Current Work - Mediterranean Painting Olive Grove

For those who like to see progress shots of how I paint and what I am currently working on, here are some shots of two paintings which I have on the go at the end of March. I am generally finishing a new painting every week or two now, so will have finished shots of these soon, all going well. Enjoy and bookmark the site if you want to see further shots in a week or so. Jim

Gap of Dunloe - Irish Landscape Art Finished Painting

This is a short post to show the finished version of my Gap of Dunloe Painting. This is a 20"x 16" oil on canvas painting of the location in Killarney, Co.Kerry. As always feel free to comment. Thanks Jim

Thomas Hardy Poetry -- Lyonesse

It's been quite a while since I held a visit to poetry corner so this post is a little diversion from art to entertain a little fantasy type poem. Lyonesse was a place near Cornwall in England, according to the legends of King Arthur. This poem written by Thomas Hardy recalls when he visited this place and met his future wife there. Enjoy...

When I set out for Lyonesse by Thomas Hardy.

When I set out for Lyonesse, A hundred miles away, The rime was on the spray,

And starlight lit my lonesomeness, When I set out for Lyonesse, A hundred miles away.

What would bechance at Lyonesse, While I should sojourn there, No prophet durst declare,

Nor could the wisest wizard guess, What would bechance at Lyonesse, While I should sojourn there.

When I came back from Lyonesse, With magic in my eyes, All marked with mute surmise,

My radiance rare and fathomless, When I came back from Lyonesse, With magic in my eyes!

Gap of Dunloe - Aerial Perspective Painting

This is a snap-shot of two hours progress into a painting of the Gap of Dunloe in Kerry. I call it an Aerial Perspective painting as I will have to create that feeling of fading into the distant blue in the centre distance. This is what we see when we look at the far away landscape. Blue becomes more predominant as I explained in a previous post on aerial perspective. The painting is 20" x 16" in size, and I have worked fast using large brushes to get to this stage in two hours. Once I have the canvas covered I will begin colour balancing and further refinement of all elements. I will post a further progress shot in the next few days. Below is another painting which I am currently working on, in order to learn more about skin tone. I will also be posting further shots of this. So feel free to check back to see more of each. Jim

Swan in Reeds - Finished Oil Painting

This is the seventh painting I have completed to date this year. I have three more paintings on the go at the moment. I am tidying up and finishing paintings which have been started a long time ago and that have been hanging around the studio for a while. In that regard, I feel good that I don't have as many half-finished paintings as before. I have got more disciplined about finishing what I start... So far this year I have sold three of the seven paintings I completed and these were all landscapes. As can be seen, I have diversified from landscapes a little in subject matter, as I think it important to pursue my own ideas. The above is the last of three square canvases I bought a long time ago. The other two are "Symphony of Silence" and "The Dream by the River" which I will try to add to the gallery section. Last I looked they were not there. So all in all, I am gaining some recognition on a wider scale, slowly but surely. As I have written before, my main priority is to improve and continue to ensure each new painting is done to the best of my ability at the time. I hope that the above painting has succeeded in that regard too. Let me know what you, the readers think, as always I value feedback to see what people like and don't like about my work. That's it for now, Jim

Working on my Creativity now, the next phase...

As I grow in ability as an artist, those who have been following my blog since it started in June 2008 will have seen me changing my subject matter and trying various new ideas frequently. I have now attained a fairly high level of ability as regards painting technique, although there is some way to go yet to be as good as the really top artists. I am talking about Vermeer and Rembrandt, Lavery and suchlike. Their technique is truely amazing. However, another part and probably the hardest part now is to reach a high ability in terms of creativity. Creativity combined with excellence in technical ability is what will push me forward to becoming a really great artist. So I am looking at many different artists now and learning to think differently and look with curiosity at common and everyday things. It will take time to free up my imaginative side to the point where I can generate great ideas frequently. This is going to be hard work. I am definitely going to work on it as much as possible, and hope to be able to get there somehow.

The above painting is unfinished but closing in on the final home stretch. I will post further when finished. I created it by gathering a lot of different ideas together. I look forward to seeing it completed in the next week or so.