Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Travelling

travel train station platform north england sun shadows

This painting has been sold



Acrylic on board 12" x 12"

This is Stalybridge station in sunlight. I have painted it before. It always carries an air of expectation and anticipation. I have left from here to go to far flung corners of the earth! Making several connections along the way of course. They are always "improving" it - at the front there now stands a kind of glass and metal shelter with hard, cold, metal seats no one wants to sit on. Before that they had old wooden benches, glossy with so many layers of paint. They were worth the graffiti and the pen knife assaults because they were warm and friendly. The shape of things to come, eh?

Friday, February 19, 2010

An old college friend

nodp

I would like to draw your attention to a new blog, set up by an old college mate of mine (sorry Brian, you are not so old!), called Brian Melling. I only had formal art school training for two years and Brian was a classmate in the first year which I spent at Heginbottom School of Art in Ashton. I would love you to look at Brian's sketches which are the first things he has posted on the blog. The reason is not just that I think they are marvellously fresh and unique but they depict the very area - Ashton and Stalybridge - which my blog here focusses on.

Click here to go to Brian's blog.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A light snow

landscape painting north england stalybridge snow

This painting has been sold



Acrylic on board 12" x 12"

This is based on photos taken a couple of years ago when we had light snow falls and some winter sunshine. See what I mean about the same scene never looking the same two days running?

Monday, February 15, 2010

Canal view

canal factory industry north england stalybridge



Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8" Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting

It's nice to have a change from the snow! Love these stately old factories and work sheds.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snow in the valley II

landscape stalybridge north england painting snow winter

This painting has been sold



Acrylic on board 12" x 12"

Seen from the same vantage point as the painting below but I have swung round a few degrees.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Snow in the valley I

landscape north england painting snow winter hills houses

This painting has been sold



Acrylic on board 12" x 12"

This painting shows the valley of Stalybridge during the recent snowfalls. It's a view I have painted a few times before as seen from the top of Cocker Hill where there used to be a church and graveyard. I love the view because it is different in all weathers. It's never identical from one week to the next. As you can see the light levels were low and the sky heavy with more snow to come.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

The empty notice board

landscape painting stamford park winter snow england stalybridge



Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 8" (approx)Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting

Stamford park in snow. This notice board really stood out with its empty ochre boards and its indian red painted supports. I never noticed it when the park was green and leafy and hit by dappled sunshine yet I suppose it has been there a long time.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

The Post Office

landscape painting england snow winter street scene stalybridge



Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 7.5" £65 (please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting

Lots of Post Office buldings have sadly closed down in the UK but the one in our small town has managed to survive. It's a beautiful old building next to the Library (another beautiful old building). If you have ever bought a painting from me, then this is the place from which it was shipped. (But we don't often see it covered in snow!)

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Snow on the tops

painting landscape stalybridge england english snow winter street scene



Acrylic on hardboard 8" x 7.75" Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting

These little terraced houses seem weighted down by the heavy snowfalls. Well, if you're going to have snow you might as well have it proper. Those are the lower slopes of the Pennines you see in the background. We call them the moors and often "the tops".