Here is the long awaited 3rd update, I realise I have been a little rubbish in updating on here so my sincere apologies. If you follow me on Twitter @samdunford_art or like my page on Facebook The Artwork of Sam Dunford, I update more frequently on there.

Anywho, quite a change from my last update, as you can see I am steadily working my way through the trees. Still quite a bit to do on them, lots more branches to do and then a couple more trees. After that I will be painting a large green hedge along the immediate forrground and then I can finally call it finished.

In other news, I have gone right in at the deep end and have entered into my first major art competition. The John Moores Prize. I am only at stage 1, where I have submitted a digital image of my painting, the painting I have entered is Sleepy Mountains. I will not know whether I have passed stage 1 until the end of April so i'm keeping my fingers crossed. The first prize for this competition is £25,000 which I have no intention of winning but I would be thrilled to just get accepted for the exhibition, we will just have to wait and see.

Sam

The next update is here, apologies for not updating you all sooner, work on it has been a little slow. I have the next 2 weeks off work (Woo Hoo!), so I should be able to get a lot more done, well I am hoping to get this completed before I have to go back.

I have finished the clouds, I think I have done a good job at creating a feeling of distance by making the clouds larger, darker and more detailed as they get closer.
I have also painted some stars as it is supposed to be just before the sun completely sets, i'm not sure if they show up all that well as the picture is not the best.

The next step is to start on the foreground, this is basically going to be a selection of silhouettes of trees, so lots of annoying little branches to paint.

Thats it for now, I will be back soon with the next update and I will get some better pictures for you.

Hi Folks

I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas. I'm going to be starting off the new year with a commission of an image of lots of silhouettes of trees just as the sun is setting, there are going to be lots of moody looking clouds and trees at winter so lots of annoying little branches again.

As you can see I have painted the background of the sky and have made a start on the clouds, the big clouds I am really happy with but the small ones I think need changing so they gel with the larger clouds better. I am sticking to my Black White and Blue series and have only used 3 colours, Lamp Black, Titanium White and Prussian Blue.

Next I will be finishing the clouds, then I will be making a start on the trees, on the right of the canvas the trees will be pushed more in the background whereas the left of the painting, the clouds will be pushed forward. I am yet to decide what the main focal point will be but I want to wait and see how the sky and the trees go together first.

Well, thats it for now. Check back soon for update number 2, and don't be shy to comment what you think so far (good or bad).

Sam

I've been thinking about my art resume lately and i've been disappointed to discover that it is pretty small, with not many accomplishments other than my A Levels in Art and Design and the commissions and sales   I have done.
I have decided I need to change this so I have been researching Art competitions and exhibitions I can submit some artwork to in 2012.
Now, there are a few questions and doubts that are popping into my head, i'm sure many artists have asked themselves these aswell. Is my art good enough? Can I afford to pay all the fees? How would I transport my paintings if I get accepted? to name a few.
The fact that if I get accepted into any competitions will look fantastic on my resume I have decided to stop worrying and just go for it.

I have compiled a list of competitions and exhibitions I have discovered so far, there is a link to the website or contact details if anyone is interested, if I have missed any out then please let me know.

The Door Prize
Submissions for their 2012 competition have now closed but this is definately one to remember. Exclusively for painters, there is no cash prize but the chance to win an award, a solo exhibition and the chance to judge in their next competition.

Artists and Illustrators - Artist of the Year
A very popular art competition in its fourth year now, the prizes for 2011 included exhibiting at a major UK Gallery, Professional framing, Gallery representation and £500 of art materials.

The National Open Art Competition
Allows you to submit up to 6 artworks in a number of different mediums, £40.000 of cash prizes to be won.

The South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts
This one is more attractive to me as it is a lot closer to home so easier for me to travel to. An Open Exhibition held at the Exeter Castle Galleries.

RBSA - Open all media Exhibiton
This one is still calling for submissions, with the exhibition set for 23 November to 24 December. Open to artists working in all mediums except for photography.

Painters Online
This website shows a list of all major UK art exhibitions and competitions for 2011 so I can only assume it will update for 2012.

This is an ongoing list which I hope will be useful for any artists in the same boat as me, feel free to suggest and others that I have not mentioned.
I am thinking about signing up to Dorset Art Weeks next year as I realise this is a very substantial art practice in Dorset but I have researched it much yet.
All I have to concentrate on at the moment   is building a good body of work in preperation.

