Fresh Paint
A New Look for The Gallery
Having altered the lay-out of the gallery some three years ago I decided that another change would be good, so I went bold with a colour update.
We hope you like it.
Mick.
Hello everyone and thank you for checking out my latest updates.
I'm delighted to announce that we raised over £7000 by the sale of my SeaWindowCraster calendar this year. All of this will go to the NUFC fans foodbank in Newcastle and it will be very well used and appreciated.
I would like to thank our very generous sponsor who paid for all the printing, and to everyone who contributed to such a good cause.
Recently I have been working on a commission painted on a 120 x 60cm canvas showing the pilgrims route across to Lindisfarne.
I am always happy to undertake commissions so please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like something painted especially for you.
After having worked here for several years our gallery assistant Deborah has decided it's time to move on to something new but we thank her for everything she has done for the gallery. We have new staff being trained up at this time and they, along with the usual staff, will be looking forward to seeing everyone again in due course.
Although we do hope to be able to keep the gallery open all through the winter as usual, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we have an extensive selection of paintings, prints, jewellery and cards online that can be viewed from the warmth and comfort of your home. Please take a look www.mickoxley.com
As well as ourselves, it is important that we all do our bit to support the small independant retailers and traders through these difficult time.
I wish each and every one of you good health and plenty of happiness throughout the forthcoming year.
See you soon, Mick.
Hi everyone,
I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to put a collection of my early morning photos together to create a calendar to raise funds for NUFC fans food bank.
These are currently on sale here and all orders are very gratefully received.
Please dig deep and see if we can raise a good amount of money for those who need it most.
With my thanks, Mick.
Hello,
thought it was time I communicated to let you know what I have been up to since returning from a summer in France watching Le Tour.
I have experimented a wee bit, working in acrylic inks and paint, plus pastels. Most of them are on canvas, but a few are on paper. It is a very different technique, but one I am enjoying. Below you can see some of the early results.
Calendar update.
After selling the first batch of calendars, we secured a further 50 to replace some faulty ones. These also sold quickly giving us a total of £3065 for the Newcastle United Fans Food Bank. Thank you again for your support .
I was recently asked to give a talk to participants of a Light and Land photography course led by Bill Ward at The Sunningdale Hotel in Bamburgh.
As well as talking about what Northumberland means to me I painted a small 40 x 40 cm canvas and took questions.
It turned a out to be an enjoyable evening for everyone.
With thanks to Ray Graham for the photos.
Having had our annual day off, we'll be pleased to welcome everyone back to the gallery from Boxing Day and everyday throughout the coming year, all being well.
More updates soon, Mick.
By Popular Demand !
For years followers on Twitter have been asking for a calendar of my SeaWindowCraster photos. With the help of Sam, my son's girlfriend, we put together this design and selection of images.
The print run of 150 sold out within four hours and we raised £2250 which will go directly to the Newcastle United Football Club Fans Food Bank to help to ease food poverty in the area.
Thank you for supporting this !
Watch Mick on Channel 5 catch up !
Mick was recently featured in the Channel 5 series
World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys -
Tornado: The Edinburgh Flyer - York To Edinburgh.
Among other features it shows Mick painting Dunstanburgh castle from the rocky shorline. It was filmed in June this year and is available on My5, the channels catch up app.
For anyone who might be interested in commissioning a painting, here is the back story of one that I've just completed - from initial idea to finished piece.
To start, after an early exchange of ideas, I drew a rough sketch to plan layout. composition, etc.
I then added a few notes on colour palette and method.
After approval, I began work on the canvas, adding various textures using gesso and textile pieces. The canvas required measured 100 x 70 x 4cm.
After allowing 24hrs to dry, I was then able to put down some strong background colour using acrylic inks.
From there I added layers of colour with acrylic paint - mainly blues and greys, to tone down the vibrancy of the ink.
When I was satisfied with the sky I moved onto the outline of the castle which was already there in texture.
From there I moved onto the foreground and sent this image to the client.
After further discussion I added stronger rusty red colour to the foreground.
The painting was approved and is now with its new owner in the south of England.
If you would like to discuss the possibilities of a commission please contact me.
Regards, Mick.
Hi again! Sorry about the lack of communication lately, the gallery has been so busy since lockdown was eased in mid April. As well as spending time in the front of the gallery, I have been painting most days in my studio at the back. A selection of the new work has been added to the originals section of the website.
I spent a busy day last week with a crew from Channel 5. They were working on an episode of The World's Most Scenic Railways which will feature the journey from York to Edinburgh.
They filmed and asked questions while I painted.
More information when I get it
Bye for now!
I began photographing the view from my window ten or so years ago. The original idea was to gather a library of images of both sea and sky to inspire my painting. Then I thought "why not share it on Twitter !".
Through the years as the site grew, I have made lots of new friends - some of them call into the gallery to say "hello".
One such friend is Suzanne Harper. I always look forward to her words and photographs. Imagine how I felt when she wrote and sang a song about the photos and paintings. I felt so honoured and humbled. Thank you so much Suzanne !
Have a listen.
https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/r7wk4kpwj2CgwXkW6
Eight new paintings have just been added to the Originals section. All have been painted in late December and January.
Don't forget to take up our special offer on all original paintings - see last Fresh Paint.
Thanks for your support during these difficult times.
Well, what a year 2020 was, both on a personal and business level.
Overall, the gallery only traded for two months since March. Luckily, the website has kept us afloat, helped us pay wages and bills. Throughout this time, I have been painting in an empty gallery and have managed to create lots of work which has meandered in various, new directions.
To help us bridge the gap until it is safe to open, possibly after Easter, I am hoping to sell some of the new work. Most of the 70+ originals on the site are new creations. You can view them here or by clicking on the images.
