New Art

I’ve just completed a new acrylic painting based on an area of Cannock Chase Forest. It’s called ‘Distant Light’ and can be viewed in the ‘Woodland’ section of this website. I had decided to take a break from forest scenery for a while but when I saw this view I just had to respond. I have another drawing ready to go based on a burnt out building I discovered in Scotland during the summer.

In other news, I have decided to leave X (Twitter) as I felt that the platform was becoming increasingly negative and my posts were largely ignored. A few of my artist friends are trying Blue Sky and so I have just started an account there. If you use it, look me up!

More exhibitions

I currently have two acrylic paintings in the new Birmingham Art Circle exhibition at the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham; ‘Signing Off’ and ‘Exit’. These two pieces depict the abandoned job centre on Stafford. Since I first painted them, the building has become even more run down due to neglect and vandalism. The show features a wide variety of work from members of the group and is well worth a visit. It runs until the 26th October.

My acrylic painting, ‘Outside In’ is currently on display in the Open Exhibition at Brampton Museum and Art Gallery in Newcastle under Lyme. It features the interior of a derelict ceramics factory in Stoke on Trent. The show runs until the 22nd December.

Current Exhibitions

2024 is a busy year for exhibitions it seems.

My painting, 'Flux’ is currently in the Three Counties Open Exhibition at The Burslem School of Art. The show runs until the 24th August.

My drawings, ‘Springfield Brewery’ and ‘Return’ will feature in the ‘Making Marks’ exhibition at Patchings Art Centre in Nottinghamshire. This is a group show with the Birmingham Art Circle and runs until the 29th September.

I will be showing several drawings and paintings in the ‘Cut to the Chase’ exhibition at the Museum of Cannock Chase. This is a joint exhibition with Lisa Henderson and David Gleeson and it will run until the 12th October.

Do pop down and take a look at the work if you can!

Three Counties Open Exhibition

I’m pleased to announce that my acrylic painting, ‘Flux’ has been selected for the forthcoming Three Counties Open Exhibition at The Burslem School of Art. The show has been organised by Keele University and features artists from across Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire.

I’m currently working on a commission and then plan to return to an urban landscape that I’ve currently got on hold. Busy as always!

SGFA Membership

I am happy to announce that I have been asked to become a full member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art (SGFA). I have been an associate member for three years now and in that time have taken part in several exhibitions with the society. Drawing is a very important part of my practice and so it is great to be part of an organisation that focuses on that. I’ve been impressed with the standard of work by the other members and feel inspired whenever I see their art.

Drawing is something that has been with me since I was first able to pick up a pencil. It’s something that feels natural and is very enjoyable. I will be running a few drawing workshops over the next few months which will be aimed at all abilities including complete beginners. Learning to draw teaches us to look more closely at the world around us and helps us to see beauty and fascination with even the smallest of things.

Exhibitions

It’s been a busy year so far with plenty of other things planned over the next few months. My exhibition, ‘Quiet Spaces’ was positively received at The New Vic Theatre and I have more shows coming up soon.

My acrylic painting, ‘Outside In’ is currently on display as part of the Summer Exhibition at the RBSA Art Gallery in Birmingham. It features a variety of work by artists from across the UK.

I have three drawings in ’A Fine Line' - the Art of Drawing’, a group show with members of the Society of Graphic Fine Art. The exhibition starts on the 29th June at The Courtney Gallery in Ashbourne. I will be running a drawing workshop there on the 7th July so why not give it a go?

I will be exhibiting a few pieces of work in ‘Cut to the Chase’, an exhibition celebrating the beauty and atmosphere of Cannock Chase Forest. The show starts on the 24th August at The Museum of Cannock Chase and includes work by David Gleeson and Lisa Henderson. I will be running a drawing workshop in connection with the show.

I’m currently working on a commission and also a new urban landscape.

New Life

I have just completed a new graphitint drawing, titled ‘New Life’. This piece was inspired by a chance encounter with a fallen tree during a walk with the family. My son remarked that he found it interesting how nothing is wasted in nature as the dead tree would become a habitat for new life forms.

I would imagine most people would not find dead trees particularly beautiful but I think when looked at from a certain perspective, they can be as fascinating and decorative as those thriving. When looking at nature I like to look at everything, new and old.

’New Life’ can be viewed in the ‘Woodland’ section of my website.

Quiet Spaces

I currently have a solo exhibition at The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle under Lyme. It features a selection of my work, 21 pieces in total, with a mix of urban and natural landscapes. I used to think that these two strands were quite different but really, both are about the power of nature and our relationship with the environment. The abandoned buildings are places that show traces of human activity and in our absence, nature starts to take over. In my natural landscapes you can see evidence of human interaction with the space. None of the pictures however, feature people and this gives the work a quiet and contemplative mood.

The exhibition runs until the 15th June and is free to view. Do pop down and take a look.

New Drawing

I’ve just completed a new drawing based on the old stables at the Tanygrisiau Slate Mine in North Wales. The drawing was done in fine line ink pens and the washes with quink ink and watercolour. Last year I visited the area to explore the caverns and found the surrounding landscape just as fascinating. I liked the misty hills, large heaps of slate and the derelict buildings in the area; the remains of what was once a thriving industry. You can see ‘Old Stables’ in the Slate Caverns section of my website.

