Tuesday 15th December 2020Green Windowsill
'
Green Windowsill’ - is a bare, wintry scene, with the leaves off the ash tree outside. The old farmhouse was near to to Riddlehamhope, across Devils Water and along a track, towards Allendale. The farm is below the brow of a hill, a cold, exposed setting, with magnificent views towards Rookhope.
The verdigris on the windowsill was caused by the ingress of damp, as the glass had come out of the windows. The sash cords had snapped. The whole scene was lit up by the gleam of natural light in the foreground.
Posted on December 15th 2020 on 11:47am
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Wednesday 25th November 2020Loft, Old Madeiran Cottage
This atmospheric loft was in a derelict cottage just behind the house and studio in Madeira I’ll be moving to. You can see a broken bed up in the eaves - it must have been hot as hell trying to sleep there in the summer, and there are no windows in the two rooms downstairs. I only saw this in August - and most of the building has now been destroyed. This painting is a work in progress - very close to being finished.
You can also see a mysterious chest in the bottom right of this painting. I never remove or move what I find in the abandoned houses I paint - but this chest must be matchsticks by now!
Posted on November 25th 2020 on 01:17pm
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Wednesday 25th November 2020Himalayan Prayer Flags
I think ‘Himalayan Prayer Flags’ is one of the best paintings I have ever done, and capturing the fragile, fluttering flags in watercolour took many months. The flags were in Triund, about 10 000 feet up into the Himalayan mountains, close to where I lived. The wind blows the prayers down the valleys and they gradually bleach out and disintegrate.
The couple who own the original watercolour have been living in Geneva, and were kind enough to meet up with me recently so that I could have the painting scanned for prints. I lived in New Zealand when I painted this and didn't have resources to scan for prints.
Posted on November 25th 2020 on 12:46pm
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Tuesday 25th August 2020Madeira Move
This article in the Tyne Valley Express tells of our move to Madeira and my latest painting, 'Homage to Riddlehamhope'. We hope to arrive in Madeira in time for the island's flower festival in September. We will be working on a new gallery there this autumn, and I have a separate studio to paint from, looking over the sea. For anyone wishing to visit the gallery, there is a small hotel just five minutes' walk away.
Tuesday 25th August 2020Homage to Riddlehamhope Sequence
These photographs show the progression of my painting of the former hunting lodge at Riddlehamhope. I've been drawn to paint this atmospheric building several times. It has recently been demolished completely.
Tuesday 21st July 2020Prudhoe Gallery in Kingfisher Northumberland Guide
You may spot the gallery in the latest Kingfisher hardback guide to Northumberland, which is full of information on galleries, restaurants, country houses and more to visit in our area.
Tuesday 21st July 2020Moor House Farm Feature
Thank you to the Tyne Valley Express magazine for this feature about my pair of Moor House Farm paintings. I enjoy painting abandoned buidlings which are fragile and fading, so that I can capture their fleeting beauty.
Wednesday 17th June 2020Gallery Open by Appointment
The gallery is now open by individual appointment if you would like to browse the prints and paintings. Just email me via the website's contact area to make an appointment.
Teaching is on hold, sadly, until we have further guidelines of what’s safe and practical. The situation will change in due course.
Take care and very best wishes from myself and Alison.
Friday 12th June 2020The Byre Poem and New Book Coming, ‘An Ungoverned Sky’
This is Noel Connor’s poem ‘The Byre,’ which accompanies my painting ‘Window, Crossdykes Farm’ in ‘In the Pause of Passing’. Mike Tickell was kind enough to read the poem and Nat at Canny Productions filmed it.
Noel and I are currently working on a second book ‘An Ungoverned Sky’ - more news of that soon. Noel has been very busy writing in lockdown, and I’ve had far more time to paint than usual. I hope you enjoy the reading.
Tuesday 19th May 2020Empty Chair, Madeira
This painting of an empty chair in an abandoned dwelling in Madeira is paired, in a sense, with my earlier empty chair painting of a chair in an old house at Peakside, near Frosterly.
In each case, the chair looks as if a person just stood up and walked away from it, creating a mystery as to why the house was abandoned. I never change anything in the houses I paint and leave it to the person looking at the painting to fill in the gaps if they wish to, and to imagine the people who lived there.
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