Fabulous Watercolours

2012-02-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

2012-01-30T13:27:00.001-08:00

2012-01-30T10:08:00.001-08:00

2012-01-30T10:06:00.001-08:00

2012-01-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

2012-01-30T09:54:00.003-08:00

2012-01-30T09:54:00.001-08:00

2011-09-07T09:34:00.001-07:00

The Letter C from my Alphabet Hearts series.

The Letter A

2011-08-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is the start of my Alphabet hearts.

B Is For ........

2011-07-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

This is the second letter of hearts I have completed in what will become an Alphabet Series.

2011-07-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

The object of this painting, was to see if I could make a coherent letter made up of hearts.

Keep Going

2011-07-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, was a difficult day, creatively.I'm sitting staring at a blank piece of paper, and not a drop of inspiration would come my way.Absolutely nothing. I looked over my previous work, and tried to work out a variant on those themes.Nothing!

I couldn't muster anything, and that happens quite alot.Some people will ask,where does your inspiration come from? I used to think it just popped out of nowhere, and all I had to do, was sit and wait like a passive observe,r for the thunderbolt to hit. Yes, that does happen from time to time, but it is not the norm.Trust me.

So, in this case, there is only one thing left to do. Sit down, and start to doodle, and try out ideas, no matter how random, and bizarre.

It is this process, of perseverance, that helps inspiration to strike.To keep on going, when others give up.

Sure enough, slowly out of the gloom, the doodling started to take form, and the idea of a heart made from smaller hearts came.

I wasn't sure about this piece, but I kept on going, and now it's painted, I really like it.

Even, better than that, I have an new wave of creative ideas that emanate from this piece.

So when a vacuum is stumbled upon, you just gotta keep persevering, until you extingish it.

Never, ever, ever,EVER, give up.

2011-07-07T02:38:00.000-07:00

Watercolour on paper 7 x 3 inches.
This painting is only half of a piece..It's about letting your dream go, and watching it fly.The child represents the freshness and innocence of that dream.
I will paint another similar piece, which will show the outcome of this act. It will simply be an adult capturing that balloon
Have a dream.Release it to the world.Believe in it.Watch it become realized.
Dreams do come true.

Latest Piece

2011-07-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

This is my latest piece. Two and half days work, but worth every moment spent on it.

It was only when I came to paint the hearts, that I realized how many were actually there. Roughly about 90. That was the most time consuming, especially lifting out the highlights on them.

At 21 x 14 inches, it is a lovely piece to look at, if I do say so myself : )

Is it work?

2011-06-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

I, without doubt, consider myself a working artist.I paint on an almost daily basis, and when I'm not painting, I'm either planning a new piece, or spending my time marketing and promoting my work.

I easily clock up in excess of 60 hours a week, all told, on my work.

I absolutely love what I do, and sur,e I would paint even if I wasn't selling my work.

I'm not in that position, as I need the income as much as anyone else does.

I still treat what I do, as a full time job, and I will never retire 'per se' as it is a career and vocation I will follow to the end of my days.

Art for me, is a way of life.A philosophy almost. It is something that inspires me to get up in the mornings for.It has meaning, and helps to define who I am.

I never see it as work though, but I treat it as any person would, a job that they love.

The more hours I am able to spend doing this, well, the happier I am.

A reason for everything.

2011-06-26T15:01:00.000-07:00

For me, everything happens for a reason. Now whether that is true or no,t is debatable.

In fact it is proabably a big lie. And yet, if I act "as if " it is true, then it propels me along in a better direction. It's one of forward thinking, and never looking in the rear view mirror.

A way of making order from the chaos.

Rejections, rebuttals. Excellent.Bring them on!

It's in these events, that I'm being gently steered to my true destination.

It is here I will find the golden pot at the end of the rainbow.

I may not know the reasons why, but if I believe everything has it's reason, then who am I to argue.

Only for a moment

2011-06-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

I have been really lucky to have this workspace to bounce around my creative ideas. It is full of fabulous light, and to my mind has influenced my work no end.
Unfortunately for me, it is only temporary, and I will have to move on,, once again.
So while the cards have landed well for me, I intend to make the most of it, and produce as much work as I possibly can while here.
And when my circumstances change, I will figure out what to do next. But until then, there is no point worrying about what 'might be', and only concentrate on 'What is'.
"Strike while the iron is hot" "Carpe Diem" are more than just words.They are an attitude,and mindset, which as we know, Attitude is Everyhing!
To enjoy the moment, one must be able to recognize the moment.In most cases, it is no more than a shift of mind to open up a new world of being in the Here and Now, and experiencing everything with an intensity that knows no bounds.
Sure, I will plan for my tomorrows, but they won't come any faster or slower than anyone else's. So for now, I will enjoy what the fortune has provided for me, and when it comes to it's inevitable end, I will be just grateful for having had it at all.
Now to apply that philosophy to the rest of my life..................

2011-06-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

This for me constitutes Summer. Rolling hills, and vibrant brightness. I just wanted to incorporate the element of the house and the hearts with a couple of figures that appear in my Aceo's.

Destiny?