Bye for now
Sam  

Hi Folks,

Here is the last update for Blar Jokull, the second painting in my Black White and Blue series.

The painting has been added to my Black White and Blue page and my Affordable Landscape Paintings gallery. The painting is currently for sale at £300. Feel free to contact me if you would like to purchase this piece.

For the cheaper option, you will be able to buy a Giclee print of Blar Jokull on www.easyart.com
It will be available in a number of different sizes and on a variety of different papers and canvas.

I hope you have enjoyed this WIP, I will be back soon with the WIP of my next painting in my series which will be called "Things that go Bump in the night".

Hi Folks,

Here is the next update for you. I am working my way through the foreground at the moment, i'm trying to make this part stand out so have made the bottom much darker than anywhere else and will be adding much more detail as in more cracks and holes in the ice.

I can only apologise for the poor quality photo, it was taken with my IPhone but you can still see enough detail to see how I have progressed.

I am thinking I may darken some of the foreground a little more by introducing some more grey tones to parts away from the light source but I won't decide this until I have filled the canvas.
As for the title I have decided on "Blár Jökull" which means blue glacier in Iclandic, I have to give credit to Dan Wilson for this beautiful title, thank you very much Dan.

I am going to work really hard to complete this painting within the next couple of weeks, even though there is not much more to do it is difficult to fit painting time between the day job, the housework, the marketing for my art, etc.

I will be back with the next update very soon.

Hi Folks,

I'm still soldiering on with this painting, work is slow but I am really enjoying it.
The big piece of ice on the left has caused me a few problems, I thought I had it finished but then decided it just did not look right, so I have gone over it and started again. At this stage I am adding all the detailed bits, the holes and cracks in the ice so it is not finished yet.
I have also started the large piece on the right of the painting which again I will adding fiddly details in.

As for the feeling of depth in this painting, I think I have acheived this a lot more successfully than my previous paintings so I am happy about that.
Now it is time to start coming up with a title for this piece (which I am rubbish at). If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

That's it for now, I will be back soon with the next update.

Hi Folks,

Black White and Blue is a series of paintings made up using a very limited palette of just 3 colours, Lamp Black, Titanium White and Prussian Blue.
Sleepy Mountains was the first painting to appear in this series and I would like to invite you to watch the WIP of my second.

It is as of yet untitled, I am always terrible at coming up with a good title so any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Again only using the 3 colours I have included the progress shots up to where I am at the moment.

First up we have the sketch using my very trusted Sharpie. The painting will depict a close up of a glacier which overtime formed wonderful shapes and spikes of ice.

Next we have the sky which is a blend of a very grey blue using a mix of Titanium White, Prussian Blue and a tiny bit of Lamp Black.
Then the first part of the background, this is kept very light and less detailed as I want it to be pushed into the background to hopefully give the painting some depth (something that I am not normally very good at acheiving).

Next I am still painting the background but the glacier is starting to closer so the ice is getting darker and bluer. You may also be able to see that some detail has been added, some cracks and holes in the ice, this will be much more prominent in the mid and foreground.

Lastly, here is where I currently am. The background is basically completed, again the ice looks darker and more detailed by introducing more black onto the edges. You can see the cracks are now more noticable.

Next up I will be starting the big scary bits of the middle of the painting. I'll be back in the next few days with the next update.

Bye for now.

Hi Folks,

I originally planned to post a WIP of my latest landscape painting but I didn't get enough pictures of it as I was painting.

This is my first landscape in a series of paintings and is called "Sleepy Mountains". The series which is named Black White and Blue will be paintings produced using only 3 colours, Lamp Black, Titanium White and Prussian Blue, they will all be landscape paintings. If anyone has any ideas of subjects I can use then I would love to hear them, contact me via the contact me page.

Back to Sleepy Mountains. I aimed to make the mountains look quite misty, which I think I have achieved, the 3 colours have been loosely blended together so you can see all the brush strokes and the mountains get darker as you get closer to the foreground to give a feeling of distance.
I am pretty happy with the finished piece and I love the effect of the 3 colours together. I also like the effect of loosely blending the colours, this will no doubt feature in other paintings.

Bye for now.

