Several friends have asked me where the idea for my “inside looking out” box came from. It may be of interest to members of WNAA as it clearly illustrates how, over many years, you can store visual information, and much later, use it creatively.   

Some thirty odd years ago I exhibited in a small gallery in Helmsley, Yorkshire. The lady who owned it was the right honourable Jan Needham MP. On her frequent trips down to London she would call and pick up some of my work as I lived just two minutes from Junction 21 of the M1 in Leicestershire. On one of her visits she gave me a small wooden box and asked me to decorate it. She was giving all her gallery artists the same project-to decorate the box, and the proceeds from an exhibition would be donated to charity. The show was a complete sell out.

While in The Range sometime last year, I spotted these small, cheap boxes, £2 each and bought one. It’s been lying around in my studio for months, waiting to be used.
The challenge came from the WNAA, “From the inside, looking out “ and I picked up the box with the idea of only painting on the outside of the lid. Little did I know what would lie ahead.

Jan, my wife, and I spent several lovely holidays in the then peaceful and unspoilt Yugoslavia, now Croatia, and, thumbing through my old sketch books, I came across a small drawing I had made of her looking out over the rooftops of Dubrovnik as the morning sun was coming up over the sea. It fitted the challenge ‘from the inside looking out’ perfectly. 

All went well until I opened the box, which looked decidedly empty. The idea came to paint the inside of the box lid, as though looking into the room from the outside. The 3D aspect then appeared via ‘constructing’ the balcony and railings on the inside of the lid, to match with the picture on the outside. The whole thing seemed to develop as it went along, with no original planning whatsoever.

Mike Smith, Thinking outside and inside the box acrylic 4″x4”x 2″

At some stage all my pictures tell me what needs doing to make them work.  I am always ‘open’ to that. It usually happens when I am struggling!!!!!! This was certainly the case with this project. A first floor apartment overlooking the obligatory hotel pool seemed the obvious thing to cover the bottom of the box. The pool and splash idea came courtesy of David Hockney’s USA pool images. The whole thing still looked unfinished, until I hit on the idea of painting the pool surround and landscape.

Have you ever tried painting inside a box measuring 4”x4”? The answer was to paint it upside down. The inside walls of the box, not me!!!!!!

In 1977 and 79 I won two prizes, 8th and 1st, in the Saunders, water colour paper manufacturers, bi annual watercolour competition. A part of the prizes was a week’s holiday on Lake Garda in Italy. I made the trip twice.
Two years on, in 1982 I completed a large painting [ 4’x3’] in pure egg tempera, of Jillian Stein sitting by the hotel pool. Jillian was another of the prize winners in the competition. The painting still sits in my studio.
 The pool surroundings and immediate landscape were ideal for the inside of my box. Note the enhanced pavement perspective, which became a major part of the picture.

Jillian Stein at Bardolino, 4’x3’ egg tempera

The box project could go on for ever. Should I now paint the outer sides of the box to match the inside? The jury is out on that one. The box tells me that could just be a bit OTT.?
My initial contact with a serving member of parliament, and the box idea.
The outside lid, which is sourced from Croatia, via my old sketch book. 
The box inside images from the Hotel Bardolino in Italy, with a bit of Hockney’s USA thrown in.
All come together in a small cheap wooden box in Norfolk. How weird is that????
Look no further than the pre-Raphaelites, who used IMAGINATION and REALITY like no artists have done since, to create their wonderful and evocative images.
The fascinating thing about art is not only the picture, but often the story behind it. If we only took the time and trouble to search it out.

Look after yourselves.
Mike Smith

I have been asked to put a few words together to run through the thought processes that I go through before putting paint to canvas!

Firstly, art to me is both obsession and a drug. It is a challenge that needs to be met all the time, and a need to be better than the last painting on the easel. Something I feel will never be achieved, but never-the-less that need is still there. I am constantly thinking about the next painting and what subject should it be.

I have a rather strange way of looking at the world of colour. To me it’s not about which colour compliments another, it’s more about what colour can I get away with, after all the eye can be tricked in many ways.

The whole process of painting can be quite complicated depending on the subject that one chooses. Sometimes it’s just a question of seeing something on the TV, freeze framing it, photographing and then painting it. Of course, there is the drawing process to go through. Other times it’s spending hours going through thousands of photos on the internet, looking for inspiration. Again, other times it could be something that a fellow artist has done that gives you some inspiration.

