Four of my paintings have been accepted by The Swann Gallery in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. I’m really excited as the gallery shows many established artists like, Moira Huntly, Jeffrey Pratt and Rory McLauchlan.

The gallery owner, Susannah de Sherburne, offered me some very helpful direction for my paintings. The first piece of advice was to stop using too many technique and tackling every subject. She feels one of my strength lies in street and cafe paintings. She said that it’s obvious I enjoy capturing movement, light and life. Painting in the street is demanding but also very rewarding. It makes me feel part of that world, wherever it is. My goal is to capture the changing life around me – deliveries, people chatting, rushing to work, browsing, relaxing and light shifting.

Street life in The Old Town, Olhao, Portugal

Two of the paintings are from my trip to Portugal. The town of Olhao has managed to escape from mass tourism and the old town retains a totally unspoilt charm. The cobbled streets and pastel stucco buildings glissen in the light. For the flower shop, where the light struck the building, i used large brushed and thin paint. The shadows of the cafe are in thicker, dense paint.

Flower Shop, Olhao, Portugal. Oil on board

The gallery has also taken two other paintings: a Still-life with lemons and an interior of the studio in Chelsea.

Exploring the curves of lemons, leaves, fish and jug

What inspired me with this painting was the shapes of the lemons. I wanted to echo the curves with those of the succulent, jug and fish pattern of the material. The strong outlines around the lemons help push them out of the painting into the foreground.

It was the week before Christmas and I was struck by the view through the old warehouse studio window. From our window one can look directly into the window of the adjacent building. This facing window has many beautiful lights on show. They cast a warm glow, which mixed with the winter light hitting the London brick, created this effect. I wanted to capture this light asthe backdrop to the studio interior.

The paintings can be seen at:
The Swann Gallery
1 Market Street, Woodstock, Oxon OX20 1SU

Paintings Accepted At The Swann Gallery