Saturday 7 October 2017

Explorers Against Extinction event thursday 12th October

Ray of Hope

On the evening of 12th October at the Royal Geographic Society in Kensington,London a remarkable fundraising event will be taking place called 'Explorers Against Extinction'.
The idea behind the evening is to raise funds for charities actively involved in the welfare and conservation of iconic African species and is organised by The Real Africa Trust.
Renowned explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Colonel John Blashford-snell will be amongst many other young explorers and adventurers giving talks throughout the evening alongside representatives of the charities involved who will also be talking about there work in Africa.
Every 15 minutes an African elephant is killed for its ivory and so in acknowledgement of this fact artists,celebrities and public figures were asked to donate a 15 minute sketch to the 'Sketch for Survival' auction to be held online and culminating on the evening to raise valuable funds for the charitable organisations.
Several artists like myself who have been fortunate enough to visit africa and see these magnificent animals in the wild have also donated original finished artworks to be auctioned alongside the sketches.My offering is an original framed pencil drawing 'Ray of Hope' depicting a mother black rhino and calf and I am delighted that during the evening this drawing and two other lots are to be auctioned live at the society by Sothebys deputy director Tom Eddison.
Tickets for the evening are still available and for these and full information on the event please visit www.explorersagainstextinction.co.uk

Friday 6 October 2017

New paintings and new exhibition

 The Night Watchman
 Peacock butterfly
Goldfinch on teazle

Here are three new images from my studio,two of which will be among 30 new works on display in my exhibition at Framemakers Gallery in Cirencester,UK.
The exhibition runs from 14th October until 28th October and I will be in the gallery to greet guests on Saturday 14th October between 1-4pm.
If you would like to attend the 'meet the artist' event on 14th then please email cirencester@framemakersgalleries.onmicrosoft.com   to be added to the guestlist.

Saturday 2 September 2017

New paintings for upcoming exhibition

 Peregrine Falcon oil & 24 carat gold leaf 17" x 24"

 Red Admiral oil & 24 carat gold leaf 6" x 8"
As yet untitled Avocet oil painting 13" x 13"

These are my three latest paintings,all of which are destined to be previewed at my Solo exhibition which starts on 14th October at Framemakers Gallery in Cirencester,UK

Thursday 3 August 2017

Something Different 'Comma' 6" x 8" oil & 24 carat gold leaf on canvas

 
Whilst I was away at the EWA exhibition last weekend I was demonstrating my artwork alongside my stand.I looked for a small subject to work on as I wanted visitors to be able to see progress during there visit and so I decided to try and paint a butterfly.Ive never painted one before so it was a learning exercise and having photographed a Comma butterfly in my garden last month I thought it would make the ideal small-scale subject.I prepared a small canvas 6" x 8" and applied 24 carat gold leaf,leaving some distressed areas and then painted the butterfly whilst working on my artstand.
I'm pleased with the resulting image which had some very favourable remarks from visitors and will frame it in a small float frame and hang at my next exhibition.

Tuesday 1 August 2017

Our World Imagined exhibition

I am taking part in this mixed exhibition featuring the work of 18 artists at the Sir Harold Hillier gardens near Romsey in Hampshire until the 15th august.

Monday 17 July 2017

Exhibition of Wildlife Art (EWA) 28th-30th july 2016

 

I will be taking part in this amazing exhibition of wildlife art along with 68 other artists.I will have a stand displaying a range of original artworks including works in pencil,oil and gold leaf.There will also be a limited number of prints available to purchase.It promises to be a fantastic event so I hope lots of you will come along and watch demos by exhibiting artists and view the stunning work on display.Even if you cant make it to the show all the entries can be seen and purchased online at the events website www.ewa-uk.com

'Bullfinch study' 9" x 10" oil & 24 carat gold leaf on canvas

A new little companion piece to my goldfinch painting completed this morning.Ive enjoyed creating these little garden bird studies on gold but next its time for something new....