Size always matters, as it determines how much detail can be achieved. I always try to use an 800 x 600mm canvas which gives a 4:3 ratio, whether in landscape or portrait.
Depending on the chosen subject, I avoid landscapes that are devoid of animals and people. Research can also play a massive part. If, for instance, I have chosen to paint a military aircraft, then everything from correct colouring to the right squadron, and location of the scene has to be researched, and then you can always find some expert that tells you that you have got it totally wrong and there are not enough rivets on an engine cowling!!!

You can end up with a lot of photographs to work from to get the final result

When it come to my paintings of yachts, it’s pretty easy for me as I just have to find the right photo from a portfolio of a photographer that has given their permission to use their work. Then I reset a few things before the drawing process, for instance, remove another yacht or land mass that appears in the original photo. Then it’s all about the drawing, which can take upwards of six hours to complete to the point w here painting can commence. Whatever the subject, the initial drawing is an integral part of the process, and the individual has to decide on the amount of detail that is required. In some cases, this can be quite minimal.

Once drawing is complete, it may be necessary to mask off the main subject. For acrylics I use ordinary masking tape prior to painting any background. Now this is where you can run into conflict. Do you paint the whole background, or part, and some of the main subject? Again, this will depend on the subject.

In short, the process I use varies greatly, depending on the subject. No subject is out of bounds to me, except the standard landscape with no life! Don’t get me wrong there are so many amazing landscape artists out there, but I’ll never be one of them.

Terence Rogers

Unlike most members I am not trying to make painterly representations
of the world around us.

I seek to present visual references to what I call InterActions between the physical world and our emotional responses – to curves, volumes and colour masses, hills, holes and hollows – stroking the senses of touch and feeling.  

I look at the relationship between geometric structure (circle, square, curves and straight lines) and forms organic and suggestive.

Attached is a small work I have just completed resulting from ‘lock-down’ contemplation!

Andrew Schumann

yarrow

Norfolk Wildflowers

For some time now I have turned my ‘artistic’ attention to the wildflowers growing in our neighbourhood meadows and hedgerows.  They have become such an absorbing interest that I decided this year to attempt to grow some myself.
Having sourced the seeds online I sowed them in modules in our greenhouse in March and decided to monitor their progress by sketching them as they develop. Continue reading →

If you are looking for a place where you can relax in the sun with a glass of chilled white wine in hand then sadly, I cannot recommend you follow in our footsteps.
However, if horizontal wind and rain, interspersed with sun, amazing scenery, some glorious sunsets, and a dram of whisky are your thing, onwards to Skye and the Outer Hebrides. We were touring during September in our campervan.

Initially we were taken aback by the sheer number of tourists on Skye. Minivans were disgorging groups of camera clicking eager beavers. But then, we reflected, we were also tourists and with our own transport could get off the beaten path.

Basing our tour on the Art Skye Creative Trail booklet http://www.art-skye.co.uk/phone/index.html we met some great creative characters.

Taking as their inspiration the wonderful landscape and life around them, ceramics, traditional painting, multimedia, textiles, photography and sculpture were all used.
We could never truly anticipate what we would find.

Donald Mackenzie at the Blue Studio by the coast, paints his immediate wild surroundings, the sea, the mountains, and populates them with contemporary figures dancing, horse riding, pushing supermarket trolleys, holding onto their hats in the wind. His other love, music, features in many pieces. We talked about life and art off the beaten track.
I asked him was it ok to use the word quirky to describe his art and he said it was just fine

We came away with a woodcut ‘Skye Shopper” trolley pusher.

Sheep on Skye are all over the place -often on the road. At Skye Weavers they could tell us about the individual sheep farms where they source their wool. They have made their own warp mill, weave and sew their own products where colours are inspired by local nature. https://www.skyeweavers.co.uk/watch-weavers-work

All visitors were encouraged to have a go on the amazing pedal powered weaving loom. As you pedal the shuttle shoots back and forth. We pedalled away while hearing about the wool, the history of the loom etc. We had fun while the weaver rested his weary legs.

It was impossible to resist a Hebridean blanket. Fantastic for the chilly nights in the camper, it came indoors and lived on the sofa for the winter evenings.

John Bathgate’s Dunstudio was all homage to Skye and collage. I love multimedia and layered pieces. We talked paper and John’s enthusiasm for different types of paper was infectious. It was so hard not to start picking through his wonderful pile of accumulated offcuts!
Acrylic paintings are another form of expression for John. Like the collages they interpret the landscape in glowing vivid colours. At the time of our visit many were of waterfalls, a current interest.

