Is Painting Therapy?
Sharing my new painting ‘This Little Pig’ and talking about how creating and therapy go hand in hand and the rich layers of thoughts and meanings a painting can represent.
What and why I paint is bound up in who I am, and the process of creating is always one of discovery. My new painting This Little Pig is rooted in a personal narrative.
The pig in question is based on a 1930s clockwork toy pig. I have seen quite a few versions of him over the years, some in mint condition, some in the company of fellow pig musicians. But this particular toy, picked up by my father, years ago at Sandown Park, is a bit bashed, with faded colours, and has a very particular expression the others did not.
His eyes are bright, alive, curious and hopeful. Paired with the drum, there is a sense of ‘declaration’ in his attitude, all of which got me thinking. I began projecting ideas onto him, seeing in him a symbol of strength and resolve, a theme I like to explore in my work, as a way to refuel my own determination in the face of challenge and difficulties.
The rough composition for this painting has been bouncing around my mind since 2017, but it was only in the last few months I actually got it out of my head and into a painting.
Graffiti, as I discussed in my last blog post, plays an important role here, weaving together a mix of ideas. I do dabble in journaling but there is something different about putting things together visually. It has a way of tapping into multiple layers of feeling, sometimes in harmony, sometimes contradictory, but all somehow true. Painting helps me anchor these thoughts in one place, without words or judgement - giving the feeling a face which I can hold up and reflect on, somehow helping me make sense of it.
In a way, any act of creation has an element of this, but certainly some paintings feel more cathartic than others. This Little Pig is about building something of your own, out of your hopes, dreams and vulnerability and pitching this energy against the inevitable challenges of life.
I would love to know how this painting lands with you, does he resonate? what points of reference does he connect with for you? Let me know your thoughts.
Whilst I usually print my digital paintings on Art paper, I decided to experiment with this painting and print it on canvas, which is now available to view in my shop.
You can explore buying options by clicking the picture below.
This fine art print is of my original digital painting of a vintage toy drummer pig set within an imagined urban stage. It was painted free hand using a stylus and pressure sensitive tablet on a computer.
Each print from this digital painting is an original; professionally printed on canvas, with top grade, light fast, fade-resistant inks.
Free UK shipping
For international shipping please CLICK HERE for a quote
Diving into Lego!
Working on a new, lego-inspired commission for a holiday let property in Windsor. A story telling epic feast of lego! Watch a short video showing the early stages!
I've been working on a new commission this week, diving into a world of Lego!
This is a little glimpse of the early stages, blocking in the main elements with digital paint. Still a long way to go but already getting into the swing of it!
This is one of two artworks that will hang side by side in a beautiful holiday let property in Windsor.
The idea is to celebrate all the local attractions including Thorpe Park, Legoland, Twickenham Rugby and Windsor Castle etc…
AKA a great opportunity to delve into story-telling, weaving together lots of playful elements , including a little bit of Halloween / fright night fun!
For more info about this amazing property check out: www.shortstaylongstay.co.uk
Here’s a brief overview:
📍Conveniently located next to: Windsor, Heathrow, Twickenham
🛌 Sleeps up to 6
🎪 Activities for everyone: Legoland, Thorpe Park, Lapland UK!!
More updates coming soon!
Goodbye Little Acrobat
Waving off this allegorical painting of a vintage toy Acrobat to its new home in Greece. Watch and read the full story!
Yesterday I said goodbye to this little fellow, waving him off to his new life in Greece.
This is a painted allegory called 'The Acrobat' [oil on canvas, 60 x 60cm] which plays with ideas about balance and the creative and destructive energy within us.
The Acrobat hovers above an unlit bonfire of matches, alive with the promise of danger, but also nodding to the inner fire of inspiration. Time is suspended, the spark yet to fall, the meaning open to interpretation.
Many ideas passed through my mind when painting this which I feel were mysteriously woven into this picture, making sense of themselves in a way at once abstract but true.
Hopefully this chap will spark interesting discussions in his new home!
My Digital Painting Process Revealed
Enjoy a 15 minute dive into my digital painting process, walking you through my set up and a few other insights along the way!
Trying something a little new today.
I've been in the habit of showing sped up time-lapses to music a lot recently and thought I'd slow down the pace and talk you through a few aspects of my painting process, whilst beginning a new toy inspired narrative painting.
So here we are a 15 minute dive into painting digitally, my set up, some of the challenges I've faced, my use of vintage toys and a few other random digressions.
It's kinda of a mini visual podcast - hope you enjoy!
Any questions do let me know!
Celebrating World Elephant Day
A little dive into the world of Elephants in celebration of World Elephant Day (19th August). Using my painted allegory ‘A Little Help’ to ask a few questions. Read on to discover what I found out.
Another animal day of celebration paying tribute to the Elephant, this time with one of my toy paintings called 'A little Help' (oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm).
The painting itself was an allegorical play on ideas like 'the elephant in the room' and 'whistle-blowing' and I think it fitting to offer it up today as a way of asking the question:
How are elephants getting on in our world?
This is what I've discovered so far
🐘Elephant facts
They are the world's largest land animal, have a super thick skin (2.5cm in most places), a voracious appetite, an extraordinarily agile trunk, and are very keen walkers, so much so that they are up and walking within 20 minutes of being born.