Experimental Drawing

I have been experimenting again with ink over the last couple of weeks. This time I’ve not used the pens as normal and instead focused on Quink ink. By wetting the paper and dropping in black Quink you can get some really interesting and unpredictable results. I’ve just completed a new drawing featuring Tanygrisiau, an area of North Wales that I visited in October when exploring the caverns there. Loose areas of ink on wet paper were added first and then more controlled brushed ink was added on afterwards. It’s an interesting technique and one which I plan to explore a little more.

You can find ‘Tanygrisiau’ in the ‘Small Works’ and ‘Slate Caverns’ sections of this website.

New work

I’ve just completed a new oil painting which I’ve called “Burrows”. It is based on an abandoned building I often pass just outside Stafford. Earlier this year I parked up near the building and took a few reference photos to work on back at the studio. I really like the way nature takes over the spaces we leave behind and the contrast between the worn surfaces of the building and the plant life surrounding it. I started this earlier on in the year, put it on hold for a while and then carried on more recently to bring it to completion. Sometimes it’s good to take a break mid way through as it gives you a fresh perspective. You can find ‘Burrows’ in the ‘Abandoned Spaces’ section of the website.

Cathedral Cavern

I have just completed a new drawing called “Cathedral Cavern’ based on Llanfair Slate Cavens in North Wales. I visited the site during the summer and was fascinated to learn about the history and working conditions that the miners experienced. The Cathedral Cavern is the largest area of the mine and the only space that lets in natural light. This piece started off with washes of graphitint pencil to add colour and then I used several layers of dark pencil over the top to add textures, shadows and details.

I have since returned to Snowdonia and visited another cavern at Tanygrisiau. This mine was considerably larger and deeper and was very inspiring to see. The surrounding area outside was bleak but beautiful and has provided me with further subject matter to work with. I’m increasingly drawn to quiet landscapes and this place was just right.

Birmingham Art Circle Exhibition

I currently have three pieces of work on display at the the Birmingham Art Circle exhibition at the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham. It’s a diverse show and members work across several different mediums. The show runs until the 11th November and it is definitely worth a visit. My pieces are the ‘Sandonia 3’ pencil drawing and two oil paintings, ‘The Path Home’ and ‘Serenity’.

I recently went back to Snowdonia again and took further research photos of the landscape there. The mountains and the slate caverns are very dramatic and inspiring. It’s a great area and I could imagine living in the area at some point in the future.

Exhibitions and New work

My drawing ‘Waiting’ is currently on display at the RBSA Drawing exhibition in Birmingham. This is the first time the gallery have dedicated an exhibition entirely to drawing and it’s a very strong show. It runs until the 14th October.

My recent oil painting, ‘Serenity’ has been selected for the forthcoming ‘Broadway Arts Festival’ which runs from the 6th to the 15th October. The show takes place at Bretforton Theatrebarn in the Cotswolds.

I’ve been working on some new drawings inspired by Llanfair Slate Caverns in North Wales. I’ve just completed a second one which you can view on this website. For this piece I combined washes of graphitint with layers of Conte carbon pencil which has give the work a bolder look than the first one. I like them both in different ways.

Llanfair Slate Caverns

I recently returned from North Wales where I visited Snowdonia and various other places in the area. I was very much inspired by my trip to to Llanfair Slate Caverns near Harlech. The history of the area is interesting and I enjoyed learning about the working conditions of the miners. The tunnels felt quite atmospheric and I took a number of photos while I was there.

Back in my studio I began to put together some compositions inspired by my visit and have just completed my first drawing. It’s in the new ‘Slate Caverns’ section of my website. This new piece was created using graphitint and pencil which seemed to suit the textures of the rock. More to follow!

RBSA Drawing Prize 2023

I am pleased to announce that my drawing ‘Waiting’ has been selected for the RBSA Drawing Prize. This piece depicts a misty scene at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. Although I have produced quite a few pieces of work of the area, I feel that this one is perhaps my favourite drawing of the series. It captures a very quiet and dream like state which I really like.

The exhibition starts 5th September and runs until the 15th October. The RBSA Gallery is in Birmingham within St Pauls Square. Do pop down and take a look.

Sandonia III

In 2021 I completed a pencil drawing of the old Sandonia building in Stafford. Since then it has sat in my studio and I almost forgot about it. I looked at it again the other day and decided to work into it some more, adding textures and darker tones to some of the areas. The changes have made it a stronger piece of work and I’m now happy.

The Sandonia is another example of a distinctive building being left to fall apart. Someone at some point began to knock it down but then stopped part way through the job. So we’re now left with a big hole down the side which reveals some of the interior.

Will it be pulled down or repaired? We’ll have to wait and see.

You can view ‘Sandonia III’ in the ‘Abandoned Spaces’ section of this website.

Serenity

I’ve just completed a new oil painting which I’ve called ‘Serenity’. Over the last two or three years I have felt overwhelmed by the negative and dramatic news stories in the media and I wanted to produce some work that was the antithesis of that, something calm and positive. These quiet moments often get overlooked but when we stop and look more closely, it is possible to find beauty and fascination in the everyday. The new painting can be found in the ‘Small Works’ section of this website.

Ink Experiments

I have been experimenting again with quink ink and produced a new drawing that is both loose and descriptive at the same time. This time around I used a little blue ink alongside the black and white, finishing off with a thin brush to add details. The new piece is called ‘Glow’ and you can see it in the woodland section of this website.

At the moment I have no particular project in mind and so I am just enjoying playing with materials to see what I can come up with. The one thing I am sure about is that I want to create some work that is calm and peaceful. I tend to be drawn to quiet landscapes more than busy scenes.