Hi Folks,

I am extremely pleased to announce that my commission is finally finished. I am not sure if it really shows in the picture, I should have included some close ups. I have added some tiny glasses along the top of the mound and I have painted some writing on some of the cases, these are wording from the actual cases which can be seen at the Auschwitz museum.
I have also highlighted the graves in the background and have outlined the other graves on the cemetery.

I am very pleased with the end result and my client is very happy, as always it is going to be weird to see it go and not having it in my room but want to get paid so I can't keep it.

Time for a little break I think. Then I have a series of paintings that I would like to start and I have another commission lined up so I will post the updates for you.

I hope this WIP has been interesting and enjoyable to follow, my sincere apologies it has taken me so long.

Bye for now.

Hi Folks,

I have finished painting the shoes and suitcases, HOORAY! So I very pleased to announce that this commission is very nearly completed. I just have to paint the tiny glasses which will be added randomly in amongst the shoes and I am going to be adding some faded writing to some of the suitcases. Then I just need to sign it and it will be done.

I was looking back through the updates and I cannot believe the amount I have managed to do in the last few weeks. Mind you I have not left the house very much apart from going to work and popping to the shops. I will be glad when it is finished.

I reckon I need today and tomorrow to finish it, so I will be back very soon with the last update. Then a bit of a rest and onto the next one!

Bye for now
Sam

Hi Folks,

Well my challenge of completing this by Friday has been and gone and guess what, i'm still not finished. The shoes are taking me a lot longer than expected.
I am pretty pleased with the progress in the last week though and the end is in sight!

Once I have painted in all the remaining white on the canvas I will be adding some very small pairs of glasses around the top part of the mound, I will also be painting some faded writing on some suitcases which shows who the cases belonged to in the concentration camps. The word "Waisenkind" will feature quite predominantly which means "Orphan" as I think this has the most impact to the victims.

I am really enjoying this commission, it has definately been a challenge for me but I am looking forward to finishing it now. I might have to have a little break!
I do have another commission lined up and I have a series of paintings that I have been thinking of for a while but more about that later.

Bye for now
Sam

Hi Folks,

I have been working really hard the last 2 weeks to get as much of this done as I can and I still have a fair bit left to do.
At least the bulk of the suitcases are basically completed, so next up is the bulk of the shoes which have not been taking me as long to do, the suitcases have been the most time consuming.

I am still having a lot of fun with this piece, though I am quite eager to complete it as I have been working on it for a long time now. So, as I have the next 5 days free I am going to challenge myself to complete it by Friday. I will be back then to reveal whether or not I have succeeded.

As always feel free to comment.

Bye for now

Hi Folks,

Here is the next update.
I am currently battling through all the fiddly details, I am really enjoying it but is very slow work. I have attempted to give a eery feel, which I think I am achieving, although my other half thinks it looks a bit cartoon like which I think is ok as it lightens the subject a little.

Once the bulk of the suitcases are done, I am going to attempt to add some faded writing on some of the cases. Images from the concentration camps show the writing on each case which shows who they belonged to, the word "Waisenkind" features quite a lot which means "Orphan" so I am going to make sure this is visible on at least one of the cases.
You can probably see one red shoe in the picture, amongst all the greys and browns of the piles of shoes from the camps you can see the odd childs/womens red shoe which really stand out, so I will be adding these randomly throughout the piece.

As always I would love to hear your comments. Do you think I am achieving the eery feel my client wants?
I hope you are all enjoying this WIP and find it useful in any way.

Bye for now
Sam

Hi Folks,

Here is the long awaited 5th update of my current commission.
I have thought the best way to tackle all the detail in the mound is to draw on as much detail as I can then paint it in bit by bit.
All the round shapes are spaces for the shoes, they will be more detailed when I am painting them.
The random shapes you can see are spaces for bits of clothing, again, these will be more detailed when painting them.
All this was drawn on using a trusty Sharpie pen, although I have discovered they do not write on everything, they do not write on dried oil paint.

I am ready to start painting this detail in now, I am going to tackle it a little bit at a time and with a very small brush, so it's going to take me a while. If anyone has any comments or feedback I would love to hear from you.

Bye for now
Sam

 Hi Folks,

Here is the next installment. In this update I have completed the statue on top of the mound and I have painted the grave stones around the cemetery.
I am pretty happy with the way it is coming together but it is looking very symmetrical, which bugs me a tiny bit. Although I always knew this would happen when researching the piece.