To help this process along, I will offer any limited edition print, free, with any original painting bought.
This offer will continue until Easter.
In the meantime, stay safe and well.
Mick
Wishing friends old and new, a very happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.
Hope to see you sometime in 2021!
I am pleased to to be able to introduce some new additions to the range of earrings. They are long drop in sterling silver, embedded images of my paintings. Like others on the jewellery page, they are made for me by Fiona Dane.
Watch out for new designs, not only earrings, coming soon!
Hope you like them.
We are pleased to add another range of gallery goods to the website! Quality greetings cards, blank, in various sizes. They come with envelopes in bundles of 5. Altogether, we offer you six different bundles. each for £15. this includes packaging and postage.
(If stocks of a particular card run low, we may have to subsitute one of the cards with another.)
Although we are allowed to open under Tier 3 restrictions after December 3rd, we have decided to remain closed for the remainder of the year. We will announce our intentions just before the New Year.
As always, our website offers a great selection of the gallery wares. I will also see people by appointment if necessary. Please contact me via email.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by Tim McGuiness, who is a photographer/video reporter with the Newcastle Chronicle, which is a longstanding newspaper in the North East. He offered to do a feature about my work, so we spent an afternoon in the gallery, dicussing my history, development and style of painting. Later, we strolled around the village and half way to the castle, taking photographs as we went.
The article was published yesterday so I've attached it here for you to see.
Friday 13th November 2020
Hello again. Even though the gallery looks dormant, there is a lot going on inside! As you can see from the photo above, I am still beavering away in my studio at the back of the gallery most days. I am still enjoying playing with bright inks. It increases my options later in the process - the colour is there, should I choose to let it show. I can cover it if it is not wanted.
As well as the painting, I have been putting together the Christmas newsletter. As well as informing readers of our webite gallery sections, I have been working on some special offers for subscibers to the newsletter. They will offer the opportunity to buy paintings, prints and jewellery and gain rewards for doing so!
All being well, you should receive the newsletter in your email box on Monday 16th November. In the meantime, have an enjoyable weekend.
Mick
Monday 2nd November 2020
Over the years many people have requested various images which I have posted @SeaWindowCraster on Twitter. The recent triptych from September 8th 2020 has also proved very popular. So, I have decided to introduce a bit more choice and add another nine prints to the Sea Window section of the gallery.
Each print measures approxiamately 40 x 30cms and is printed for me by a producer of repute in the north east of England. Each print will be signed and numbered out of 50.
Over the coming months I plan to offer more of the Sea Window images as prints. If you would like a one off print than this can be arranged although it will take a little long than the ones I have in stock.
Hope you enjoy them !
The winner of the print has been randomly chosen. The winner is Sarah Davies in Auckland, NZ. Congratulations Sarah!
Thank you everyone for signing up to our newsletter and entering the draw.
Watch out early next week for details of our new Sea Window print competition!
Friday 23rd October 2020
For most of this week I have been busy with a large commission . Throughout the clients have been kept informed of developments via email. Each stage has been photographed and sent to keep everyone up to date. Opposite you can see a detail of the textures and colours being used.
To enquire about a commission please contact me by email initially.
While waiting for layers to dry I also worked on a 50 x 50 x 4 cm canvas.
I undercoated the canvas in acrylic inks and then worked on top with acrylic paints, allowing the brighter undercolours to show through where desired. The painting below is called Shoreline; To Ross Sands. It can be found by following this link
https://www.mickoxley.com/product/original-paintings/shoreline-to-ross-sands
Friday 16th October 2020 While the gallery has been closed for the past two weeks, I have used the time to move on with some commisions. After discussing the briefs with the clients, I draw out the piece before commencing the work
Once I have reached a certain stage, I usually present the painting to the customer via email. If satisfied, I varnish and string, ready for collection. If the customer requests changes, this is when I do it.
All in all, it becomes a collaboration, between artist and client.
If you are interested in talking about a commissioned painting, ontact Mick via the website.
New Prints.
Monday 12th October 2020
I'm pleased to have received the first set of prints from the paintings that I started during the "lockdown".
Seven new prints, all artist's proofs, have been added to the limited edition section.
For more information about each print just click on the image.
I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed painting them!
Isolated: Morning Lights, Bamburgh.
Isolated: Boulmer Solitude.
Isolated: Night Fades, Causeway.
Shoreline: Bamburgh Morning.
Isolated: Summer Storm.
Shoreline: Morning Echoes.
Isolated: Morning Reflections.
And don't forget to enter our competition to win a print of Isolated: Summer Storm.
Just sign up to recieve my newsletters for your chance to win.
https://www.mickoxley.com/
Bye for now, Mick.
Hello and welcome to my first Fresh Paint page.
This page, unlike the e-newsletter which is more seasonal, will be updated regularly with new items - paintings, artists, staff changes and general developments in the gallery.
Unfortuantely, due to Covid 19, we have decided to close the gallery for now.
I will still meet clients by appointment only so please use the contact page or email directly to arrange this.
We look forward to welcoming you back before long.
This week I have been working on a series of small canvases, having just completed a larger commission.
Below you can see the process in action.
The first photo shows the canvases undercoated in vibrantly coloured acrylic inks
The second photo shows the canvases after I have toned down the inks with acrylic paint.The amount of paint/water on the brush allows varying strengths of undercoat to emerge.
As I mentioned in my opening newsletter, I am offering a free print of this painting to the winner of the new website launch competition.
To have a chance of winning just sign up to the newsletter via the link below by 31st October 2020 and you'll be entered into the prize draw.
The winner will be chosen independently and the result will be announced on here on 1st November '20.
https://www.mickoxley.com/
Bye for now, Mick.
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