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Tag Archives: painting

Scones, Cake and Tea

15 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by pat in Art, Cornwall, England, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized, United Kingdom

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cake, painting, scones, St. Ives

Somehow in over 20 years of going back and forth to England I had missed St. Ives, an artistic port tucked away in Cornwall.  This past autumn we put it right. And as is often the case, My Beloved Brit researched on line and found the most glorious spot on a tiny back street hidden in the midst of this famous seaside town.

“Olives” is a truly lovely spot that specializes in tea and scones, but also has marvelous cakes and coffees.  I knew immediately it begged a painting, no matter how daunting the details (That plaid shirt!  That glassware!).

Nonetheless, she persisted.

I loved the colors and the contrasts between hard and soft surfaces.  Slowly I worked on putting a first layer of paint down.

I had taken several photos of our young barista, but loved this layout of reaching for a cup.  The extended arm helped me not lose her in the jumble. Once I had the first pass of color completed I started to slowly return and add detail, highlights and tone.

As i proceeded, I decided where I wanted emphasis.  I spent days on her shirt, face and hair.  But what a release in this time of anxiety to work on such a lovely expression of pure joy.  A full 7 weeks later, working almost every weekday, it was done.

Scones, St. Ives, 30 x 24″, oil

And, by the way, My Beloved Brit had the Vegan Chocolate Cake, and I had Cranberry Scone with clotted cream and jam. One of the best “lunches” we had in England.

To see the light

23 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by pat in Art, Grasmere, Lake District, paintings, Uncategorized

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Lake District, painting

One of the biggest challenges and most satisfying subjects in art is trying to capture the light on 3-dimensional objects on a two dimensional canvas.

Case in point.  One of my favorite walks in the Lake District is near Grasmere.  Very early one morning I decided to go out for a walk and see if I could capture the early light.

Grasmere, the village by the lake. photo by Mick Knapton, creative Commons

It was a truly gorgeous morning in summer, and My Beloved Brit happily decided to join me.

The village of Grasmere, Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

 

We wound through the village and took off across the lakeside path.  Shortly we saw the early light coming through the trees exactly what I was looking for.

"Silken", painting by me

It was gorgeous.  You could breath in the damp warmth of the early dew.  Everything was golden and the air was still stretching and moving as it woke up to the morning light.

The two little paintings I did were only 16 x 12 but I still think of that morning in Grasmere every time I look at them.

The Enclosure, oil painting by me

New Forest, new art

06 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by pat in Art, England, paintings, The New Forest, Travel, Uncategorized

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England, painting, The New Forest, travel

Planning new trips always makes me review past trips to make sure we don’t forget old favorite destinations.  One of my most memorable adventures was a very special trip to England with My Beloved Brit.

After weeks of meeting MBB’s friends and family on our first trip across the pond together, I was thrilled but also a bit overwhelmed.  Having experienced the same in my home country, MBB was understanding and decided what we needed was a very special few nights in a quiet part of England. He’d fix it. His brilliant idea was a visit for the two of us to The New Forest, the perfect retreat.

photo from New Forest Official Visitors Site

This is a very special area south of London in south-west Hampshire that is filled with quaint, quintessential English villages, expansive views of heather and woods, and wild ponies and donkeys which often come over to say hello.

New Forest Ponies (wikimedia commons)

We stayed in a unique place, called Master Builder’s, located next to the historic English village called Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River. This tiny row of 18th century Georgian cottages brings you back through time. The Inn itself was almost modern by comparison.

Buckler's Hard (image copyright is owned by Peter Barr, Wikimedia Creative Commons)

After a wonderful night in this enchanting place, we got up early for breakfast (only spoiled by the smell of kippers being enjoyed by a guest at the next table) and went out to explore the forest surrounds and villages.

Nearby is the town of Beaulieu which is famous for its motor car museum ( which will feature a James Bond Car exhibit in 2012 that I am told we will most likely see).  But it also has a charming village center, and we went by the inn for lunch.  On our way out we noticed an unexpected guest.  Reservation for one?

