Nice Harbour/Marina

A very interesting and challenging summer commission of gorgeous Nice. Nice is the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera. Home to many artists including Henri Matisse.
Such sumptuous colours to get lost in, Nice boasts over 600 Art-Deco styled buildings.

The view or composition is looking down to the luxury yachts and boats in the harbour with the hills stretching for miles in to the ever-changing colours as the sun sets in the distance. A beautiful array of such vibrant summer colours, which will certainly bring so much fun and impact into the room where the painting is hung. A great piece – striking!

Summer Exhibition at The Beaney

Well my solo exhibition is well underway at The Beaney in Canterbury.

The Beaney is such a fascinating beautiful building, it’s an Art Gallery, Library and Visitor Information Centre situated in the heart of historic Canterbury, Kent. The exterior is Tudor and the building itself was originally built in 1897. Over the years it has gone over many refurbishments, the last being in 2009. It’s home to many permanent collections, one of which is William Sidney Cooper, who was a masterful local artist to Canterbury.

So I feel honoured to be part of The Beaney, the Front Room Gallery is where my exhibition is, it has a prime location, with wonderful high ceilings and parquet flooring, it’s just perfect for displaying art.

I decided to call my exhibition ‘A Captivating View’. It’s an expressive, impressionistic vision of urban life and nature. As an artist, I mainly paint Landcapes and Wildlife. My work is quite literal, for me, art should be quite self explanatory. I love colour, light, movement, life. I enjoy creating work that brings colour into the viewers world.
So if you are in the Canterbury area, then please do try and call in, it would be great to see you!

Opening hours are Monday – Friday [10am – 5pm] and Sunday [11am – 4pm].
My exhibition will be running until the 1st October.

Thanks so much,
Ewen

Octopus

I can’t get enough… octopuses are fascinating, aren’t they?

For this particular painting I have used a softer palette than on previous ocotpus paintings. Pinks, muted reds and dark reds, I have also made the sea very dark, although there isn’t much sea visible, the reason for the dark sea was to emphasise the hues and tones on the octopuses skin, but deep sea is very dark. The painting is framed, it’s handmade from recycled wood and I have made it with deep edge, so the painting sits deeper into the frame, this would create a feeling of depth and it would also, emphasise the darkness around the octopus, like around the top of head and tentical ends, the light would start to fade and create more atmosphere.
Overall, I think it’s a success, it’s been very enjoyable creating it.

Materials used.
Acrylic paints. Stretched canvas. Handmade recycled frame. Varnished (gloss medium finish).
Dimensions.
W: 595mm x 420mm (canvas) W: 625mm x 455mm (framed).

Rainy Night in London

There are so many fascinating scene’s to paint in London. This was a recent commission, my client has a strong connection to theatre, so the view was to be looking towards theatreland. At night and when it’s been raining the colours and reflections simply explode on to the canvas, creating a real standout piece… It’s a colour and movement explosion and so unique to London. This will look absolutely fabulous on a white wall, it really will be a standout out piece in any room.
A great commission.

View Towards The Royal Exchange, London

Well this painting has been an interesting challenge, the perspective was what really got me interested when I was looking back at my photos. As well as the light, I recall standing on the roof garend and watching the sunlight create solid shadows across the roads and buildings, I love that when I see it.

Overall, I think the painting is a success, there is so much to look at and it gives the viewer a different perspective on London, so me new buildings to marvel at, old and new.

I suppose it’s my impressionistic view on a London scene. I also tried to restrict my palate a wee bit this time, as I know I can inject more life and colour into a painting than is acutally there, but I suppose that’s your sttle, right? And it’s how you observe the world, it’s your interpretation, it’s your painting!

Acrylics on stretched canvas.
W:100cm H:70cm

A challenging perspective

Painting for me is such a challenging journey. I won’t pretend it’s not mentally challenging too, procrastinating over what to paint, am I heading in the right direction? Everyday I ask myself things like, What to paint? Why? How? and selecting the correct photograph… these are all challenging aspects of being an artist.
Recently I went to Coq d’Argent restaurant in London, which is located in the City. They have a beautiful roof top terraced garden, with fabulous views of the city, old and new architecture, buildings like The Royal Exchange and 20 Fenchurch Street aka The Walkie Talkie. I took some photo’s, I was hoping for a few nice shots, something a little different, more of a challenging perspective for a painting. The shot I selected really was a great view and very challenging, but these kind of perspectives I think, make me thrive and push my skills to develop further. The painting is nearly finsihed, however I wanted to post the process for now and then I will complete the journey with the finished painting with a new post very soon. I hope you like the work so far, maybe we can talk about the process in more depth soon.

Autumn Exhibition

I will be exhibiting my work at the Folkestone Art Societies annual Autumn exhibition.
It will run from the 1st November until the 6th November 2022 and is at the Channel Suite, Leas Cliff Hall. It’s a spectacular spot, with uninterrupted views of the English Channel.
The exhibition will be a mixture of Amateur and Proffessional Artists, 2D Art and 3D sculpture.

So please do try to come along if you are in the area. For more information visit the FAS website: –
https://folkestoneartsociety.org.uk/autumn-exhibition-2022/

Folkestone Art Society Autumn Exhibition

Gorilla sketch

Gorilla’s fascinate me, well actually all animals. However, there is a glaringly obvious link between human’s and gorilla’s (in my opinion), the eye’s. The connection is instant, I believe human and gorilla eyes both share the same pattern of colour differences, so maybe that similarity is why…

That said, gorillas make great subjects to draw from, here is a small pen and ink study from my sketchbook. I think someone else thinks there might be a connection with eyes too. Murphy our cocker spaniel… make eye contact at your peril and he’ll steal your toast!

Folkestone Art Society Summer Exhibition

Running with the theme ‘Small is Beautiful’, I submitted three paintings to the Folkestone Art Soceties Summer Exhibition and the theme was ‘Summer’. All painting were to be no larger than A3, perfect for my small is beautiful. There is a forth, ‘Sun Set Palms’ incase of sales.

The Exhibition is running until Sunday 25th Sept at The Brewery Tap, Tonite Street Folkestone, CT20 1 JR. If you get chance, or are around then call down, there’s some lovely work on display. The old pub facard is truly stunning, with it’s original tiled walls and signage in stunning condition. CHeck it out here: – Brewery Tap Gallery

Small but beautiful…

I am creating a series of small paintings. The idea is to keep my subject matter changing regularly, I will still be painting large pieces, but in between creating these ‘small but beautiful’ paintings.

I also enjoy making things and recycling wood, so all of these paintings are 100% recycled. The board for the actual painting and the frames. I think the frames really set the paintings off well and make them shine.