The loss of a dear friend

I lost a dear, old friend this week in a road traffic accident. An adventurer and man of strong and generous character, Bernard Fison will be dreadfully missed by many. I felt moved to write a poem as a reminder of our travels together. A loss deeply felt.

Bernard

It rained today.
We’d talked
of art trips down to Spain,
the wine we’d drink,
the bread we’d share.
The easels sit anticipating
in the corner now unused.
It rained today.
My world is smaller than before.
What colours we saw
when we sailed north,
hues of blue and green and pink,
in the same sky
at the same time.
Magical!
And all the while
the music played.
The lark ascending
lifted our hearts and spirits.
Singing, as you played
the grand piano,
made grander still
while you were here.
I’ll play the song
just one more time,
and reminisce
the laughter shared.
It rained today.
The clouds are full.
I’ll paint the colours,
and remember.

The rain in Spain - again!

http://www.hotelcenajo.com/

I really must make time for this blog. I keep putting it back and back on my list of priorities as work piles up and deadlines approach. I was so exhausted the other day that we decided that we would go to an isolated hotel inland just to rest for a night.

The Cenajo Hotel is set amid beautiful mountain scenery and beside the Cenajo Dam (hence the name). Very Italianate in design, it reminded me a little of Portmeirion in Wales - where 'The Prisoner' was filmed. The nearest village was 25 kilometres away.

About an hour after our arrival it began to rain. It rained, and rained and rained and rained, and this was only punctuated by thunder and lightning in between the rain. The photo of the front of the hotel is taken from the restaurant door which was across the striking courtyard.

A great spot to rest and relax as there is nothing to do but eat and drink and sleep, which was perfect for me on this brief trip. If the weather is more clement there are lovely walks and free use of bicycles, indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, gym etc.

But at least I've caught up on my sleep a bit and am back to work a little perkier than I was last week. I can recommend it, and hope to go again soon.

TJ's 'YouTube' Mini Movie

A short entry today as I have been so busy as usual. Will fill in gaps in the next few days. In the meantime, here is a short movie I created to let people see a painting from creation to completion. It's not very detailed but I did it in a rush one day to test how it would work. Maybe some day I will have the time to create a more detailed movie of the processes involved. Just click on the link below to be redirected to 'YouTube'.

Click here for
TJ's mini movie

PS- bring your own popcorn.

Pacific Yachting Magazine

Yesterday I received a copy of 'Pacific Yachting' magazine from editor Jeffrey Briggs. If you remember, Jeffrey asked for permission to use my words and images as part of an article for his magazine tying in boats and art. Along with Robert Genn and another 13 or so artists he has created a nice feature based around the subject and I thank him for the opportunity to participate.

I'm not sure what range of countries, or areas of the world the magazine is available in apart from the USA, but if any reader of this blog can get hold of a copy, by all means do so.

Many thanks to Jeffrey and Robert for your input and support. It's much appreciated.

John Connery Exhibition, Galway

A good artist friend of mine has just begun a new exhibition in Galway, Ireland. John Connery has been painting professionally for what must be 15 years or more, though I'm sure he will forgive me if that information is not totally accurate. I always enjoyed John's company whenever I lived in Ireland and have been a great fan of his work for some time. Actually I have one of John's paintings in my personal collection.

Unfortunately, John has been a bit poorly lately, so I'm not sure if he even managed to get to the opening of his exhibition in person. I will hopefully get to see the show when I return to Ireland in a week or so, but in the meantime I have downloaded one of the images for all to see here. John, if you read this, I hope your feeling a lot better soon, and the best of luck with the show!

It's entitled 'The Quiet Man Bridge'. This little bridge situated a few miles outside Galway city was made famous in the film 'The Quiet Man' starring John Wayne. It's my absolute favourite film of all time and one I never get tired of watching over and over again! Can't wait to see it again.

Check out John's exhibition at the Kenny Gallery, Galway. http://www.kennys.ie/

Coney Island, Van Morrison and Art

This week I received a number of responses to an email I sent to Robert Genn in regard to 'Bonus Creativity'. Robert's compatriots used an old image of mine 'Coney Island' as an illustration of my work. One person who responded with an email, John McLean, particularly stood out for me. With his permission I have included his letter and the subsequent replies below.

