BLYTHART: 2007

Saturday, 14 April 2007

A WELCOME TO ALL WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TROUBLE TO COME HERE

My aim is to share my artwork with other people. I am by no means an exceptional artist, but I am comfortable with my work. Some people like my paintings; some people don't - that is their choice. If you have any artwork of your own that you'd like to show me, I'd love to see it. My philosophy in life is "a stranger's just a friend you do not know." (Yes, I am old enough to remember Jim Reeves.) I believe that God intended us to be creative. Although I do not paint Christian themes as such, I do try hard to follow Christian principles and so I steer well away from anything pornographic or over-violent. We have all been influenced throughout our lives (whether we admit it or not) and looking back, I'd say that amongst the most significant artistic influences in my childhood were my Nain's (Nain is Welsh for grandma) patchwork quilts, the stained-glass windows I stared at in church and the mosaic patterns I found here and there. I wondered whether to list my favourite artists too, but I don't think I would have room to mention them all, so for now, here are a few that have excited me at some stage - All the Pre-Raphaelites; Aubrey Beardsley; William Blake; L.S. Lowry; Piccaso; Dali; Gaudi; Hundertwasser; Disneyland Paris; Escher; Kandinsky; Bosch; Cezanne; Durer; Dore; Toulouse Lautrec; Valadon; Utrillo ... oh - I could go on and on ...

GUERNICA

This is to show how I used Picasso's Guernica painting to create my own Guernica. I do not do straight copies of other people's artwork, as that would be plagiarism, but although Picasso has not been dead long enough for copyright to have expired, I am sure no-one could accuse me of doing a direct copy of his work. I have indicated with white lines what sections I have utilised from his original painting. I find this an interesting way to work. When using the paintings of famous artists from earlier centuries, copyright ceases to be a problem and making copies of the works of the great masters has always been an accepted way of learning technique.

WATERCOLOUR PAINTING

I am interested in artists from all over the world. I do not like to tie myself down to any one style, although at the moment I am working on a whimsical style that seems to have developed over the years for me. John Ferrie (see his art on http://www.johnferrie.com/), an artist from Vancouver, Canada, first described my paintings in 1983 as having "a sense of whimsy" and the label sort of stuck, 'cos I liked it. I used to do pen and ink drawings which involved a lot of straight lines and of course, no colour. After years of doing this I felt the urge to put colour into my work. I rebelled against all those straight lines and now bend my lines in a whimsical way. I like depicting scenes in colours that aren't natural to the scene, in the hopes that people may see it in a different light, so to speak.

WILLIE CARR

A STATUE IN OUR LOCAL SHOPPING MALL - Willie Carr was a strong man who lived in Blyth in the late 18th century and early 19th century. Because of his strength, he was greatly sought after by press-gangs, determined to make him a member of His Majesty's Forces. Willie spent a lot of time avoiding these gangs and escaped when they captured him. If anyone is interested in reading more about Willie, I have attached a newspaper cutting below this painting. Incidentally, my painting is fairly true to the statue, but the background is more than a little stylised :-) If you are interested, there is a newspaper cutting further down about this man. Hope you have good eye-sight as it's not too clear.