Promote Shetland, December Competition – Win Print ‘Northern Lights Over Mousa Broch’

There is still time to enter the December competition run by Promote Shetland, to win one of my large size mounted Giclee Prints, ‘Northern Lights Over Mousa Broch, Shetland Isles, UK’ worth £50.00 which I have hand-signed on the mount.

Don’t miss out! For your chance go to: http://visit.shetland.org/december-2014-competition

The following is an extract from Promote Shetland’s Competition Page:

December 2014 Competition

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WIN a stunning print of the Northern Lights over Mousa Broch by D M Woodhouse Fine Art.

Donna Marie Woodhouse is an artist who uses the isles ever changing qualities of light, its seascapes and landscapes to inspire her paintings. She aims to capture these wonderful images and translate them into fine art paintings.

Describing her inspiration for the Northern Lights over Mousa Broch, Donna Marie said: “While on a trip to Mousa, I was inspired by the Broch and its sense of history, its strength and its endurability. It came to my mind that it would make a great painting combined with a backdrop of the Northern Lights, which in contrast are fleeting and transitory, but like the Broch itself inspire a sense of wonder and awe.”

Shetland Arts & Crafts Craft Fair November 2014

The Shetland Arts & Crafts Association held it’s annual Christmas Craft Fair in the Clickimin Leisure Centre, Shetland on the 14th-16th November, so far this was the biggest fair to date with almost 100 exhibitors across 2 halls, the Main hall and the Bowls hall and was a hugely successful event.  This was my first time as an Exhibitor at the Craft Fair and it was a great experience, in particular being able to meet customers and clients face to face and have the opportunity to chat in person, to hear people’s stories about places in my Paintings, to hear customers views and opinions was really lovely and rewarding.  It was a great opportunity to showcase my Artwork so that people could have a close look at my Paintings and to assess the work first hand.  At the fair I also had my current range of mounted giclee prints and greetings cards available to purchase.  Don’t worry if you didn’t purchase at the Craft Fair you can still purchase Original Paintings, Giclee Prints and Greetings cards online, simply visit my Store Page and click on the item which will take you to the Shetland Market website where you can pay securely via paypal.  At the Craft Fair I launched my Commission work, if you would like a rural landscape commissioned please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss what you have in mind.  I’d like to thank the members of the Shetland Arts & Crafts Association that put in a lot of hard work, all voluntary, to make the Craft Fair happen, it really is a great event, very worthwhile for all the exhibitors and a lot of fun for exhibitors and visitors, there really is such a lot of creative talent with a huge variety of crafts and artwork on show, there is something for everyone. I have the date marked in my calendar for next year and I hope to be able to see you there if you can come along on the 13th-15th November 2015.

Encaustic Wax Art

Something a little different.  What is Encaustic Art?   In a nutshell it is applying wax coloured with pigment with a heated iron to a suitable surface.

The term encaustic originates from the Greek word enkaustikos which means ‘to burn in’, and it is this application and use of heat during the creation of a piece that is necessary in order that it can be called encaustic.  It is not a new form of painting, but has in fact been around for a very long time with the oldest surviving piece today dating from the 1st Century BC.  Encaustic work is an old form of creating art that is once again gaining popularity as a medium for painting.

Encaustic wax is primarily applied with a heated iron, there are specialist irons for the purpose of Encaustic Wax painting these have thermostats to control the temperature, (while painting it is usually on a low setting), and have a polished metal base rather than a Teflon coating.  Encaustic art can be done on a variety of surfaces, the panels that survive from the 1st Century BC were painted on wood, today wax painting is often applied to a glossy sealed paper surface which resembles photo paper, the glossy surface allows the wax to slide over the surface and allows for the image to be manipulated to a degree with the iron, stylus or other tool.  The beeswax blocks are coloured with pigments, there are a good range of colours available on the market including some metallic colours for adding special effects.  Using different colours of paper under the wax will also give different effects to the finished artwork.

Before starting a painting the work area needs to be prepared so that all tools and materials are easily to hand as there is a small window of time to paint with and manipulate the heated wax before it cools.  While painting it is necessary to have to hand plenty of paper towels or kitchen roll to wipe down the base of the iron between colours.  Something to notice while cleaning the iron before applying the next colour is to be sure to clean the groove behind the back plate as the liquid wax tends to collect there, this needs to be wiped away or it can give you an unexpected addition to the picture.  To keep the work area clean a pad of old white paper, or some scrap wallpaper is best put under the glossy paper so that the iron can glide over the edges of the paper to allow for smooth movement and sweep of the iron when required.  As this form of painting requires the use of heat whether an iron, heat gun, heat lamp, heated stylus etc. it is a good idea to work on a heat resistant surface.

There are various techniques to that can be employed to create various effects.  For example, when using an iron, different effects can be achieved by utilising different areas of the iron from the curved point of the iron, the heel, the sides, moving the iron in continuous passes over the paper or lifting away.  These effects can be added to by the use of the stylus to add finer details, or even by scraping or rubbing out.  Other effects can be achieved by using other equipment, hot plates, hot air guns, rubber tools, specialist brushes.  Encaustic wax is a very immediate medium, yet with the use of a variety of tools also has the versatility to allow re-working.

