A cheetah in the conservatory

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing (£7 to US; £3.50 to UK and rest of Europe)

The Conservatory

Acrylic on wood panel 12" x 12" Currently not for sale

The park seems to have lots of curvy and sloped lawns. It gives variety and a bit of mystery. I have always loved the old Victorian conservatory. It's a grand building. This painting has gone through many revisions as I have worked on it. It had no conservatory to begin with but eventually it almost demanded to be placed there. It had two different and separate children until it found this lady whose place it is. One of the advantages of acrylic is that none of this matters - painting out can be done in a few seconds and original marks soon covered with new ones. Altogether it took me about 10 to 12 hours. Using mostly greens is a big challenge for me but I'm glad I persevered with it.

Walking on the grass

Acrylic on hardboard 8"x 8" Not currently for sale

When I was a kid, you weren't allowed to walk on the grass in the park. That's changed now but the tendency is still to stick to the paths, especially for the older folk. Old habits die hard I suppose but now and again you get a rebel in the midst :-D

The lady on the bowling green

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8" This painting is currently not for sale

Sorry not to offer these paintings for sale but I'm entering a competition in a couple of months and I hope to use 2 or 3 of these but right now don't want to commit myself to specific ones. Once I've selected (mid August) then the others can go up for sale.

Well, bowling greens. Amazing places. There is a "cambre" on the green which means a slight rise in the centre and when the bowls get too near the edge they drop gently into a trough which runs right the way round. The grass is cut so finely it looks like a green carpet. There is a rule that you are not supposed to stand on them in your ordinary shoes - bowls players have special shoes I think. This lady isn't a bowls player. She just happened to be there.

Don't touch

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8" This painting is currently not for sale

I don't think we always "see" things in the right proportions. If something really interests us or alarms us we wll "see" it bigger than it really is. In any case sunflowers are so hard to resist!

Ghosts in the park

Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8" This painting is currently not for sale

In England, especially in the north of England, the Victorians built municipal parks. This was so that the factory workers would have somewhere to walk on Sundays which was green and flowery because very few of them would have outside gardens to their homes. These parks are very formal and laid out in close clipped lawns and flower beds. I don't know why but I think there is a sense of spookiness in the park. It's hovering, just slightly there, although these ghosts don't look very threatening do they.

In my own shadow

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

There's a custom up here in the north of England of celebrating "Whitsuntide". At least there used to be a custom. I don't think people bother much these days except that we get a Spring bank holiday. However, when I was little each church used to have processions on Whit Sunday (the feast of Pentecost which is the 7th Sunday after Easter) and the tradition was that all the children had new clothes bought for them. So here I am in my new clothes. My mother sometimes took us to see a "stately home" to see how the other half lived :-D so that is one in the background. It makes me laugh because it isn't that much different in appearance to a cotton mill. I feel a bit sorry for the kid in the painting, keeping her hat on and clutching her little plastic handbag. I didn't feel sorry for myself then though - I think I was kind of proud!
This is the twelfth painting in the "Not the Sheila I know" series.

The Tartan Ribbon (re-work)

Acrylic on wood panel 8" x 8" This painting is not currently for sale

This is a rework of the very first painting in the "Not the Sheila I know" series. I was never happy with it and I am learning to listen to those instincts. The eyes were open in the first one and the face smiling but I wanted a bit more sombre mood and the closing of the eyes as I painted was almost instinctive. I thought she looked as if she might be playing hide and seek (a game which always rather scared me). I had a number of tartan ribbons - my mother was a Scottish afficionado :-} - and they always seemed to be on the point of floppily dropping out of my hair.

La Maison de Matisse

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing (£7 for US; £3.50 for UK & Europe)

This was a bit of a cloudy day weatherwise (I can see some Stalybridge colours creeping in there, haha) and threatening a bit of rain so the sky was quite interesting and not that flat Provencal blue you mostly see. Matisse's family house is huge, like a mini chateau. How come these guys came from such wealthy families? Poor old Van Gogh and Cezanne, they never had this sort of backing. Most of the decoration though on this house is actually painted on - it's "trompe l'oeil" - that ochre coloured stonework and even some of the shutters I think are just painted. So maybe they were trying to save money after all?

Waiting for Picasso (detail)

Oil on hardboard, approx 8" x 4" (full painting is £65; cropped version is £32 - but there is only one painting, not two!!). If you would like me to saw the full one in half for you I am happy to do so!
(see May 31st for full 8" x 8" version).

I spent today re-working a couple of paintings. It was fun and a good learning experience. As I browsed at the re-works on the blog, the above painting (in its full version - see below posting for May 31st) half disappeared off the top of the screen as I scrolled down. It suddenly struck me how much better I liked it with the emphasis on the two figures, so I thought I would share that with you. I made a copy of the original and cropped it in my photo editing software. Isn't technology marvellous sometimes!

The Balcony

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8"

This painting is currently for auction on eBay (until Thursday 9th July) with bids starting at £30.

Click here to bid

This building was in the Cimiez area of Nice. I think it's an area that many, many years ago belonged to Italy. In fact much of that coast line at one time was in Italian hands. There is an air of ostentatious gracefulness in many of the buildings which are now let out as apartments (and they cost a fortune to rent). This one reminds me of Romeo and Juliet!

La Belle Epoque

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing (£7 to US; £3.50 to UK and Europe)

Another of the beautiful buildings of Nice. This painting caused me no end of trouble. The reason was that the building was heavily decorated with plaster moulding and stucco and whereas I did not want to lose that feel, I did not want to fall into the trap of painting every little detail. What I really enjoy about this one though is that the sky was what we call a "mackerel sky" - a lot of small, light clouds against a deep blue. The sky seemed nearly as "decorated" as the building!

Mediterranean

This painting has been sold

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8".

