summer exhibition – The Consulting Artist

Sometimes The Angels Punish Us, By Answering Our Prayers.

I’m in the final stages of preparation for my submission to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. In the run up to a decision like this, there’s a strong whiff of doubt in the air…will I be able to come up with anything vaguely good enough…?

At first I had it in mind to rework a failed experiment which you can see emerge here a couple of days ago, and I thought it was the one. Since then I’ve been reminded of this piece (painted in October 2017) which I am considering…

…and then with just a day or two remaining I made this, a return to my recent angel designs. This is the largest of them to date, painstakingly crafted onto an 80cm x 30cm canvas.

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I like them all. Now here I am – with too many choices, and only a day left to decide. Sometimes The Angels Punish Us, By Answering Our Prayers.

On the plus side at least I have choices to make, much better to be in that position than staring at a blank canvas at this very late stage! This deadline has galvanised me to produce some interesting work.

Footnote 1: For completeness, this is the other painting I am currently considering. Acrylic applied with fingers and a palette knife, on a 75cm x 50cm canvas.

Footnote II. Re: Winged Angels, in other news it’s the 20th anniversary of the unveiling of The Angel Of The North this week, cool huh.

Footnote III. I opted for the black and blue piece, titling it ‘The Gathering’. Let’s see how I get on…

Which Way Is Up?

This weekend I am finalising my submission for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The deadline for applications is February 14th, and as the theme this year is ‘Art Made Now’, I’m planning on delivering something current.

As you can see, in the last 24 hours this canvas has undergone quite a transformation.

I took the art work outside today – to see how it photographs in daylight. As I was putting the art on the easel – I realised I couldn’t decide which way is up. Can you?

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Here are a couple of close ups, and a shot of the work in direct sunlight. I made this art on a 75cm x 50cm linen canvas, using acrylic paint, my fingers, and a palette knife.

Wandle II – The DNA of a river

I enjoy my walks along sections of the River Wandle, and after my recent abstract painting ‘River Wandle‘ sold within minutes of going into my Etsy shop – I decided to revisit the idea.

This time I have scaled up from an A4 size work to this much larger 20″ x 16″ canvas.

Wandle II

I really like how this work has turned out and I am grateful that Carole suggested I leave some spaces in among all the colour. I’ve subsequently entered this painting and my drawing titled ‘Bookcases‘ into the 2016 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. My entries are among a further 11,998 pieces of work so this is a long shot – but you’ll never get picked if you don’t enter. Fingers crossed!