Dear Mr Miles,

While perusing the 'clickbacks' of Robert Genn's latest newsletter I was surprised and delighted to come across your painting 'Coney Island' which I recognized as the place where I had spent all of my summer vacations as a child (about eight weeks) for the ten years or so between the early 1940's and the early 1950's. I grew up in Belfast and my grandparents had a summer house at Coney Island. Those were halcyon days of leisure, swimming, fishing, lobstering, and playing cricket on the beach when the tide was out. What fun to have them suddenly brought to mind again! I was back in Northern Ireland a couple of years ago, visiting my sister, and went to Coney Island to see some old friends who now reside there year round. The place hadn't changed much - some more and newer houses but the same quiet, peaceful atmosphere. When did you do this painting? I remember very well the house with the added-on front porch. I have some old photos which I have thought of using as material for watercolors, but haven't gotten round to that yet.

Anyway, thank you for sharing this painting, and I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time with my reminiscences.

John McLean, Trenton, Georgia, USA

Hello John

Many thanks for your kind comments! It's so nice to receive feedback on my work, and wonderful to hear your reminiscences about your halcyon days. My brother lives near that area and I painted that particular picture what must be 5 or 6 years ago when I had only been a professional artist for a year or two. I have moved on somewhat in slightly different directions with my art since then, especially since I came to live in Spain. Although I will be in the area again in 2 weeks time with my next batch of paintings for my representative galleries around Ireland. Maybe I should take a look at the area myself and see if it has changed even more in the last few years. It's interesting to hear your comments about the fishing, swimming and lobstering etc. and it brought to mind a song by another Belfast boy - Van Morrison. Not everyone's cup of tea perhaps, but I do feel a sway towards his music, particularly since leaving the country. Your words made me think of the song's lyrics, and just in case your not aware of the piece I have copied it below so you can read it. It sounds just like your memories. If you don't have a copy of the song, you should try to get yourself one. Then get the paints out John - and start painting that scene with the music as inspiration!

Thanks again John for your time, and good painting.

With kindest regards

TJ

CONEY ISLAND - Van Morrison

Coming down from downpatrick

Stopping off at st. johns point

Out all day birdwatching

And the craic was good

Stopped off at strangford lough

Early in the morning

Drove through shrigley taking pictures

And on to killyleagh

Stopped off for sunday papers at the

Lecale district, just before coney island

On and on, over the hill to ardglass

In the jamjar, autumn sunshine, magnificent

And all shining through

Stop off at ardglass for a couple of jars of

Mussels and some potted herrings in case

We get famished before dinner

On and on, over the hill and the craic is good

Heading towards coney island

I look at the side of your face as the sunlight comes

Streaming through the window in the autumn sunshine

And all the time going to coney island

Im thinking,Wouldnt it be great if it was like this all the time.

Hi TJ,

I enjoyed hearing from you and thank you for sending the lyrics of Coney Island. As I read through it more and more memories came back to me - I guess at my age (73) I'm starting to live more in memories! The list was so inclusive of the part of the country that I knew so well -Downpatrick, St. John's Point with it's horn that blew so dolefully through the summer fogs, Strangford Lough where I raced a small sailboat out of Whiterock for a few years before emigrating in 1960 to North America, Killyleagh where there was a fleet of Lightenings that the locals had built themselves, and of course Ardglass which we walked to for shopping and where I loved to go and watch the herring fleet come in on mornings that were windy and rough. Soooo... many memories that the song elicited. I had not ever heard of Van Morrison so went to the internet and saw that he had made a lot of recordings. I will try to hear some of his music. I looked for a CD that might have 'Coney Island' on it, but so far have been unsuccessful. I'll search more when I have more time.I looked at your website and see that you have a wide variety of paintings; I looked mostly at the landscapes, which is what I tend to paint, and enjoyed all of them, though I especially liked Coney Island. How is living and painting in Spain? And, how is painting for a living? In my case I don't think I would be eating too well if I was depending on my art to support me!! I admire you being able to do that.

