QUESTION ANSWERED?

In my last blog post I posed the question ‘What next?’. This question has been answered to some extent after a meeting at the Alnwick Playhouse confirmed that I will be following my successful ‘The Aln – Source to Sea” with another exhibition in September next year. The theme of this exhibition at the moment is “On the Edge – Amble to Bamburgh”.

Caravans nr Warkworth Golf Club - digital painting - Procreate

In the meantime however I have several commissions to complete including a painting of the lonesome tree at Marden Rocks near Alnmouth and a charcoal drawing of the navigation markers at Boulmer. I have also been working on another project, which has been like an itch that’s needs scratching. These are studies based on views from a car on the A1068. At the moment they are just sketches and vague ideas but hopefully they may develop into something more concrete in the future.

One aspect of “The Aln – Source to Sea” exhibition was the success of the cards I produced of my paintings, as they nearly all sold out. As a result we have printed another selection which are now available from the Alnwick Playhouse.

Finally the weather in Alnwick is warming up nicely so its time to get back into the studio to begin painting again. I am looking forward to getting the studio ready to spend long Northumberland evenings painting.

EXHIBITION AT ALNWICK PLAYHOUSES - WHAT NEXT?

Whilst my exhibition at the Alnwick Playhouse has been a tremendous success it was quite sad that on Monday I had to take it down. Apart from selling work I have met some lovely people during the six weeks it has been up.

I am now thinking about what comes next. I may try to book another exhibition at the Playhouse next year or even try the Bailiffgate again although it might be in Northumberland Hall by then. I may even look farther afield to locate galleries that are still open. Meanwhile I have a few commissions to complete including drawings of Boulmer, Craster and Beadnell. For my next theme I have contemplating the title ‘On the Edge – Amble to Bamburgh’ looking at places people live on the coast. I hope to research why people set up home on the coast, how and when! From the fishermen who set up temporary homes called ironically a shiel to the grand castles of Bamburgh, Dunstanburgh and Warkworth.

A WEEK IN STAITHES

My exhibition ’Source to Sea - The. Aln’ has proved a great success, in terms of sales and the public response. I sold much more than I expected and for the first time we produced greetings cards which have almost sold out. I had wanted to use this exhibition as a practice event for a similar exhibition at the Old School Gallery in Alnmouth. However they been forced to announce that they are closing down at the end of the year due to the owner of the building deciding to redevelop it as a residential property. It’s a real shame as it was one of the best galleries in Northumberland. Hopefully they will be able to find another venue in Northumberland .

During the exhibition I did a ‘Meet the Artist’ which went well. I later finished the five paintings I demonstrated during the day and have now added them to the exhibition.

Away from the exhibition I attended the February Dovecote Streets Arts Crit at the Bailiffgate Museum. The Crit was moved from its usual Amble venue so the attendees could view Gillian Lee Smith’s excellent exhibition “The Lost and Left Behond”. Gillian talked about her work explaining its genesis. Artists Luke McTaggart and Jim Donelly organised the event which was a great success.

At the moment I am on holiday in Staithes staying at the impressive Bethel Chapel. I have been to the Staithes Studio where I met Ian Mitchell and viewed his work and that of his wife Stef Mitchell. Whilst Ian’s work is quite hard edge Stephs is much more organic. Both artists work was impressive and is well worth a visit if you are ever in Staithes. I also met the lovely people at the Staithes Gallery and particularly liked the work of Rob Curtis and Chantal Barnes.

I have been making a concerted effort to keep a diary of my artistic thoughts in notebook forms and I intend to post some of the pages online to help me stay motivated.

'SOURCE TO SEA - THE ALN’ ALNWICK PLAYHOUSE

A lot has happened since my last update a lot has happened. In March 2024 I negotiated an exhibition of my work at the Alnwick Playhouse. I decided to develop a theme ‘Source to Sea - The Aln’ which was based on the working methods of Cornish artist Kurt Jackson. Unfortunately at that point in time I only had one painting which included the River Aln. Therefore I found I had nine months to complete a body of work that could fill the space.

Initially I walked the stretches of the Aln that I was familiar with near Alnwick and Alnmouth and took hundreds of references photographs on my I phone. I then started planning out the paintings on my I pad using ProCreate.

I then decided to research the stretches of the Aln that I did not know. This included visits to Whittingham and Alnham. I knew the source of the Aln was near Alnham but where it was depended on which maps you looked.

For the next nine months I painted and drew a large variety of work based on the river and by December I had enough work to mount an exhibition.

Promoting the exhibition by delivering posters and flyers and plugging the event constantly on social media was exciting but hard work and sometimes takes you away from what you really want to do which is paint. However we got the exhibition up and it has been a great success and as i write this I have sold twelve of the the twenty seven pieces of work on view.

The big decision now is what comes next?

NEW PAINTINGS STARTED

Since my last update I have started several new paintings been to a number of exhibitions and hopefully got a chance to take part in a group show.

I am in the middle of painting a view of Warkworth Castle from the dunes near Amble. I have already done a version on an I pad and I am trying to use that as a reference. There are things you can do on a computer that you can’t on canvas. The most striking one is that you can work on layers on a computer which means you can paint or repaint the backgroung/undercoat. On a canvas this is virtually impossible. On the other hand the canvas is a physical object which has a presence that a computer screen lacks.