2011-06-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

I can almost remember the day about 3 years ago, when I made the decision to become an artist full time. Little did I know the journey it would send me on.
It happens to be a one way ticket kinda decision, because doing what I do now, there is no way I could go back to a regular life. Ever!
Not because of any other reason than, it's impossible. Art has captured my soul, and set me free. Now, where it will all end, is another story. I put myself in for the long haul, and in some ways, I'm not actually too concerned on whether I "make it" per se.
It's the journey I have set myself on, and it is where the the real adventure lies to my mind.
Times are tough , as they can be for many other artists, and I have to see it out to the end wherever I land up.
It has certainly given me a different perspective to my old life of before, and even though I don't have the money I once had, I wouldn't change any of it for the world.
This is my life now, and there can never be a way back to my old normality.
This is what makes me feel alive, and somewhere deep, deep, deep inside me, I know I'm gonna be alright.Somehow!
This is the life I have chosen for myself, and I bless every day for the opportunity to be able to do so.
Only one life to live, and succeed or fail, then at least I will be doing it on my terms.
Amen!

What Inspiration

2011-06-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what inspired this painting.I'm not even sure what it means to me, or what I was thinking at the time.It just sort of popped up and developed itself from the ether.

That happens sometime, I just start doodling, and playing about with ideas, and the subconcious part of me takes over.

Inspiration can creep up out of nowhere, and the painting or sketch takes on a life of it's own.

Cause and Effect

2011-06-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

The last 12 months of my life have been, in short, rather turbulent to say the very least. Life has taken me down a route I could have hardly anticipated in any form. There's a saying "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans". How true I have found that concept.

It is easy to sit back and take everything, in the role of the victim, but then, I was never brought up that way. Some things just have to be accepted, and when you're pushed to the floor, the only thing to do is to just stand right back up again, dust oneself down, and continue the march forward.

That's exactly what I do, or rather exactly what I have done. When the light starts to appear once again at the other side of the tunnel that I have been forced through, I know it has been worth the effort to keep on moving forward.

Optimism is a glorious gift to have possession of.

It has impacted on my journey as an artist without doubt. By all accounts my work should be mirroring a darker or more maudlin tone.But it hasn't though.

It's brought my work to a more brighter and happier place. Perhaps because in my mind, optimism does a strange thing to one's psyche. For me, it empowers me, and lifts me because I am forced to look deep inside the well of my resources, and access parts of me that otherwise I would never have known existed.

It builds ones character, and gives depth to ones personality.

Tempered steel is strong for a reason. Defeat in anything is only a mindset that allows such a dastardly outcome.

If my work is to follow a brighter path of hope, then let life, throw it's worst at me.I will cope with anything, and allow me to continue to bring out the best in myself to it's full glory.

Simplicity

2011-06-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

I love this piece for it's simplicity. Life is complicated enough as it is. Well my life anyhow.

2011-06-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hearts are a universal symbol, and as such, certainly for me, they speak volumes in any piece of work. Sure, they are open to interpretation, but even so the base message is always prominent.

Why is one heart orange? What does that signify? Actually in this piece it doesn't mean anything.

It was coloured as such to break up the block of red from the adjoining hearts and also acts as an anchor in a triangulation of the other yellow/orange elements in the painting. It also contrasts well with the larger blue passage. It has been used as merely a colour device.

Sometimes a composition will dictate requisite colours and tones.

I believe in Love

2011-04-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

I believe in love.Not just because I want to.But, because I have to.Otherwise, for me there is no purpose in anything. It drives me.In my relationships.In my work.Without it, life is stagnant, and barren.At times, when there was every reason to abandon that pursuit, I could never give up on it. Persist with it at all costs.Open oneself to it. The rewards are immense.There is no other path.Despite the thorns that catch on the heart at times, a clearing will always appear to the persistent traveller. But, it is the journey that enriches. Much more than the view itself! Yes.I believe in Love.

Anatomy Of A Painting

2011-03-11T06:45:00.001-08:00

I had painted a similar style piece like this before, but wanted a larger and slightly more complex composition this time.

In the first photo you can see the original drawing sketched onto the paper.In deciding the composition, I was acutely aware of the negative space surrounding the hearts pouring from the chimneys, so I needed that space to be able to support them spatially.

A low horizon punctuated with the houses and trees ties the sky and land area together.I feel this works well.

After masking out the hearts and trees, I quickly brushed in th sky, keeping it simple so not to confuse the busy hearts in the sky.Masking allows to keep fluid and wet washes for the sky.Also when the masking fluid is removed it takes the sheen off the paper, allowing the washes placed afterwards, to saturate the area with more strength.

I next paint the houses,as they are a lighter element, allowing me to guage the background hills and hearts, later on, for more high impact visuals.

With the front lawn areas painted in, the trees and hearts are ready to have the masking fluid removed,leaving lovely pristine paper to be painted upon. I made the lawn areas green to contrast with the dominance of reds in the painting.The yellow/orange of the trees actually act as a colour bridge to the hearts above in a more flowing manner.

The hearts were going to be painted in 3 different hues with the Red ones in the middle,as they were to dominate.The right hand hearts were a link to the distant hills and to the middle section of hearts colourwise. The yellow/orange hearts give
a slight contract, and echo the trees with in the painting.

Could I have done anything better.Well, yes! Lots of things actually, but that's a secret I won't be sharing with you.I will learn, and grow from yet another experience, getting better as I go.

