Nostalgia Nationals
We’re trading at Santa Pod again this special bankholiday weekend for the Nostalgia Nationals in association with the NSRA.
Will we see you there?
Nostalgia Nationals, Santa Pod, this bankholiday weekend May 5th to 7th
We’re trading at Santa Pod again this special bankholiday weekend for the Nostalgia Nationals in association with the NSRA.
Will we see you there?
Festival of Power at Santa Pod
We’ll be back with a full gallery at Santa Pod this May bankholiday weekend for Santa Pod’s rescheduled Festival of Power.
See you there?
We’ll be back on the road this Good Friday trading at the Surrey Street Rodders annual Wheels Day.
Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot GU11 1QB.
We’ll be back on the road this Good Friday trading at the Surrey Street Rodders annual Wheels Day.
Looking forward to seeing everyone and it seems the weather could be on our side too.
Wheels Day, Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot GU11 1QB.
Peterbrough Hot Rod, Custom & American Car Show.
Will we see you there?
We’re looking forward to exhibiting at Peterborough Show Ground this weekend for the Hot Rod, Custom & American Car Show, along with the Modified Show.
It’s shaping up to be a great weekend. Will we see you there?
My website has recently had a major overhaul in the background including a security update, you may have noticed the new https status.
All good news apart from the possibility that some of you who have subscribed for email updates on New Artwork and info on upcoming Shows and Exhibitions may have lost your subscription for which I apologise.
I will share this post across my social media platforms but a quick way of knowing whether you’ve lost your subscription is to see if you receive this post as an email. If this update arrived in your email inbox you don’t need to do a thing and I thank you for your support.
To subscribe simply scroll down and look for the subscription box, it looks like this…
… just fill in your name & email address and click SUBSCIBE.
Please let me know if you had to re-subscribe in the comments below
We hope you are all healthy and coping in the best way you can in these challenging times.
I just wanted to let you know that although the Corona Virus may have caused the cancellation of car-show events, we are still OPEN here online. And I’m pleased to emphasise that the Delivery Services are all still working so we can process our online sales with no problems at all.
We have lots of artwork here with us and if you want some of it there with you just send Mandy or myself a message and, if you’re struggling, we can play some haggle games on pricing. Don’t be shy, I mean who would have thought that the governments of the world would have the entire population standing 2 meters apart within just a few months, so anything is possible! and as a helpful tip Mandy is usually much friendlier than I am when it comes to a deal (I still scavenge through skips looking for something that might “Come in handy”! )
In the meantime I’m going to be displaying my latest work for sale online together with any offers, so don’t forget to subscribe for updates.
And if you’re cheeky enough to speak to Mandy …
You’ll find her on Facebook – www.facebook.com/MandyGuy.writer
I never set out to be an artist! I’d never taken myself seriously enough to know really what I was doing or why and to be honest the art world and art galleries kind of scared me. I was just compelled to draw, an impression in my own mind of the finished piece wasn’t what drove me forward it was more a feeling or an emotion that I needed to express, confidence was something that evaded me.
Moving on quite a few decades and wondering how I had got to this point without real plans or direction I’m realising more and more that it’s the love and appreciation of my work that is the very catalyst of everything that I am and for that I will be eternally grateful. There is a certain vulnerability to this too which feeds my adrenalin, you guys have the power to make or break me, the decision is in your hands and you are always surprising me.
A couple of years ago whilst we were trading at one of the more arty shows I was approached and asked if I would be interested in selling my used palette! My disposable palette? After some confusion on my part I signed and exchanged my used cast-off for cash and wondered what the hell had just happened.
A year later and in the lead up to the same show, I realised because of my commission work load that I didn’t have any original paintings to display and then remembered the palette sale. So I began to play with the idea of rendering a vehicle in oils onto a used palette knowing that I would have to loosen my style and colour combinations to compliment this abstract background squelch of tones and hues that lay before me.
For me this was a huge ask. I am obsessively a stickler for detail, often far beyond need or want, never happy with a finished piece and I was now challenging myself to be, for want of a better word, loose, messy even. The clock was ticking as I sent myself down a road to which the consequences could not only have been messy but there was the distinct possibility of an explosion of emotions leading to self-destruction. I console myself sometimes about my strange behaviour by thinking back to the day a very wise older lady turned to me and said “You’re allowed to, you’re an artist”. This was the excuse I was using now for my change of style and possible reaction to comments such as “What the hell were you thinking”…
This Palette Painting sold on its first showing along with such comments as :
“I think I prefer these to your normal paintings” “These are much more arty” “I love the idea of owning an actual physical piece of the artist’s creative process”
The question that I have tried to push to the back of my mind now however is, has my obsessive attention to detail previously been influencing my customers’ choices with regards commissioned work? I’ll leave that there for now. The art lover who took it upon himself to ask to purchase that first palette I’m sure doesn’t realise how that action and his kind words activated a shift in my thinking, helping to change my perception of how I work and within reason how I deal with my life/work balance. I really enjoy the looseness of these paintings, the freedom to experiment and explore.
A year on and I have a growing list of new commissions for these strange paintings that manifest from ready and waiting incidental background splashes of oil paint that hold within them the mystery of previous creations. And the attitude of the customer has changed too.
“We’ll just leave it to you” and “You’re the artist, you just go with the flow”
I will always love creating a ‘story’ with my more detailed paintings but the freedom of movement I have with these new sporadic palette paintings is strangely empowering, encouraging me to take risks and venture to places that have previously been my own private guilty artistic pleasure. The best thing of all is that it’s ok, you said, and anyway, I’m allowed, I’m an artist! …
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And here’s my latest, they both sold quickly after writing this. I’d be interested in what you think but I’m not fully liberated yet, so be gentle …
Prints of this Model T Hot Rod are available here
These palette paintings are proving to be so popular I’m now having prints produced. Here’s the new range so far including new palette art not seen in this article :
motoringartist.com/product-tag/palette-painting
This painting, which I’ve called “Low Flyers”, had been festering in my mind for some time before I was able to capture it on canvas. I knew it had to be imposing and I wanted it to take the viewer through a varied range of emotions. The canvas needed to be large to make an impact not only when viewed but I wanted it to be ‘heard’ too. So deafening yet so humbling that it almost falls silent, begging the question, if a young girl screams excitedly but no one can hear her, does she actually make a noise? I chose a 2ft by 3ft canvas and had to force myself to find enough time to put aside to create this piece. This decision was helped along by my family telling me that putting it on hold was starting to affect my commissioned work and I was also becoming impossible to live with! Incentive enough!
Canvas primed and eagerly grabbing my oils and brushes I was ready to capture the feeling of speed and raw overwhelming power.
So here it is. Just as the boys and the girl think they’ve reached the edge of a full adrenalin rush in their hot rods suddenly from nowhere comes the almighty sound and overpowering presence of a B17 Flying Fortress bomber accompanied by a P51 Mustang and a P47 Thunderbolt!
If you’re interested in a print here’s a link: