Staithes Harbour

Staithes Harbour

(acrylic on canvas, 12x12 in)

Yesterday, I put the finishing touches to another painting that's hung around the studio for a long time, waiting to be finished. It was, I think one of the first, if not the first painting begun when I switched from oils to acrylics. Now to find a suitable frame so it can be shown in an exhibition.

Crab Pots, Staithes

Crab Pots, Staithes

(Acrylic on canvas, 12x12 in)

Yesterday I moved an old painting out of the way, and found this one hidden behind it. It’s in a nice black frame and dated 2017 and although I can tell it’s been displayed somewhere, I have idea where or when. Anyway, I like it and if you do too and are interested in buying it, please get in touch..

 

Snails on a Cloth

 

Snails on a Cloth

(Acrylic on paper, 20 x 18.5 cm)

Something to distract me from pictures of Staithes, this resulted from an online prompt from Este MacLeod. Maybe there should have been some ladders too?

Staithes IV

 

Staithes IV

(Acrylic on linen panel, 30x30 cm)

I'd planned on doing only three in this series, but on a whim, decided to try at least one more. Then, having started it, I found myself at the stage of thinking "Why did I decide to do that?" but I could see a way through and this is the result.

I’m interested to find that each of my views of Staithes brings out a slightly different approach, while there’s an overall look that unifies them.

Staithes III

 

Staithes III

(Acrylic on canvas, 16x12 in)

Finished the third of my Staithes paintings today.

Staithes II

 

Staithes II

(Acrylic on linen, 30x30 cm)

Completed in parallel with the previous painting, Staithes I, so again almost a month in the making. Again I’m pleased with the outcome, especially as it doesn’t look like the painting I thought it would be. Always a bonus.

Staithes I

 Staithes I

(Acrylic on linen panel, 30x30 cm)

Almost a month in the making. That’s something I’ve not been accustomed to in recent times, and I’m not sure why it happened. Nevertheless, I’m very pleased with the outcome.

Staithes Beginnings

Staithes I

(acrylic on canvas, 16x12 in)

Staithes II

(acrylic on linen, 30x30 cm)

Staithes III

(acrylic on linen panel, 30x30 cm)

When I worked with oils, I always had several pictures on the go to allow for drying. Acrylics obviated that, but I decided at the beginning of the week I’d make an effort to work again on several pictures together. And here they are, with none of them finished.

And having said, "none of them finished" on various social media sites, I received, as I knew I would, several pleas to leave them as they are because they are finished in others' eyes.

I take these comments very seriously and thought long and hard about how to proceed (or not proceed).

I started these current pictures slightly differently from my more recent pictures, using a technique akin to an old technique I used to use when I had access to an office photocopier that gave me very contrasty black and white copies. The result has surprised me and I too like the way they are at the moment, but I can't help feeling that if the current state had been what I intended, they'd have been better because there are elements that look clumsy to the always careful me. 

So, I'll probably press on with what I originally intended and see where that gets me.

However, when I started this week of multiple images, I also intended to use the same imagery with different approaches (collage, mediums, etc). As I now have photographs of these paintings as they are at the moment, I think I'll use the photographs and see how I might develop from those. I hope all of this makes some sense. Do let me know if not.

 

Staithes Chimneys

Staithes Chimneys

(acrylic on mountboard, 10x10 in)

The current challenge from Gateshead Art Society is to make a painting on the subject of Chairs or Chimneys. I decided I'd have a go at translating this sketchbook drawing from 2012.

As I worked, I was reminded how much I hate green, especially when set against red/orange, but I wrestled it to a satisfactory conclusion, I think.

Winter at Staithes

Winter at Staithes

(acrylic on board, 12 x 12 in.)

After the excitement of the workshop in York I found myself unsettled during the week, unable to really get into any work of consequence. Finally, at the Friday meeting of Gateshead Art Society (where the suggested theme was "Urban Painting"), I was able to finish this winter picture. Brrr.

Meanwhile ...

The Fishmonger WIP

(acrylic on board, 25 x 25 cm.)

Fresh Fruit WIP

(acrylic on board, 25 x 25 cm)

Staithes in Winter WIP

(acrylic on board, 12 x 12 in.)

The Gardener WIP

(acrylic on board, 25 x 25 cm.)