2011-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

Brought the light up to me.
I have basked in it's glow.
Of desires once touched.
Now embers I know.

In service to you.
Of a bargain once made.
Now reluctant surrender.
The light slowly fades.

Dreams once like bubbles.
Expand and explode.
Fragile and transient.
Yet together we rode.

It was not down to me.
Please don't blame my unease.
It is because who I am.
I can forfeit my fees.

Such is life,sure I know.
Who said it was fair.
What is, is what is.
What's not there, isn't there.

Expression

2011-02-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

Everybody has a voice.
Has a way to best express themselves.Often, it's finding the best and most elegant way in which to express that.
Some will do that through Art, Music,Singing, Comedy,Charity work, etc,etc.
I have always been good at articulating myself with words, probably due to my love of reading, but at the same time unable to actually express myself through anything other than Art.
I think there is a big difference between the two.
At an emotional level, what's truly in my heart and thoughts, are people, and love.Everything else, for me is extraneous to these things. I certainly hope that these ideas shine through in my work, as they are the source of my expressions.
When I look at the work of my fellow artists, I've never yet noticed a bad drawing or a bad painting.Because to do so, is to look in the wrong direction.The point is being missed.
If you are noticing any art being either badly or well executed, I feel it's like picking up a book and only looking at the cover, and not delving inside to actually read the story.
To merely admire a pristine cover of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, and never turning the pages is just too tragic to contemplate.

I want to look at someones inner ideas, thought processes, and what's in their heart.What is this artist trying to communicate to me?, to what does this artist want to express?, and how can I relate this to my understandings?
There is no good or bad art to me.Only someone's attempt to express themselves.
That is the essence of it to me. An opportunity to connect to one another.

Choices

2011-02-25T03:58:00.000-08:00

How do you see your world?

I know how I see mine.We can all choose to see the darkness or the light.It is always a choice we have.

Sure, there is an underbelly to life, and that doesn't mean it cannot be acknowledged, but we also don't have to let it pervade our pschye either.

No-one will ever know true reality, due to it's subjectve natue.As people, we have the opportunity not to see what we think is there, but the imagination to know what could be there.Is that not where true visionaries started their journies? To be able to see the hidden possibilities.

My work is grounded in a reality symbolised by figures, and I try to project an essence of joy, and hopes and dreams.Rather how I think things should be, whether or not these things ever come to pass.

If you actively seek joy and beauty in your life, and persevere relentlessly towards those things, how can you not arrive at that destination.

What you see in my work, is what I seek for in my life.Whether I choose wisely or not, it is ultimately my choice.What's yours?

Balance and Unity

2011-02-24T14:00:00.000-08:00

When planning out a painting like this one, I tend to start with the layout of the houses.Then I look at it, and visualize it sitting on a set of scales to see whch way it is inclined to tip towards.
Forgetting the figures for a moment, you can see it would tilt down to the left due to a bigger mass of buildings.
This means it needs counteracting.
The figures I now needed, had to stay predominantly to the right of the middle,whilst still relating to each other and to the painting as a whole, with the balloon heart on a higher plane to weight it further.
My signature further added to the right makes me feel a balance has been achieved.
I never quite understood this concept when I first started out, but it becomes more second nature as the years and experience progress.
Again, using a fairly limited palette, with a dominant purple hue I also feel unity has been achieved, and add the balance of tones to be found here, I am quietly satisfied.
Majoring with colour ,warmth,direction,line, shape or tone are very powerful ways to instill unity in a painting, and to refrain from a disjointed or jarring piece.It's importance can never be overstated.
However, with another week or so, I will come back to look at this again, and note many other tweaks I could have done for a higher impact painting.
All par for the course, and all to be taken onboard to the next one.
The joys of learning one's craft.!

Symbolism

2011-02-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd tell you a little bit about symbolism in my work, and the meanings behind them.

A lot of hearts feature in many paintings.

The meaning is to about giving out love.So whenever you see for instance, a child releasing a heart, it is about giving out that love.Children have a very untainted and unconditional sense of love.It also represents their hopes and dreams.That a future is around the corner, and though not yet understood,it is where one is going, away from their roots.However when a balloon is being released and floating away, it actually represents loss, and letting go.

The older style houses are indicators where most of us grew up, and easily identifiable in many peoples lives.

A lot of these paintings try to encapsulate a time long by, and a place from where we started off.

Uncontent with what was my world, I wanted something more, and perhaps the child releasing the heart is a yearning for farther horizons, not just in distance, but in development of where I want to be, and who I want to be.

The painting to the left is about searching.For something missing.Love perhaps.Someone holding a heart is holding it as a key, waiting to unlock those dreams, again over a distant horizon. The balloon in the air, is the marker, guiding the way, over and towards the horizon, keeping the figure firmly on the right path.This particular heart is more representative of that inner intuition shown in a tangible form.This person is correctly moving in the right direction.

Meanings

2011-02-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

I think very often when having a conversation, it is not necessary to relate everything in minute details.It is the quality of the chosen words, and the unsaid, that is often the most enigmatic and interesting.The same is applied to music, in it's simple melodies that are embellished at key points, along with it's silences that produce memorable and emotive pieces.

I don't bog myself in all the details, as I want as much interpretation left open as is possible, while keeping you on the path I want to lead you down.

