The Origin drawing for the hayrick, and an abstraction

Ink on paper with watercolour approx 42cm x 59cm 

ink on paper approx 20x 20 cms

Part of the horse station that inspired me. I was searching for a new way to work, and i was keen to do something with the muscular directness of a Franz Kline, and knew the story of the chair drawing and the Bell Opticon projector which led to his departure from figurative painting. The hayrick had a resonance for me, and within its handmade structure I found the image I was looking for, I did make one large painting of this subject, and though I love it, and it hangs in my kitchen where I see it every day, I don't feel it fulfilled my ambition for this work. These work are unframed, and may be available in the Open Studios in May, but I may have to keep them in order to make more work from them.     

Oil on Canvas Framed

 

Oil on Canvas "On The Hill" 50 x 40 cms , framed £400
This work dates from the time I lived in Exmoor, and I was interested in the man made structures that dotted the moors, mostly they related to the Exmoor ponies who ran wild for most of the year, but they were annually rounded up. This image represents one of the isolated stations where they were corralled and fed on these occasions.
 To be included in the forthcoming Open Studios in May 
   

OPEN STUDIO May 2016

 The studio will be open on Saturdays in May, the dates being 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th
  Paintings and drawing all for sale, most in the region of £20 - £500, some are framed and ready for the wall, as above; and others such as work on paper and some canvases need framing.
 For more details contact me through the website, email, or phone.
 This is not part of any larger event, I am opening my studio to meet friends old and new raise some funds and clear some space. 

Sounds of 2015

A list of the music that has kept me going through 2015, in no particular order these tracks have, pushed, cajoled and nurtured me through a year in the studio and the Sunday afternoon vinyl sessions;
Fake Plastic Trees Radiohead
Dance me to the End of Love Leonard Cohen
a.k.a.i.d.i.o.t The Hives
I think i'll call it morning Gil Scott Heron
The Pan Piper Miles Davis
Budo Miles Davis
Intoxicated Man Serge Gainsbourg
World in a Jug Canned Heat
Where did you sleep last night Nirvana ( Unplugged in NY )
Doesn't make it Alright The Specials
Don't take your love from me  Coleman Hawkins
Scattered Black and Whites Elbow
Music for the Last Couple The Jam
The Party's Over Talk Talk
Nothingman (West Palm Beach ) Pearl Jam
Come with Us Chemical Brothers
When You call my name  The Skatalite
Looking for the heart of Saturday night Madeleine Peyroux
Looking for the heart of Saturday night Tom Waits
I knew the bride when she used to Rock and Roll Nick Lowe
Shipbuilding Elvis Costello
The number one song in Heaven Sparks (for Bella )
Birdman Ralph McTell
Everybody Dance Chic
Fire on The Bayou The Meters...

For Alex and Bella  and in memory of my cousin David Fowles    

Studio wall

It's strange what I choose to hang on the wall of the studio, in theory I don't want anything distracting me from what i'm working on, but on the other hand there are those blank walls crying out for something on them, and I have a large stock of paintings sitting in stacks, so here they are, there are two versions of the one on the left, and the other one hangs in our dining room. the framed image is from the valley of the rocks, in Lynmouth, from the time when I lived in Exmoor, and below is a study of a lump of flint ( which inspired the painting on the left ) 

A couple of studies from earlier this year

Some tree studies from earlier in the year,

Looking West towards Grovely Woods

This is the view of Grovely Woods from below the A36 , with the willows in the foreground, which gave Wilton its name, where the Wylye river flows, and the hill rises like a formidable bulwark. The Roman road runs straight ahead from this point of view at the crest of the hill, the Roman Rd from Old Sarum West climbs up the hill to the East of this view, descends into Wilton, and then climbs this hill again from the left of this depiction. To me this corresponds to the description of Wilton by Asser , with all the identifying aspects apparent. The Nadder river runs in the valley to the left of this picture, south of the hill.