Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Gone Urban

After a very successful year and having created a number of works inspired by the coast and nautical sources I have been winding down to Xmas by producing some more looser works based more on Urban inspiration.

Within these I have been experimenting with textures and over painting techniques with the objective of creating a new series of small works which will draw on these finishes and blend in some of the coastal and nautical shapes. I look forward to presenting these in the new year.

I would like to wish my all my customers and readers a wonderful Xmas and New Year and I look forward to a positive 2012.

Richard.





Thursday, 24 November 2011

Two new pieces

I am happy to feature two new pieces from the Exmouth Marina relief series.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my new and existing customers for making this year an excellent one which has spurred me on in the most positive ways.

This year I have enjoyed fulfilling a significant number of commissions for customers which have kept me busy and has allowed me to recommence producing large canvas work alongside my smaller framed work.

A little premature however time is moving on rapidly so I would like to wish you all an excellent Xmas and New Year period as well as a wonderful 2012.



Exmouth Marina II

Exmouth Marina III  - close up


Friday, 11 November 2011

Grayson Perry

I am delighted to introduce to you a wonderful documentary - I will say no more other than it is an excellent insight into Grayson Perry who I believe is probably the most exciting and inspirational artist at work today.


Please click here

Tuesday, 18 October 2011

New work added

I am happy to have listed two new reliefs -Studland Low and High Tide - unfortunately the images do not show the distinction between the blues used as they are visibly different in real life and used to create a contrast in the sky colours at the two tide times I took as reference for the pieces.

I have used sand collected from the Studland beach as the medium for thickening the paint and creating the surface textures shown in the close up image.

Please feel free to visit my website or eBay shop for more images.




or



Sunday, 16 October 2011

New artwork

Having just listed and sold almost instantly my new piece 'Studland Relief' as featured in the previous blog post I am happy to present a new piece which is one of a series I have been working on inspired by the coastline of Portland Bill - please click on my website link and make your way to my eBay shop via the 'artwork for sale' page to view more images and detail.




Friday, 14 October 2011

New Studland relief

Having been a little busy completing a number of commissions I have sadly neglected the blog and not featured new work for sometime. I am completing a number of new pieces which will appear on the website over the next two weeks and present a new relief which is part of a new series of reliefs based on Studland Bay in Dorset.


Please enjoy and visit my website and eBay shop for more details.

I did not expect this and another piece to sell so quickly after only an hour on eBay!!
Over the next few days I shall be listing three more pieces - if you would like preview images prior to the listings please email me at withamparkins@btinternet.com and I would be happy to send the images to you.
Once again thank you for the wonderful support of my work.

Thursday, 1 September 2011

David Nash - Sculptor





Sometime ago I featured the work of David Nash and provided a link to an excellent BBC documentary which has since been removed from the i player facility.

For all of you who have requested details as to how you can access this documentary I am pleased to have found a link to a similar BBC Wales documentary on i player which I believe is an even better production.

Please enjoy by clicking on the link below

SORRY BUT IT SEEMS THE BBC HAVE YET AGAIN DELETED THIS DOCUMENTARY!!
SUCH A SHAME AS IT WAS AN EXCELLENT PIECE.

Thursday, 18 August 2011

Francis Bacon - Milan and The Last Supper


Some two years ago during a trip to Milan we were faced with another very wet day. It seems we only go to Milan in the monsoon season!! Fed up with the queues for The Last Supper we ventured into the Museo D’Arte Contemporanea where we happened upon a Francis Bacon exhibition.

Billed as being the largest exhibition of his work for many years there were some 100 paintings on show and Milan was the starting point for this touring show.

Now I have never been a Bacon fan and I reluctantly agreed with Gael that we should at least see it and so we did.

What I was not prepared for was the size of individual paintings and the absolutely stunning colours. The content can sometimes be challenging however by the time we had seen all the work [this took some 2 hrs] we left as new Bacon converts.

As it is with art you really cannot appreciate it unless you can get up close and really explore the technique and the make up of the colours up close.