After sending yesterday's e-mail I was trying to tidy my "studio" (I don't know how it gets in such a mess so fast!) and in the process came across a copy of a clickback you had sent to Genn regarding a critic's comments on your boat paintings. I think I had kept it because the address was Belfast, and because you obviously were an enthusiastic, confident sailor who was willing to undertake the delivery of other people's vessels. I've been an enthusiastic sailor all my life and though I've done some ocean passages, I've never been in command; I don't think I have the confidence for that. So I admire you for that!

Well I've rambled on enough for now, I guess. Don't you enjoy Genn's newsletter and the opportunities it provides to interact with artists all over the world?

With my best wishes for wonderful paintings,

John.

Go Large With Your Medium

When two artists of a similar calibre, one working in oils or acrylics and the other in watercolours show together, people tend to compare them, and quite often the watercolourist can come off worse. No reflection on the artist, of course, simply a case of oils having a more dramatic effect on some viewers. Watercolours can, of course, be used to create dark, foreboding and breathtaking works of art as well, but here I am talking about fledgling artists starting on the rocky road to Paintsville and I am trying to warn them of potential stress along the way.

Now before letters come rushing in to protest at the hard done by watercolour artists, or tubes of gouache are squirted at me by ‘W.A.S.P.’ - the ‘Watercolours Are Supreme Party’ - I am merely stating a fact about the boldness of materials. If you want a light colourful wispy feel to a painting then watercolour’s your man. For bold and heavier work, whether it be textured, layered, watered down, oiled up, impastoed, impregnated, adulterated etc. then for me it’s oils or acrylics.

It really is one of those chicken/egg things. Most people when they start painting, myself included many years ago, tend to go for watercolours first as they think will be an easy way to get started. Untrue. How many times I had paintings almost completed, only to ruin them with a careless stroke of the brush, I honestly can’t remember. The problem then is one of constant frustration that only the most dedicated of artists can persevere with, to get past first base and produce something meaningful that is considered good enough to be put on show.

The secret to watercolour painting is the quality of the drawing. If the drawing isn’t up to scratch, with perspective, balance and content for example, then the opportunity to correct these errors later may not be available and the individual will be back to square one again. Very off-putting when you’re just beginning. However, oils and acrylics, and to some extent gouache, forgive the artists little foibles before he or she actually begins putting pen to paper or brush to canvas so to speak. I changed to acrylics about ten years ago and have never looked back.

Why acrylics over oils? A number of reasons actually. I am an impatient painter. When I am working I don’t want to wait for hours on end before I can get the next layer of paint or texture on the board, I find that my paint dries extremely quickly here in the warm weather, and almost instantly in summer! This is good practice for me as it hones my skills to a point where I have to work fast and with enough confidence to get the paint on before it sets off. It also helps to create terrific textures you wouldn’t get if the paint was put on fresh or directly from the tube.

Acrylics are extremely versatile. Depending on your mood, you can water them right down and use them as an alternative to gouache (opaque watercolour) - or throw dirt, sand, broken eggshells and general kitchen waste into the mix to create textures beyond your wildest imaginations. Note - try not to use any kitchen waste that is bio-degradable as this may leave you with a smelly, oozing mess running down your walls when you hang your finished work! Although in some avant-garde circles this can be misconstrued as art in itself. Here I’m thinking of a pretentious couple who supposedly went into a capital city modern art gallery and raved about the violent red tubular installation in the corner of the room and discussed loudly what they believed the artist was trying to say about modern societal values, in an attempt to show they were ‘cultured and knowledgeable’. It’s a fire extinguisher you plonkers!

Finally, and most importantly, acrylics are more forgiving when you make a mistake. Give it a minute or two and you can repaint the area without running the risk of ruining the whole picture. If you have left raised areas of paint when making the mistake simply take a razor blade or similar implement and gently shave off the raised areas to return it to the same level as before, then recoat with a neutral base colour before changing it to what was originally planned before the mistake was made. Alternatively, just leave the raised paint in place and use it as a texture to enhance the final finished piece.