Maritime Paintings One of my clients is a great fan and collector of paintings by Frank Henry Mason (1876-1965). Over the last few years he’s asked me to put new mounts on the pieces he’s purchased. I have to say they totally transform the look of Mr Mason’s paintings. His breathtaking watercolours of maritime scenes, […]
Venetian Light watercolour The Tourist A few days ago I was watching the film “The Tourist” starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie We were on an plane travelling back from one of my overseas work trips. Most of the film was set in Venice which made it very watchable. It triggered off many memories of our […]
Relais il Canalicchio Umbria is one of my favourite regions in Italy. It has some great wines, particularly Montefalco Sagrantino and of course, fantastic food. The first time we visited in 2002 we stayed at the Relais il Canalicchio, a beautiful old hotel that boasted commanding views over the tranquil countryside. We travelled as far […]
Paintings of Kuwait In 2009 I had an exhibition of my paintings in Kuwait. I spent time driving around the city, looking for interesting buildings to paint. A souk painting in my sketchbook was one of my first studies. Then some Arabian dhows in the dhow harbour. However, as soon as I saw this sign, […]
Signage Because of my background trainting in graphic design, I love interesting signage. This van is owned by the Cod Father who provides fish (and other food) around the city of Newcastle. The humour is great and is typical of the way Geordies don’t take themselves too seriously. Fish and Chips I don’t believe that […]
Dunstanburgh Castle Last summer I decided to have another video taken of me painting on location. I asked a friend of mine, Gavin Dowd of Word Out Productions to film me painting Dunstanburgh Castle. I was hoping for a summer evening like the one captured in the painting which I reproduced as a limited edition […]
Burnham Overy Staithe One of the greatest thrills as an artist is to have a painting trip where one can paint a variety of subjects on location. My last two trips to Norfolk have been just that. When Painting in Norfolk the subjects range from the estuary at Burnham Overy Staithe to the lavender fields […]
Thomas Reed The two artists which influenced me the most as a child were my grandfather Thomas Reed and my dad Kenneth Reed. My grandfather died when I was only four years old but I still vividly remember the paintings which hung my grandparents home, and indeed the painting he did before he died […]
Watercolourist The first artist that I really began to study as a young, enthusiastic watercolourist was Rowland Hilder. My parents used to buy a calendar every year called Artists Britain. It would always contain several outstanding paintings by Rowland Hilder. I found myself captivated by his work. After a few disappointing attempts at using watercolour, […]
Venice The recent frosty mornings and beautiful bright sunny days we have been enjoying recently have reminded me of the times we have spent in Venice during Carnival time. I’ve often made studies around Rialto, Venezia, an area rich in subject matter. The weather in Venice has usually been even colder but characterised by crisp, […]