Polyanthus

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Polyanthus
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

These brave little souls with their chunky leaves always gladden my heart as they begin to appear in the shops. It is nearly time to think about gardening again.

Mincer

Mincer
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

It is Dave’s birthday today so a fitting tribute, a mincer! He doesn’t mince around, far from it but he cooks. He is a cuisinier and when he makes anything that requires mincing this beautiful machine comes into use. There is something very satisfying about mincing in real time, doing it the old fashioned way, and I love the curves and sweeps of the lines here. So here it is sitting in the corner of my kitchen, ready for action. Just like him!


60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Music

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Music
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

Another painting from the music night at the Galway Pub in Lorient.

Bodhrun Players

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Bodhrun Players
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

At the Galway pub in Lorient on a Wednesday night musicians gather, it is a free and very fine evening of music, mostly Irish with the heart beat of the Bodhrun. People sing of being far from home, in a land that does not belong to them. A feeling that I recognise and enjoy. Someone asked me last night why I lived here, I think that is one of the reasons, I like being an outsider it pulls things into unexpected focus.

Red Cafe

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Red Cafe
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

I am back! It was a horrible migraine but it has gone and I feel like new. I have been well and truly looked after by himself and also thank you to everyone who sent good wishes.
Yesterday I relaxed, did homey stuff and went shopping. I loathe shopping so I like to soften the blow by going early and starting the whole thing with a croissant and an excellent coffee for breakfast. I was sitting in the café when I spotted this couple, looking like “Brief Encounter” within a Mondrian painting. I love everything about this, the colours, the light and the understated drama of their meeting. I enjoy people watching and could happily while away hours just sitting in a café, with my sketchbook, watching the world go by.

Chair

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Chair
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

This was painted this morning. Now Sarah is ill with a big headache so no more painting today, she has trusted me to do the posting of today’s painting.

Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow.
David.

Narcissus

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Narcissus
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

Another windowsill still life. I like the comparison of the tiny new flower, just bloomed, with the old chipped terracotta flowerpots. I also love these early flowers with their exquisite and intoxicating perfumes, essence of springtime. Breathe it in; breathe deeply on a cold winter morning.

Jug

Jug
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

A jug, that’s it, pure and simple, just that, a jug. Nice jug though.
Available at The Gillian Jones Gallery

The Spice of Life

The Spice of Life
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

I think a painting should try to have an essence, to convey a feeling, a fleeting shadow or pattern of light, the weight of an object, a memory of something past or an aspect of someone. This painting has a few of those elements for me. There is the play of light from a window onto heavy and pleasing shapes, the solid objects and the soft shadows. These are Indian spice boxes, they are packed with spices mostly in their whole state, seeds, sticks and berries that, when the lids of the boxes are lifted, flood the air with rich exotic sent. My other half, my constant friend and partner, loves to cook. He weaves magic in the kitchen and these are the tools of his artistry. So, you see, this painting is also a kind of portrait, an aspect of him.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe). This includes the postage.

Brown Eggs

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Brown Eggs
20cm x 20cm. 7.9in x 7.9in.
Oil on stretched canvas

Brown eggs from the market, white china, linen cloth and winter light combine to make a peaceful but powerful subject for a still life study. There is something extremely calming about the shape of an egg, it is fragile and strong at the same time, a yin and yang thing.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Horse in Winter

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Horse in Winter
20cm x 20cm. 7.9in x 7.9in.
Oil on stretched canvas

Winter, cold, grey, wet and windy. The horses at the end of the lane turn their backs to the wind and wait for it to stop. This one is pregnant and makes a wonderful shape against the greys of this winters day.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Azalia

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Azalia
20cm x 20cm. 7.9in x 7.9in.
Oil on stretched canvas

A splash of spring pink on a truly rainy and horrible day.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Bowlful of Sun

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Bowlful of Sun
12cm x 18cm. 5in x 7in.
Oil on stretched canvas

It is raining outside, again. My enamel bowl sits glowing with bright sparks, summer wrapped in a skin, a handful of sunshine.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Meeting in the Forest

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Meeting in the Forest
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