Next up I will be starting the detail on the mound, I think I will just reveal the little twist now. The mound will be made up of a pile of suitcases, clothing, glasses and shoes to depict images from the holocaust.
It will be very detailed so I am a little bit scared. I will be trying to give it a very sinister feel, this will be the last stage of the painting but, because of the amount of detail I anticipate it will take me while to complete.

Bye for now

Sam

Hi Folks,

Here is the next installment on the progress of my commission.
It does not look like I have done a huge amount, but it's definately looking a lot tidier and is starting to come together.

As you can see that ghastly rectangle in the sky is gone!
I have darkened the trees and added a light green contrast, I have tried to make them look a bit more sinister, I hope I have achieved this.
The path and edges of the mound have been darkened, I think they are looking a lot better.
The grass is now done, unless my client has any objections, I have added some burnt sienna to carry on this more sinister feel and have added a green highlight for the shadows from the sun.

I am pretty happy with it so far and am getting close to working on the mound where the twist will start to reveal itself.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful christmas and new year.

Bye for now
Sam

Hi Folks,

I realised today that I was a featured artist on emptyeasel.com on the 27th Dec. They are posting christmas/winter themed artwork right up to the new year.
I submitted my last commissioned painting but never imagined I would actually be featured as there must have been thousands of submissions.
So naturally I am extremely pleased.

Emptyeasel is a great place for tips on art marketing and all sorts of arty stuff, definately worth a visit for any artist.

I will be back very soon with the next update of my commission, I have had a little break over christmas.

Bye for now

Sam

Here is the second update of my current commission. Things are going along a little slower than I would like but I was poorly for a week so was not really in the mood to do anything.

After the black undercoat had dried (which took a long time!), I added the first green highlights to the trees and the grass, I did this by using a B&Q value paintbrush. Most people will think i'm crazy but I like using these brushes for large areas as the bristles are quite stiff and uneven which gives a good texture, for detailed areas though I will use my more expensive brushes.
I have also painted the path leading up to the mound, the edge of the mound and the top, i'm not completely convinced by the colour these, I may make them a bit greyer.

There is a white rectangular shape in the sky which I have only noticed is there after taking this photo, that is me going over a sketching mistake and the paint showing through, so I am going to be correcting this.

Next up I will be deciding whether I am going to change the colour of the path and bits on the mound, then I will be adding the next highlights to the trees and the grass.

Come back soon for the next update
Sam

Hi folks,

I have accepted a new commission which is of the La Cambe German War Cemetery in Normandy, but it has a little twist which I will reveal as I progress through the painting.

Here is the first update. It's not very exciting so far. I firstly roughly sketched the image onto the canvas, then I painted the sky, I have gone for a simple design for the sky as I do not want to divert attention away from the focal point in the painting, but there is still a little detail.

Next I have added a black base coat for the trees, I will build up layers of green once this has dried, some black will show through for the parts deep in shadow.

This is the biggest commission I have taken on, in fact it's the biggest painting I have ever taken on, so is a little bit of a challenge for me. I am already having fun with it so I am pretty confident I will get through it ok.

Check back soon for the next update,

Bye for now
Sam

Well autumn seems to pounced on us all of a sudden and i'm hooked. The nights may be darker and colder, there may be a chill in the air, the heating is back on. But all these colours are starting to poke out, oranges, reds, yellows, they all seem to be omitting a glorious glow. This must be the reasons why it is one of my favourite times of the year.

Inspired by this sudden landscape change I will be producing a lot of sketches, in the preperation of a series of Autumn paintings, I have let myself down a little lately by not producing any art at all, so this seems like an exciting way to get back into the swing of things.
However I am going away next week for 2 weeks in the Dominican Republic so undoubtedly after witnessing the hopefully beautiful surroundings out there my plans may change, but we will have to wait and see.
Until then I will enjoying my orange, red and yellow surroundings at home.

Bye for now.

Hi folks,

Well today I turn 24 years old. Unfortunately spending the day at home as no one has any money, going to wait until payday then do something fun.

If there is one thing I hate about birthdays is that they make you think about your life so far and what you have achieved.
I definately cannot say I am where I imagined myself to be at this stage in my life, I definately did not expect to still be working at B&Q, but if I sit down and think about it I consider myself to be very lucky.
I am independant, I pay all my own bills, earn all my own money, do all my own cooking and washing.
I am in a steady secure job where I am confident and get along well with the staff and management.
I am in a long term relationship with a man that I love.
I am lucky enough to be able to produce my paintings and know that people like them and have got enjoyment from them.