For me, the simplicity in this piece conveys, all I want to relate.Innocence, and hope.

What you see of course will no doubt be quite different.It doesn't matter though whether you get my point of view, it matters only that you can connect and relate it to some part of your life.The degree to which it affects you, is what really carries the most weight, and if the experience is powerful, then hopefully I have done my job well.

2011-02-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

Colour,colour,colour.We have the tools, the technology, so why not just use it to it's max.

ACEO titled'Where to my Love'

2011-01-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Aceo 'A Tower Of Love'

What the public want

2011-01-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

It's always been a delicate balance for me.Trying to guess what will sell against what I like and what I hope may sell.

I hardly ever get it right.I have had no choice but to follow my heart, and paint the things that inspire me the most.

Many a piece I have completed, and thought Wow!, that will fly off the shelf.....Hahaha!, I thought after relisting it on Ebay for the 3rd time.

Then other paintings I have considered throwing in the bin, as I did not want my name attached to them, and have gone on to sell, incredibly well.

I shake my head in submissive abandon, as I just cannot guage what other people really like or want after all these years.

That's why I paint for me....Now this piece above (Aceo entitled 'Follow Your Heart'), I really, really like...Hmmm!, no fortunes to be made off this one then !!!!!!!!!!

2011-01-19T14:25:00.000-08:00

It's always interesting to me, my own limitations to painting Aceo's, being that I'm confined to such a small area.

It certainly focuses the mind, as there is no room for superfluous imagery to get my message across, and it helps produce an efficiency to my work.

The downside, is it keeps me out of practice of bigger sweeping scenes, that I sometimes feel I need to produce.I can get locked in very easily to a macro view of the world.Nothing bad in and of itself, just frustrating for a while , when I need to switch viewpoints.

Still, I have a real love of painting these Aceo's, and that isn't going to change until I feel I have explored a lot more territory with them yet.

Imagination is equal to limitation.

2011-01-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

I finally decided that I have found the palette that best helps me to express myself.It has taken a lot of searching, and certainly not on the concious level.
I can discern many an artist on their colour schemes alone, and now I can also define myself accordingly.
This is where the real work begins, as I have to now maximise my potential with the hand I have dealt myself with.
We are all responsible and accountable to ourselves, and the choices we give ourselves, and how we choose to run with that, are what will ultimately make or break us.
There's no hiding from that.

Folksy,whimsical, Naive....What?

2010-10-16T07:33:00.001-07:00

I get many different descriptions of my work, ranging from Folksy art to Whimsical.

I'm not quite sure what it is.For me, it just is, what it is.I don't like to pigeonhole it into category.

When I first started to paint, I tried to paint in the very traditional way, but somehow my heart was never really there.

I do however love to view traditional watercolour, especially from many of the purists, and I look on with awe, and inspiration.In fact it is a passion for me.

My work just developed down the path it did, because I was following what eventually became natural to me.

Art should always be , in my eyes, an expression of what's inside of you, and however that manifests itself is I think the right way to go.

That's not to say one should be lazy in not experimenting and trying out new ideas, or reaching out of your comfort zone.That , I feel is how an artist develops.Pushing ones own natural boundaries.

My work may not suit the tastes of watercolour purists, but it certainly suits who I am.

If it really has to be categorized, then perhaps it should just be Chris Larkinism.

Imagine

2010-10-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

It took me years to realize the potency of ones imagination.

A person doesnt have to sit at the top of Everest to know what the view looks like from there.

Is it the same to have merely imagined being there, and acting as if, in your minds eye, you were really there? Feeling all the sensations that you think you would feel, if you really were there.

I think a person can. What's better still, I think you could actually have an even better and more intense experience than just passively taking in the view of what's actually out there in reality.

Of course that raises the issue of reality.Everything we see, hear, touch, smell and taste is filtered and perceived so differently, none of us ever will get to truth.

Is the scene in the painting above, real or imagined?

Sometimes, I'm really not quite sure anymore.

Maybe that's the point of me being an artist.Bending reality to fit with the model of the world I would want.

Just because I see it in my head, doesn't mean it's not real.

Is it?

2010-08-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

Colour is a huge driving force in my work, and I'm forever trying to achieve a full on intensity to my paintings.

Very often you can be forgiven for thinking I am being slightly lazy by repeating many elements in my work.

Yet, if you look closely, you will see all the variations of tone and colour if you put those works side by side.

I am always experimenting by placing different colours against each other and then noticing the effects on the paintings as a whole.

Of course there are mant formulas for placing colours i.e complimentary colours against their primaries, but there are more subtle ways to this also.

The fun is in the experimentation for me, and trying to paint that elusive piece that stands out from a mile away.

One day, I will succeed....I know it.

2010-08-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

ACEO titled Goodnight Kiss.

2010-08-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

I wasn't too sure how I was going to paint this one, but as soon as I painted the smallest house first, it set the tone, and I just knew exactly what to do next.

Most of my work relies on instinct now, though that's not to say I don't put any thought into it.

It's a bit like driving a car or a bike.Once you've drilled into yourself the basics, you don't need to conciously think about operating the car/bike, but you still need to know where you're driving to.
I arrivd at my destination here anyhow......

2010-06-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

ACEO Waterolour Chris Larkin Titled SUNBLUSH HILL.

