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Many thanks

Solo Exhibition @ Artery Gallery

Solo Exhibition

@

ARTERY GALLERY

43 South Street, St Andrews

KY16 9QR

01334 478221

from 18th MAY 2011

including work from the 'Paintings of Plastic Men' collection

"Weekend Wars"

available to view soon at

 www.arteryuk.com

Richard Goodall Gallery, Manchester

New collection of work now exhibiting at the Richard Goodall Gallery based in the Northern Quarter of Manchester.

Richard Goodall Gallery is the leading gallery for Contemporary Art and Fine Art Photography in the UK and is the largest commercial gallery in the UK.

About the Paintings

My paintings are largely inspired by a mix of nostalgia from my own childhood along with watching my own two young kids grow up. Not necessarily making any comparisons, but being reminded of the nostalgic years and how their life today differs in these modern times, yet in many ways mirror my own childhood.

In the garden with Mum. My first memory of snow.

An idea for a painting can come from anywhere. Usually from a memory or experience of when I was young or by observing something my kids might do. Watching them at play or just relaxing in front off the television. I try to imagine what they are thinking, and this sometimes triggers similar thoughts that I may have had at the same age. I then want to put these memories and stories into an image. Although my kids provide the majority of inspiration for my work, some paintings have also been influenced by a particular song, by something I have seen or read in the news or a conversation I have had or heard, all relating to childhood and particularly the comparisons with differing generations.

Pulling on a long scarf. Who needs an Xbox!

Painting the characters in a naive, cartoon like style helps represent the childhood aspect of the work, taking the seriousness out of the piece and at the same time accentuating the innocence of children.

I feel keeping the background clean and sparse, free of any landscape, means the essence of the narrative and the children themselves are the focus of the viewer’s attention.

That's me on the left with the stupid grin.

New Work at Artery Gallery, St Andrews

Four new paintings are now on show at Artery Gallery which you can see by clicking the link to their website at www.arteryuk.com

I hope to have more news soon regarding a larger forthcoming exhibition at the Gallery. It should be one of my biggest exhibitions of work so far which I am very excited about!

Plans are underway as to what work I will be producing for Artery Gallery, but rest assured there will be some brand new pieces along with some familiar favourites.

So not only will I be looking forward to Spring/Summer for the long awaited better weather, but also for what I hope to be a successful show!

The Big Postcard Exhibition at Scotlandart Galleries, Edinburgh

 "Do You Wanna Be a Spaceman?"

"Hey Ho, Lets Go"

2 New Additions to 'The Artist Collection' - Piet Mondrian and Jackson Pollock

Both or these paintings, although taken from 2 very different artists have something quite significant in common.

Piet Mondrian would carefully and methodically paint vertical and horizontal thick, straight black lines across the white canvas with 3 primary colours filling in chosen squares.

Jackson Pollock on the other hand would use a 'drip' technique, covering the canvas with a rhythmic fluidity of dripping and splashing paint.

"Triangles and Rhombuses" - (Piet Mondrian)

"Any Colour You Like" - (Jackson Pollock)

Despite the seemingly randomness of Pollocks paintings, like Mondrian he bases his work on a highly thought out process of composition. Theres something about that that I like as I use alot of composition in my own paintings, which is why I think these 2 paintings work really well and make important additions to this collection.

Upcoming Shows and Fairs

I know I haven't updated my blog for a while now, mainly because I haven't actually done much painting! The last month or so has been taken up by School holidays, short breaks and just general pottering around the house with only a minimum amount of my time dedicated to painting.

Thankfully I do now feel totally refreshed and this past week has been great, just to get back into working and with a few shows and fairs coming up, what better reason to crack on with some brand new work and develop new ideas!....

Newcastle Gateshead Art Fair - 1st - 3rd October

London Affordable Art Fair - 21st - 24th October

Scotlandart.com Exhibition - 28th October onwards

I will post some images of exhibiting work nearer the show dates, so keep checking back ! :)