Delighted to say I have just SOLD this oil painting “Above Crickhowell” via Artfinder!
“A landscape of the hilly uplands outside and overlooking Crickhowell, Wales, UK, pink painted by the heather .”
It can also be bought as a print on Artmajeur.com here
Transforming an art studio into an art gallery – I have recently put some curtains for privacy and a few picture hanging rails onto the white walls of my art studio and it has really transformed it from a studio into somewhere where one can view art, serving as a private viewing space for artlovers to have a look at my paintings in “the flesh”.
Having this viewing space is designed to help artlovers make that final decision about buying my artwork. I have sold dozens of pieces of artwork this way and really enjoy meeting artlovers who like my artwork.
It also helps some artlovers to meet me and to get to know who they will be buying art from. It all adds to the enriching experience of buying art.
Artlovers also often like to hear about the inspiration behind certain paintings and this brings the artwork to life.
Although my paintings are professionally photographed some artlovers simply like to see the paintings in front of their very eyes.
Also artlovers can say, in advance, what paintings, in particular, they would like “hung” or displayed for them to have a closer look at and they will be hung on the white walls ready for them to view.
They can do this in the afternoon or the evening as the tracking lights enable viewing in the evening too.
“This is a new oil painting inspired by Ilston Cwm in Gower, near Swansea, Wales. It is painted in my ‘refractionist’ style, and shows the clear winter morning light falling on Ilston Cwm from the Parkmill entrance behind the public house. In early morning the light is clear, crisp and brilliant as it reflects on the mirror-like water of Ilston Brook, which meanders gently through the leafless trees of the woodland…”
https://www.artfinder.com/story/winter-morning-light-on-parkmill-2015/
Delighted that Artfinder have chosen me as their Facebook cover photo today! 🙂
“This month we’re inspired by the Welsh landscape paintings of Swansea-based artist Emma Cownie.
Discover her collection » http://artf.in/nUOvGA “
CREATING A TIMELESS MOMENT.
“A lot of intense time goes into creating a timeless moment. “
Artlovers have often commented that they feel they are in my paintings or in the moment the painting depicts, that they are experiencing it and not just viewing it.
Much time and preparation goes into creating this experience of now, of living this moment.
Paintings sometimes can appear as enormous puzzles in attempting to create a moment, a sense of now, of lasting immediacy, of transporting the viewer to a moment, not just a scene or a particular subject matter.
This is especially true of my refractionist paintings which seek to break down light into blocks of colour.
After sketching out the terrain, I then piece together different parts of the whole, painting what I see intuitively, in different sections of the canvas, trusting that the whole thing will pull together as I progress. That I am somehow building up a layers towards reaching a sense immediacy.
My paintings often have their greatest impact when viewed from a distance.
I like to work quickly, sketching outlines in paint, then tackling most interesting and often brightest parts of the painting first. I like to keep the paint light and work quickly as I can, excitedly trying to solve the puzzle in as quick a time as possible, otherwise the moment can be gone. Never to be reclaimed. This is why I try to avoid reworking or overpainting as I feel it is trying to paint something that has happened and is gone. If the painting does not work quickly it usually means it will not work. A painting is of a certain time period and exists no where else.
I may use my intellect to work out how to paint a painting but it is all in serving the purpose of immediacy, of feeling that one is in the moment. It is creating and in creating, expressing, a moment out of paint if you like, an eternal moment from a temporal activity.
I prepare and plan but it is the creative spirit which somehow holds all elements together, suspended in possibility. This is what makes art so exciting, invigorating and tantalizing. It is a transportation out of the world into order to create the new world expressed in a painting. It is a very intuitively guided pursuit, being driven and letting go in the same paradoxical moment.
One hopefully is also in the moment when looking at my paintings because all the elements of successfully been orchestrated, blended into this sense of present.
A lot of intense time goes into creating a timeless moment.
Although Spring has sprung I am still painting in my attic studio, too cold to be in the outside cabin studio.
My skylight is north facing which is the best light for painting as one gets a good constant light all day. In the evening I supplant whatever existing day light there is by switching on the “day lights” seen in this photo so that I can get a few more hours work in the evening.
I do however prefer to paint in the day and usually use evening for prep work or to outline the painting to be painted the next day. I like to leave a painting primed for painting the next day as I am a morning person and like to get stuck in early as possible in the morning, usually around 6.30am.
Delighted to say I have just SOLD this lovely oil painting “Happed Up” of an old gentleman walking down the street in Carmarthen, catching the bright warming, descending sun on his face. I just loved the gentle warm colours on this sheep skin jacket and the inky blue of the door and the flaky, powdery colours of the damp wall behind. The title “Happed Up” is an Northern Irish expression meaning to dress up warm against the cold. Although the winter sun gives the impression of being warm, there was a nippy bite to the December air. The photograph that inspired this painting was taken on the same street and the same day as the one that inspired the painting “Saturday Shop” which has also been sold. My husband loves this painting so will be sad to see it go.
https://www.artfinder.com/product/happed-up/
Glorious Gower
My present series of paintings which included the recently sold paintings below are all of and inspired by Ilston Cwm a rural woodland in Gower Pensinsula. Gower was the first designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the UK in the 1950s and is a major influence on my artwork.
I love visiting this area, every weekend to walk my dogs and take photographs of the area.
I like doing this especially in Winter when the rich Winter light catches the mossy barks of tress and illuminates the background behind the leafless trees with pinky purples and silvery greys.
I find winter with it’s seeming desolation much more colourful than other times of the year. The light is more brilliant, thicker and more concentrated than the light of summer. Less diffused. More clear.
The fact the trees have no leaves allows one to look through and beyond and gives greater depth of perception and a richer array of overlapping colors .
This seems to suit my refractionist style of breaking light down into colour components as these blocks of colour have a greater overlaying depth in winter.
Winter light is also lower in the sky and this helps with a sharper more intense light falling on mossy tree barks.
It is so great to get out of the city to soak up some countryside. It has become a vital part of life, escaping the every day concerns of life and work in Swansea to commune with nature, to get away from it all and to return with a bucket load of inspiration for paintings to be contemplated or painted in the following week or weeks.
It is like getting filled up with inspiration, in fact. Replenished, reinvigorated.
I find Gower a very moving place, inspiring. There is something tangibly uplifting about this peninsula. A special energy, or spirit to the place, a Nature Cathedral. There is a presence that inspires one and lifts the soul towards creativity, towards play. I am blessed to have such an inspiring place only ten-fifteen minutes away.
These painting have been sold but you can buy large limited edition mounted prints here
I’ve now had over 5,000 “loves” on Artfinder – thank you anyone who has loved my artwork! It means a lot to know one’s work is being appreciated 🙂
https://www.artfinder.com/emma-cownie
New oil painting “Stroud from Rodborough Hill” – £295 .
“I often catch the train to Stroud in Gloucestershire to visit my parents who live in Bussage, above Stroud.
This painting reminds me of the excited child-like feeling as the train pulls into Stroud train station, when the hill layered houses suddenly start to peek through the trees.
Not only am I excited to be seeing my parents but I am excited about spending time in the glorious Cotswolds.
I have never come across such a beautiful living landscape as the Cotswolds. I have never seen so many dwellings, hamlets and villages all built in gorgeous sun absorbing limestone, hugging hills and valleys. It is a magical place, as if plucked from a child’s fantastical imagination.
The airy anticipation is reflected hopefully in this painting, which is slightly summer balmy in it’s sunny excitement.”
