More Portscatho :)

Just love that autumn dramatic light...

Portscatho paintings

Here's Light on the Water, Portscatho, Cornwall, just about to head off down the Harbour Gallery :)

Low December light isn't helping me work though so I'm going to have to get daylight bulbs... anyone else out there got any advice for painting in the winter?

Having so much fun exploring warm and cool greys along secondary colours to make light. I never used to be so attentive towards the colour relationships but now I depend upon exact tones and colours to get the real effect of light... I'm fascinated by it!

Working today wearing gloves in my cold studio... need much tea. :)

Cornwall painting trip

Such a fantastic week down in Cornwall in my trusty van... despite the fog, managed to get a few painting moments in and some photography to last me in the studio. Here's one I did after a very grey day's coastal walk saw the sky open so very briefly...

This one - A Patch of Sun, Portscatho, will be available through the Harbour Gallery. It's acrylic on 25cm x 35cm board. I've been using oils recently which are just luscious to work with but in these damper days take so much longer to dry. Might switch back for a bit since I'm full of inspiration with all my Cornwall images - never been particularly patient!

Artist of the Year 2014

Amazing to discover I've been shortlisted by Artists and Illustrators Magazine along with 49 other applicants out of over 3000!

Here is the painting - if you like it - you can vote for me here!

VOTE FOR JENNY

I'm also working on seascapes and river scenes for the fantastic Harbour Gallery in Portscatho, which I'm very excited about. Here's the first, available through their website/gallery:

This is the river Fal, in oils on 60 x 30cm canvas. So enjoying using oils again! Acrylics are so versatile and much easier... but there are effects and qualities only achievable with oil paint. :)

Calendars already!

So my 2015 calendar is out - email me jen@jennyaitken.com if you'd like a copy - its £20 including p&p.

Here's a sneak preview:

Busy year!

Sooo busy!

I've continued to work pretty much non-stop, and the more I paint, the more I want to ;)

I've shifted back into oils again for the sheer love of paint - its a completely different way of working but I love the butteriness, the way the hold their shape when you apply them to the canvas.

I've been concentrating a lot on tones, and real colours - anyone who knows any of my work from previous years might notice how reliance on sweeping contrasts has given over to greys and warm and cool tones. All possibly sounds very boring but I am fascinated and enthused!!

Just starting an exhibition in Cromford Gallery, Derbyshire, and just finished one in Alderney. Plans for two solos next year, very exciting! Here's a snapshot of what I've been up to.

Cornwall and Alderney paintings

Since my last post I've painted more than ever before, I think! Been able to work most days and I'm feeling the difference. I've been out painting a few times, which always helps, and just getting to know colours and how the paint works.

Here's some of the work from the last two months. I've been absolutely loving using greys and more muted colours, when painting light on the water. The following are all acrylics on canvas/board.

 Hanging Rock, Alderney 60 x 30

 Off to Omanville, Alderney - 60 x 30

 Alderney Harbour, 40 x 30

 The Lighthouse, Alderney - 50 x 40

 Wave, 60 x 30

 By the Sisters, Alderney 40 x 40

 Sunbathing Cormorants, Alderney - 40 x 30

 The Roar of the Sea, Porthtowan - 40 x 30

 Sand, Sea, Sky, Bedruthan - 35 x 25

 Tides Turning, Alderney - 60 x 30

 Trevone Bay, Cornwall - 60 x 60

Weathering, Cornwall - 60 x 60

I've always loved using bold and complementary colour, but I'm really enjoying exploring the effects of different greys in this area. Hope you like the results :)

Its been Easter this weekend so I had a little play with oil paints for an experiment and a challenge! Forgot how different they are to use, and the end clean-up process... 

 Over the Treetops, Derbyshire - 35 x 25

Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall - 25 x 20

I found by the third painting (not shown!) I was starting to lose the economy of brushwork I've been working on, and was just adding more and more paint. It feels like laziness - but it was partly because mixing the colours felt so different with the oils - much trickier! Acrylics are so much lighter. I'm going to keep coming back to oils, as I love the loose texture and shine, but I feel like I should stay on my current journey with acrylics. So much fun to use. :)

New paintings & galleries

Spent all day yesterday working on this one for the Mulberry tree gallery in Dorset. It was a journey and a half! That sea!!

Also excited to be showing work at the Bedruthan and Scarlett Hotels in Bedruthan, courtesy of the Harbour Gallery in Portscatho. These are heading off there tomorrow...

challenges

Artist. I'm an artist.

I'm also a mum of teenagers, a wife of an ENTP and a good/rubbish friend.

Sometimes find myself clinging to the artist identity more than others. Creativity. Its with me through everything, in the sad and happy times, exciting and boring times, with me to the grave. Its more than just an escape from difficult days, it shapes my every thought and decision.

I'm so, so lucky.

Did these last night - they were looking twee till I remembered to engage my emotions. Sometimes I enjoy the act of painting the land and sea so much that I forget to express.

 Breakthrough, acrylic on 30cm board

Shoreline, acrylic on 30cm board