design

How to create Strong Design in ALL your Abstract Painting

How to create Strong Design in ALL your Abstract Painting

The key to a successful painting firstly is strong design. How you arrange all the parts of your painting will be the difference between success and not finishing… Watch this video to learn the easy steps to making sure your painting is well composed with strong Design - every time!

Let's Practice Design Fundamentals With Black And White Shapes

Let's Practice Design Fundamentals With Black And White Shapes

Artists often feel like they have to find `The Idea' for a painting before they paint. This video shows how studying design (the fundamental principles of design that apply across all mediums) can help you generate many ideas, starting with an old calendar. I’ll show you how to find great design, what to look for and then how to look for more design ideas within the work you’ve created.

Using Drawing To Solve Design Issues

Using Drawing To Solve Design Issues

In this Vlog, I talk about the composition process and show examples of Picasso's drawings. He of course didn't have a SMART phone or Photoshop to help him nut out design issues - he used pencil and paper. And his small composition studies are the perfect example of this type of drawing. Watch the Vlog to see.

Harmonious Color and Design Exercise

Harmonious Color and Design Exercise

As I said last week these little exercises are great for fine-tuning your DESIGN-EYE - you will become more discerning with the more you do. So watch the Vlog and see if I can't tempt you to come with me on a little DESIGN tangent!!

Photo Transfers

Learn how to do Photo Transfers.

Materials used: Heavy Gel Medium onto Laserjet Photocopy on photocopying paper

Then Soft Gel Gloss to stick the Photo-skin to the painting surface.

Questions to ask...

Finishing a Painting II

Finishing a Painting II

Follow the final moves as I bring this mixedmedia painting to it’s finished state. This painting integrates photocopied images with paint and collage.

Is there ‘Precious’ in your Studio?

Is there ‘Precious’ in your Studio?

Finally, the insistent call of the outside world drags us away and we close the studio door on that tangled grid-locked mess of paint, hope, and self-belief. As we square up to the dishwasher and the dusting that secret smile is now a nagging sense of dread. Am I good enough? Why can’t I figure this out? I’ve killed my precious ….

Finishing a Painting

Finishing a Painting

Watch the finishing stage of this mixed media painting with photo collage. In this video I demonstrate how I finished the painting, analysed what it needed and made final changes.

To Change or Not To Change Your Painting?

To Change or Not To Change Your Painting?

What do you do when you have a painting that is ‘ALMOST ‘ right? I had changed my mind about a painting, I liked a lot of it, but there was something not quite right….

Stop trying to finish your paintings?

Stop trying to finish your paintings?

the more I know about my practice the more I realise it’s important not to THINK about finishing while I’m painting, and actually to defer finishing for as long as I can.

The 4 Stages of a Painting

The 4 Stages of a Painting

It’s helpful to be clear about the stage of the painting you are in, and what the objective of each stage is. It’s also important to take time moving through the stages and not rush to the end.

Unfinished Paintings

Unfinished Paintings

This last week I’ve been creating content for my new course FIX & FINISH. In this course I will equip my students with a process so they can expect to finish all their paintings and be happy with them. They will start a painting knowing that they will be able to navigate to the end and solve any problem they encounter on the way. In the back of my mind I can hear the doubters saying “Wow, that’s a tall order. Every painting?” Yes, EVERY PAINTING!!

Painting is My Teacher

Painting is My Teacher

Some paintings have given me learning that has freed me up completely, adjusted my thinking and changed the narrative that plays in my head. One in particular I will always be grateful for as it gave me an anchor that ever since has kept me secure and absolutely embedded in the knowledge that whatever I do in a painting it will all be for the good.