Out By My Side

Here is a first look of the new generation I mentioned previously. Not much difference you might think at first glance but there are subtle changes. Let me know what you think.

And here is the complete painting;

(70cm x 50cm) Original Acrylic on Canvas

Do you remember your favourite toy that you just had to have with you at every waking hour.....and even whilst sleeping?

My favourite teddy bear I had as a kid was named Boo-ya, a sky blue bear that looked a lot like Yogi Bear’s friend Boo-Boo (Apparently Boo-Boo was too difficult for me to say at the age of 5, so the name Boo-ya had to suffice!!).

Like many kids with their beloved companion, he came everywhere with me, whether out on a day trip or just tucked up in bed. Acting as a comfort just like a blanket.

Whether it was a teddy bear, action figure, a backpack full of favourite ‘stuff’, or what seems to be even more noticeable nowadays, the ever-present Nintendo DS, a favourite toy was an essential item to have by your side. You couldn't leave home without it!

A New Generation

I have decided to create a new look for my characters for my latest painting. The overall visual impact will obviously remain the same but I wanted to develop the look of the children slightly.

I will carry on producing paintings using the original characters but all being well, I hope to start producing more work using the second generation too. My hope is that people will then have preferences for one generation over the other so should help to add a little more variety of choice and add even more individuality to their chosen painting.

I will post a new image soon and perhaps votes can be cast on which generation is preferred!


Happy Cycling!

Summer Sun!

Well, it's already been a good start to June, not just because of the gorgeous summer sun we have been enjoying but also for the sale of 2 original paintings at Artery Gallery in St Andrews today along with receiving my first royalty cheque from my publisher for the limited edition prints released last November

I've now been exhibiting with Artery Gallery for just over 2 years and they have been selling out of my work on each occassion which is fantastic and a real confidence boost, as well as being a real testament to the gallery itself.

I'm currently putting together some new stories and ideas for paintings and hope to get some fresh work to the gallery soon.

* * *

I was surprised to see the amount of prints that have been sold since their release with Washington Green, particularly in the first month when they were being exhibited around the country. With the turn of the new year, things did slow up somewhat but I think that was to be expected, especially as I'm told it does sometimes take a bit of time for a new artist to 'take off' with prints.

A limited edition print can be a good option to originals and I have 2 prints on my lounge wall myself, Kid For Today and What's The Story, so providing my paintings continue to be in demand, I look forward to, and hope, new editions will be released soon.


For those of you that own either an original or a print, I hope you can enjoy them for years to come. In the meantime, enjoy the hot weather, which I'm sure wont last nearly as long :)

New Work Now Showing at ScotlandArt Galleries

I am pleased to announce that I now have new originals exhibtiing at ScotlandArt, a leading Scottish contemporary art gallery based in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The 4 paintings currently on show are from my recent Artist Collection;

• Up in the Sky
• Sit and Wonder
• North Country Boy
• Camarillo Brillo

These will be available to view on the ScotlandArt website soon, or if you are able to, do take time out to visit their gallery at 193 Bath Street, Glasgow.

Being involved with such a well respected gallery here in Scotland is something I am very excited about and is another fantastic opportunity.

I will keep you informed as to how things are going and of course any further developments.

Magic Window

'Magic Window' (36" x 30" acrylic on box canvas)

What happened to all those British classics we loved and grew up with, Trumpton, Camberwick Green, Paddington Bear, Rent A Ghost and even, dare I say it, Jackanory!? Why do we not have the friendly face and voice of a Brian Cant greeting us on our screens anymore?

What we now have instead is countless kids channels filled with american style programmes! The magic window to our British childhood culture has gone and I would welcome back the days of the 'off air' transmission screen as a replacement anyday!

That would certainlly help prevent our kids saying phrases such as 'Frickin awesome' or 'oh no you ditnt'!!

* New Website Now Live *

This week I have been working on a new website and I'm glad to say it is now up and running so please check it out.....

www.scottcarruthers.co.uk

You can browse through the easy to use galleries to view my main catalogue of work and you can still read about the paintings in the shop section where further information can also be found.

There are the usual useful pages, including an insightful About Me page, contact forms and other info, as well as links to this blog and the Facebook Group.

Enjoy.

North Country Boy - (L.S. Lowry)

"North Country Boy"

(30" x 30" Original, Acrylic on Canvas) Available at ScotlandArt

Laurence Stephen Lowry was born and raised in Stretford, Lancashire. He is famous for painting scenes of life in the industrial districts of northern England during the early 20th century, and is now regarded as one of England's greatest ever painters.

He had a distinctive style of painting and is best known for his urban/industrial landscapes populated with human figures often referred to as "matchstick men". Because of his use of these stylised figures and the lack of effects such as lighting and shadows in many of his landscapes, his work is sometimes characterised as 'naive'.

I have always had a great fondness for Lowry's work and have, on the odd occassion, had people comment on my own work as being very Lowry-esque. That's something that I can only take as a huge compliment!

In this piece, I wanted to create a Lowry type industrial landscape without giving it too much dominance in the painting itself. I hope by having it blending in faintly in the distance with minimal detail has helped achieve that.

Camarillo Brillo - (Andy Warhol)

"Camarillo Brillo"

(30" x 30" Original, Acrylic on Canvas) SOLD

Andy Warhol was an American artist and a leading figure in the visual art movement known as Pop Art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer and author.

It was during the 1960s that Warhol began to make paintings of iconic American products such as the Campbell’s Soup Cans from the Campbell Soup Company, Coca-Cola bottles and Oversized Brillo Boxes, as well as paintings of iconic celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, amongst others.

It was thought his paintings of such items were designed to make a statement about mass-production and consumerism, however Warhol stated that the soup simply reminded him of his childhood. His Mother used to give him that soup for his dinner and it always evoked childhood memories.

Andy Warhol was a prominent figure in the art world throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's with his work and chosen subjects proving both popular and controversial!

Sit and Wonder - (Vincent van Gogh)

"Sit and Wonder"

(30" x 30" Original, Acrylic on Canvas) Available at ScotlandArt

Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch post-impressionist painter from the late 19th Century. Despite struggling to make any hint of a career from his art during his short lifetime, some of his paintings, particularly 'Sunflowers', are now amongst the world's best known and most expensive works of art.

Chairs are often used in art as representational objects. Van Gogh painted 2 different versions of his close friend Gauguins chair. The two paintings are thought to have been intended to represent the vastly contrasting temperaments and interests of the two artists.

The fact that the boy sitting in this chair looks a little bit like Van Gogh, wasn't intentional! :)

I do wonder what he might be thinking about though?

Up in the Sky - (Rene Magritte)

Here is the first from a collection of 4 paintings paying homage to 4 well known painters and 'remixing' their styles and themes in with my own recognisable work to hopefully create something new and interesting.

"Up In The Sky"

(30" x 30" Original, Acrylic on Canvas) Available at ScotlandArt

Rene Magritte was a Belgian Surrealist artist and became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images, including his floating bowler-hatted men and in particular the painting titled 'The Son of Man', where the face of a bowler hatted man is obscured by a hovering apple!

I hope you enjoy viewing these new pieces and there will be more to come shortly.....

Blowing in the Wind

(36" x 30") Original, Acrylic on Canvas
Contact Washington Green for Enquiries

This grayscale painting is inspired by the 1961 film ‘Whistle Down The Wind’.

The plot of the film follows the lives of three Lancashire farm children who discover a fugitive hiding in their barn. The bearded man is mistaken for Jesus by the siblings, and he makes no attempt to correct the mistake once he realises that the eldest child is determined to protect him from the adults and police.

The film contrasts the children's innocent faith with the pragmatic and suspicious adults in the town. Word spreads amongst the children in the town, and remembering the story of Jesus’ persecution, all focus is on the barn and keeping it’s hiding occupant safe from discovery.

One of the children eventually gives the game away to her father by mistake after asking for some cake to give to Jesus. Ever the sceptic, particularly after ‘Jesus’ let him down, the youngest of the siblings, Charles, proudly denotes “It’s not Jesus, it’s just some fella”.

The fugitive is apprehended in a symbolic final scene.

My aim was to catch the essence of this film within the painting without focusing on the spiritual side of the story. For me, what makes the film endearing is how it portrays the commoraderie of the children and the innocence and optimism they hold within themselves.

In The Studio

I thought I would post an image of myself in the studio working on my latest piece.

There is a slight change with this new painting as it is going to be completely in grayscale, like an old black and white film. Primarily becuase the painting is based on a film made in 1961 and is indeed in black and white!!

I'm quite excited about completing this piece as I am very interested to know how it will look with no colour involved. The film is also one of my favourites so I am desperate to do it justice and try to get some of the feeling of the story just right in the painting.

Hi Scores

(36" x 30") Available at Chelmer Fine Art

You may have noticed the toys and games of the past have been long forgotten. They have mostly been replaced by home computers, games consoles and the internet. Using and even combining these machines gives kids a whole new world of gaming activity and social interaction, which has seen the good old fashioned toys get cast aside.