In the photo above, “Tranquility” on the left and “Fire” on the right are two abstract pieces that I created in Encaustic wax.  I’d love to know what you think of these two pieces, what do you get from them, which one is your favourite, what do you see in them?  For me, I feel a strong sense of peace and calm from the smooth flowing lines and soft, muted colours in “Tranquility” whereas in contrast “Fire” is alive with energy and vitality, it dances and glows.

Coming soon to Cinema Screens – “Mr Turner”

Click here on the Link in gold to watch the Trailer for  “Mr Turner”

Just to let you know to keep an eye out on your local cinema timetable for the upcoming film “Mr Turner” on general release from 31st October.  Actor Timothy Spall plays the lead role of Joseph Mallord William Turner in his last 25 years.  A grumpy, crotchety, cantankerous man deeply affected by the death of his father, the film shows the complex relationships with those around him, he is loved by his gentle housekeeper with whom he dallies with on occasion, his rejection of his children and their mother, one of two of his mistresses, and his later relationship with his seaside landlady with who he lives until his death.   Turner’s relationship with the Royal Academy of Arts was at times fiery, for Turner was a radical Artist not afraid of experimentation, the pursuit of his goals leading him to walk the moors alone and such exploits as tying himself to the mast of a ship so that he could paint a snowstorm, he was daring, fearless, determined, stubborn and single-minded.

Director Mike Leigh describes Turner as “a great artist: a radical, revolutionary painter,” explaining, “I felt there was scope for a film examining the tension between this very mortal, flawed individual, and the epic work, the spiritual way he had of distilling the world.”

Director Mike Leigh has a close attention for detail and determined that actor Mr Spall should not pretend to paint during the film but to be proficient in painting led to Mr Spall undertaking 2 years of art instruction prior to filming with accomplished artist Tim Wright, who was also later on hand during filming to oversee and assist in the painting scenes.

The era in which the film is set, is in a way, like Turner himself, it was radical, it was revolutionary, it was the time of the dawning of the industrial era, new technologies, railways, photography, the ‘modern’ age was coming.  In the film there is a scene where Turner witnesses “The Fighting Temeraire” the old warship being towed into harbour by a modern tug, which of course became one of his most famous paintings and my personal favourite.  Back on the 23rd April (Mr Turners birthday) I wrote a short article on my Facebook page about this Painting.

Facebook Article 23/o4/14 – “It is the birthday today of the late J.M.W Turner 23/4/1775 – 19/12/1851 and I thought I would share with you one of my favourite of his Paintings. “The Fighting Temeraire” Painted 1839. I find this to be a very emotive and poignant painting. This mighty battleship which played an important role during Nelson’s victory at the battle of Trafalger has fought her last war. The sun is setting in the Painting as history also sets on the warship. Her time has come to a close, no more will she sail into the sunsets, now turned away and being brought in by the tug-boat to be de-commissioned and broken up. I feel there is the sense of the passing of something which once was great, not just the warship but also of an era coming to a close. The Painting I feel almost like a salute in her honour and that her passing and the decline in the strength of the British navy has not and will not go un-noticed. There is so much in this Painting, details, symbolism, I love it and could go into so much more depth on it. I’d love to hear though, what are your favourite paintings by Turner?”

I am looking forward to this movie, I think it will be a rich tapestry of the man himself, his relationships and the era, a glimpse into the life of one of our most famous and iconic Artists.

For those lucky enough to be in Margate on the 31st October  you can take advantage of a two-day self-guided tour being offered by the Turner Contemporary Gallery from the 31st October to 30th November.  For more information and details about this tour see www.turnercontemporary.org  If any of you have the chance to go along and do the tour I’d love to hear how you get on and also I’d love to hear what you think of the film, “Mr Turner”, I know I’m really looking forward to it.

Eshaness, Shetland Isles, UK – Latest Landscape Soft Pastel Painting

I painted this Landscape on location up at Eshaness, what a beautiful place to be to do a painting.  On Monday morning I packed the car with my easel, board, paper and pastels and drove up to Eshaness, the drive takes about an hour and is most certainly worth it.  The coastal scenery around Eshaness is quite something with its wild and rugged coastline, dramatic cliffs, arches and quirky sea stacks, it is simply spectacular.  With the very kind permission of the owners of the Braewick café, I set up my easel in one of their lovely bay windows and spent a most wonderful day painting the view of the famous ‘Drongs’ sea stacks.  I enjoyed a delicious slice of chocolate cake and cup of tea while I was there, what a great way to take a break while I was painting.  If you are in Shetland then the Braewick café is a delightful place to visit, I thoroughly recommend it.  This was my first expedition painting in public and it wasn’t as daunting as I had imagined it might be, it was lovely to spend some moments chatting with the people that were in the café at the time.  The weather that day was a little changeable, the morning started off hazy, brightening up for the most part and coming in a little misty toward the end of the afternoon so I used artistic licence to put my own colours to the sky, sea and reflections in the small loch behind the beach.  I hope you enjoy the Painting as much as I enjoyed painting it.