My photo

I fell in love with New Forest. We return whenever we can, and on one of these visits I took a long walkabout and found such diverse scenes. I followed a path along the river and found some areas pruned to perfection…

my photo of the most perfect entry

and some areas where nature had taken over and gone wild.

my photo of apples along the path that follows the River

I loved both, but wanted an image that expressed the wild, untamed nature of the area. It was so unique, but I didn’t quite find it on my walk.

Then, driving across the vast landscape after dinner with My Beloved Brit I saw it.  But there was absolutely no place to park.  He let me off at the side of the road and drove about a quarter mile to a parking area and waited patiently while I explored every angle of a lone tree against a moody sky.  It was dramatic. You could see the wind in it’s branches.

I signaled MBB to turn around and come back to pick me up.  He is always so patient with these art adventures.  I love him for that.

And I loved this little painting.  It was everything I remembered of that day.

The New Forest. private collection

I always like to share my paintings.  If you want to see more visit my website at www.patwhitehead.com.

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Reinvention

03 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by pat in Art, paintings, Travel, Uncategorized

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branches, painting, Portugal, travel, US Virgin Islands, waves

It is interesting that just after I finish mentioning Pringles of Scotland as one of the 10 design firms sited in my post “British Fashion…’tis the season“, I came across an article about the company.

December 2011 Vogue article on reinventing the Scottish company Pringle

In the December 2011 issue of Vogue (American) there was an interesting story in the “View” section about the traditional Scottish sweater company reinventing itself to stay abreast of modern fashion, while still being true to its core identity.   It started me thinking of how many times over the years I needed to reboot my life or work or art to keep it fresh and exciting without losing what was “me” about it.

Now, I can definitely be a creature of habit. But, I also get bored if I let things stay static for too long.  It was with that in mind that My Beloved Brit and I sold our house and I sold my business in Washington, DC and we picked up everything and moved to the Caribbean for 8 years not knowing anyone there or having a clue as to how it would work out (it worked out great).

"White Cottage" the house we built with our own bare hands and a small crew on the caribbean island of St. John

And of course for many years I had my design business which I found I had to periodically tweak or twist in order to keep things current. But the core values and style of the company remained the same.

My art is like that.  I know artists who find a style and subject they are very comfortable with and keep it for ages.  Part of me envies that.  But I could never do it.  I tend to work on a series for at least a year or two and then start looking for a new viewpoint or subject or technique or color palette. New horizons.

For example, when we first moved back to the states returning from the islands, I had the luxury of spending a year exploring a new direction of painting.  That is when the wave series began.  I had realized that all over the world (and we were always searching out the sea no matter where we travelled) the waves were in many ways universal.

Waves in the Caribbean near "White Cottage"

Of course there were always endless variations, yet there was so much common ground…

Portuguese waves. photo by me

…but I was wondering how much the appearance and feel would depend on the waves geographical location. It became a game. We spent a few weeks searching the western most coast of Europe looking for the edge of earth closest to the Americas.  Would a wave on the extreme east of the Atlantic be similar to the waves on the extreme west coast? Someone told us the most western coast was in Spain, so off we went to look for waves.

After a stop for a few incredible days in Santiago de Compostela, Spain  (a UNESCO world heritage site and the pilgramage destination featured in the current movie “The Way”), we set off with our Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas to find Cabo Fisterra, a small point of land jutting out into the sea.

Cabo Fisterra, Spain, the end of the earth

It was amazing. After driving through tiny villages with mussel farms in the bays (they look like rows of swimming floats) we found what we were looking for. The monument wasn’t totally impressive…

The lighthouse at Cabo Fisterra

…but how were the waves?  Spectacular and strange – different from anything I had ever quite seen before.

The waves in Spain reach towards the west. photo by me

Wave painting by me. Private collection

The sun came out in Spain

Truly magnificent waves stretching their white foam in beautiful patterns, and bits of almost Caribbean blue water near the shore, but the furthest west? We headed to Portugal.

Pat at Capa Rocha in Portugal. The height of the cliffs overlooking the waves was frightening.

Another friend mentioned that they were sure the furthest coast west in Europe was north of Lisbon, and that there were incredible waves.  And sure enough, it was spectacular.