Meanwhile, in the secret realm of the studio, work progresses on several paintings. The first two are very near completion, but as I've said here before, I hate finishing pictures when I know what they'll look like. I enjoy starting paintings and I enjoy struggling with the elements that aren't working, but once I recognise how they'll end up, I lose interest. Only when I need them for a show do I feel the need to really press on to the end. 

In the case of The Fishmonger, I'd like to give him a face; the man selling Fresh Fruit could do with a better nose.

It may seem odd to be working on a painting of Staithes in Winter, but I'm assured that greetings card manufacturers buy images for Xmas in June and it helps to maintain at least a facade of business-mindedness.

The Gardener is so named because he started out as a man in front of a topiary garden. I decided the picture wasn't working well and intended to simply paint over it and start afresh. But the man protested that he had a right to justify himself, so I've given his garden a coating of pasted down tissue paper and we'll see what emerges from the milky mist. Might be another garden; might not.

Crab Pots, Staithes

Crab Pots, Staithes
(acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in)

I put the final touches to this painting yesterday. There are still things I might do to it if I allowed myself, but that would be a mistake. As it is, it captures the essence of the day better than I could hope.

More from Staithes

Staithes with Lobster Pots
(Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in)

I always like to have at least two on the go, so I started this one today; it's another view of Staithes. I can see already it's going to take more thinking to make it work than the other one will.

A New Acrylic

Staithes from the Pier WIP

(Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in)

I made a start on this new painting today. It's a view of Staithes from the pier and is a lot brighter in colour than the real place, but that's what acrylics will do for you. I'm enjoying this more than my previous acrylic efforts and would continue into the night were my presence not needed as a steward for the exhibition in town.

Houses above Staithes Beck

Houses above Staithes Beck  (Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins)

While I'm still trying out things to find a new way forward, I felt the need to get some finished work done. So here's a new painting, based on the drawing I did last year:

Houses above Staithes Beck ( (4B pencil in 21 x 26 cm sketchbook)

Staithes Harbour Office

Staithes Harbour Office (Oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins)

I'm not sure this has gone in the direction i thought it would, but I'm satisfied with the end result.

First Staithes Painting

Harbour Office (work in progress)

This was one of the subjects I'd like to have tackled while I was at Staithes, but standing on the beach with the wind howling against my back made it impossible. Once I got back, however,  I really wanted to have a go at it, so trying to shake off the current mood of "what's the point of it all", I got down to it today.

I think it's working out well. It would be possible to leave it as it is, I guess, but that's not my way. Having said that, there's not a lot more I need to do to it - some railings, a bit of defining of boat shapes and some lightening of the sand areas here and there.

A Week in Staithes (7)

Stone and Brick Wal, Staithes Beck 
(Pentel Brushpen in 21 x 26 cm sketchbook)

Although I'd been happy using the fine line marker for some of these drawings, it did seem to need quite a firm hand. Last year, I'd so enjoyed exploring the qualities of the Brushpen that I'd been a little disappointed to realise it didn't easily lend itself to the depiction of buildings.

Sitting on one of the concrete stepping stones that cross the Beck, I decided that this crumbling old wall was just what I needed to get out the Brushpen again. It really is a joy to use.

A Week in Staithes (6)

Round the corner, Staithes (0.8 fine line marker in 21 x 26 cm sketchbook)

You can probably begin to appreciate how much I was trying to avoid standing in the wind still blowing through the town when I tell you that this subject was quite literally round the corner form the front door of our cottage. Having said that, it wasn't out of desperation that I decided to draw it; I walked past it every time I went down to the Beck and was always taken with the way it seemed to fold in on itself.

A Week in Staithes (5)

Chimneys, Staithes (0.8 fine  line marker in 21 x 26 cm sketchbook)

As the freezing wind ate away at my confidence to do work of any duration, I went back up the path I'd used the day before. This time, however, instead of concentrating on what lay across the valley I decided to draw what was closer to where I stood.

You might think that the lines in the background represent a cloudy sky, but they are, in fact, a basic delineation of part of Cowbar Nab, the grass-covered rocky outcrop to the west of Staithes. The Nab is covered in nesting seagulls, but at least one of them has settled on the smaller chimneys to the left.