second light

these are the first two in what i think may well be an ongoing series...related to the previous post but slightly different

where to start in describing their roots.....

probably a magical month spent in morocco years ago

thinking about magic carpets...inspired by this recent blog post and this blog post from last year

wanting to use glorious vibrant colour


but mainly about internal worlds...thinking

i have synesthesia...in my case a beautiful combination of touch and colour...textures appear as flashes of colour

i often think about texture in my painting ...but am incorporating it more directly in this series

other things i have been considering are entoptic phenomena... visual experiences derived from within the eye or brain, particularly phosphenes ... characterised by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye

they are often seen in altered states of consciousness....which is just how i experience painting

introducing a fellow painter...

today i have a guest blog post! a first i think

i'm very pleased to introduce you to laura wright

Hi, my name is Laura Wright. I am a painter based on the South Downs, nr Brighton, UK. I take most of my inspiration from my immediate environment and/or coastal towns I have recently visited in UK, south of France and Andalucia, Spain. I usually visit Cassis in the south of France every summer and completed an artist’s residency in Competa, Andalucia which had a big impression on the colours I now use in most of my paintings. I am drawn to coasts and live on the South coast. I believe there is always a better quality of light.

The paintings below are the first three in the series I have been working on for the forthcoming show at Corte Real Gallery, Paderne, Portugal (starting 16th July) with artists: Sally Stafford and Beth Richardson. The colours are typically Mediterranean.

Sussex Townscape

Norfolk Coast

Cornish Coast


Working towards the exhibition at Corte Real has given me free rein on using these vibrant colours, which I often tone down for the UK market and tastes. I prefer to use bright bold hues - which doesn’t necessarily reflect the British landscape. My palette is predominantly made up of coeruleum blue, lemon and naples yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium red, and burnt sienna. I also use lots of zinc white and touches of Paynes grey. I finish the work with a gloss varnish to give a slight sheen and more vibrancy to the colours. The varnish also protects the paint which is quite dense - having been worked in layers. This, I think, is also a safeguard for long distance transportation.

I have so far made three of the six paintings (above) for the Corte real exhibition, these first three are all 61x61cm and I am in the early stages of the three larger canvases (100x100cm)
The images below are in the primary stages of two of the subsequent three large canvases of this series and they are also based on coastal views of UK, using a bright Mediterranean palette. I am organising a visit to the Corte Real Gallery to see this work en situ and take away some inspiration from the trip.




Early stages of Fowey Harbour (top) and Looe Harbour, acrylic on box canvas, 100x100cm


To see more of my work visit my website: www.laurawrightpaintings.com

thanks very much for this intro to your work laura...i hope we actually get to meet in portugal, sally x

images of heaven?

ludger here at OBRAS took this photo
its a detail of my latest painting

doesn't it look like a medieval star map?
almost a feel of last nights amazing lunar eclipse

you can read a bit more about the painting here
its the blog of uk artist laura wright

more about her here soon

arraiolos memory

arraiolos memory
100 x 100 cms
mixed media

a painting inspired by stitching and churches and walls and music

and grasses and being outside in the sunshine

the alternative name for this painting was

'this is my church'

silver and gold...

in the evening the shadows on the walls were blue....really really blue
we tried to draw them

then i painted the walls

back home in the forest i have been painting to this

corte-real gallery

my first days in portugal were spent visiting Michael, Pedro and Simon at the beautiful Corte-Real gallery

where amazing things hang from the trees


sometimes the art work hangs outside


the garden is full of things to delight


and even the flowers look happy



inside is amazing but sorry no photos
some of my work is available from the gallery now...
and more portuguese work will be on show at the end of this month