Saturday 8 July 2017

'River Jewel' 11" x 13" oil and 24 carat gold leaf on canvas


This is my latest completed painting depicting a beautiful Kingfisher poised on a branch ready to dart off after its fishy prey.
As with many of my recent artworks this piece features extensive use of 24 carat gold leaf which makes this painting(and indeed all my gold leaf paintings) unique and a one-off as its not possible to create prints.
This piece and other similar paintings can be found on my website www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com

Field trip to Morar,West coast of Scotland june 2017

                                                         Heron with prey isle of Muck
                                                              Oystercatcher Morar
                                                              Oystercatcher Morar
                                                         juvenile Wagtail Morar
                                                                     Redpoll Morar
                                                                 Meadow Pipit Morar
                                                              Meadow Pipit Morar
                                                         juvenile Wheatear Morar
                                                             Ringed Plover Morar
                                                              Ringed Plover Morar
                                                                  Sandpiper Morar
                                                                           seals Eigg
                                                                          Seals Eigg
                                                           Manx Shearwaters  Eigg
One of the essential aspects of being a wildlife artist is actually getting out from behind the easel to view wildlife in its natural surroundings.I love getting out in nature but still the opportunities are not as frequent as I would like otherwise I'd never get any artworks completed.
However for two weeks in june this year I managed to get away to one of my favourite places the west coast of Scotland,staying in a cottage overlooking Morar Bay and the outlying islands of Muck,Eigg,Rum and Skye.
At low tide the bay was a vast expanse of white sands but at high tide the birds were crowded onto the rocks lining the bay and the small remnants of beaches giving great photographic opportunities.I also took advantage of my proximity to the islands by taking wildlife cruises to Mull,Eigg and Muck where I got some great shots of seals as well as a lovely sighting of a raft of Manx Shearwaters,a bird ive never seen before.On Skye I visited the Cuillin mountains which were spectacular and toured around the island obtaining some lovely background reference photos.
The whole trip was over much too quickly as usual but I have lots of fabulous references to work from and great memories to keep me going until I can visit again.

Sunday 11 June 2017

Two small songbird paintings

                         'Robin' 12" x 10" oil & 24 carat gold leaf on canvas

            'Goldfinch on teazle' 9" x 10" oil & 24 carat gold leaf on canvas

These two little paintings are my latest studio offerings,both subjects that ive never painted before for some reason!
They will be heading off to the framers shortly and then available to purchase.Do leave a message if you'd be interested in purchasing these or any other of my original artworks,more of which can be found at www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com
Unlike traditional oil paintings which can be scanned and printed these paintings incorporating gold leaf cannot be scanned or reproduced and so each piece is unique.

Thursday 1 June 2017

'Pheasant' 16" x 28" oil and 24 carat gold leaf on canvas


This is my largest gold leaf piece to date and will be joining others on display shortly at my latest Gallery.

Sunday 14 May 2017

New oil and gold leaf painting

This is my latest creation using oil paints and 24 carat gold leaf on canvas.'Cockerel study' measures 22" x 18" and will be off to the framers shortly.

Tuesday 25 April 2017

Little Bee-eaters painting


'Little Bee-eaters' 15" x 11" oil and variegated metal leaf on canvas,my latest completed mixed media painting.The Bee-eaters are such beautiful little birds and whilst on safari in Botswana in 2014 I came across several species.The colours are so vivid that I wanted to put the birds onto an equally vivid background and so the variegated imitation gold leaf seemed the perfect accompaniment.Metal leaf is very difficult to photograph and so my efforts with the camera really don't do it justice but I hope you like it.More mixed media paintings can be found on my website www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com

Saturday 22 April 2017

Tawny Owl 18" x 12" oil and 24 carat gold leaf


My latest completed painting is a study of a roosting Tawny owl completed in oils with a background of applied 24 carat gold leaf on canvas.The gold leaf has been applied and deliberately distressed to make the surface a little more interesting and allow the painted canvas to show through.This and other works can be found on my website www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com

Saturday 8 April 2017

A New Direction








Since my last posting my art has taken a new direction as you can see from the images above.These paintings are mixed media pieces incorporating oils,acrylics and gold leaf,both 24 carat and imitation gold leaf and variegated leaf.
I felt that I wanted to create something that functioned as both a serious wildlife piece and a highly decorative artwork and hopefully will appeal to a broader art buying audience.
I spent 5 weeks in the far east at the start of this year and ,amongst other things,i spent time learning the art of gold leafing from a master artist at the Royal palace in Bangkok,where I learned how to apply gold leaf in the traditional manner used in the far east.I felt that,even though I don't use my gold leaf in a strictly traditional manner, it would be very useful to know how to from a professional point of view.
These images above are the result of my experimentation over the last few months and are now available to purchase.For full details of these paintings please check out my website at www.clivemeredithart.weebly.com
I hope you like these new works and I would love to hear your thoughts.Clive