumn, with a feast of contemporary art from £40 – £4,000. With Battersea Park with over 100 galleries, finding the perfect artwork has never been simpler or more fun’ Would like a free ticketRead more…
Last year I was approached to paint a picture of ‘Glorious Goodwood’ in West Sussex, England. This being one of the UK’s premier rececourses. It was a large and complicated composition so I thought I would write a quick blog on my journey along the way. The first step was to get to theRead more…
I am pleased to say I have an exhibition of Oil and watercolour paintings with ‘Addenbrooke’s Arts’ at Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge. From the 1st of August to 26th of September “Addenbrooke’s Arts enhances the hospital environment for patients, visitors and staff, by lifting the spirit and bringing pleasure through an innovative, stimulating andRead more…
My illustrators agent IllustrationX have out a quick scrapbook together about me and my work. They asked a number of questions and a selection of which they posted on their site. If you have five minutes spare than do have a look.
I have recently joined the IllustrationX Illustration agency. They are a great bunch of people and have offices in London, New York, Paris, Hamburg and Shanghai. “We have been representing leading illustrators since 1929 which makes us the world’s most established illustration agency” I am really looking forward to working with them andRead more…
When I popped over to The Royal Academy of Arts to deliver this year’s hopeful painting for the Summer Exhibition I was interviewed by a Journalist from ‘Artists & Illustrators magazine’. I never thought much of it, though I have discovered that they have given me a small bit of room on page fiveRead more…
After 23 years in London we have finally decided to move out to the country. We are now living in the Somerset village of Pilton, the home of the Glastonbury festival. They tell me we have free tickets for life. Now that’s not bad. It’s a fine location for a painter as it’s onlyRead more…
During the Christmas break I made a vast Pork Pie and filled it with six eggs and half a pint of pork stock jelly. Once completed I sliced out a great hunk and painted the remainder. Looking at the final piece it has ‘Country Farm house’ written all over it. The truth couldRead more…
I have written a quick round up of this year. Some of the articles link to blogs in the site if you wish to see more detail. Exhibitions I have been involved in a few exhibitions and was lucky enough tofeature again in The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in London. It’s always a unique pageantRead more…
I am very pleased to hear this very dull Monday morning that my painting I entered in The Bath Prize had sold at the auction on Friday. A tricky competition to do as they choose where you paint. It is of ‘North Parade Bridge’ which would not have been my first choice by a longRead more…
The last few weeks and it seems like months, have been wholly swallowed up preparing for the Affordable Art Fair. I am surprised how much work it turned out to be in the end. The invitations have been written and sent, all the bills have been paid, the labels have been produced and trimmed out.Read more…
6 October 2011 – 19 February 2012 at The British Museum ‘This is a memorial to all the anonymous craftsmen that over the centuries have fashioned the manmade wonders of the world… The craftsman’s anonymity I find especially resonant in an age of the celebrity artist.’ Grayson Perry RA, Turner Prize winner TheRead more…
I am exhibiting at this year’s Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, London. Over the years the AAF have generated a unique, buzzy and informal atmosphere with dozens of galleries selling their works all for less than £4,000. There is also a wide range of activities for all ages so there is plenty to doRead more…
The powers that be were kind enough to allow me in to the allotments at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. A bit about the hospital The Royal Hospital was founded by fun loving so called “merry monarch” King Charles II in 1681 for soldiers of good conduct who were no longer fit forRead more…
Last night I dared to venture out of my London manor to The Inaugural Exhibition of ‘The Plein Air Brotherhood’ at The A & K Wilson Gallery in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. ‘The Plein Air Brotherhood’ are A new group of talented artists and like minded souls who enjoy the considerable challenges of painting in the greatRead more…
I have over the years painted my neighborhood, The London Borough of Hackney. Hackney could well be the most famous borough in the country and despite its often insalubrious reputation there is still something of the ‘Exciting reckless friend’ about it. Even big international brands have recognised the ‘outsider’ reputation and attempted to buy intoRead more…
More good news. Creative finder have also decided to make me a featured artist in their newsletter and on their home page too. It’s a really great site to be on and offers excellent opportunities for commissioning work and for other curative’s to see and appreciate the work of their peers. [contentblock id=1]
