oil painting

Picked up the brushes again

| franheathorn

It’s been a while since I last posted. Almost exactly four years, in fact. A full time job and a baby don’t leave much time around the edges. But what better subject to paint with the precious free time I do have, than the lovely little face that I’ve been looking at intently for the last three years now. This doesn’t do her justice, of course, but here is a small oil painting of my little girl. Filling the frame like she fills my life. Bursting out of it even, like the clothes she keeps outgrowing. Turning to me here, about to tell me something about unicorns or mer-pups, probably.

Daughter F C Heathorn

Norfolk Winter Field

| franheathorn

This was painted on a bright chilly afternoon on one of the days between Christmas and new year. It certainly blew the cobwebs away sitting out there for a couple of hours. Nick said it reminded him of Howard Hodgkin‘s painting, I suppose because I was quite fuss free with the brushwork… the palette is much more subdued than his would be but I can see where he’s coming from.

St Peter Mancroft after Piper

| franheathorn

SOLD £175 (at the Hostry festival, Paint Out Norwich exhibition)

This painting is one of four created during the plein air painting competition ‘Paint Out Norwich’. I was lucky enough to be invited to paint from the roof of the Forum in the centre of Norwich. I had expected to have a view of the market square, but once I got up there I could only see the corner of it, so I opted instead to paint the view across the roof of St Peter Mancroft church to Norwich Castle.

The style was influenced by the artist John Piper who has painted the same church from another angle in wax relief and mixed media. I painted with oils, but where I scraped back to the white canvas with a palette knife, I like to think it is reminiscent of the waxed area in his picture (https://www.flickr.com/photos/suewhite/2821974862/).

sleeping jack russell terrier

| franheathorn

I’ve been doing these little oil paintings lately, just a few inches square, as presents for friends and family. This one was for my boss at work who is crazy about these dogs. I was concerned after I finished that its not entirely obvious whether the dog is sleeping or dead… I gave it to her anyway. She seemed pleased.

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