Well I do not mind saying that the shear number of works on show and the size of works just dazzled us. Due to very little security which I think was due in part to Bacon’s demand that all his pieces are framed and glazed and that the exhibition was devoid of other people, we were able to do the close up thing.

For those who may still be in doubt over their feelings towards his art I suggest that you postpone your decision until you have bathed in a large show of his work as we did – you may be surprised about how you feel thereafter.

I believe that we would not have visited the show had it been in England and we were lucky to be driven indoors by the rain of Milan and straight into the fan club of Francis Bacon.




Despite many trips to Milan we have yet to see The Last Supper - though we did come to understand the sheer brilliance of one of our own so to speak!
 
 






Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Francis Davison


Introducing another of my favourite artists.

For the last thirty-two years of his life Francis Davison (1919-84) made coloured paper collages. A Cambridge graduate, he began as a poet but turned to painting in the late 1940s after Patrick Heron, a friend from school days, had invited him to St Ives.

In 1950, he married the artist Margaret Mellis and moved to Suffolk. The early paintings and collages of landscapes and cottages confess their Cornish roots but, progressively, colour took over and, while a strong sense of landscape remained, any hint of depiction was dismissed. Davison's mature collages are made of coloured papers, butting, interlocking or overlaid, added and subtracted, built and adjusted towards their eventual, accumulative shape.

Francis Davison has still to be fully acknowledged as one of the major British abstract artists and colourists of the 20th century.

Please click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMz5_fl95k where you will find two short films which make up a superb documentary on the artist.




For more of his work please click on www.francisdavisonart.com

to view my own artwork please click here
http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/richard-witham-art





Thursday, 9 June 2011

Breon O'Casey

At the time of his death I attempted an O'Casey style piece of work which is various collage materials on board which I am now making available for purchase.

O'Casey Shapes



Set in a shallow real wood box frame behind glass the piece measures 18" x 14" x 2"

Price £148.00 inclusive of courier delivery to mainland UK.

For more details please contact me.





Sadly the artist Breon O’Casey died on May 22nd at the age of 83.



Having admired his work for a number of years I always felt that his work was the product of natural instinct for simplicity in form and color.



As my own knowledge of art and artists grew I came to view his work as a mixture of Nicholson and Frost abstraction with elements of Matisse and Braque as though executed with the wonderfully simple technique of Alfred Wallis.



Now when I started this blog I promised myself I would not spout forth with what could be seen as pretentious quotes on the work of artists.


However when I saw Breon O’Casey’s work in real life and failed miserably at my attempts to emulate his style I suddenly understood the real meaning of two of Picasso’s most famous quotes:



‘It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child’



‘All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up’










Friday, 27 May 2011

Relief abstraction No 8

Good afternoon - I am happy to present a new piece 'relief abstraction no 8' which I have just listed on eBay in the knowledge that my eBay shop has been empty for quite a time.

For this piece I revisited an earlier relief and experimented with achieving far greater textures to the surfaces.

The wood board was grounded using a mix of plaster powder and grout and paint. Thereafter I used dry brushing to build up the final surface colours. I had collected some sand from Studland Bay which I dried in the oven and then sprinkled onto the surfaces working it with my fingers. I have also used a razor blade to scrape at the surfaces.

All in all I am pleased with the overall surface effect and textures this has achieved and I am working on two new pieces which I hope to have listed on Tuesday and Thursday next week.

Since I last listed I now have had to consider creating harmony between the eBay prices and the gallery prices to create as much pricing parity as I can for either type of customer.

SOLD

Saturday, 21 May 2011

Peter Haigh - Artist - 1914 - 1994

As you are aware over the last 5 weeks I have been busy preparing 11 works for my first show which started on May 5th and to date has proven to be a very positive new step forward in my goal to devote as much of my time to art as I am able and my selling success allows.


Since the start of the show I have completed two commissioned canvasses and I have also begun a new series of works -12 of which I hope to feature in another show and the balance to be available within my eBay shop which I am aware has been empty for too long!