I'm playing around again with subtle colour changes to see what moods I can conjure up.Using warmer and colder shadow areas, as small as they are, do make a significant difference.....Well, to me anyway.

Painting the background hill, a purply grape colour plays off against the yellowy fence and far trees for more impact, but at the same time helps unify the painting's overall palette and colour scheme........Also,........does it really matter?

2010-06-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Corner by Sally's Watercolour.

I often love painting in the square format, as it is not the most obvious and favoured dimensions.

It gets me creative on another level for filling and balancing the space.

First 7 to email me get one free ACEO print

2010-06-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have 7 different design ACEO sized cards with little envelopes that I'm offering FREE to the first seven people that email me, who would like one.

I can only offer 7 because that is all I have left.

Nice to keep , or send out to some-one.

Just drop by my website on the contact page http://www.whitepoppy.co.uk/contact.htm and send me your name and address, and I will pop one in the post to you.

2010-06-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

PROMENADE - Watercolour.

Again, another older piece of mine that I came across.

My move from a more realism style of painting is more or less complete.

Just what I originally intended.

2010-06-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is a piece painted many years ago,but I'm always drawn to it for its simplicity in my opinion.

It was certainly a pre-cursor to my stick legged people that now are the mainstay of my work.

I like, where possible, to have the people in my paintings relate to one another, and this was the start of it for me.

Even though many of my pieces have street scenes, it is the people depicted in them, and what they are doing, that holds the most importance.

2010-03-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

There is no place that looks like this, and maybe that's the whole point.

Everything here is representative, and then has the chroma notched up a level or two.

It's the whole point of being the artist.The producer,and director all rolled into one.

Imparting a vision of not so much what is there, but perhaps what should or could be there.

Limited Pallettes are great

2010-03-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

Using a limited palette really focuses one's mind, and skills, and I tend to use only 3 base colours with a few other colours for accents or contrasts.

It helps to keep unity in a painting, and that amongst a few other devices is easily achieved with a limited palette.

I use primarily Cobalt Blue, Permanent Rose, and Cadmium Yellow in all of my work and augment that with about 4 other colours in small varying amount.

This painting was done using only Cobalt Blue, Permanant Rose, and Cadmium Yellow, and I feel that helps it hang together cohesively.

It's a fun way to learn to mix colours and learn about their individual properties, plus you can then juxtapose your limited colours against each other to maximum effect.

To paint or not to paint?

2010-02-28T07:45:00.001-08:00

Ever have that sinking feeling, when you stare blankly at the paper or canvas in front of you, and your muse has packed it's bags and taken an early holiday?

I often get that block where I cannot muster anything inside of me.

Some artists like to go off and take a walk or just simply do something else.Anything else.

For me personally, I always try to persevere with a totally open mind.I scrible, and push paint around, and just experiment with no real goal in mind, and just stay curious to what may happen.

And for some strange reason, for me certainly, a breakthrough inevitably happens.

Perhaps because I am not relying on tried and tested formulas, and a narrow line of sight, some of my best work actually starts to reveal itself.

I believe, it is the more unconconcious and creative side that is allowed to come out and show it's colours, and it needs a leap of faith to let it go off, run riot, and do it's stuff.

It can sometimes feel scary and time wasting at first because I don't see much happening in front of me.

Yet I am sure that this is where my creativity as an artist is actually propelled forward, and I am actively developing.

Perhaps making the time to do it a bit more would yield even more spectacular results.

I thnk I will make the time soon.

Very soon.

Oh Lucky Us!

2010-02-23T08:18:00.000-08:00

It never escapes me, how privileged it is to be an artist.

And I mean any kind of artist.

Be it 2D or 3D art, it is just having the licence to do whatever it is you want.

There are no barriers, or no laws to contain one's ideas.

It is a very easy and common trap, that sometimes I fall into, in so much as I get hung up on trying to render images that conform or are recognizable in the 'real' world.

Then I have a jolt, and go "Hang on a minute here, I can do whatever I want, and who cares whether it is a real reflection of reality".

But, it is so easy to forget that.I have the licence to do whatever I see fit, as does any other artist.

Truth be told, in my small opinion.

The best art I have ever come across has been far, far removed from reality, or likeness to the world we inhabit.

Even after all these years, I have to remind myself...."Come on Chris, Let go ....Just let go!"

Let it snow

2010-02-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

Another snowy ACEO. I love painting these ones, due to the more intense contrasts I can achieve between cool and warm colours.Added into the mix, is the reflective whites that are revealed after the masking fluid has been rubbed off.

I could paint these all day, but then it would all end up a little dull if I kept to the tried and tested.

This example is due to the snow that is blanketing us in my area, and it seemed a shame not to honour the moment.

Disappearing Light

2010-02-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

I decided I wanted to paint one more ACEO before the natural light has disappeared, so I thought a fitting painting would be along similar lines.

Hence, Disappearing Light.

Counterchange is for me.

2010-02-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Many artists use a whole host of techniques to create different effects within their paintings.

There is neither a good nor bad or right nor wrong way to use them, it is totally individualistic.

For me, I favour counterchange,which in short is changing from one colour to another in any particular passage.

It creates variety, and interest, and is always effective say, when used in large areas of shadow.

