A STUDY CONTINUES.............

I had posted the Julio triptych a while back. It was repro’ed as wall art for anthropologie last year. since then it has had a couple of revivals. I love seeing how the color and depth of the art changes from one substrate to another. the tamsin bent wood chair is one of their company classics and I love the sleekness of the surface and the juxtapose of the watercolor art. the junius rug offers a richness and sheen that is prevalent in many fibre arts. it offers a deeper complexity and a progression of the original piece that I love.

the Julio triptych, the art’s first iteration. all photos anthropologie

FROM PATTERN TO PRODUCT..................

I’ve been designing product for a long time now, but I still get a thrill of seeing my artwork on a finished item. I used to design a lot of stationery but not for a while, so it was nice to see these come to life. The artworks were pattern play studies that I’d pulled from one of my vast “ elemental” files where I keep all those little bit and pieces I don’t want to part with

THE BLUES...............

always a favourite color palette…..blues. playing here with acrylics for portrait

SIMPLE BOTANICALS……………

although today was a mix of experiments with a narrow colour palette, botanicals or simple foliage still seem to be the favourites

BEST WORK ON DAY'S OFF...........................

one of my favorite movies is alfred hitchcock’s ‘rear window’, jimmy stewart’s character, at one point states that as a photographer he took some of his best pictures on his day off…. I totally agree, the pressure is off, there is no deadline or specific agenda and you just let the work take you where it wants to go… that was the case with the art for the leighton vases pictured here….. my favorite is the orange poppies, here’s the original painting and the wonderful rendition on the product. the other paintings can be seen in the botanical section of this site…. product photo from anthropologie

WINTER'S END

a little abstract monotone pattern play for the end of February….

TOWARDS SPRING............

been thinking about spring, warmer weather and seeing new blooms……..

A SUNDAY PAINTER.................

highlighting some product design this week… these candles were a follow on project from the art basel event way back in December 2019… the product cycle being long, they have just launched… available at anthropologie.com… also check out their sisters, the Leighton vases ( see my product design page here) or pop over to anthropologie.com to purchase.

photo of product: anthropologie

COLOUR PLAY...................

working of some color combinations, starting with composition and leading to abstracts

CHASING DAYLIGHT..........

evenings are stretching out, or rather creeping, but definitely the days are getting longer……. some quick studies at sunset

2020 ENDS............

the end of a year like no other. a year of waiting, a year of wfh in everyones vocabulary. To 2021 with hope.

EXPERIMENTS.................

cleaning out the studio this weekend and coming across old supplies that I either use to use regularly or bought to experiment with. Always good to switch it up and leave the comfort zone: keep learning, keep growing…..

BOOK STUDIES..............

looking through some old reference material today and some vintage floral wood cuts. exploring drawing with paint from these simple line studies.

STILL IN THE COUNTRYSIDE............

painting this weekend is still taking a pastoral turn. Its been damp and cold in the city and the thought of seeing fields, trees and beyond the horizon, the dip down to the sea are the views and tomorrows I long for……

TREES FOREVER...............

like most people during lockdown, we find ourselves watching obscure shows on tv… a few of them have been Canadian with the most breathtaking scenery. we often look and say, “ that can’t be real” are we looking at things differently because we know we currently can’t go there? It’s like we are seeing nature for the first time. Thinking of trees in Nova Scotia again today…..

THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW

I had a feeling that landscapes were going to creep back into my mind. I have a love for this palette, its dreamy and hazy, it reminds me of home, train journeys criss-crossing the country, leaving grey inner-city landscapes and opening up to the countryside and know the sea can’t be far away……

MID-MONTH ALREADY..........

as november flies by, the year that has been like no other trundles along. out of a need for change, moving furniture has been a major pass-time. but like everyone the slow-down has been a welcome pause, with a lot of discovery and a feeling of “why on earth didn’t I do that before”. always good to hear friends say such things… a bit of mix media from me, with nine cups. missing landscape for a few weeks, so feeling the pull toward that soon.

ALL HALLOW'S EVE................

today is halloween, the day before the feast of all saints, but way back the time of pagan Celtic festivals………traditions of dressing up and ritual prevalent in both.

MIXING THINGS UP..........

I tend to work first by formulating color and then loosely working pithing the themes on abstract, botanical, pattern or conversational. sometimes, but not often the paths collide and become something new. the results of this weeks work here, a bit of everyday objects + abstracts.

AND EXHALE............................

never stop learning, try new things, revisit things from the past with a fresh perspective, change it up….