Abstract Art Blog

View: Julia Everett Online Art Gallery

‘My paintings are expressive colourful abstract landscapes. I am moved by the sky and sea and am trying to capture the uplifting feelings one can experience from being in a wild and dramatic landscape or watching the sunset into the sea.  I am inspired by the British landscape, particularly the west of England and its coastline. My paintings are concerned with the personal reflective aspects of natural beauty as realised in water, landscape, light and pure colour. Each painting is an emotional response to a sensory experience and an attempt to evoke a fleeting visual reference to something that is essentially ethereal.’

Julia graduated in Fine Art at Brighton University and has recently successfully exhibited in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton and New York.  Many of her paintings are in private collections and in 2004 one of her paintings was purchased by the Art for Hospitals Commission for display at St Mary’s Hospital Paddington, London.  Later that year Julia won first prize in the Originate Competition showcased at Art on the Walls London, and was short listed for the Fusion Competition shown at The Artist’s & Illustrators Expo at the Business Design Centre in July 2005 and the International Open Image in July 2006. In 2006 Julia collaborated with Italian artist Massimo Carolina on a painting exhibited in ‘Core’ a group show at the Union Works on the South Bank. 

View more paintings by Julia Everett

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View: John Fiddes Online Art Gallery

My influences are various and my inspirations take many forms. Working mainly with acrylics on stretched canvas, other media and materials are often incorporated into the art to produce very sculptural pieces with specific themes. This work often results in a ‘set’ or ‘collection’ of these particular themes; and then I move on.

I am always experimenting with new ideas and styles, whilst still taking inspiration from other artists and art forms. Most of my work is very abstract and colourful and invites you to “see what you will see”.

View more paintings by John Fiddes

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View: Paul Griggs Online Art Galley

Born in Norwich, I now live and work as a full time artist just outside the market town of Diss, Norfolk.

My original artwork has sold all over the UK and Europe, and has also reached the US and Canada.

I always paint wet-on-wet using oils, and love the vibrancy of the colours and the beautiful blends of tones that I can create with this medium. I have always resisted using quick drying acrylics as I believe that oils have a look of quality and depth in colour that truly enhance any painting.

I paint in a semi-abstract style and always straight onto a blank canvas. I never sketch beforehand as I feel it restricts my creativity.
I am very much self-taught, and I believe that this has in fact helped me remain very loose in the way I express myself on canvas.

Inspired by natures light, and keeping my art very tonal, I strive every day to create artwork that is easy on the eye, whilst hopefully still having that ‘Wow’ factor.

I never try to represent my subject in a totally realistic manner, as I believe that a painting is something for the viewer to lose themselves in.
I will have a certain feeling and mood in my mind when I start painting, and the viewer will no doubt have a different take on the feelings it gives them.
That is absolutely the result I want, because if my work allows you to wander out of the stressful reality of real life for just a moment each time you looked at it, then I will have truly achieved what I set out to do.

View more paintings by Paul Griggs

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View: Jean Dayton’s Online Art Gallery

Jean is a full time professional artist working from her studio in the New Forest. Whilst she paints mainly abstract nature paintings she has developed a firm interest in abstract seascapes and is regularly commissioned by UK & International corporate and private clients for her paintings.

In October 2007 Jean was asked to commission a series of yacht seascape oil paintings for the Waldock Gallery in Dublin, a well-established gallery for over 20 years. These paintings have proved to be so popular with the gallery’s clients that repeat commission orders have been made. Furthermore Jean was commissioned by a UK design company to paint two large abstract seascapes, featuring yachts in full sail, for the foyer at the Royal Yacht Hotel in St Helier, Jersey as part of a refurbishment.

In the past few years Jean’s work has been chosen to feature in numerous art articles in the national home interiors glossy magazine House & Home Ideas; her artwork ‘Orion’ most recently featured in their April 08 issue in an article about ‘Abstract Art’. She has also been featured in the Homes magazine as ‘pick of the week’ and in December 07 a double page feature about her work appeared in “Sainsbury’s Community Magazine of the year for 2007″ Hampshire’s AND Magazine.

Jean’s portfolio of work is an eclectic mix of oil and acrylic paintings ranging from landscapes and florals to abstracts and seascapes.  Her work has a strong emphasis on colour and is largely influenced by nature and its many shapes and varied colours. She has exhibited her work in various art exhibitions in Hampshire over the last few years.

Statement

“I gain my inspiration from nature and its beautiful and varied colours; I live in the New Forest in Hampshire and am close to the coast so I am surrounded by astounding natural beauty.  One of the blessings of being a visual artist is the intensity with which the world appears to me. This has nothing to do with 20/20 vision, but with the attention I pay as an artist to my surroundings, for example the play of light and dark on the landscape at dusk will fascinate me and the way the sun kisses the sea, transforming it into a bed of jewels amazes me, all of which awaken my creative desire to paint these images.

I work mainly in oils as I love their depth and intensity and the colours that they create are mind blowing, I quite often use layers of thin glazes on my paintings to create depth and focus. The arrival of Spring presents us with colors only seen at this time of year, like the startling yellow-green shades of new growth that soon turn to the more common darker greens.

I strongly believe that colour is mood enhancing, so whether it be to calm and relax or to generate a positive energy, I endeavour to impress a particular feeling or emotion within my paintings. I see my work as a vehicle for the observer to experience the passion and emotion of nature through my eyes.

I try to capture the essence of nature in my paintings, the most exciting times to see nature for me is in early morning, at dusk, or when the weather causes changes in the lighting, ordinary images stand out more and create stronger contrasts.