After a night at another great hotel (we lucked out on an internet travel site and found a great rate at the Penha Longa Hotel which turned out to be a Ritz Carlton as well as a bargain) near the town of Sintra, we set out for the coast for a day of exploring.  The cliffs were so high it was frightening, and to get the perfect angle on the waves I had to lean over the edge of the cliffs laying flat on my stomach with my camera.  I am petrified of heights, so MBB agreed to hold on to me.  Now that is trust. But I got the shots.  Enough for many paintings.

The cliffs at Capa Rocha. Photo by me with assistance from MBB

More waves in Portugal. Worth the trip. Photo by me.

We finally headed out after two days of incredible vistas. We were guests for a night at the home of MBB’s British expat friends living south of Lisbon in Batlha.  After a wonderful dinner buffet (despite some mystery things that looked like a tiny octopus) at an atmospheric restaurant in a nearby village, MBB and our host decided the only way to solve the problem of which point was the furthest west, was to run a GPS on the computer. The men gathered around the screen with great intensity. Portugal won, but I painted both country’s waves…and then some.

Wave from the Portuguese cliffs, Gallery 50

I painted waves from Maine, and the Caribbean and Florida.  I was in the studio for over a year painting waves.

The beginning of Wave #15, a caribbean wave

the caribbean wave in progress in the studio

Wave #15 finished

There was always another wave to explore.

Wave from Portugal, artist's collection

Wave #10, Caribbean, artist's collection

A Florida wave triptych, artist's collection

I couldn’t stop painting waves.

Until one day I did.  I was surrounded by the most gorgeous trees at our house in America, and soon we went back to England for another short summer.  As I have said before, there is no better way to appreciate a good garden than to see it dripping in mist and hugged by fog.  I was off.  It was now branches…and woods… and fields.

the start of a new series...branches

Branches II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branches 1

I guess what I am trying to explain is that exploring new worlds is good.  I loved the waves, and sometimes return to that subject with great joy.  But I am always curious about the next series…what is around the next corner.  And I think with life, and work and a truly good relationship, it can make all the difference in the world. Just stick to the core values, but look at it with a fresh eye and add a new twist of color.

Branches in Maine at the end of a walk with friends

The start of "How Golden Branches Weave the Light"

Final version of "how Golden Branches Weave the Light", artist's collection

It keeps everything very exciting.  There is always time for one more adventure.

One more wave

 

 

 

Voyeur: Bath and the birth of a new idea

22 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by pat in Art, Bath, paintings, Uncategorized

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Bath, England, painting, travel

We had been touring England for a few weeks by car, and I was looking for new art inspiration without much luck.  Sometimes it just goes like that. I had worked on my wave series. I had explored branches. I was hoping something new would hit me on this trip.

We had just come from a disappointing excursion to the east coast of England. It was an area neither of us were too familiar with, and although the purple heather hills of the Yorkshire Dales were spectacular, I still hadn’t found the venue that would give my artistic inspiration a jolt.

And then we went to Bath.

We found a hotel very near the old Roman Baths in the center of town… The Pratt’s Hotel.  The rooms were clean, the staff was friendly, but it is a quirky old hotel that did, in a way, live up to its name (“you prat” in Brit speak means a foolish person, sort of a meathead).  It was an odd hotel, but it was right in town and we could walk everywhere.  We had been driving for weeks, and it was time to do some exploring on foot

My Beloved Brit was tired of touring and wanted a nap and some down time hanging out in our room.  I wanted to get out in to the city, and of course the place to start an adventure in Bath is the 2000 year old Roman Baths.

This was fascinating.  The site was not even discovered until the late 19th century, and now you can wander through many different rooms and courtyards that weave under the modern street level.  It is so enlightening to walk in the ancient romans’ shoes, and the exhibits and artifacts are captivating.

Leaving this major attraction, I wandered around town, and then, finally, back to the hotel room to talk MBB into joining me. I had found the Museum of Bath at Work, which I thought might interest him. It’s a guys’ museum focusing on the industrialization of this area of England, housed in an old 18th century building that at one point was a “fizzy pop” company.  It had lots of machines and gadgets and featured the history of industrial Bath, which he loved.  I was also engaged by the exhibits. Of course we just happened to pass The Circus, an architectural marvel, and the classic areas of Bath that are soooo Jane Austen, Bath’s most famous resident.

