I've just completed a series of preliminary canvases for my current painting 'The Counsellor'. If anything they have shown me what not to do, in the final painting.
You can see them on my latest Facebook and Instagram posts.
I like to get to a certain stage with these experiments and then plunge in with finished piece. I'm always trying to chase that bit of magic which usually eludes me. But you've got to keep searching.
Some readers from my 3rd January blog may remember that I put one small preliminary canvas from the EGGHEADS series into the Winter Open exhibition at the Babylon Gallery. There were 300 pictures, floor to ceiling on the walls and I never expected to sell . Well it sold and I met the buyer by chance the next day and she seemed delighted with her purchase.
I make preliminary studies to work out how to produce the final piece and solve problems with colour, texture, composition etc. However, it's good to let them go as I do seem to make quite a few - and the extra cash is always useful.
You can see some of the preliminary canvases on the WORKS FOR SALE page of my website.
I was staining some small canvases in the studio with Cadmium Orange when I dropped the lid of the paint tube on the floor. After a few frustrating minutes trying to find the damn thing, I gave up.
Next, mindful that it was a new tube which I didn't want to dry out, I started looking for another top to screw on. This involved searching through loads of old tubes (granted, they needed sorting out, anyway) to find a good fit.
Eventually I found one that would do and so returned to my now, very limited painting time.
At some point, I don't remember why, I slipped my hand into the pocket of my apron. And there it was - the missing tube top.
Life can be very frustrating, sometimes.
I had a visit from one of my first Cambridge students from over fifty years ago and I hadn't seen since. It was lovely to welcome Andy and his mum, Eileen for coffee last week.
I'd met Eileen (who's nearly ninety and very fit) at the gym but it took us over a year to work out what the connection was.
I gave them a mini tour of bits of the gallery (I don't open officially until after Easter) and hope they enjoyed it. I know Andy was disappointed not to see my Morris Minor (it was away having its annual service and MOT) as he remembered it from when I drove it to school every day.
By way of recompense, I was able to show him a short film clip of the car leading the Jubilee parade last year.