Even though I feel like I have not achieved very much, I do feel blessed for all these things. Lets hope being 24 brings me joy and happiness.

Hi folks,

Had a little painting break after completing my commission where I have relaxed playing computer games and watching the very disappointing football and the tennis.
Decided it is now time to get back into the swing of things so here is my new painting so far, which features the very interesting Baobab Tree from Madagascar. I remember seeing them for the first time on telly when I was watching a program with Steven Fry about endangered animals (I can't remember the name). Ever since then I have been aching to do a painting of them.
I love their unusual shape and their interesting characteristics.

Apologies for the poor quality picture and the horrible glare.
I am not sure about this painting so far, I think I am just distracted by the bare tree trunks on the left, I think once I get the branches on I will be a lot happier but you never know how a piece is going to turn out.
I am also trying out my Acrylics with this one, I usually only use oils and to honest think I will be sticking with oils in the future.

Check back soon for the next update.

Bye for now.
Sam

Hi folks,

I am pleased to announce, my painting is now finished. I can't believe how long it has taken me, I really need to learn to paint more quickly.

I will most probably be selling prints it depends how well it prints out so I will have to do a test print before I can say whether I will sell them or not but I will make a post and send out a newsletter if I will be making prints.

Feel free to comment, I would love to hear the feedback.

Make sure you check back for the WIP of my next painting, which I am thinking will feature some cherry blossom trees in some way.

Bye for now
Sam

Hi folks,

Here is update number 7 of my commission, i'm getting pretty close to the end now, I estimate about another 2 weeks work and i'll be done, which i'm sure my client will be extremely pleased about as he has been waiting for this painting for a while. I must thank him for being so patient with me.

As you can see work on the midground trees appears to be finished, in fact there is still a little work to do on the far right tree but all the fiddly branches are complete, HOORAY!
I have added the black base coat at the bottom of the canvas, this is for a hedge which is going to be the most predominant part of the whole painting.

I have added two little hedges at the bottom of two of the trees but I am really not happy with these, so I am either going to start them all over again or just not have them at all, I have not decided yet.

I hope you are enjoying this WIP and please add your comments I really like to hear any feedback you may have.

Bye for now

Sam

Here is the next update for my commission I am currently working on.
These trees are really slow work, this is why I am not really keen on painting trees in winter as it is a real pain painting all the branches although it is worth it in the end as they look so much better with the extra detail.

After I have completed the third tree, there is two more similar trees to paint then I can start work on the foreground which I hoping will not take me long to complete. The only trouble I will have is having to wait for the paint to dry inbetween the layers of colour.

I am extremely happy with it so far. I think I am going to be upset to let it go when it is finished, but unfortunately I have to.
I always welcome any comments you may have, that is how I learn my mistakes.

Thats all for today folks
Bye for now.

Hi folks,

Here is the long awaited next update on my commission I am currently working on. Progress is a lot slower than I would like but I think it is really starting to come together now.

I am currently working on the middle part of the piece which means I have a lot of trees to do which all have lots of annoying little branches on them, therefore this part is taking me a bit of time. I am really happy with the tree on the right hand side but I am not too sure about it's shadow, I am going to wait until I have painted the other trees before I decide if I am going to leave it as it is or not.

As you can see I have added shadows to the middle part as I felt this area needed darkening, I am pleased with the effect this has achieved.

Bye for now.

Hi folks,

Just a quickie to let you all know my painting Commisison Sept 09 is now available to purchase as a print on my art prints page.
It comes in two sizes, 8x10" and 11x14" and is available in either a Matte or Glossy finish. I am hoping to able to offer it in size 16x20" soon.

Happy shopping

Sam

Here is the next update on my commission. Not a huge amount done, just the next bit of snow, I have put some green underneath the snow to show a bit of grass poking through. I have tried to show the right side further in the distance but i'm not 100% sure I have achieved this, I am going to wait until I have added the shadows in this area before I decide completely.

Overall I am happy with it but still a long way to go.

Bye for now.