🐘Problems
They are also under massive threat with an estimated 415,000 wild elephants left in the world (around 90% less in number than a century ago).
These dangers include poaching to supply ivory trade demand, loss of habitat and an increasing strain on human-elephant relations with migratory routes now shared with agricultural developments, human settlements and infrastructural constructions.
🐘Solutions
Building awareness, changing perceptions and reducing commercial demand for ivory, helping local rangers enforce measures to protect existing elephant populations and promoting local education whilst exploring the application of new technologies to improve human-elephant interactions.
Highly recommend checking out
WWF website for more info🤓
The Acrobat
The Acrobat is an allegory about balance and the inner energy that can both create and destroy. A diecast toy acrobat hovers in the air above an unlit bonfire of matches. The bonfire is on the one hand literal, a dormant promise of fire and all the associated dangers, but it is also a metaphor of an 'inner bonfire' of inspiration and energy, waiting to ignite. Action is on pause and expectations abound. What will become of the acrobat, will he spark the flame, escape the fire, or rise up, phoenix-like from its ashes?
The Acrobat is an allegory about balance and the inner energy that can both create and destroy. A diecast toy acrobat hovers in the air above an unlit bonfire of matches. The bonfire is on the one hand literal, a dormant promise of fire and all the associated dangers, but it is also a metaphor of an 'inner bonfire' of inspiration and energy, waiting to ignite. Action is on pause and expectations abound. What will become of the acrobat, will he spark the flame, escape the fire, or rise up, phoenix-like from its ashes?
When painting this, so many associations passed through my mind, of the challenges i have faced and those I have watched others face. There is a therapy of sorts in the evolution of a painting where, focused on one thing for an extended period of time, one manages to exorcise all the thoughts of the moment, weaving them into the tapestry of the subject and releasing them in a way at once abstract but true.
The Acrobat, oil on canvas, 60 x 60cm
Bridging The Gap
Bridging the Gap is a painting about conflict and reconciliation, measuring out the space between with all it's ambiguity.
Bridging the Gap is a painting about conflict and reconciliation, measuring out the space between, with all it's ambiguity. The idea began as a 'shots at dawn' format, the dinky car racers stepping out their paces with a toy policeman acting as adjudicator to the proceedings. But as the composition developed I wanted to weave in the possibility of a more hopeful outcome. The word dice, upon which the policeman stands plays with our assumptions; are the characters making ‘up’ or breaking ‘up’ ‘with’ each other? The Tower Bridge stencil behind is likewise suspended between meanings, is it opening or closing? The policeman is caught in the middle, his head framed by the vice-like gap of the bridge which is either about to crush or release him.
Bridging The Gap, oil on canvas, 51x71cm (2016)
The Good Ship Union
The next piece in my spot light series is my etching The Good Ship Union created last year amidst the heady atmosphere of the Brexit Vote. I wanted to make an image which grappled with the maze of contradictory arguments this vote triggered and continues to provokes today.
The next piece in my spot light series is my etching The Good Ship Union created last year amidst the heady atmosphere of the Brexit Vote. I wanted to make an image which grappled with the maze of contradictory arguments this vote triggered and continues to provokes today.
The Good Ship Union uses the guise of a toy ship full of characters that pull and tug at different meanings. There is humpty dumpty sat atop the lighthouse mast, wedged between the nautical flags for ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Below him, two boxers wrestle things out whilst a camera man and a cowboy ‘play’ at confrontation. We have Pinocchio embracing a piggy, whose eye is anxiously cast forward. The figurehead of the ship is a donkey, a sailor dangles a carrot in front him in an attempt to encourage action. More nautical flags at the rear of the ship signal for assistance whilst warning to ‘keep clear....manoeuvring with difficulty.’ A little life boat pulls away at the bottom, carrying with it the ship’s anchor and waving another flag, which in turn flirts with a variety of associations, both nautical (representing the nautical sign for 'stop carrying out your intentions and wait for my signal') and national (the English flag). At the front, the Ship is being towed by a clown on a mechanical wind up snail. Meanings are in flux and the outcome, unknown.
The Good Ship Union, soft ground etching with aquatint, 53.4 x 43.2 cm, edition of 10
I Know Where I'm Going
To mark the launch of this new website I am going to do a series of spot light blogs about individual paintings and the stories behind them. I'll kick things off with I Know Where I'm Going, 60 x 60 cm, oil on canvas.
To mark the launch of this new website I am going to do a series of spot light blogs about individual paintings and the stories behind them. I'll kick things off with I Know Where I'm Going, 60 x 60 cm, oil on canvas.
This was a piece inspired by an analogy made by Grayson Perry in his Reith lectures (2013), where he likened the journey of young artists to choosing a bus route. No matter what the provocation or temptation to change, he emphasized the importance of sticking with it and staying your course. This is something that deeply resonated with me and all the challenges that I have faced on my path.
Here the Ballerina represents the artist. She is suspended in arabesque, at once supported by and tethered to a rooted ‘safety-grip’ tyred base of elephant and bus. She neither flies nor falls, but patiently holds her balance as she continues on her journey. Facing forward or back, in the right or wrong direction, she moves along, keeping her fingers crossed that the bus knows what it's doing!