Peter Haigh


In the meantime I would like to introduce another favorite artist of mine – Peter Haigh – whose work I have admired for several years and whose influence some of you may recognize within my own work.


I have been lucky to view a number of his works in private galleries and auctions and love the simplicity of the shapes and the wonderful tones and colours – I have enclosed images below.


However he is not widely known and one struggles to find information about him however should you like to know more then please click onto www.paisnelgallery.co.uk where you will find more of his work and a biography. I would also be grateful for any information that anyone has on Peter Haigh - please feel free to use the comment facility for this.






Monday, 9 May 2011

My Mother will be so proud of me!

I am pleased to say that the first 'live' exhibition of my work commenced last Thursday concluding in July.

I attended the private viewing on Sunday and enjoyed the experience immensely and received positive interest and feedback from visitors regarding my work.

Of ten pieces I am showing I am flattered that several of the pieces have sold and I am furiously working on replacements!

I have included a few images below and I would like to thank David Nicholls the owner of the cafe gallery for his positive support and giving me my first taste of a public show.

Richard Witham at The White Stones Cafe Gallery - Easton, Portland

























Wednesday, 4 May 2011

First show starts!!

I am pleased to confirm that several of my pieces will feature in a show which commences at the White Stones Cafe Gallery in Portland. The show runs from May 5th until July 27th and will feature work from three other artists as well.

Those of you who have supported me will realise the significance of this event in the overall development of my work since I began this journey two years ago tomorrow [a positive omen I hope!!].

For the show I have created several new pieces as well as revisiting some of my earlier work as I believe it will give the visitors a broad view of my work. There is a mix of relief,collage and paintings.

I will take some photos of the overall show which I will be posting next week but in the meantime here are some images and here is the link to the gallery www.whitestonescafegallery.com






Thursday, 14 April 2011

Listing tonight

I have completed what is Portland Blue III which will be listed on eBay after 7pm tonight along with Portland Blue II featured in the blog below this one.




Portland Blue III - SOLD


Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Portland Blue

After a recent trip to Portland Bill I decided to use the visit to prompt the creation of a new relief.

The visit was to confirm the details of my first live show of work at an excellent venue - White Stones Cafe Gallery - Easton - Portland. Owned by Sculptor David Nicholls,the cafe gallery is a wonderful place with a great atmosphere for eating,drinking and art.

I am busy preparing new work for the show which starts on May the 4th - which is the exact date that I listed my first piece of artwork on eBay two years ago.

I look forward to updating you with more details regarding the show nearer the time however do click on the link below the images to visit David's website and be sure to stop by the cafe for a drink and something to eat should you find yourself in the area.



Portland Blue II
Relief in plywood - heavy card and mixed paints



Friday, 25 March 2011

Relief 23....

I finally found the time to finish a new piece - 'Relief 23'.

I would like to thank many of my customers who either commented on the blog or emailed me to remind me of the work I was producing 12 months ago. This prompted me to revisit the key elements of  inspirations I derived from the St Ives group of artists.

This being so I am looking forward to completing more work which is ongoing and very much influenced by this group of artists - these I look forward to adding to my blog and eBay shop once they are completed.



SOLD

Friday, 18 March 2011

Ben Nicholson reliefs..he started it all!

This week I have started some new pieces and have revisited where it all began for me. I had always wanted to own a Ben Nicholson relief however and for the obvious reasons - or should I say reason singular - money! - this has proven to be an impossible dream to date.

However I decided to create one or two of my own so I could at least have a few 'in the style' of Nicholson pieces hanging on my wall. I apologise to the artist for using his original creativity as the starting point and I admit that some that I created were almost copies. In producing this work I also opened the door to the St Ives group of artists whose work has been an inspiration to me as I try to develop my abilities.

This was in fact how I began my new career and thanks to some of my readers who purchased the pieces not only could I continue to produce new work - I now have no Nicholson type reliefs on my walls!!

Please enjoy the images and I hope to post the new work soon. For more information please contact me via the comments facility below the images.