Canvas and Board blocks

When I first started out painting in oil I actually started big i.e. 5ft (1.5m ) wide and 20" (.5m) deep. I used to buy in a large roll of canvas and stretch it onto pine from the local builders merchant. The biggest problem with that was the quality of the wood, kiln dried pine warps.

To get round this I started buying seasoned tulip wood and I'd cut it to size using a cheap bench saw. Tulip wood is from the U.S. and is used by cabinet makers because of its stability. 

Eventually I gave in and started buying ready made canvases from a company called Harris Moore who also use Tulip wood. It is expensive but at least I get the peace of mind that I'm not going to see a great string of unhappy customers  complaining about bent pictures.

I still stretch medium sized canvases but buy in composite pine stretcher bars from Lion Picture Framing Supplies.

This is my Morso guillotine, I bought it second hand a long time ago. I can't sing the praises of this machine highly enough and if you get the chance to pick one up secondhand do so. this one was bought from a contract picture framers and had seen many years of abuse but it still keeps on going.

It allows you to cut a 45 degree angle to an accurate length and make making frames a doddle.

For small pictures I paint on MDF, I used to use canvas but the calluses aren't worth it. I make up a pine frame and the glue on a sheet of MDF. I'm very fortunate to have a friendly joiner who cuts up sheets of MDF for me into the require sizes 

 I use these little blocks because they fit nicely into a tray frame. I've found over the years that a large picture generally doesn't need a frame which is fortunate since making large frames is an art in itself, but smaller picture do. My work is very textured and putting a frame over the top of it just doesn't work. The moulding for this comes as bare ( unstained ) Ash from a company in London called Rose and Hollis.

An introduction to my world

I'm having a little bit of a painting avoidance day today so thought it would be an ideal opportunity to show you my setup.

Five years ago I found myself single and in need of both a home and a studio. Rather than buying a normal house I decided to buy back my old place, the Grosmont Gallery. By doing this it meant I'd get a property that would pay for itself as well as giving me plenty of space.

It looks quite small from the front but the back drops down a bank and it has a total of five storeys. I was to live in the top two, the gallery is in the middle and the bottom two at the back are a holiday cottage and garage/workshop.

It's huge and cheap relative to a normal property, one of the reasons being it is in a quiet rural location. Well when I say quiet it does have the North Yorkshire Steam Railway running through it and their engine sheds, which means a large number of visitors invade over the summer months.

Grosmont high street and railway crossing.

As I bought the building I started seeing my now fiancée, Jayne, who promptly stole the top two floors and turned it into a B&B. So much for my plans for a fantastic bachelor pad...

I didn't even get the dancing girls round.... not that Grosmont is famed for dancing girls.

I've set up my studio at the back of the gallery, there was also enough room to allow for a café which is run by another Jayne, Jayne Harrison. 

Fortunately I don't mind working in front of people which is strange because if I ever go out to do some plein air work I become very self conscious.

Like many creative people I am extremely untidy, I like to think it's because my mind is on higher things rather than being lazy. Anyway what ever it is it works.

The work space is a little cramped if I'm honest but that is probably because I've also squeezed a pottery in. In the summer it does sometimes get a little too busy so it's nice to have a little haven to escape to and close the door for some peace and quiet.

Down the back of the building is my wood workshop, where all the framing stuff happens. Having the ability to frame is hugely important. Framing is expensive and my work doesn't sell at high enough prices for me to out source the work.

On the bench you can see some Ash moulding that is about to be stained. It will then get cut to size with a guillotine and then staple together using an underpinner.

It took me quite some time to discover this moulding, mostly I used to leave my work unframed which is fine for larger pieces but not so much for small.