A visit to the Artist's Studio

The Artist's Studio

People do not usually get the opportunity to visit a working artist’s studio, and see the canvases still unfinished resting against a wall, or on the easel; the oil paint, with strong primary colours, still wet and brightly glistening. To observe the order and chaos of where the artist stores his paints, the chair he sits upon, the window he looks out of. Usually, people only see the finished paintings, neatly framed and hanging serenely on a gallery wall. I thought it would be amusing to show this artist’s works in progress, a visual diary of time spent in the studio.

Work in Progress

The images of my paintings displayed on this page, are of unfinished work, still in progress, and with more to be done. I have often considered making a visual diary of my work in the studio in this way, but up till now I did not possess the technology required to put my idea into action. It is hoped that the page will prove to be informative, entertaining, and over time will build to be an interesting and valuable document, educational of the artist’s working methods, and enthusiasm for the task in hand.

I particularly enjoyed attaching the walking stick

The images, below. show a painting I have been working on for some time, and details of the heads, still unfinished, but near to completion. The painting is done in two sections, on two separate canvases, and these have been joined by attaching them to two lengths of wood at the back of each canvas. I particularly enjoyed attaching the walking stick, it has a private significance for me which I prefer not to publish online, but I think it fits into the overall picture very well. The figure immediately at the bottom of the canvas is done in what I call pure painting, and shall be enjoyed by people who like the paintings of Asgar Jorn, a great painter who was a member of the Cobra Group of artists.

The image on the left is a detail of a painting I am working on at the moment, it represents a man out walking with a cane, perhaps he is a farmer, or a man from the city out walking in the countryside. I admit it is a rather odd image, but I am proud of it, and have enjoyed painting it.

My Art Studio

As a rule my painting studio is very cluttered, but I do make the attempt to maintain some order, it does not suit everyone, but I find it a congenial space in which to work, it enables me to sit in front of my canvases when I want, I am able to work uninterrupted.

This painting (above), is a large canvas: over six feet square, and I have been working on it for some time; it has changed considerably from when I first started it and I am happy with what I have done so far. The crosses on the painting were suggested to me by looking at the paintings of the Spanish artist, Antoni Tapies; he often includes this type of iconography in his work.