Hi folks,

I was planning on adding a new print for you all to purchase today but alas i'm having trouble with my bloomin printer.
I thought I would save a lot of money on my ink by buying compatibles instead of the genuine Epson ones as they are soooo expensive. The quality of them is good when you have managed to print out the image but the trouble is actually being able to print.
Everytime I start a new session with my printer I am having to clean the ink heads otherwise my prints lose colours or get ghastly lines through them. When you clean the print heads this uses up a lot of ink and quite frequently I have to clean the print heads a couple of times to get a high quality print. Having to do this means that I have to change the cartridge more often so therefore end up spending more money than if I had bought the original cartridges instead.

So buying compatible ink instead of originals may seem like a good idea to begin with but trust me it is not.
I now will not be able to offer my new print for sale until I have managed to sort out my printer as I now have to buy some new cartridges (gonna get originals this time). Hopefully my new print will be for sale very soon unless I have thrown my printer out the window in frustration.

Bye for now.

Hi folks,

Here is an update on my commission. I have added some more shadows to the background field and have added silhouettes of the foliage in the midground. I need to wait for this to dry then I will add some highlights to this area then I can start work on the foreground.

I am really pleased with the progress and how it is turning out. I am happy with my snow and it was simple and quick.

I'll be back soon with the next update.

Bye for now.
Sam

Hi folks,

Sorry for the delay for the next update, i'm still working on my commission (slowly).
I'm really happy with how it is progressing, still not happy with the house though, I may have to add some more highlights but the snow I am really happy with so far and will look much better once I have added the shadows.

I will be back soon with the next update, I promise it will not be a month away.

Sam

Hi folks, I hope everyone had a very happy new year. Can't believe it's 2010 already.

My first post of 2010 is of my first painting of 2010, which is a commission, hooray! It is 30x30inches on a chunky canvas, it is going to be of a beautiful wintery snow scene, which I am hoping will make us have some snow down by the coast, I have been very disappointed that we have'nt had any.

As you can see I have a much simpler sky on this one, as there is going to be a lot going on in the rest of the painting, lots of tall trees, a very strong foreground, I did not want the sky to over power the piece.

I'll be back soon with update 2.

Bye for now.

 Merry Christmas everyone.

Hey everyone. I feel like a kid again this month, we have just bought ourselves 2 brand new games consoles, a sexy black Wii and a even sexier Xbox 360 Elite. I literally screamed with delight when I saw everything arranged out on my bed.

Only thing is I have to try not to get too addicted to them, otherwise I will just be sat playing with them all the time.

Just thought I would share the exciting news.

Sam

I have had this piece sat on top of my radiator for over a year now and never got round to actually finishing it. I think now is a good time to finally get it completed.

I will keep you updated on the progress, here is where it is at at the moment.

Hello everyone,

Here is my final update as the painting is now completed, you can view a better image of it on my homepage or in my main Gallery.

As you can see, I have re-done the large tree as I really was not happy with the colour. Then I have toned down the buttercups a little and added more detailed grass to the foreground.

I hope you have enjoyed the progress as much as I have, keep checking back as I will be blogging a WIP for my next painting.

Bye for now.
Sam

Hi folks, here is my next update for you all. I'm getting quite excited now because I reckon I am pretty near completion now.
Just got a bit more highlights to the tree, then a lot of detail in the foreground grass and then just the finer details and I will be finished.

Sam

Here is the next part completed. I have done the first layer of the grass, next I will add highlights to the foreground and some detail with individual blades of grass. Then I will have buttercups in the field to the left of the painting.
After that, not that much more to do and I will have completed it WOO!

Be back soon with the next update.

Sam

Had a couple of really busy weeks so I have not been able to do a huge amount to my new painting, but here is where I am at so far.

I'll be back soon with the next update.

Hi folks,

Here is the next update of my new painting. Today I have completed the background trees and have started to paint the closer ones and put in base colours for the grass areas in background.

I am really enjoying it so far and am pretty pleased with how it is turning out.

Sam.

I have recently recieved a new commission, so I thought I would show everyone the progress step by step on my blog.

The painting is a lot larger than I am used to, 30x30", so is going to be quite a challenge for me. Although it is a good kick in the butt as I have been quite lazy and not been getting much new stuff done.

Here is the first update, the first image is a quick sketch so I know where everything goes, the second image is of course of the sky and the third is a close up for some detail.