I almost have an obsession with it, and it features strongly in my work.

You can notice it in on a smaller scale in this ACEO.

I have used it in the fence, chimneys,roofs and doors.

2010-02-19T01:11:00.000-08:00

Do you often wonder what people are chatting about when you stop for a moment and study them?

I know I always do, and I try to work out who is totally absorbed in the conversation, and who is perhaps utterly bored.

We all give out those signals constantly, so I always make an attempt to try and portray some of that in my work.

When I look at this ACEO, I hope I have made that clear in some elements of it.

To me, I think it's important. Having a street scene with nobody in it, I believe lacks the most important element.

Also, having people not engaging each other in some capacity, is lacking too.

I put those people in there for a specific reason and not justto fill the space.I do try to flow a relationship between all the characters as a whole.

It works for me.

2010-02-18T12:42:00.000-08:00

This ACEO symbolizes love bridging a divide between two people.

Normally when I paint someone holding a heart shaped balloon, it represents an outward show of love.

2010-02-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

My Personal Critique.

This is me playing around with colour schemes again.
I'm playing the yellows off against the yellows in various hues and temperatures.
The green of the little girl thrown in for a subtle constrast.
I think the shape divisions in the composition are about right, though I would have rather put more play in the negative space of the sky to echo the saturation of the other spaces.

2010-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

This was the last ACEO of todays work.Just before the light disappeared.

Artificial light is so naff for painting. It really skewers the colours to my eyes, and hard to judge.

I know you can buy daylight bulbs, but hey!, roll on the long summer nights.

2010-02-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

ACEO

I don't reaaly know where this one came from.Half the time, it's just about me sketching and see what comes up.

I ended up trying to show the welcoming warmth of the inside of the building.

I think it works okay.

Paint what you want.Not what sells.

2010-02-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

I remember when I started painting, and like most people, I always tried painting 'pretty pictures'.

Of course, looking back, they never ever really worked out.Certainly not the way I envisioned them.They always lacked that certain something.

I would watch what others painted, and what would be selling, and I ended up in a complete tailspin, as I was seeming to tag onto the tailcoat of whatever the latest trend was.

So I made a concious decision to paint what I wanted, and leave the pretty stuff on the bottom shelf.

If my work didn't sell, then so what, as long as I had fun painting it, and I was learning lessons in the process.

Eventually I started to sell my work.

It wasn't necessarily the best work out on the market.Not at first anyway.

Because maybe I was now working on the creative plane as opposed to the competitive plane, I was heading in a slightly different direction to the herd. My work was, and still is, starting to stand apart and get noticed.

Being different is what most artists strive for in the first place.

If the work is honest, and has a passion inside of itself, then at some point the onlookers will seek it out.

When you paint what you want, and what inspires you, it will in most cases radiate out to all who care to find it, and a following will appear.

Being true to what you are doing, and turning away from the critics is never easy,because as artists we seek a sort of acceptance, and validation of what we do.

It almost goes against the rational thinking.

Persevere, hold tight, and as sure as you build it............They will come.

Technique Huh!

2010-02-12T06:28:00.001-08:00

I was speaking to another artist yesterday regarding technique.

And for her, it was as if there was nothing else but.

True, technique has it's place , but it really is only a means to an end as far as I see it.

Whatever vision an artist has, it has to be executed onto whatever medium he or her is using.

There's no point having fabulous ideas if the ideas cannot be transferred onto the paper, or clay or whatever is being used.

But to have only techniques on show, with no substance is like looking at the flashiest website but nothing inside to look at, or a grat jacket design on a book but with nothing on the inside pages.

Some of the best books I have read had a shoddy cover, but fantastic stories and ideas inside them.

Painting is no different.

I suppose first the idea is to get someone to look at a piece of work long enough and be drawn in to see the concepts and ideas underneath.

That is the reason for technique as I see it.

It is a tool, and a means to an end.

I would rather see the ideas flowing , even with crude techniques.

Ideas are the creative part, not so much the actual physical end product.

But then, that is only my opinion.

2010-02-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

ACEO

Oh how I love painting these little street scenes.

I love experimenting with subtle colour variations and I feel like I could paint them forever, and they would be so different each and every time.

More at http://www.whitepoppy.co.uk

2010-02-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

My grandaughters Teddy Bear called Herby.

An ACEO especially in honour of the great honourable Herby

2010-01-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

ACEO entitled Me and You.

2009-12-15T07:58:00.000-08:00

Row upon row, upon row

ACEO

2009-11-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

THE VAULT - Watercolour.

This is an older painting, and a style I am going to start using again.

It is probably one of my favourite pieces just because it worked out better than I could of hoped for.

It's one of those pieces where you feel you can almost do no wrong in, and it just flows.

I wish all painting could be like that.

2009-11-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

Summer Hill ACEO

This was inspired by no more than a summery feeling inside of me.

A response, I think, to the cold starkness of winter that is enveloping us all at the moment.

2009-11-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

Walking home from friends last night, it was a beautiful star lit sky, and as I round the corner near home, there is a lovely little house set against the backdrop with the most welcoming , and warm lights that just sort of says to you 'Come on in.

I call this ACEO Warming Lights.

2009-11-07T06:42:00.000-08:00

ACEO Norwegian Wood.