I recently visited the French Pyrenees for a painting trip. It’s a wonderful place, and along with the paintings I took some time to write a small journal for this blog. Thanks for reading. Our landing at Lourdes Of course the most famous thing about this modest Pyrenees town, the thing that absolutely everyoneRead more…
Luz-St-Sauveur See part 1 I was very glad to get to Luz-St-Sauveur. The day was hot and the car was dry. Luz-St-Sauveur is a lovely pre medieval village sitting at the bottom of a valley on the lip of the Pyrenees National Park and all the views you can eat and mountains all around. AsRead more…
I am pleased to say that Winsor & Newton have paid me the honour of being their featured artist on their July 2011 Newsletter. I have never won a beauty parade before (not even on Monopoly) and am blushing as I type. I have heard there are 1,000’s of artist on the database too whichRead more…
June 7th -15th August 2011 I am happy to say my painting ‘Lazy Afternoon’ was selected for this year’s Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. This year being the third year in a row. When I was first selected I was surprised to discover that on the Varnishing day you are not immediately allowedRead more…
This painting is availabe as a limited edition print I have just finished an oil painting of Brick Lane Market. Well technically it is Sclater Street although most people will know it as part of the Brick Lane market. It’s just tucked around the corner a wee bit. Blink and you’ll miss it. It isRead more…
This kind of painting is not really my sort of thing (it has a sky in it). Though as it was sunny and I was ‘between paintings’ so to speak I decided to pop over to the village of Cookham in Berkshire to do some traditional outdoor (plein-air) work. I got to Cookham at aboutRead more…
First thoughts on Havana This painting is available as a limited edition print Imagine taking the wonderful, captivating, exciting architecture of Fortnum and masons’ in London’s Mayfair, emptying it out, then leaving it to rot for 30 years and finally moving a pound shop in. That’s what almost the whole of Havana is like. IRead more…
Well technically it is Sclater Street although most people will know it a part of Brick Lane market. Brick Lane Click on the image to see it larger Like any area in transition there are quite distinctive parts. On the south side can be found the Bengali community who replaced the Jewish community, and inRead more…
At the weekend I went to Southend-on-Sea and Clacton-on-Sea to paint something for the Threadneedle Prize. I was most excited and planned it for weeks. This over planning was the beginning of the as yet unseen problem. In my ferment I had it all done it in my head first before checking the places out.Read more…
In a previous blog or two i went through the process of how i build a painting up from the drawing stage. Since that time i have painted the picture and it sits below. You may notice there are a few changes since the initial drawing. I have taken out the landscape at the backRead more…
It all started with that latrine, you know the one, originally cast to be just another receptacle in the privies of Paris. Then in 1917 it was re-cast by Duchamp to take centre stage in a revolution. He signed it, interestingly not with own his name, and boldly declared that anything can be art. ThisRead more…
I though I would blog the process I use in developing an oil painting. Initially it begins with a very simple idea or message. This is often very loose and oddly for a painter who paints a lot of architecture the characters can come first. These are often based on people who I have metRead more…
In between Christmas and New Year I took a freezing trip south of the river (always scary for a North Londoner) to the Dulwich Picture Gallery (DPG) to see the Norman Rockwell exhibition. Although the DPG is tricky to get to and no doubt suffers as a consequence, it is an ideal space to showRead more…
We went to Bath over the new year and I took time out to get wrapped up and get a few sketches together as a spot of pre planning for the Bath Art Prize in the summer. I am not sure which one i shall do yet. I think I will go back in the spring toRead more…
At the LLEWELLYN ALEXANDER (Fine Paintings) LTD London I have a water colour exhibition at the Llewellyn Alexander in Waterloo. All six are scenes of London. Do pop along if you have the time. Chase away the January blues! “Familiar and unusual scenes of London by this group of nine well-established artists: Dianne Branscombe, RoyRead more…
An inspirational Christmas collection of paintings, sculptures, original prints, ceramics, glass, textiles, craft and exclusive jewellery will be on show in the gallery. I will be showing three paintings at the show (see two below) and the opening times are: Byard Art, Cambridge Monday – Saturday 9.30am – 5.30pm & Sunday 11am – 4pm ClosedRead more…
When I plan my paintings of the gardens, allotments and such I often do small studies for reference. Secondly i have begun to collect those dreadful discarded ornaments that are found in charity shops. I suspect these are just picked up in house clearances and handed to the shops en masse. They all have aRead more…