This morning, just as it was getting light, I was walking the dog and enjoying the dawn chorus. I stopped for a while to sit beneath a tree and concentrate on sending a text to my son in Australia. Suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck rose and I smelt a strange musty smell. Looking up from my tiny window on the 21st century I came face to face with the past. A wild boar stood about fifteen feet (five meters) away from me. For a second he stood there watching me with his little ancient eye. I was rooted to the spot. Then he seemed to shrug and sniff the air before he moved off into the depths of the forest.
I rushed home full of the juxtaposition of time, trying to remember how he looked and how I felt.
I did a quick sketch, (which you can see on my daily blog) and then a little painting. Times like these pull out all the visual memory tricks, it is like trying to catch hold of smoke and give it substance, its like magic, like time travel.
I feel very lucky today.

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
12cm x 18cm. 5in x 7in.
Oil on stretched canvas

There are hidden colour's in everything, the longer I look at these three little clementine’s the more colour's I see. Thinking on the title of Jeanette Winterson’s fantastic book: “Oranges are not the only fruit” and here orange is not the only colour.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Tall Trees

Tall Trees
14cm x 18cm. 5.5in x 7in.
Oil on stretched canvas

Deep in the forest are old roads; all that is left now are fragments of walls, slashes of dark stone running through the gullies. The ancient thoroughfares now filled with tall moss covered trees.

I wonder if our towns and cities will one day be reclaimed becoming just a hint of what they once were, becoming a smudge in the forests.

I quite like that future.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe). This includes the postage.

A Walk With a Friend

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A Walk With a Friend
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

In the middle of winter the forest is a still, vibrant green. The trees are soft with moss and wet, fallen leaves muffle our footsteps.

January Market

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January Market
18cm x 14cm. 7in x 5.5in.
Oil on stretched canvas

Trees scratch the sky, making patterns with the roofline on a grey January morning. The market stalls, splashes of colour against the old buildings.

Bridge in the Woods.

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Bridge in the Woods
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

An old bridge spans a rushing, winter swollen stream in the middle of the trembling forest. At this time of year the bird song seems to echo around the cathedral of trees.
Some good walks have recharged my batteries and I am back at the easel.

This is the 200th daily painting.

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).

This includes the postage.

Sketches

Sketches
This is my 200th daily painting and it is not a painting.
Sometimes it is necessary to recharge the batteries, I am tired, I need to go for a long walk, clean the house, organise and sort out. After a busy Christmas and New Year, with a house full of friends and family, illustration work to finish as well, it is now time for a rest. I may not paint for a couple of days but I will draw.
A lot of the paintings start life as a few sketches and some photographs. Here are a couple of sketches, one of the baby who is staying at the moment and one of my son Dan. The painting of him playing the Dobro on 28 December began like this.

Oyster Stall

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Oyster Stall
10cm x 18cm. 4 in x 7in.
Oil on stretched canvas

The painting today is late. I have spent most of the morning at the market.

It was a cold bright day and I was seduced by the thought of oysters for supper and the wonderful blues of the oyster stall.

Now though, because it is late in the day, the light has nearly gone, the reproduction of this little painting leaves something to be desired. Ah well.
This is a little one.
40 pounds (UK) 78 dollars (USA) and 60 euros (Europe).

Includes the postage.

Irish Pub

Irish Pub
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

“In Lorient there is a lovely Irish pub, on a Wednesday evening musicians gather and have a music night, guitar, fiddle, whistle and bodhran. So there you can sit, in France, enjoying a fine pint of Guinness while Irish tunes take control of your feet.”

Wet Evening St Malo

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Wet Evening St Malo
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

“After a long day, it is cold and raining, the damp and cold seep through to my bones. I am in a town far from home. The warm lighted windows of shops and cafes hold cameos of people talking and laughing together. There is a small part of me that enjoys the feeling of being an outsider. Watching little stories unfold. I run for the smoky warmth of a café, drinking coffee, still watching, as outside the evening turns to night.”

60 pounds (UK) 116 dollars (USA) and 85 euros (Europe).
This includes the postage.

Happy New Year

NFS

Happy New Year
16cm x 16cm. 6.3in x 6.3in.
Oil on stretched canvas

“This is the youngest person who stayed at our house last night. A bright little baby to begin a new year.

May you have a happy, healthy, successful and peaceful 2007”