I am continually turning the natural world around me into abstract compositions. On walks near my house, I follow the patterns of shadows on the ground, or the sun’s reflection in puddles. I look up at the web of branches overhead forming an intricate pattern of criss-crossing lines. I study the texture of bark on the trees. Any of it might form the basis for an abstract design.”

Jean Dayton 2008

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Globalisation, caused by the development of the World Wide Web has changed the way we operate in society. Some good, some bad… No longer do we have to face the tiresome task of queing at supermarkets for our weekly groceries. A mere click of the button and our bread and milk is on our doorstep (within 48hrs of course) The changes we face as a society is also reflected in the art world. WWW. has created a forum for artists to share their work, skills and expertiese and create online businesses that can be availble on the open market to millions of potential cyber space boffs.

With this in mind, Michelle Gibbs continues her ‘Top Ten’ trial… this time in finding the worlds most famous artists, and she soon discovers that this task is not as easy as it sounds, when trying to browse the internet.

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One would not be off the mark to think that the likes of Vincent Van Gough and Picasso dominate the market place when it comes to the world’s most expensive paintings… These one off pieces reflect a person’s true wealth and the social status that comes with owning a ‘Gough’ is worth every penny… to the world’s richest elite.

Thousands, no wait, millions of pounds are spent every year but what are the worlds most sought after art pieces?….

 Here Michelle Gibbs investigates the world of the Top Ten Paintings.  Read the rest of this entry »

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View: Robert Jackson’s Online Art Gallery

I studied fine art at university and after finishing my degree I set up a studio in Cheshire and I have been a professional artist ever since.

I have always been intrigued by the tactile nature of the process of painting and the feel of the paint itself when wet and dry. My love of the act of manipulating paint on a canvas has developed a need to create texture within the canvas. When light falls onto a textured surface it creates shadows and, because of the metallic quality, gives reflection.

The metallic property of these painting means that the surface is often reflective and catches the light that compliments the ambience within a room. When hung in a brightly lit apartment the surface of the canvas will change with the time of day.

When hung in a dimly lit space such as a hallway the art will reflect any light that falls on it. Many of my paintings are very deeply texture, which allows light to fall onto the surface even when lit from the side.

The surface of my paintings often consists of several things including: acrylic, metallic paint, liquid latex, textured paint and bitumen. Only the highest quality materials are used to create my artwork.

View more paintings by Robert Jackson

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Buying artwork online has never been easier and more fun. Gone are the days you would have to drive to a gallery where a few large pieces of artwork would hang, out of your price range and what were the chances of walking in and finding just what you were looking for.

These days you don’t even have to leave the house. There are many websites offering affordable artwork, in hundreds of different styles, and mediums. There are sites offering ‘made to order’ pieces where you can change the size, colour and style to suit your interior. There are sites offering ‘one-off’ pieces that are unique and original. You can purchase Modern Paintings, mixed medium images, Sunset Art,  pop art pieces of your favourite celebrities and so the list goes on.

There are many things to consider when buying from an Online Art Gallery. I have talked about the considerations of the actual piece itself in other articles, but here I am going to give you some tips on what to think about where you are purchasing it.

There are draw backs with buying online, but these can be quickly overcome if you take the right steps and look into the gallery you are buying from. This is mainly detailed in their ‘terms and conditions’ Here are a few pointers:

1. First and foremost, do they offer a secure checkout where you know your card details are safe. A few well know payment carts are; Protx, World Pay, Paypal, Google Checkout. If you are unsure, you should be able to visit the payment site and read up on more information.
2. Make sure the gallery has a telephone number you can contact them on, should you have any problems. You don’t really want to wait for an email reply.
3. Always check the return policy, if you are not happy with your artwork you should be given a time period in which you can return it.
4. All artwork sent should come with a tracking number, and be fully insured.

As long as the gallery has at least the above, you should feel confident in buying from them. Things to consider when buying art online are that your computer monitor may show a slightly different colour than that displayed on screen. Make sure you are certain it is the colour you require, some galleries will describe it, if your not sure contact them and I’m sure they will be happy to advise you.

If you need any more help about buying artwork, or have found somewhere but are not really sure please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will happy to help. Alternatively you may wish to browse our extensive range of painting though our Canvas Art Online Store.

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What are the colour theories behind the colour GREEN?

• Nature
• Harmony
• Freshness
• Growth

Green has a strong association with safety. It has healing powers, and is the most calming of colours. It can also improve vision. Green is the opposite to red, red is used for danger, green is used for doctors and pharmacy which of course is ’safety’ Dark green is commonly associated with money and wealth.

Green can be used it most areas of the home, and bring about a sense of calmness. Be experimental with shades of green, as there are many variations, such as aqua, olive, lime, etc. Green does not have to be used the in the traditional sense, but can break through the boundaries creating new styles within your interior space.

Visit our Abstract Art Gallery for our latest Paintings, We also have a section on Green Art.

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What are the colour theories behind the colour YELLOW?

• Sunshine
• Joy
• Happiness
• Energy

Yellow is seen as a ‘happy colour’ is it associated with the sun, it has warmth and can stimulates activity and cheerfulness. Yellow is an attention getter, and your eye is often draw to it. However if overused can have an opposite effect. Yellow will make a bold statement, but can be over powering if used in the wrong way. Yellow is a playful colour, used to promote children’s products. You will rarely see yellow when promoting adults products, or expensive goods.

Yellow in the home can be a bit tricky. Shades of yellow are not always good. A dull yellow represents caution and sickness, whereas a light yellow will represent freshness and joy. To much yellow in a room will become overbearing. Try adding touches of yellow with other colours to bring it out. Combining yellow with a colour such as white will only make it fade into the background and not stand out. Perhaps using yellow with black to bring a touch of class to it.

Visit our Abstract Art Gallery for our latest Paintings, We also have a section on Yellow Art.

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