I have started a painting of Amble coastguard cottage again from the dunes and a depiction of Howdiemount beach in the thick snow that fell earlier this year. These last two paintings are still at a very early stage where I am trying balance the tones before introducing colour.

My studio is in the garage of the new house we have lived in since December and its great to have a space to paint although it a bit cramped and at times cold.

I went to see a group pop up show organised by a group of artists in Amble at the Customs House. Luke McTaggart, one of the artists, is a young up and coming local artist. He is always keen to talk about art and has asked me if I want to participate in a future group show he has organised. It’s a lovely gesture as he knows that being new to the area I have few contacts in Northumberland.

I also went to Newcastle for the day and trudged across town to the Biscuit Factory which is a very impressive venue and appears to be ‘the’ place to get your work exhibited in. This and one or two others galleries are what I am aiming for when I get a body of work together which fully reflects my style and artistic aspirations.

I have got lots of plans artwise but despite the fact I can paint full time it’s fitting everything in that’s the issue.  I do however plan to do a link to all the artists, galleries, arts organisations and exhibitions that I have came across since I have been in Northumberland. Also I want to do links to all the artists that have inspired me to paint the way I do.

I would love anybody to give me feedback at john.shiels.1958@gmail.com

WEB SITE UPDATED

I have finally updated the website with a selection of my paintings and drawings. I have included many of my digital paintings because that is what I have done most of in the last two years. Unfortunately it has taken time away from my artwork but now it is almost complete I will be able to concentrate on finishing paintings and starting new ones. I have a few acrylics in progress which are based on sketches painted on the I pad. I am working on a painting of Warkworth Castle and a painting based on views from the passenger seat of a car. The second of these is a diversion from my usual work but is based on an idea I have that mot people see landscape from their car. I will post it on here as soon as I feel it is in a state where I can share it

NEW START

Since I last posted updates on this website Covid has come and hopefully gone. I will be soon looking to fully update the website and share all the exciting things that have happened since I last posted.

THE LALLY GALLERY EXHIBITION MOUNTED!

Eventually got the exhibition mounted all of the paintings screwed securely to the wall at the Lally Gallery, Erewash Museum in Ilkeston. As usual I took far too many pieces of artwork and it was quite a job to work out what to leave out. I think I got it about right in the end. Once I had finished I felt very proud to see all my work on display especially as it is in my home town of Ilkeston.

I went two days after mounting the work to show a friend around the exhibition only to find the gallery was being used to house a meeting of the Local History Society. I knew quite a few of the members of the group but it was impossible to view the work so we nipped for a cup of coffee and returned an hour later. In the past when I have exhibited at Cromford Gallery at Cromford Mill I have been at the exhibition all the time so I found it very difficult to walk away from the Lally gallery without being able to see peoples reaction to my work. I had not realised how important it was for me to know what the public thought until that point.

Back in the studio I have produced a study of Mousehole in charcoal, which I am very happy with. It seems to be one of those pictures that came easily and has worked without too much fuss. If only all drawings and paintings could go so well.

I spent the New Year in Cornwall and to be honest I did not want to come back! It was a lovely break the weather was unseasonably warm and Mousehole where we stayed was as charming as ever. I went to the Kurt Jackson Foundation and was again blown away by Kurt’s paintings.  The desire to copy what he does in sometimes over whelming but I am trying to stay influenced and inspired rather than just copy. In the local Penwith Galleries you can see plenty of artists copying his style or rather trying to copy his style.

EXHIBITION LALLY GALLERY - ILKESTON

I am currently getting my work ready for a one man show at the Lally Gallery in the Erewash Museum. I am really thrilled to be exhibiting again at such a wonderful venue. I know from my dealings with gallery owners that times are tough. Just today I spoke to a gallery owner who told me she had sold one of my paintings only to inform that she was being forced to close the gallery down because she could not make it pay.

I hope to keep everyone up to date on my Art exploits but it will take self discipline to keep updating this website. I have made this promise a few times before but hopefully this time I will be more successful.

PAINTING SOUTHWOLD

Since my last blog I have started and completed a couple of paintings based on my recent trip to Southwold in Suffolk. The most successful was a view towards the Harbour Inn at dusk just before the light went and darkness descended on the scene. I have painted from this spot before but in the opposite direction towards the town rather than the Harbour. I was really pleased with the result and if i did not already own it I would buy it!

Since completing the Southwold sketches I have started on a composition for a good friend who has asked me to immortalise a mans best friend, his dog! Working from photographs I have not taken is a challenge but I have made a good start.

At the weekend I took four of my Bluebell series to display at the Nutbrook Cafe on Shipley Park. So if your cycling up the Nutbrook Trail and fancy a coffee and a bite to eat drop in and admire the artwork.

WEBSITE UPDATING

Welcome to my website! Like most artists promotion and self publicity does not come easy to me. As a result my plan to update this website and keep it current as to some extent been but put on the back burner a bit. Ironically this defeats the object of making it more current. However this is the start of a new beginning social media wise.

To comment on my artwork or the work I have done so far on the website contact me on john.shiels.1958@gmail.com or on twitter at @jshielsart