I will keep you all updated on the progress

Bye for now
Sam

Just to let everyone know, today is my 23rd birthday. Yay!

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we are currently experiencing.
My apologies for not updating this blog for some time. For the last few months I seem to have had an artist block and have not had much enthusiasm to do anything.
I have decided to force myself to get back into the swing of things though.
I am currently finishing a painting that I have had sat on the easel for quite some time, the title will be "The Adventurer", it is a vast mountain range that gets lighter as it gets to the foreground in shades of brown and white highlights. The majority of the canvas is taken up by the sky (I love my skies!), which to me looks a bit like the northen lights, blocks of colour of dark violet and a light titanium colour which are roughly blended together with big brush strokes.
I will try to update with a photo of it soon, well I expect I will probably have finished it within a week, so I will hopefully be updating my main Gallery page after about 1 year of nothing new going on there.

My print sales have still been slightly disappointing, the difficulty is finding somewhere worthwhile to sell them. I tried Wimborne Market over christmas time and the new year, but I was just losing too much money from the fees that I had to give it up. I may try again in the Summer, when hopefully it will be a lot busier due to the nice weather.
I am going to be attending a car boot sale tomorrow in Canford Magna, so I will take some with me then but I don't expect to have many sales if i'm honest.
So if anyone has any ideas where I can sell them please please don't hesitate to contact me.

That's all I have for today folks, I will try to update again soon with the progress of my new painting.

Hope you all have a nice bank holiday.

For the last week I have felt like a little kid all over again with the downpour of snow in the southwest. The last time I remember seeing snow in dorset was about seven years ago, and even that was a tiny amount that fell in early april time. The last time I saw thick snow was when I was in primary school, which was probably about 11 years ago. So, naturally I went absolutely beserk, throwing snowballs at everyone, running across fields getting soaked.

Although it does make me chuckle a little about how unprepared we all were. Even though the snow was forecast days before it arrived, all but 2 schools closed leaving the kids running around the streets throwing snow at everyone, the gritters were not sent out until around 10am, which left the roads horrendously dangerous for the rush hour. A lot of my co-workers said it was taking them an hour to get to work when it would normally only take them 5 minutes.
I luckily do not drive, I have always been scared of driving, I get so nervous when I get in a car I start shaking. So I have been walking everywhere, which has been scary enough. This morning it took me nearly an hour to walk to work because the paths were just one big ice rink, the walk normally takes half an hour at the most.
I realise that in dorset we simply just do not expect any snow at all as we are right by the sea, but surely they must have measures in place just in case.

But I must admit it has been wonderful to see some snow for a change, and with it apparantly forecast for the beginning of next week i'm excited by the prospect that we might get some more, as I have not had a chance to make a snowman yet :(

I can't believe we are in 2009 already, 2008 has slipped through my fingers so quickly and I don't see myself anywhere near where hoped I would be.
I was hoping to have been able to quit my job at B&Q and be earning enough from my art to keep myself going but sadly this has not happened and does not look like it will happen for quite some time.

On a lighter note 2009 seems to have kicked off to a good start. I have been contacted by a manager of a Bistro who may be interested in having about 10 paintings done to hang on his bare walls, naturally I am extremely excited by this prospect but then I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that it all seems too good to be true, but we will wait and see. I am hoping to be able to meet him within the next few days so fingers crossed it all goes well.
I also have another commission on the horizon.
I am still at Wimborne Market selling my prints and Mini Paintings, I have been there 6 times now and have sold one Mini Painting and 4 prints, which is a little disappointing but at least I know that some people want them and I know that it will take time to pick up.

I have decided that my new years resolutions are,

1. To Eat more healthily
2. To paint more and more often
3. To work on my website and try to gain more traffic to it.

Thats all for today folks
I hope that 2009 brings you much joy.

Today was my first day at Wimborne Market. The day has been a little dissappointing, as I did not sell any prints. Hannah sold a card so I was really pleased for her.
The day has been really quiet, even the regular sellers there were saying that sales were very slow.

We are going to try again next weekend but set up in the actual art and craft section that they have, as the position we were in probably did not do our work justice, we were surrounded by a lot of the stalls that sell books and odds and sods so we were not getting much attention around our area.

So I am a little disappointed but i'm not giving up yet.

Bye for now. 

