Exhibition "Views of Richmond" 7 February - end May 2015

Gate on the River Thames as seen from Buccleugh Gardens, Richmond-upon-Thames. Oil on canvas 12 x 10 inches (350 x 252mm) unframed size.


This painting has been accepted for the Richmond Views open exhibition which will run from 7 February through until the end of May 2015 at Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham.

Portrait of Harriet

Portrait of Harriet, oil on prepared board. This was done as a class exercise over three sessions.

If this were a commission I'd probably ask for six sessions, to get all the nuances just right, and to give her a bit of a smile.

In a class situation it is not always possible to get the model just as you want her, and you have to put up with whatever space is available to set up your easel.

I made the background a bit brighter than it was to work with her very bright lipstick.

One of my paintings is to be a book cover

St Catherine of Siena as a young girl floating upstairs

This is a painting I did a few years ago inspired by one in the monastery of St. Catherine in Siena, Italy. It shows St Catherine as a girl of about 10 years old praying so hard she floats upstairs.

To see the whole painting, go to my St Catherine page. For a desktop version go to my free wallpaper page on www.dace.co.uk

On having no name

Alice in the forest where things have no names

A little link to a painting I did a few years ago, Alice in the forest where things have no names.

There is an ancient belief that the name of a thing contains its essence, and hence to name something is to have power over it.

Maybe this was once true of the mythical language that existed before the fall of Babylon. Maybe there is still power in the words of a poet or orator. But ordinary words are not the things they point to, and names are not the things named.