I know the idea of a blank canvas can be exciting, full of potential and possibilities but it’s also a bit daunting. How do you get it started? I’ve definitely been in the position of gazing at a new painting surface, almost paralysed by the uncertainty of where to start.

When we think of painting, it’s easy to imagine perfectly blended skies or finely drawn details but what if I told you that some of the most meaningful parts of a painting come from the marks that are uniquely yours and often unexpected?

To me abstracting the landscape is about making marks, tones, shapes and colours to express some of the experience of being in the landscape. How much this looks like an obvious landscape is very much a convention of painting tradition, rather than any thing else.

When you’re out sketching or getting ideas for paintings, thinking about what they will look like when they’re finished can actually hold you back.

It can be difficult to imagine what your paintings might look like when they’re finished. When you begin with an empty sketchbook or blank canvas, there are so many ways they can go,

It may sound like a contradiction – simple but varied – but it’s a common question. When making lots of energetic, chaotic marks, you want your artwork to still make sense and not be too busy. I do this is by using a simple set of tools and a limited colour palette, then mixing how I use them. There’s a quite lot going on in the sketch below, but it feels controlled. That’s because I kept the materials simple.

Oil pastels are a really versatile material and because they can be used on a variety of surfaces, including paper, canvas, wood, and fabric, they offer a lot of flexibility. As you know I use a lot of different tools and media when painting and find it’s always good to keep trying out different things to see if they can add something or create a mark that I find exciting.

Painting on irregular or unconventional surfaces presents unique challenges and opportunities that differ significantly from traditional flat canvases and boards. It forces you to not only think about the image but also the painting as a physical object. The texture, shape, and material of the surface can influence not only the application of paint but also the final appearance of the work. Anything that challenges your normal way of working can enhance your creativity.

For this project I really liked the idea of having a simple theme that we can keep coming back to as the month goes on. A lot of the time in my painting I like to have a single focus that serves as both a subject idea but also as an anchor. 

It can be difficult to know when your paintings are done that’s for sure! For many artists, making the decision about when to stop or if you’ve done enough can be a real challenge. The fact is, when you’re working in a more abstract or abstracted way without the constraints of realism, deciding when it’s done can be highly subjective.

Getting ready for my next online workshop has got me thinking about what a big painting really is.