Well, i've made up all my mounts and we are all booked in to start selling at Wimborne Market a week today. I am going to be selling prints of "Silhouette", "Perfect Reflections", "Bamboo Forest", "Wilma" and my untitled commission piece. I am also going to try to sell my mini paintings I have been doing as they have not been selling very well on Ebay.
I'm really excited, hopefully I will make quite a bit of money while I am there. I am going to be there every Sunday, so if you are ever visiting Wimborne Market on a Sunday I hope to see you there.

Bye for now. 

Just an update to keep you all up to date on what I have been getting up to. My mini Ebay paintings have been doing well, 3 out of the 5 paintings have sold and I will be adding my newest addition "Misty Mountains" to Ebay later today. I have not been painting nearly as many of them as I would like, as I originally stated that I would be listing 1-2 of them every week, but I am happy with what I have accomplished so far and may be taking inspiration from a couple of them to make larger main Gallery pieces.

I have always said that I want to set up a stall to sell my prints and I am pleased to announce that this is going to turn into a reality. Hopefully starting in November (to catch the Christmas rush), I am going to be selling every Sunday at Wimborne Market, which is a very popular market that sells pretty much everything, it is huge and has been going on for years, it is a very popular attraction for Dorset and attracts a lot of buyers. Needless to say then I am very excited about this opportunity. I will keep you updated on how I am getting on when it happens.

That is all for today folks
Bye for now.

Today is my 22nd birthday. Hasn't been that exciting to be honest, due to no one having any money. I was hoping to at least be able to get a chinese, but sadly I did not. Oh well, it's just another day.

For some good news, my first mini painting has sold on Ebay today, (Misty Forest). The Lost City has been relisted, as this did not sell the first time but it already has a watcher.

That's about all I have to say today.
Bye for now.

I have just added my first painting to the mini painting gallery page, which can be found if you hover over artwork on the menu.
I have already added it onto Ebay, and if all goes well I will be adding 1-2 new ones each week.

Starting bid on Ebay is £2.99, postage is free to UK buyers and £2.00 for international buyers. So if you want to grab yourself a bargain, there is a widget showing what paintings are currently for sale on my Mini Painting Gallery page or my Ebay username is chkychmp, so you can see everything I currently have for sale on there.
These paintings are only going to be sold on Ebay and no reproductions are going to be made of them, so they truly are one of a kind paintings.

Bye for now
Sam

Sorry for all my readers for not updating here in a while. I thought I would share with you all what I am up to.

Sales have been a little slow lately, not many prints sold either, so I have had a little break and have not really been getting much painting done.
I am now starting to get back into the swing of things, I have two paintings sat on the easel, I will share the progress when I find my camera.
I am also going to be starting to try to sell on Ebay again, if you have noticed I have added a new sub page into "The Artwork" section on my site, this is going to be solely for my Ebay paintings, which are all going to be painted onto canvas boards and will be small, only 5"x7" in size.
So when this all starts up it will hopefully be beneficial to you, as you will be able to grab a bargain original oil painting by me, it will also be beneficial to me as I will recieve a lot more exposure from having my work up on ebay again, well, this is the plan anyway.

I will keep you informed when this all goes live, or you can add yourself to my mailing list where you will recieve a email from me when it is all set up.

Bye for now.
Sam

I have finally completed my commission, it was picked up this morning and he seemed really pleased by it. Hooray!

The image is displayed on my homepage and you can see it in my Gallery.

Bye for now.

Things are starting to look up for my prints.
After many failed attempts at selling them, I came up the idea of having a portfolio of them in the staff room where I work. After the go ahead from the management, I made up a folder and this morning I placed it in the Staff room and already there has been a lot of interest in them, everyone has commented how nice they are, a few people have stated they would maybe like to buy one and two other people say they may want me to do a commissioned painting for them.

This is all after just one day, so obviously I could not be happier. Hopefully this will mean a few sales coming my way, (fingers crossed)!.

Bye for now.

Due to some errors to my previous blog, I have had to completely delete it and start a new one. To any readers of my blog, I apologise about this.

Currently I am still working on my commission, I have been doing it since August last year but am pleased to announce that it is very nearly completed, so it will be appearing on my website soon.

I still have not sold any prints, have had a few failed attempts at selling them at car shows and car boot sales. I am still planning on opening a stall down Poole High Street, I just do not have enough money to start this up yet.

Bye for now.