First Whitby picture

I've just moved my studio into the Gallery in Whitby and to celebrate I did a Whitby picture. There's nothing like taking on a technically challenging piece in front of an audience. Judging from the reactions of people its gone O.K.
My current plan for the winter months is to carry on painting buildings and boats from the back of the gallery.

I've really enjoyed the woodland scenes of the last few weeks but it is time to move on. The fowl weather has broken and the open skies of the moors are calling. Watch this space.

Autumn colours

Here's a couple of smallish paintings of the woods at Falling Foss. We've had a wonderful autumn this year for colour, if only the leaves would stay on the trees for a couple more weeks.

Mallian Spout

Mallian Spout

Mirk Mire Moor

Mirk Mire moor in on the Stape road from Egton Bridge to Stape. The sun was dropping below a hill behind and hence the shadowy foreground.

Whitby East Pier

This has been a little whille in the making. I've had it standing on its side in my workshop since september and every time someone came in they commented on it. So finally I have finished it and I think it's alright

Back to selling wet paintings

One of the things I used to miss about when we had the Grosmont Gallery was selling wet paintings. It gives me a real boost and makes me annoyingly happy. This one is of the beech trees above Falling Foss. As you can see we're into the Autumn colours here and I'm hectically scurrying around grabbing scenes before we loose all the leaves.

Oh yes and it's sold

Getting back in the groove

I almost walked away from this one, all was grey and dismal until the sun rose through the clouds on the horizon. It's Saltwick bay by the way.


This one is from the top of Kettleness looking out over Runswick Bay.

I must apologise for not keeping up with my blog recently but this is the reason. The flag ship for my bid for world domination, "Trattles and Geall Fine Arts" 127 Church Street,Whitby. I'm planning on getting its Website up and running by the end of the weekend.

As you can see I'm still getting the odd painting out dispite all the upheaval. This is a view I've been meaning to get to for a long time, usually I'm in too much of a hurry to get down to the beach. It's Saltwick bay, about a mile south of Whitby Abbey.

Early dawn

I have to admit getting up for a dawn is a bit of a chore especially when it amounts to nothing. But sometimes its worth it, this one is from the beach at Robin Hood's bay. It infact clouded over pretty quicky and I went back home to bed.

Poverty Hill

The colours that come out on the moors when the heather is in bloom are simply stunning. Again this photo isn't doing the picture justice, i've redone the last two pictures which hopefully give you a better idea of the colours I keep wittering on about.

The Heather is out

The colours on this one haven't come out well, I'll take it out side and redo it when the rain stops. It's going to be moors moors moors for the next couple of weeks because the heather is out. This is up above Goathland, I'll have to look up the areas name on the map.

A Rosedale sunset

New gallery

If you have been regularly checking me out you will have noticed that I've been trying to get a new style going. The reason for this is that I'm setting up a gallery in whitby and want a way of painting buildings. Yes that's right I'm getting back into the gallery game, we're looking to move into what is now "Pybus fine arts" at the top end of church street. I don't have an opening date yet but will keep you posted.


Whitby harbour using brushes


The Abbey steps reworked using a palette knife

Whitby beach

I decided to end the week with something that has a chance of making me some money, so the palette knife has made a come back.

Whitby harbour

I'm not sure that yesterday's picture is the way I want to go, I'm not sure I'd want it in the house to be honest. So in reaction to that I decided on an impressionistic one. As ever there will be a certain amount of tweaking over the next few days.

East pier

I’ve spent the last couple of days playing with a completely different approach. I have to admit it has been immensely enjoyable. There is a great freedom in stripping a scene down to its key ingredients and working in blocks of colour. But is it a good picture? I don’t know , I would greatly value your opinion so please feel free to leave a comment.

Abbey steps

I have this in built desire to produce photographic images but tend to like the kind of work that is obviously human. A psychologist would probably see it as a desire to please my mummy and daddy and an envy of people who are free to explore and express themselves. Well here's to you you self-righteous know-it-all head shrinker, oh dear was that a bit of repressed narcissistic rage coming to the surface? As you might have guessed I'm currently reading a book on psychology and am obviously benefiting from it.

I'm not sure this picture is finished yet, I just needed to get a different perspective by seeing it on-line.

Lots of little ones

I've had lots of fun this last week messing about with smaller pictures. Infact I'm going to carry on doing the same this week. I've been having a rising sense of creativity being stifled by the risk of commiting large amounts of time to one single picture.

