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

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’

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

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.

www.paisnelgallery.co.uk

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

www.whitestonescafegallery.com

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

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



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



http://www.whitestonescafegallery.com/

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

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.

Jeremy Annear

This week I present an introduction to an artist whose work I discovered two years ago by accident. Since then I have spent quite some time and effort in tracking down and visiting galleries where I can see Jeremy Annear's work.

Their surfaces, textures and shapes are simply excellent and can only be appreciated when viewed in 'real life' - I would recommend to those of you whom his work reasonates with to try and visit a gallery where his work is displayed to fully enjoy the impact.

Below the images are two links - one of which is a short interview from realcornwall.tv the other being his website - please enjoy.

Maritime Blues(Tresco)2008. oil on canvas.120x160cms

Diamond Ledge I(Tresco)2008. oil on canvas. 90x120cms

http://www.realcornwall.tv/arts/artists/jeremy-annear.html

http://www.jeremyannear.com

Waldemar Januszczak - The Sculpture Diaries.

This week I present a Channel 4oD documentary within which Waldemar Januszczak concludes his exploration of sculpture with a road trip across North and South America to see the art form set in the landscape.

Within this he features [as well as other exceptional pieces] one of my favourite pieces of land art - The Sun Tunnels by Nancy Holt.

This artwork completed in 1976, consists of four large concrete tubes, laid out in the desert in an open X configuration. The nine foot diameter, 18 foot long "tunnels" are pierced by holes of varying size, that correspond with the pattern of selected celestial constellations. There is a tunnel for Draco, Perseus, Columba and Capricorn.

Once again I will leave it to a greater source of knowledge, Waldemar, to lead you to this. As always he makes entertaining and inspiring documentaries  - simply click on the link below the image and enjoy.




The Sun Tunnels - Nancy Holt



http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-sculpture-diaries/episode-guide/series-1/episode-3