I turned on the radio this morning, and one of my all time favourite songs started to play.

The Beatles Norwegian Wood.

As I was humming along, This image sprang to mind, so I just had to sit down and paint it.

Using strong warm colours for the people against the cooler background, I was trying to pull the figures out as much as possible.

I think it works.

2009-11-07T02:15:00.000-08:00

ACEO Magenta Fields.

I love these simple scenes.

Straightforward line plus colour intensity.

I am an extremeley complex person, and I complicate my own life unneccesarily.

So sometimes painting, as simplistic scenes as is possible, is my own antidote to this.

2009-11-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

Now, here I COULD live!

CottonHills 7.5 x 4.2 inches.

2009-11-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

Most scenes I paint come entirely from imagination, though all are routed in past observations, and not necessarily conciously either.

This scene for instance.

I don't know any lighthouse, that from this angle exists. I am quite sure, one probably does, somewhere .

But I guess I have seen something similar, whether in a book, film or other because for me it looks a plausible scene.

The point for me is, that it's unimportant.

It's the emotive factor that's relevant. I am more focused on the groups of people, and trying to show a relationship of sorts between them.Each has to have a link to the painting , or a reason for being there.The rest of the painting serves only as a backdrop, to give the painting(or story) some context.

Sometimes paintings for me are wistful yearnings for how I would like things to be.Just because things are not, does not mean I cannot want them to be.

I never strive to paint things as they are really are anymore.I will leave that to the photographers and archivists.

I want to go on a different journey.

2009-11-06T05:57:00.000-08:00

I still love coming back to these scenes.

Inspired by walking past a similar pub, I could see the impatience of the little girl just wanting to get wherever she wanted to go and looking hopefully at her mum to end the conversation.

Coming back the same way 15 minutes later, all five of them were still there.

This time the little girl was being chastised by her mum for sitting on the floor sulking.

Happy Days!

2009-11-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

"Oh to be lost in a sea of love " my wife said to me the other day.

Perhaps she was trying to tell me something haha!

But all I could think of, was how to represent that.

So Much Love (ACEO) was my response.

The idea being, hearts for LOVE, with the interlocking curves depicting rolling waves, coupled with the silver outlining akin to the flashing crests of the waves.

Rather simplistic, but for me effective for the message I would want to impart.

2009-11-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

This ACEO was inspired by the simple love of the countryside.

How I would wish for a home, with a backdrop of rolling hills, and the sound of nature in the morning as opposed to tooting cars.

Oh, and a neighbour of course......for when a cup of milk and a chat is required.

2009-11-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

ACEO entitled BY JENNY'S.

I love painting these houses, and I love varying the colours to give different moods.

The possibilities are always endless.

I am definetely back in full colour mode, until I feel the need to go back for more monochromatic paintings.

I think I am trying to fend off the Winter blues.

My own personal antidote.

Happy Accidents

2009-11-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

I was asked some time ago why my people only had a stick for legs.

The truthful answer was, that I just wasn't very good at drawing feet, so it started out as a sort of improvisation.

ThenI realised, even after being able to draw better feet, it gave my work a much quirkier feel to it, and I liked that.

I have never looked back in that sense.

It also presented me with another challenge on how to give movement to the people.

That I resolved by changing the different angles the legs emanated from the body.

This is why I also love painting ACEO's.

Since there is a very small area in which to paint, I must try and use the space efficiently whilst not cluttering the composition.The 'less is more' skills gained here translate wonderfully to the larger pieces too.

I remember one of my brother's telling me about a conversation he had with Alex Millar whose paintings depict gadsby's.

He said that AM told him he always painted them from the rear due to him not being able to paint faces very well.Now this is the trademark that has made his work so popular.

Maybe my failing might be the making of me.

Real or imagined?

2009-11-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

Some say that art should look more like it's subject matter, a sort of realism.

HaHa!

Art is whatever you want it to be.

The real issue is, does it give you an emotive response?

Of course it does.It can't do anything else but, whether its joy, indifference, or disdain.

A response is a response.

For me, it's the imagination inside that's important.My work is grounded in realism, but I try to move away from that point of view as quickly as possible.I want to make my imagination, and the vision inside of me sing out.

I love people to like my work.

But, if it were to no ones taste, I think I could still live with that fact.

2009-11-04T05:07:00.000-08:00

ACEO entitled AUTUMN HOME

This is a variation on another similar piece HEART OF THE HOME.

For me it was to represent the end of summer, with the colours just on the turn of Autumn.I wanted a more intense colour scheme, as when you look in nature, that is when some colours are at their brightest.

I feel I have acheived this to my liking.

The floating heart......?

Well, that is just what I wanted to keep in there.

I love pictures with hearts in.

It just warms a picture up, due to our very connotation to what they represent.

2009-11-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

I once used to sell balloons for a living, and it was always a great joy to see the look of wonderment on their faces as they tried to choose between the multi coloured spectacle of balloons on offer.

The heart shaped balloons represent the joy of innocence in such a simple toy.

To a child, the whole world is a balloon.Colourful, playful, and exciting.

This painting is still currently for sale framed here at

http://www.whitepoppy.co.uk/forsale.htm

2009-11-02T00:26:00.000-08:00

If you wanted to see something a bit different, how would you choose to see it.

