About my work

We all have our own ideas about what a painting or a piece of art should be. For each of us, "art" means something different. For me, I am not sure. It is a tricky word.
Is it what I have been doing? To be honest, it really doesn't matter to me and for that I am glad. Working in the way I am currently has been a somewhat freeing experience. I have simply been trying to express myself rather than keep to the restrictions of a brief.

Working as a professional illustrator and designer in my time, any effective images I produced had two things: to communicate a specific message and to elicit an emotional response. The order in which these things occurred was largely irrelevant. The effect on the viewer was the important thing. That said, if the message was unclear, a strong, exciting looking image could cover a multitude of sins.

The paintings I produce are not planned beforehand. There is no art director providing me with a doodle or a detailed brief. They emerge in the making. I love them because each of them was a little adventure. I took a canvas and began and in the act of beginning directions revealed themselves. When that happened, it was harder to stay fluid and maintain spontaneity. That is always the challenge in expressionistic work - to keep loose enough to surprise yourself with results.

Some of the pieces have themes and others are the themes themselves. All of them contain emotions: my response to the paint and the ink and the colour, to the contrasts suddenly appearing on the surface, to the marks being made by the brushes, knifes and sponges.

Recent paintings have a fantastical element. When I was a boy, I remember the back of Weetabix packets having a cut-out cardboard theatre set from Doctor Who. I loved that - the sense of a cut-out and keep stage that you could build and look into to see another world. Many of my character illustrations are clearly influenced by the world of fantasy, B-movies and science fiction and the group of paintings that make up the on-going "Jungles" series reflect the palette and underlying love of exotic, verdant worlds where beauty and danger co-exist.

In the end, whether you see a theme in a piece or not, you will hopefully feel an emotional response to the work. If so, then I am happy.

Out from the Cave. 40x 40 inches. Acrylic, ink and oil on canvas.

Out of the Cave, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Completed yesterday. Happy.

Marketing leaflet for exhibition space

Marketing leaflet for exhibition space, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Had a call from the exhibition host asking for more marketing material to be available at the show, so I have quickly put together an A4 info sheet .
I find this a really good exercise to do as you get the chance to re-review all the services you can offer to interested people.

Had no room for the info about the sports and remedial massage clinic I run though!

The unavoidable element of ourselves....

I was looking through some of my more "illustrative" work the other day and came across two images that I made in 2010. The themes and colour palettes of both struck me as elements that are both naturally occurring at the moment in my more more expressive, larger painted canvasses. This is interesting to me as the process involved in making images such as The Wizard and Tiki Grooves can be a lot more planned and "tight". The pace and approach involved in the expressionist paintings I am currently working on is usually quicker and - I think - braver. Yet, the same strong, rich colours are coming out in the new paintings, as well as shapes and forms that are almost the raw material of the more formal/figurative/literal characters and props that appear in the illustrative work.
It is encouraging to me to see this happening. Once, when discussing the idea of changing my illustrative style (I was unhappy with the work that I was producing commercially at that time), someone said to me that he thought it was nigh on impossible to do such a thing: that to simply force a change to one's work and approach could not be done with any degree of authenticity or substance. Changes to approach would rather come slowly and in small measures through periods of personal experimentation and investigation.
Now I think I see what that person meant. A creative can make even dramatic changes in direction, media, intent, but in it all, there will always be something of the essential THEM in whatever they produce. If you look, you will always see colours, or shapes, or themes or attitude that speak of the person behind the art, whether that be painting, music or writing. I find that really encouraging, because it shows us how we have all been created as wonderful individuals. The best thing, therefore, that any artist can be, is themselves and that must start with being honest with oneself, which is sometimes the hardest thing to do!

Opening night at venue Cymru

, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Me and Crocodile, which sold before the exhibit began!

Me and Crocodile, which sold before the exhibit began!, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Last night's opener in Venue Cymru went well. It was so nice to see friends and share work with them. The general reception of the new paintings was very positive and I was really heartened that people picked up on the joy and the positive feelings coming from the colours and the gestures in the pieces.
Aside from Crocodile, 2 other pieces sold to a buyer from the local area, one of which is a favourite of mine, so it's tie to say goodbye to Wild Bloom, Breeze.

Following the show, a few of us made our way to a local bar and had food and much chatter about art and drawing, which has encouraged me further to get out some paper and charcoal again....watch this space!

untitled. Acrylic and ink on canvas leaf. 200 x 190mm

untitled, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Just added this to a group of paintings for sale at my ebay.
I love the playfulness and almost goofiness of this piece and feel that there was some inspiration here from Miro......also, it was completed during a period last year of work inspired by a trip to Southern California.

The canvas paper provided a lovely texture for making the scratchy ink marks that contrast so effectively with the paint strokes.

Dawn through the Veil. Watercolour, ink and acrylic on paper. 13.5" x 9"

dawn through the veil, originally uploaded by P Brown.

I have been placing some paintings for sale on ebay and this one certainly made the grade (kind of want to hold on to it but losing out on storage space1)
Part of the "Jungles" series and completed last summer. I am thrilled at the way the colours overlay each other and glow so beautifully....hence the title that I decided on.

Cataract. Acrylic, ink on watercolour paper. 490 x 360mm

cataract, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Just put this painting up for sale on ebay....It was completed in the summer last year at the end of a productive period....
My intention in the painting of this piece was to explore layers and really slow down and let the piece lead me in the making. The results were a lovely surprise and brought to mind themes of creation, destruction and forces in the natural world.

