November Newsletter

Welcome to November’s newsletter. In this month’s edition we have a selection of vibrant and impactful abstracts to brighten your day.

Lisa Parkin ‘Was I Dreaming?’

Lisa Parkin

‘Was I Dreaming’ is inspired by the stunning sunsets of South West England.

Lisa is inspired by the natural world and loves to explore the landscape around where she lives, both the countryside and the Jurassic coastline. She often collects interesting objects that are inspirational to her work. These include: fossils, seed heads, pebbles, dried flowers and leaf skeletons.

Lisa’s process involves intuitive drawing, mark making and expressive gestural brushstrokes. She works in both acrylic and other water-based materials on canvas, wood panel and paper. These media are chosen for their quick drying properties, allowing her to quickly move between layers building up the painting. Other techniques are then used to subtract parts of the painting by scrapping, drawing, washing and sanding back through the painting’s layers.

Julie Chadbourne ‘Commitment’

Julie Chadbourne

Julie uses acrylic paint skilfully in this with thick dashes of colour conveying the skiers as they race. The colourful figures of the crowds are abstracted to their basic forms and rendered in thick impasto.

It is a work full of liveliness and movement conveying the excitement of the race. The white of the snow contrasts brilliantly with the colourful skiers and crowd, resulting in a painting with strong visual impact drawing the viewer into the excitement of the moment.

Kat Parkin ‘Cosmic Energy’

Kat Parkin

‘Cosmic Energy’ is an acrylic pour painting that is simply out of this world, featuring stars and solar systems.  

Kat has developed her own technique where she manipulates the paint rather than simply pouring it straight on to the canvas. In this way, she has some control over the finished work. All the paint is used, allowing it to stay on the sides of the piece, giving the work texture and a greater sense of depth.

Her technique is to mix acrylic paint with water before pouring the paint onto the canvas. She then blows ‘the shapes and colours entirely by mouth and lung power.

Donovan Stanford Art ‘Head Full of Ghosts’

Donovan Stanford

Dorset-based artist Donovan Stanford creates large-scale mixed media paintings of skies, landscapes and coastlines. His work is influenced by his formative years growing up in South Africa, especially it’s wild, expansive beaches.

Paintings are created using a wide variety of techniques including: spraying, wiping, dripping, pouring and scraping the paint. He believes that ‘the materials possess their intrinsic vitality, and he acts as a conduit for their harmonious convergence’.

Ann Cole ‘Rainbow Mix’

Ann Cole

Ann loves to experiment with all media. She is a self-taught artist who works in a wide range of styles and subjects, from still-life to abstracts and pastels. However, painting is her passion.

Most recently, Ann had an acrylic painting, ‘The Future’, chosen out of thousands by the artist Grayson Perry and featured as part of Channel Four’s programme Grayson Perry’s Art Club. It was exhibited in London alongside 11 other works outside the Chanel 4 building.