Fairhead

The palette knife came out yesterday much to the relief of Tess. I haven't delved too deep to find out wether it's her love of my palette knife pictures or the security of their popularity. I've really enjoyed my little dabble and have a very large one of whitby on the go that I'm going to gradually work on over the coming weeks.

Impressions of the Esk

The brush work theme continues with this little one of the Esk river. I think I'm getting hooked

Breaking out the brushes

It's only natural that having decided that I'm going to get into water colours that I go and launch into oil painting with brushes. Having spent years being frustrated by the brush I've just spent a couple of wonderful days playing with the way it can softly blend in colours. I started fairly tightly, slavishly trying to imitate the scene but eventually got seduced by the brush marks themselves. This picture isn't quite finished but I'm very pleased with it so far.

Stormy moors

This weather we're getting is producing some unbelievable skies. This picture is a product of a wet yomp accross the heather above Grosmont on Fairhead moor. Wet because that great big cloud swept over me and dumped its load, but worth it. I always find it wierd to spend an evening in a dramatic setting and then to come home to tranquil normality and the tele churning out its mind numbing drivel.

Water colours or not?

It's hard to move into a differnt medium when you rely on your painting to provide an income, but some times I yearn for the softness water colours can produce. This is Whitby beach again, it has become a regular haunt as I have to take the kids to swimming three evenings a week now.



The other reason is that it is great fun, this is a mad, rapid sketch of some rain clouds.

Back to the grind stone

It will come as no surprise to find out I didn't paint on holiday. It has also taken me a whole week to get my brain into gear and produce my first painting. I'd recommend three weeks though, it always takes me far to long to wind down and actually feel truely human. I took the new Clive James book with me and it became an invaluable tool.

I don't normally review books but this one deserves a special mention. I wanted a book that could take me on a nice high brow ramble through the history and philosophy of the last century. I wanted to be entertained and informed on a subject I know little about. I soon became very angry as I realised that I had wasted £20 quid on an unreadable door stop. I doubt that this book would even be of interest to someone who studied history and philosophy if the 20th century. It failed to even attempt to engage the reader and just preceeded to drone on endlessly cross referencing every minor interlectual of the past hundred years. I could go on and infact I did, I piled all my pent up stress in to this nasty little book. It sat there in our caravan vibrating its malevolence allowing me to get on and have fun with the familly. I think I'm going to find out his address and post it to him so that he can fill his own wheelly bin with it.

There I feel much better for that.

Last day of term

I've got that last day of term feeling, tomorrow we're off to France for three weeks. I always take my paints with me when we go away but to date have never managed to paint anything. It's a problem I should over come because if holidays turned into work trips we could go on more.

I dropped this painting off at the Walker gallery, Harrogate yesterday with some small ones

Dale End

The agony is starting to subside and I'm starting to enjoy myself.

Oh the agony

Switching into watercolours is as painful as ever. I decided to put this little one up just to encourage me not to get back into the comfort zone of oils. The way I work is by laying down what end up being hopelessly muted washes and then slowly building up the colours over the day. By the end I start to flow and the picture hopefully pops out of what sometimes can only be described as a horrible mess.
I'm going to hang on in there and hopefully get into my stride by Thursday.

Golden sunset on Whitby beach

It's been a quiet week with only one picture to show for it. The sun has swung nicely round and coastal sunsets may feature highly for the next few weeks. I've been clearing out the workshop ready for a little creative period. I've got a bit of a hankering to have a go at watercolours for a whille.

The mill picture was given as a leaving present and was tearfully recieved. I can see that in the future I will be known as such a bad artist that people would openly weep when presented with my work.

Ramsdale mill

The great thing about taking on commissions is that you get taken to places you would never discover, like this fantastic little mill with a restored wheel hidden away in the back of beyond, Robin hood's bay. The bad thing is that you have to take on what ever you find there. This has been one tough one to do and I will let you judge whether I've carried it off or not.

Bluebell fever

Bluebell woods No.6

I've been really enjoying my little jaunts into the woods, but this week the wind has switched to the East and has been dragging cloud in off the North sea. Whille everyone else in the country has been basking in sunshine we've had cold wintry weather. Because of that I've not been going out which is frustrating as the Bluebells will be coming to their peak now.

Bluebell woods No.7

The green is starting to get to me now, I may do some different subjects for a bit.

Glaisedale Head, winter dawn.

Just me and the Dog, not a soul for miles