We came away clutching greetings cards featuring those colourful landscapes..

If you go to any gift shop in Scotland you will probably see some of Cath Waters art. Cath travels around Scotland in her campervan (yay!) photographing the landscape. Back in the studio she uses a computer to blend the landscape photography with sections of additional photographs of anything from paper to natural close ups to add texture, colour and depth. So, she is also using layering and collage, but it is all digital. I was fascinated and since then have expanded my use of the iPad to plan the layers of my resin pieces.

She uses a palette of soft Scottish colours to great effect. It was so interesting to meet her in her studio, making a real commercial success of her business, employing several people in her separate workshop with her art on everything from cushions to jewelry.

We’ve enjoyed using our mugs featuring the Scottish landscape.

We visited other artists along the way with an inspiring array of traditional and contemporary art and felt it had been a good way to direct ourselves around Skye.

Then it was off on the ferry to North Uist where it was so windy, when we hung our towels on the campsite line, they flew horizontally. My hair whipped around and I couldn’t see where I was going.
A hand knitted Hebridean hat was what I needed.

With my hair tucked away I could enjoy the amazing scenery. While Skye had been surprisingly busy with tourists, the Uists and Barra were quieter and wilder.

The beaches were a revelation – miles of soft white sand in curving bays with clear water. When the sun shone and we could tuck ourselves away out of the wind, we could just contemplate the sheer beauty of it all.

If water, mountains, open spaces and the colours of nature inspire you, and the wonderful play of light during changeable weather, then bring your sketchbook and camera.

The grasslands of the Uists is Machair, renowned for the wildflowers and resulting insect and birdlife. It is the subject of conservation efforts to preserve the associated wildlife. The crofters are encouraged to use old traditional methods of harvest, resulting in some great photo opportunities imagining what Monet would have done with the haystacks if he’d had a digital camera. I had fun with the apps.

As we traveled through North and then South Uist and then onto Barra we could observe how people had adapted to this treeless, watery, mountainous land. Although still digging peat for fuel and farming traditionally, the people work alongside internet businesses and supermarkets stocking everything we needed.

I’m not an oil painter but I took some water-soluble oils with me and attempted some landscapes –not with great results but it’s made me want to do some more. I’ve got hundreds of photos, sketches and a host of memories to inspire me –not to forget our woodcut, blanket, mugs, cards and hat! …. Oh, and those wonderful sheepskin slippers which kept my feet cosy all winter.

Michele Summers

I thought I would let you know my experience of down- sizing and moving my home and Studio to a new location.

I had a bit of a tough time a couple of years ago, losing my husband and Mum in very quick succession, so when I found myself rattling around in a three bedroom house on my own, I decided to downsize into a Park Home. Continue reading →

In these times that we have so much to think about, I wanted to share one of my artistic adventures.

I had recently moved to a new area and was eager to find a way into the local art scene. Delivering flyers for a workshop I was planning, I stumbled onto a fine art and antique gallery. It was a funky sort of place with a good buying public. The well-connected gallery owner, Mr A, was eager for me to bring my work by. Continue reading →

Art Deco by the Sea

It was a wet and blustery day for our visit, so we were relieved to reach the shelter of the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich. A quick coffee, then we joined the 12 pm guided tour of the Art Deco By the Sea exhibition. Our guide was so knowledgeable and dedicated, almost losing her voice but she valiantly soldiered on.  She was quite happy for us to dip in and out of the tour as we walked round.

There was something for everyone really…. paintings, furniture, pottery and textiles, all beautifully staged and curated. Continue reading →

Roger Julien Dufour, Veuve de l’île de Sein (Widow of the Isle of Sein)

Following on from my question “Why do we paint?” in December’s Update, I have carried out further research via the internet [technology can have its rewarding side!] into the source of the tiny print, which was hanging on a cafe wall in Ireland, and so inspired me 22 years ago. It has thrown up some very interesting information, and posed yet more questions. Continue reading →

Antony Gormley, Subject II, 2019. 10 mm square section mild steel bar, 189 x 51.5 x 37.5 cm. © the Artist. Photo: David Parry / © Royal Academy of Arts

This exhibition had a profound effect on me – I found it inspirational and am so impressed with this man.

Antony Gormley is described as an internationally renowned sculptor. In my mind he is much more than that. Having visited this exhibition I would describe him also as a visionary, philosopher, architect, and engineer. Continue reading →