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Having a bit of a ‘loving yellow’ moment here - as we shake free of winter, there are suddenly hordes of daffodils across the city. Even if there’s not always a blue sky to go with them, they cheer our days.
This is a mixed media painting on stretched canvas, 100cm square. (More in the gallery.)
A trip down memory lane this cold, wet morning in Manchester. In Italy a few summers ago, visiting friends in the hills above Rome in a hot summer, this was my amazing bedroom .
Once a hunting lodge, now a family home, this is one of the most serenely beautiful places I’ve ever experienced.
It’ll be alright on the night
Witnessing the challenge and intensity of a dress rehearsal led to this painting - my mind was full of colour sand cacophony as the various elements of the production struggled to align and settle, efforts disjointed as the director kept stopping and starting to adjust lighting and sound.
But it WAS alright on the night!
(It’s 20” square on board - see more in the gallery.)
This painting was the result of a project at Creative Arts in Manchester, emphasising the process of thinking through and executing an idea for an image, using a sketchbook for planning. It’s a mixed media painting, with its many layers giving it depth and texture.
(It’s 20” square on board - see more in the gallery.)
This is a painting on stretched canvas, 80cm square. I think that everyone who’s seen it has interpreted it differently.
(It’s 80cm square, on canvas - see more in the gallery.)
Alastair Sawday Go Slow books
My first big photography commission was for ‘Go Slow France’ in 2010, part of Alastair Sawday’s lush travel book series. The Paris editor called me and explained what they were looking for - I was absolutely buzzing with excitement. To see how I’d approach things, I was given a test shoot in Brittany - Chateau du Quengo, which has been in the same family for centuries - apart from the years of the French Revolution.
I flew over from Guernsey to Dinard, rented a car, and drove to Irodouër. (My first time in Brittany, and I loved it.) The Chateau was wonderful, as were Anne and Alfred and their huge Leonburger dog, Barrie, who led me to and from the lake on Anne’s instructions, waiting patiently for me whenever I stopped. Anne is an artisan artist in willow, and Alfred makes and mends organs. Their history is fascinating - they met in Switzerland, with music and sheep featuring in their story. It was a great start to a memorable summer in France, photographing, driving, eating and talking - with a few dramas to leaven one of the best experiences ever!
Manchester cityscape
This photograph of the Manchester skyline changes constantly - this image is now outdated. It was taken for a client involved with urban property management and has been used many times. I wanted the blue of the just-before-dark night sky to contrast with the strength of golden illumination, which was only part electric lighting - it was augmented by reflection of a dramatic sunset.
I was staying at Scarista House on Harris in the Outer Hebrides, and nipped out to the shop at Leverburgh on a dull late afternoon. At Northton, on the way back, I saw beautiful light and streaming cloud on the North Harris hills, behind animals grazing, the dunes and the grey sea.
This is an ICM (intentional camera movement) photograph, to emphasise atmosphere over detail. It’s one of my all time favourites, and shown here as a a diptych; two stretched printed canvasses, each 34 x 106cm, with white sides.
My friend Max, at age 6, shows such clear intent when he paints. He knows exactly what he wants to use and what he wants to do. When it’s done he’s on to the next thing … “let’s make a den!”. I am in awe!
Snow: photograph
Snow doesn’t usually lie for long in the city centre, and can be a real pain for getting about. But wow! It’s spectacular to watch it comes down hard. Best done standing at the window with a cup of tea in hand though :)
Today I’ve been thinking about the sea, and the Hebridean islands in particular. It’s such a long time since I’ve been. This painting evokes the smell of the sea in salty winds, the churn of the surf on the dark rock and weed.
It’s mixed media, 12 x 12” on cradled birch board. See more in the gallery.
This set of four are all printed on wrap-around canvas on cradled board, each 60 x 40 cm. ICM (international camera movement) images, they were taken in the Outer Hebrides, to evoke something of the magical feel of the islands.
Top left are hills by Mealish; top right the incredible Callanish Standing Stones - a sight, in the gloaming mist, that I will never forget. Beneath is the churning sea below Breanais, looking over to Eileen Mhealasta, off the remote far western coast of Lewis; and on the right, a streak of sunset reflected in Loch Smuaisebhal.
