Sunday 29 November 2015

First snow



I was asked by Drift gallery in St Anne's for whom I have led previous workshop events, if I could make a winter themed canvas for an exhibition space in the town. I have a lot of work on at the moment but thought it would be lovely to be able to make a piece just for Christmas.

I  am presently working on a series of pieces for a solo exhibition next year  at Skyeworks gallery in Portree on the Isle of Skye. The volume of work  I have to complete sometimes seems daunting but I am confident it is achievable, and so far have kept all of the completed works underwraps. ( not easy for me ;) )
 As the series progresses I have noticed  my style is changing. The constant themes return again and again, but evolve. I think the very act of making a back to back series of works make this happen, but thrown into the mix are personal experiences and feelings.

The way an Artists style develops fascinates me. Picasso very famously went through his blue period 1901-1904 where his work took on a more sombre tone, his sadness during that time led to his use of predominately blue palette warmed only by a very small amount of colour. Of course the period was relatively short lived and soon the colours came flooding back.
 Mood and season can  influence in subtle ways.
My 'First Snow' piece began a few weeks back in warmer hues, paint, thrown, dribbled and sprayed in merry abandon.



As the paper layers went down, the seasons had begun to change,

A biting wind,
A hard chill.
Cold, clear, water,
Mist, damp.... Winter.


I am working more loosely, using palette knives and splatter teqniques to apply paint freely over collaged paper fragments. the physical application of paint mirroring the wind and rain.


Of course there is still metallic sparkle in my work. Silver flakes merge with ice blue paint, but it is more muted.




 The finished work was hung in the exhibition space in Aston Pavilion on Wednesday and sold, I am told, as it was being put on the wall! Yay!!!!!
I took the photo below of ' first snow' propped up on my sofa to help show scale a little better...

first Snow

25 comments:

  1. Well, I'm not one bit surprised that it sold so fast! It's an absolutely glorious piece, and the majestic stag is looking straight out at the viewer. Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ah morag! this is wonderful!

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love this Morag, not suprised it sold as it was being put on the wall! So good to hear that you are making a local foothold with your work here in the Fylde Coast. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats Morag - on your show you're working on and this lovely piece - I'm not at all surprised it sold immediately. It really reflects the season and the weather you're experiencing now, I can almost feel the cold!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Morag this is a terrific piece, no wonder it sold so fast, I absolutely love this so much, magical and full of Winter splendour, it gives me chills and thrills, a real favourite, I say wow!!! What an amazing journey you are on and such gorgeous work to show for it. This beautiful painting will stay in my mind, so magical!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely stunning piece - I love the scale and dimensions of it and I'm not at all surprised it was snapped up so quickly, I would love this on my wall. Congratulations on the commission and good luck with your solo exhibition.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your blue art.. The newest is gorgeous.
    Happy PPF ♥

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not surprising it was scooped up, it is absolutely stunning! I can only imagine that it is even more amazing in person! Love the movement of snow...almost seems as though the animal is slowly walking across the canvas in the snow! I love it so much! Serene and magical at the same time! No matter how much your style evolves your signature stylE is still so evident!

    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  9. gorgeous art and how cool that it sold so quickly-congrats!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I absolutely love this! You can feel all the ice and snow swirling about. No wonder it sold so quickly
    Amazing work xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes, this definitely is winter themed! Gorgeous piece, no wonder it sold right away! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the textures and colors. WOnderful work.

    kate

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the textures you use in your paintings. This painting fills my eyes--which is the greatest compliment I can give. So wonderful--and I love snow, by the way. :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow this is amazingly beautiful. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is marvellous, Morag, it's so icy and the stag standing in the snow sets off the coldness.
    Great to get it sold right away.
    Good wishes for your preparations for your solo exhibition, sounds very exciting.

    ReplyDelete
  16. wow, I am not in the least bit surprised that this sold as it was being hung! This is incredible - the effect you've achieved perfectly evokes the cold, misty, frosty winter and that stag is just beautiful. Love this so much and massive congratulations on all exhibitions coming up.

    ReplyDelete
  17. It's absolutely gorgeous, no wonder it was snapped up straight away! As you said about mine, it's much bigger than I expected but if it was a small as the picture on the screen it would still be as beautiful. I most definitely go through phases of loving particular colour schemes. I've not had a chance to paint for a while but I'm really enjoying all the winter colours! xx

    ReplyDelete
  18. This piece of art is amazing! Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I enjoyed it so much not only to look upon your unique and amazing winter artwork but also to read about how you have created it and what influences took part in this process as well. Many thanks for sharing this wonderful experience and congratulation for selling it so quickly :) A happy new year to you and your family and I'm looking forward for all your artwork to come in 2016!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by, I love to hear from you.