We hung the exhibition!

, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Susie and I went over to Llandudno yesterday and laid siege to the exhibition space! It took us just over 2 hours with an battery powered screwdriver and alot of elbow grease.
It is so nice to see the work on walls and waiting to be enjoyed by the public. I am enjoying the buzz.

Tonight is the opening night and I am hoping we get an okay turnout and that people are interested and ask me loads of awkward questions about the creation of these pieces!

Night. Acrylic, ink. 40 x 40 inch canvas.

Night., originally uploaded by P Brown.

The day before we went to hang the exhibition and this was my last big effort. It sounds too good to be true but it has turned out to be my favourite piece of the last 2 weeks' of work and sums up for me my feelings and gut intention for the new "Jungles" series that I have begun. I love it because it turned out so playful and so full of movement and contrasts. To me, it really is a night in the jungle.

wild bloom, breeze. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 23.5" x 23.5"

wild bloom, breeze., originally uploaded by P Brown.

Of the four made so far in this series, this is a departure in terms of colour palette from the others, but you will still find pink and traces of dark purple - yum!
I was thinking about the colours of a macaw or parrot as I began this.

Lava Pool. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 23.5" x 23.5"

Lava Pool, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Another of the four "Jungles" pieces I have finished today.

Witchdoctor. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 23.5" x 23.5"

Witchdoctor, originally uploaded by P Brown.

I had a lot of fun working up this piece. The underpainting was actually another painting I had been working on but that had reached a crossroads......this morning I thought I would take a risk and simply repaint over it. The "Jungles" theme was in the back of my head I guess and this piece was the result.

In my character illustration I am fond of B-movie type scenarios - exotic jungles, mysterious trails, adventurers, evil high priests etc.....in movies where these types of tropes are prevalent, the use of chiaroscuro in the style of lighting is always a wonderful, basic value.The contrasting colours and tones reflect my fondness of this, but the raw non-figurative gestures are different from my polished and clean illustration work....the common links are the traces of drawing style in the shapes. And of course the colour palette...

Forest Dawn.Acrylic, ink, canvas. 35" x 35". 1.5" deep.

Forest Dawn, originally uploaded by P Brown.

This week the work started going in fresh directions. My use of white space is at an end for the moment as I start to fill the whole canvas with colour.

The blacks were the last element to be added.

I am pleased because without really thinking about it I have returned to a favourite theme of mine - that of exotic jungles, forests and the play of light through trees and foliage.
The colour palette is similar to character illustrations I have done in the last year too. I always seem to end up using "edible" colours!

This painting is part of a set I have started called "Jungles" as a loose theme. Colour is the driving force behind these pieces and the gestures and various marks I use direct the colour in different ways. Each piece has a different feeling as a result and I hope they will ellicit strong feelings in those who view them. It is really all I want from this work.

Barracuda. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 36" x 36". 1,5" deep.

Barracuda. Acrylic and ink on canvas., originally uploaded by P Brown.

I am very happy about the way the blacks work in this ecstatic piece! The joyful, zinging colour palette singing (shouting!) off the more passive blacks.

Its one of my favourite pieces, which, once again, I was really doubtful about right till the last stage.....

Cataclysm in Azeroth. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 36" x 36". 1.5" deep.

Cataclysm in Azeroth, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Those of you who know me will appreciate the massive geek factor: I am a bit of a gamer......that said, its only in the last few weeks that I have really gotten into World of Warcraft!

The RGB palettes of Blizzard's wonderful virtual world contain colours that really do glow!
The latest expansion and update centres around the cataclysm as Azeroth's landscape is ravaged somewhat by a large and nasty dragon.

Here is my response! I have not worked to such a literal theme for a while, but was itching to pay "tribute" to the beautiful visuals on show in the game. The colours and lighting really add amazing atmosphere to adventuring here.

Arrival Arcs. Diptych. Acrylic, ink on canvas. 23.5" x 47"

Arrival Arcs. Acrylic, ink on canvas., originally uploaded by P Brown.

Finished this piece this morning and am feeling really happy: both these canvasses were pieces that to a greater or lesser extent felt unresolved.

This morning, after a break from painting over the weekend, I climbed the ladder into the attic and saw them both afresh.....and together.

Untitled. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 30" x 30"

, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Latest one for the exhibition. I finished this a couple of hours ago.

The attic is getting rather crowded now and I have three canvasses so far that I class as "fails". Not EPIC fails, but nonetheless, they are all instances where I lost control and direction. Interestingly, they all have the same thing in common: a loss of tension and direction between forms and lines for the eye to follow (or make up its own pathways).
There is little white space and a preponderance of muddy brown....that muddy brown that occurs when an artist loses direction and control of colours in their work. its like drowning visually....

Zoom! Acrylic and ink on canvas. 30x 30"

Zoom!, originally uploaded by P Brown.

Painted this one today. It was one of those pieces that, nearing the end, I couldn't sit well with. I went off and did something else and this afternoon had a feeling that if I looked again, it would come together...

Really pleased with the result and can't wait to see it hung at the exhibition.

I am finding as I work at an increased pace that more and more I am drawn to white space as a major part of my present work. The large canvas with the blue background I have started (see below in earlier posts) is not coming together at all at the moment. It seems too crowded and heavy. I haven't given up on it, but as yet can't work out an agreeable way to break up the space I have filled.....