June Journal - this month so far

Symphony - original acrylic painting on canvas

June has been a damp, mostly dismal and somewhat cool month, interspersed with hopeful rays of feeble warm sunshine.  

A couple of weeks ago I took this painting to the framers, quite a few people told me that it reminded them of music and I had to agree, hence it's name.  I like the movement and energy in this piece very much, I like how you can follow the almost ribbon like streams of colour and lose yourself in it.  I'm finding abstract painting to be very meditative, and very healing.

At the beginning of June, we found ourselves in Suffolk having a few days at my sisters.  We had a wonderful time, it felt like a mini holiday as the weather was just perfect - warm, dry and sunny with giant blue skies.  This was taken on the beach at Lowestoft, what a gorgeous place that is - I especially like the old world charm it seems to retain, and the mile upon mile of soft creamy sand.

Abstract in the making...

Warm up exercises on watercolour paper.

The finished painting: Confluence, a meeting of streams, flowing together, the middle.

The studio.  I have been entranced with these gorgeous peonies that I found quite cheaply at a local supermarket.  I don't often have flowers in the studio as I'm quite good at knocking them over, but I couldn't resist.  They are the epitome of summer days, unapologetically beautiful - and fleeting.

On Father's Day we went over to the east coast, to Scarborough.  It's one of my favourite places and doesn't take that long to get to.  It has everything I love: beautiful beaches, clear seawater, cliffs and seabirds, a harbour, boats and lovely cafes and shops.

It was sunny so we managed a picnic on the beach, but the wind got up so we didn't linger as getting sandblasted isn't all that much fun.  We walked around to South Bay and my daughter made me go on a very fast ride in the tiny funfair by the harbour which was hilarious and exhilarating!  Later on as we walked back to the car we got caught in a deluge, but all I really recall is the sound of the kittiwakes calling from their nesting sites on the cliffs, and the scent of the sea in the rain.

Explorations of colour, with watercolour on Cass Art Smooth watercolour paper.  I went to their gorgeous shop over in Manchester on Monday 17th, it was a damp, misty sort of day and we traversed the Pennines submerged in a watery gloom wondering where the hell summer had gone.  However, our spirits were lifted as we entered this artists paradise, at 55 Oldham Street - suddenly immersed in rows and rows of paint, sketch books, and other utterly tempting supplies.  I may have bought new things including their fabulous smooth watercolour pad, some Liquitex soft body acrylics and an art board.

When the solitude of working for myself turns insidiously to isolation, I take myself out to where there are people, coffee shops and WALLED GARDENS, because I absolutely adore being in a walled garden!  I will not forget in a very long time the jaw dropping beauty of this stunning wild flower meadow, it was just the most stunning tangled creation of daisies, poppies and sweet peas you ever did see and I wish there were some way of conveying how intoxicating the scent of it was.  Had the gardener not been so close, I may have laid down on the brick path amongst them all, with my face to the sun breathing it all in for a while.

And lastly, I have a lovely new product in my online store!  I am very excited to share this professionally printed canvas art print to 'Shallows'.  It is printed onto 100% bright white cotton canvas and stretched onto a handmade pine frame.  The finish and quality is perfection, and upon opening the sample I received, I was astonished as to how like the original it was.

You can find these in my shop priced at £35 GBP here.

Chat soon.

Julia x

Deep Dive and Shallows

I'm still really engrossed in my journey of exploring abstract art.  It's a totally new avenue for me, as those of you who have followed for a while will know.  For many years I painted coastal scenes, things and places you would recognise.

Some time last year I felt the call to try something new, to work in a looser style and yet I just couldn't commit to taking that leap, and so persevered with my familiar style.

Working like this, very much from the heart and soul is proving to be so revealing in many ways.  I am understanding how art really does have the capacity to create space in the mind, and to heal.

This piece is called Deep Dive, and it's an acrylic piece on a wooden panel.  I used a flow medium to make those glorious puddles of colour.

Much of this painting is led by intuition, I allow myself to be directed to colour, shape and pattern without trying to influence the outcome.

Shallows

Choosing to work with a minimal choice of colours, I built up many translucent layers of paint, it reminds me of staring into the shallows of the ocean, those beautiful turquoise shades, lilac and blue, and soft sandy tones.  I was really happy with this piece, and feel I'd like to explore this layered way of making art further.

Wanderlust and Tide Pools

Wanderlust

A feeling of adventure, of sea and sky, journey and landscape.

This piece has a gorgeous deep edge, so you could display this painting either freestanding, or hang on the wall.  I also like the serendipitous paint run down the side, how about you?

Tide Pool

Colours and movement of a tidal pool, fluctuations of seaweed undulating in the water and the surprise of marine life hiding in the shadows.

Painted on a deep edged white canvas, this piece is so utterly mesmerising.

What I'm learning as I create these pieces is that they come from somewhere deep within.  There is no expectation of any outcome as I paint, it's a journey of sorts - and each painting is a revelation, like a revealing of the soul.  Working intuitively with colour is both mindful and meditative, I am seeing that this work could be (and perhaps already is) deeply healing.

Shorelines

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Shoreline

I seem to be forever drawn to painting the sea, although recently I have crossed over from illustrative representational work to abstract work, this piece was created in acrylics with a flow medium, and I wanted to convey the feeling of movement and energy where the tide meets the shore.

Whenever we get the opportunity we love to go over to the Yorkshire coast, although it’s May here, temperatures had plummeted to just 5 degrees hence the winter coat...the views were worth it though, at both Bempton Cliffs RSPB and Scarborough.

The Shape of Water

 After a long absence, I'm back on my Blog.  I have decided to intersperse writing helpful tutorial, sharing advice and stories along with Journal type posts, sharing what I'm up to in the studio, with behind the scenes pictures, on a more regular basis.

Back in March, I hit a bit of a wall - you could call it a dark night of the soul if you wish because I stopped painting for weeks and weeks, and at times I honestly didn't know if I'd ever pick up a brush again.  Everything felt tired and done.  Did you ever feel that way about things you create?

It was a tough few weeks, I questioned where I was going in my business, and wondered who I was without art - was it even possible to imagine a life without it?  

If we resist these times of change though, it becomes harder - if we soften and allow ourselves to let go, we can get through the pain and journey through to the sweet new beginnings that await us on the other side.

I had no idea I would ever make art that looked this way.

My friend encouraged me to go back to the studio, and to just have fun.  I took her advice, found a wooden panel and played with my acrylics and some flow medium.

The piece at the top, which I created while thinking about the feeling of water was where it all began.  I discovered that I was enjoying the concept of making art for fun, using the theme of water to explore mark making, shapes and texture.

Painting this way is completely different from when I paint in an illustrative way.  I am allowing my deepest, subconscious feelings to manifest on paper.  I allowed myself to really immerse myself in the shape of water, the feeling of water and the energy and movement of it.  These pictures are the happy result.

I've been surprised by so many kind comments on my social media, I honestly wasn't expecting them.  In some ways I was nervous to share this new work, I think when you have worked in a certain way for so long, people come to expect that and this was a complete departure for me to suddenly be sharing abstracts.

I'm still curious to explore this more intuitive way of painting.

I've done a couple of new vlogs too, all about this process.  I shared about what happens when you fall out of love with your art (Episode 13) and what happened next (episode 14).  You can watch them over on my 

You Tube Channel here.