We had a lovely evening wandering around town, had a great meal, and then went to bed early. The hotel was comfortable and quiet, and in the morning we had a big English breakfast in the dining room in the midst of a tour group of Germans.

We spent the morning wandering along the different streets together.  Bath is just the perfect size for exploring on foot.  You feel like you are in a city but it is not overwhelming. The buildings are lovely, the town is beautifully laid out, and around every corner there is another shop or restaurant to explore.  Bath is a World Heritage City nestled in the hills of Somerset county.

We found a Marks & Spencer right around the corner from Pratt’s.  How lucky. M&S is a department store, plus they have a fabulous food section with all kinds of pre-made sandwiches and an array of every sort of packaged gourmet treat you can imagine.  It’s like Dean & Deluca gone British.

We loaded up our basket, went back to our cozy room, and had a banquet sitting on the bed with our feast spread out before us. There was everything from egg mayonnaise (egg salad) sandwiches, sausage rolls, chicken tikka and sweet puddings. How perfect.

MBB was ready for his nap but I decided I wanted to go out for a walk to work off our major pig out.  It was still bothering me that I had not found the art inspiration that I was always looking for.

I wandered in to town along the main street.

There is a park along the river called Parade Gardens that is a level down from the main road. If you are a local, you simply show your ID and you are admitted free. If you are not a Bath resident you pay a small fee in summer. How sensible.  I paid my token fee and wandered down the steps and in to the gardens.

When I came back up to the street level and looked down, I paused to watch people wander along the paths and across the grass below.

I walked along.  On each side of me were two different worlds.  The bustling city of one of Bath’s busiest streets on the one side, and the cool green of the Parade Garden below me on the opposite side, sweeping down to the River Avon.

As I strolled along the edge of the wall, I looked down towards the river through the branches of a tree that had lost nearly all its leaves.  It was fabulous.  The people below weren’t aware of me at all as I watched them come and go beneath the screen of branches.  I was mesmerized. This was it. I had stumbled on a new tableau for my art.

I realized I had left my camera back in the room.  I literally ran (or tried to) the length of the park and then the additional few blocks to my room.  The light might fade! The people in the park might all go home! I crashed up the stairs (couldn’t wait for the very slow lift) and in to the room. MBB was watching a movie and working on his computer.  I was out of breath.  “Camera! Got to go back out!” He smiled and wished me well.

When I got back to the park it was all still there. Perfect. I watched and shot for about an hour. And I got it.

I had been working on painting branches for several years.  This was new.  There were people tangled in the scene.  It was a story. I chose this photo to work from but I knew it needed editing so the figures talked to each other, and to the Voyeur (is the voyeur the person in the lawn chair, or the viewer of the painting?).

I started by blocking in the main figures and the tree. The two women walking and talking were oblivious to me and to the person relaxing under the trees.  The whole city of Bath was above their heads.  The river was beyond the trees in the background. The two women were alone just listening to each other in their private conversation.

The next big decision was how complex to make the tree without losing the figures. I loved the spider web like branches, but didn’t want to lose my stars.

A bigger problem.  I was fairly far along with my blocking, and I realized it was too blue and moody…almost menacing.  Not what I wanted at all.  This was an intimate, golden world. I went back in and warmed up all the branches.  Each branch.  Then I went in and repainted the green between the branches with more yellow tones to eliminate the blue.  Sometimes these decisions are critical at an early stage.

The painting finally had the mood I wanted.  Now it was weeks of working on detail without losing the figures that were the center of the conversation.

Voyeur, oil painting, collection of the artist

This was the birth of what I called The Encounter series, where an individual’s surroundings affected them in a unique way, and the viewer of the painting creates their own story based on their experiences and point of view.

You can see a similar extension of this concept in a later painting called Winter’s Tale, which features My Beloved Brit in a snowy scene that took place on the other side of the world from Bath, in Yosemite, on the West Coast in California.

Winter's Tale, oil painting, artist's collection

Small world. A series was born. To see more, visit my website www.patwhitehead.com

 

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