Nothing shows up the brightness of the Mediterranean sun better than its buildings, themselves graceful and elegant architecture. What a combination.

The South of France

Oil on wood panel 8" x 6" £55 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

This is the same view as with the couple (see painting below),but after all the people had disappeared there was one lone scooter standing there in the shade. I thought how typical this view was of the south of France; terracotta buildings, narrow streets, deep light and shadow contrasts and a little triangle of blue at the top.

Waiting for Picasso (re-worked)

Oil on wood panel 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

We are in Antibes and this young couple are waiting for the Picasso museum to open. The museum is right behind us in the Chateau Grimaldi and the church to the right is Antibes Cathedral. Most people in this part of France take a siesta during the middle of the day - only us tourists are idiotic enough to sit out in the sun and "wait". I wanted to convey the heat of midday but without doing a blue sky. Originally the orange was just painted there to be a vibrant under-colour but as I painted I grew to like it and it stayed. Why the girl is all wrapped up I don't know - she was wearing a shawl wrapped around her body - maybe protection from the sun.
(When I re-worked this, I over painted the orange sky with blue. I felt there was some confusion of feeling about the time of day and I think I have still managed to keep the peace and stillness of the scene).

In the grounds of the Musee Volti in Villefranche

Oil on wood panel 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

The Musee Volti is dedicated to the works of sculptor Antoniucci Volti. On the pedastal there you can see the "Three Graces". The museum is in the Citadel, an old fort on top of the hill in Villefranche. The work of Volti is displayed in all the original nooks and crannies of the different rooms and areas with the original stone wall left still unrendered. I was new to his work and it impressed me a lot. The figures were very approachable and no signs to say "Don't touch" which was an added bonus!

The Kiss

Oil on wood panel 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

This is Rodin's "The Kiss" in the Musee des Beaux Arts in Nice.

Inside the Musee des Beaux Arts Nice

This painting has been sold

Oil on wood panel 8" x 6" (approx) £55 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

This is a lovely, light art museum and that is what I wanted to capture in this painting.

Me and mum

Acrylic on wood panel 8" x 8" Not for Sale

My mum was and is a very pretty and talented lady but she didn't get chance to put her talents into "further education". However she painted pottery, made dresses for all and sundry (sometimes she did whole weddings - can you imagine what that was like for a small girl to see all those dresses hanging around the front room!), made lovely hats, did all the diy and decorating in the house and had her paintings "put on the wall" at school, she worked in engineering, in shops and she did fire watching during the war. And she still is doing beautiful embroidery. She is one of the war time "toughies" !
This is number 11 in the "Not the Sheila I know" series.

Our best dresses (re-worked)

Acrylic on wood panel 8" x 7.5" This painting is not currently for sale

This must be about 1949 or 1950. The lady is our next door neighbour Alice. She was beautiful with golden curls and so sweet. Like us they were not particularly well off but she always wore pretty clothes. Sometimes she would go to the market and buy some lengths of cheap cotton and my mum would make her a nice dress. We are standing here in a field just up the road from our house. You can see new building beginning in the background. Now, this area where we are standing is all built up with houses.
This painting is number 10 in the "Not the Sheila I know" series.

In the rework I have made the lady resemble Alice a bit more, which makes me happy (although I know not many other people will realise that). i have also indicated some pattern on her dress because I remember that dress so well, it was a pretty blue, crepe de chine kind of fabric. I have also darkened and firmed up the structures in the background behind the two figures.

Eating apples

This painting has been sold

Acrylic on wood panel 8" x 8" £65 (British pounds) plus postage & packing

This is me and a neighbour's girl eating apples in the garden. I have some ideas about this one but I will leave it up to your imagination.
This is number 9 in the "Not the Sheila I know" series

Me with my dad (reworked)

Acrylic on wood 8" x 8" Not for Sale

Picking up the "Not the Sheila I know" theme again after my flirtation with the south of France. I am aware that this painting may look rather strange above the Villefranche bay one. I have stopped worrying about different styles emerging. I saw works by Matisse and Picasso whilst I was away which demonstrated a variety of styles each. Think I'll just go with the flow.
Anyway, on to my dad. He was a shoe repairer. He was also a bit of a poet and he loved to read. He was a quiet man and was sadly killed in a road accident forty odd years ago. I think this is the only photo I have of him with me as a baby. There he is in his nice smart suit and me looking like a little scruff as usual.
This painting is number 8 in the "Not the Sheila I know" series. I have reworked this since first posting it. I had the urge to "realise" it more. I'm learning that there is always some reason behind these "urges" and you have to learn to listen to them.

The bay at Villefranche

This painting has been sold

Gouache and ink on paper approx 10" x 7"

I debated whether or not to post these little sketches in paint and pencil or ink. They amuse me because this is really not my typical approach but it was either that or very "studied" works in pen and ink or what have you. I didn't really feel comfortable with the gouache. The paint just dried up as I was mixing it (I had got used to pre-mixing with my oils and acrylics). Also of course with gouache you can't "layer" because it picks up the underneath layer of paint as soon as it is re-wet. Anyway, on the positive side I became obsessed with Matisse blue - those cut out dancers and other abstracts he did in the last few weeks of his life when he wasn't up to sitting at the easel. Apparently he also used gouache for those latter works in lots of this deep, vibrant blue.
Well folks, I am back to Stalybridge light now - which at present is rather gloomy and foreboding, so what's new :-D.
If any one is interested in buying any of these Nice sketches you can have them for £25 each. Bulk orders will get special discount !

Provencal kitchen

Gouache and pencil on paper approx 10" x 7"

The Carousel

Gouache and ink on paper. Approx 10" x 7". Please email me if you are interested in purchasing
I think I saw this children's carousel off the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. It was nestled among the trees in a small park.