In a world of lemonade springs, where the blue bird sings I would see ribbon dressed trees and heart shaped chimney pots.

This is a happy place to be for me.

What would your place look like?

2009-11-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Heart Of The Home (ACEO).

I am having another fascination with hearts at the moment.

Also, colour is predominant in my paintings of late.

I tend to go through these cycles of monochromatic styles with a dash of colour, and then to full blown colour.

Trying to work that out is impossible.

It seems I just run with my relevant mood at the time.

Maybe this is a more contented time, or I just need a change from the more monochrome style.

This ACEO made me want to explore colour relationships again.

Here I just wanted to convey a summery, happy feeling, with the heart floating up above and out from the houses, to suggest contentment and peace, and love.

It certainly works for me.

2009-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

This Two Hearts Aceo is inspired by my love of my children.

Even though they are grown up now, the memories of them as youngsters live long in my heart.

2009-10-31T04:27:00.000-07:00

ACEO by Chris Larkin entitled REACH FOR YOUR DREAMS.

The day that you stop reaching for your dreams, is the day the dream dies.

Never Stop..Never!

House On The Hill

2009-10-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

This ACEO is titled Little House On The Hill.

Perhaps a little place I would like to call my own.Away from the overlooked street I live on.

Should Art Be Free?

2009-10-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

I personally wish I never had to sell any of my art.

I don't mean I would keep it locked away in my cupboards or under the bed.

Art should be displayed, and enjoyed by others or at the very least by some-one.Anyone.

But to be , and continue to be an artist I have to be realistic and know it has to sell otherwise I don't have the means to continue to be and grow as an artist.

If, I was ideally wealthy enough to worry no more about money, then i would still paint on an almost daily basis.

The difference being, I would give it away rather than sell it.To know that some-one had some pleasure owning my art, is almost a reward in and of itself.

I love painting art, and I believe in art, as it enriches one's being, and I love to share that fact.

But alas for now, I cannot give it for free as i want to dedicate my life to my art, and still have enough money not to keep life ticking on.

I don't actually own a single piece of my own art.Nothing!

Everytime i paint something i love,I weigh it up against my desire to frame and keep it, or what it may mean in terms of which bill it may pay.

The bills win every time.

A fact of life I know.

Though, my real joy comes from the sheer creation of each painting.

To turn a blank piece of paper in front of me, into something colourful and fun has no equal.

Creating something from nothing.

I always have my moment of pleasure after I have created something, even for the small fleeting time it stays within my ownership.

LIFE!

2009-10-30T07:55:00.001-07:00

This is the full colour version.

2009-10-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

These are the streets that I know so well.Rows upon rows that blend one to another.

Yet if you spend time and look closely, you start to see something else.

The people that live within these dwellings are a rich tapestry of stories that give vibrancy to the bland surroundings.

It's the people that make the difference.

Rays of sunshine emanating from a so called despairing front.

People just like you and me.

2009-10-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Alone With The World.

Sometimes it's nice to be alone with your own thoughts, but still having the comfort of knowing the rest of the world is within reach whenever you need it.

2009-10-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

My 3rd painting of the day.Where I would probably like to be right this moment.

2009-10-29T05:17:00.000-07:00

I felt I needed to be near the coastline, so I painted this.Now I'm satisfied.

Thats the thing with painting.You can take yourself to anywhere you want to go.Just think it, and then be there.

2009-10-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

7 Balloons by Chris Larkin.

I used to be a balloon seller once.Hence the inspiration for this.

2009-10-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

Profile of an artist

2009-10-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

My name is Chris Larkin, I'm 44, and I'm an artist.

I have worked many different jobs throughout my life, but I suppose at heart I've always been an artist.

In fact art defines my very being.

Why do I do it?

I try to provide for my family is one reason.I certainly don't make any huge amounts, though not for the lack of trying.

The other main reason is, I just can't help myself. Corny as it sounds, it's almost a calling.I am compelled to create.
When I sometimes have to lay down my brushes, and work some crummy part time job to keep ahead of the bills, there's a force inside of me that literally eats away at me until I start painting again.
I have been known to chew my nails, develop minor nervous tics, and be at war with the entire world because of the pent up creative forces inside of me need somewhere to go.An almost nervous energy that needs releasing.
The only known cure for me, is to paint again.It's a drive that I cannot harness or control, and I am forced along the tide with it.It's like being on a racing horse, and being at one with the energy underneath.
If I fall off, my foot is caught in the stirrup, dragging me along until I pll myself back up and flow with the force.
I have very few other skills, but then I don't want many other passions.
I have all I need through my art, and I am thankful for that force that drives me.
Whether I make it big, and turn out rich who knows.
Truthfully, I'm not sure I really care.As long as I paint then life has some meaning and purpose for me.
Art is like having a child.The real gift is when you've passed on, and the legacy lives on long after you are gone.
It says to the world. I WAS HERE!

watercolour art is fab

2009-10-16T09:22:00.001-07:00

More fabulous watercolour art at http://www.whitepoppy.co.uk/ by Chris Larkin

Art for the masses? Or not.

2009-10-02T12:35:00.001-07:00

What one person sees, another can never fathom out.

I like it, and that is all that really matters.

I have done what I felt i have set out to achieve.

The Warmth of Winter