Despite computer games not having a particularly great reputation, they can in fact be very good for the child’s development with the use of strategy, reasoning, logic and memory. Pretty much any game out there will need the use of these skills, and they will be honed with kids feeling that they are having fun while achieving.

Kids are learning all manor of skills apt for a technological age….certainly more useful than a space hopper would ever be, that’s for sure! That said, with a computer game you can’t play 'Scramble' in the playground and fight for the football stickers that nobody else wants, or have endless battles on the bedroom floor with plastic army men!

Round Our Way

(36" x 30") Original, Acrylic on canvas

A half decent playing area, jumpers for goalposts….or perhaps a conveniently placed sign, and anything up to 25-a-side were all the essentials you needed for a good kick-a-bout with your pals and anyone else keen to join in.

Undoubtedly there would always be a couple of kids who would constantly have the ball due to their far superior skill level, while the rest of us would have to chase a few shadows, yet there was still a sense of commoraderie, each and every ’player’ getting stuck in for the cause, some more than most obviously!

As darkness approached, the numbers would slowly whittle down as tea time beckoned, leaving perhaps only a few of the hardcore, determined players eager to find a winner, which usually meant a unanimous decision of “The next goal wins!”

New Originals at Artery Gallery

2 brand new originals are now available at Artery Gallery

'Chasing Rainbows' and 'Out By My Side' are both on exhibition at the gallery based in St Andrews, Fife.

You can also read the press release on their blog at Artery Gallery News

Chasing Rainbows

(70cm x 50cm) SOLD

Apparently whenever you see a rainbow in the sky, you are supposed to make a wish. This was only something I heard recently and is one of those little tales that gets passed down to your kids. The same was said for blowing on a dandelion, which is something I did used to do as a kid whenever I found one in the back garden. Time and time again I would wish for a train set……

Never got one!

But does this mean wishes don’t come true? All I really have to do is go out and buy a train set, then surely my wish will of been granted!

Making a wish isn’t necessarily a given for getting something you want, but if you work hard or even just put a bit of effort into your wishes and dreams, who is to say that they wont come to fruition?

One Love

(70cm x 50cm) SOLD

We can all remember our first love no matter what our age might have been at the time.

For the odd few, the first love may go on to become the only love they have and their childhood sweetheart will be the one they grow old with.

Most of us however, though never forgetting the first, may have loves that come and go.

One thing is certain, the right person is out there for everyone and if they haven’t been found already, there is always a good chance they will be.

Out By My Side

(70cm x 50cm) SOLD

Do you remember your favourite toy that you just had to have with you at every waking hour.....and even whilst sleeping?

My favourite teddy bear I had as a kid was named Boo-ya, a sky blue bear that looked a lot like Yogi Bear’s friend Boo-Boo (Apparently Boo-Boo was too difficult for me to say at the age of 5, so the name Boo-ya had to suffice!!).

Like many kids with their beloved companion, he came everywhere with me, whether out on a day trip or just tucked up in bed. Acting as a comfort just like a blanket.

Whether it was a teddy bear, action figure, a backpack full of favourite ‘stuff’, or what seems to be even more noticeable nowadays, the ever-present Nintendo DS, a favourite toy was an essential item to have by your side. You couldn't leave home without it!

Do You Wanna Be A Spaceman

(90cm x 70cm) Contact Washington Green for enquiries

What do you hear kids say they want to be when they grow up? The answers are always interesting to hear....and somewhat quite unachievable you might think. A Cowboy, a Spaceman, a Power Ranger or Superhero of some kind!

Clearly though, a handful of these dreams are fulfilled, as there are these Astronauts, Racing Drivers and Cowboys out there.

This is to those 6 year olds that will one day live their childhood dream day in day out. Though I’m not suggesting there is a real life Batman!!

How High

Here is the bigger picture to see what that little guy was up to on a previous post......

(36" x 30") Contact Washington Green for enquiries

The appeal of climbing a great big tree has always had its draw on kids. Grabbing hold of some nice sturdy branches to heave yourself up to the next level, clambering your way through the increasing density of leaves until you get to the point when you realise you really are as far up as you want, or certainly need to be!

I always preferred a simple climbing frame personally. You always knew where you stood with a climbing frame, all the bars level and parallel with one another making it far more straight forward for getting up and down.

Was it just me though, or was it always slightly awkward when reaching the ‘summit’? Having to somehow turn yourself around to come back down the other side! It was all about the hand and foot coordination and I do seem to remember feeling a mild sense of vertigo during this point!

….I think I’ll just go back down the same way I came up!