Autumn Exhibition – A Grand Day Out!

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It’s always exciting taking part in an art exhibition and my first one with the Association of Animal Artists will be happening from this weekend until 30 November.

The venue is the Granary Room in Weston Park near Shifnal – a beautiful country house in the Shropshire countryside , which I’m looking forward to discovering.

These are my 3 exhibits which will be taking part amongst an amazing display of talented work by animal artists from all over.

Whether you want to treat yourself to a piece of animal art or just view this collection of work, I reckon it’ll be a grand day out in lovely surroundings. Enjoy!

Pug
Budongo Chimp
Frenchie

The Frame Game

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I’ve been having a sort out in the studio.  This is always dangerous to my bank account, as I clear out brushes that need replacing, dried up tubes of paint that need replacing and creased paper or damaged canvases…that need replacing!

It didn’t stop there, I started looking at paintings that I haven’t got round to framing and decided that one or two, or three would look more presentable if they were.  This is always a tricky decision for artists. Should you leave them frameless so that the buyer can choose a suitable frame according to their tastes or interiors.  Or do you bite the bullet and invest in a frame to give the artwork a finished feel and ‘ready to hang’ option?

Well, after biting the bullet, here are some before and afters to let you see the difference.

 

Chimpanzee Part 2

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This oil painting is a more ‘formal’ version of an earlier study of one of Edinburgh Zoo’s chimps called Louis who lives amongst the group in the Budongo Trail at the zoo.  I added the wooden platform Louis was perusing the world from and a sky blue background to give a bit of interest, but hopefully the viewer is taken in by the gaze of this wonderful primate.  What’s he thinking?

‘Louis’ – Oil on canvas, 30x24cm.

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Chimpanzee

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Been a wee while since my last blog so thought I’d share the latest little oil study of a Chimpanzee at Edinburgh Zoo, who I couldn’t walk past without taking a few photos.

I posted this pic on social media and was delighted to be messaged by the Chimp’s keeper – his name is King Louis….the chimp, not the keeper!

I’m now working on a larger canvas version of Louis – hope you like him.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

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Sometimes, a rubbish day turns into a nice day.

Our village woke up to house alarms battling with the dawn chorus this morning, signalling a power cut which lasted until late afternoon.

This resulted in a mad dash with a friend to the nearest ‘powered up’ café for a caffeine hit and then leaving housework aside (no hoover, washing machine or steam iron in use, yay!) and settling down to paint (no electricity needed, double yay!!).

This little seascape study was the result. As the saying goes ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’!