Painting en plein air at art competition create Longridge UK 2016-17
I've face booked this post for two years running but realised that there are many folk who don't use facebook and I wish I was one of them it wastes so much time and is so much less informative than even a badly written blog like mine.
Longridge and Ribchester have long been old family favourites for a sketching trip, or a drive and later dinner out and more lately happy memory journeys of those Roelee days Mum trips. So it was nice to spend time there as part of Create Longridge 2016 and 2017. The brain child of Alistair who owns and runs the Longridge Gallery which is siutauted on the towns main street.
I entered a competition called Create Longridge, for the second time. I had entered because I wanted to meet other painters, which I did and it was great and have a chat with painters which I did all about paint which was great. The rain kind of stopped any amazing interaction and surely though Steve Rostron the eventual winner and I pitched up together on the top of the moor any starting conversation on the merits of composition colour and form became subdued under a formless wet mist. This was a great shame for at Padiham a couple of weeks before people had chatted that much about paint that we forgot to paint.
I don't normally do competitions they are the antipathy of what painting is about for me. But prize money is money, money, it makes the world go round. A lot of artists, of all different persuasions and experiences seemed to have planned their painting location etc and even went and practiced the weeks before. Art Competitions like this are all a bit strange because the only rule was in fact to turn up and paint and be judged though there aren't any criteria set except to paint. The subject matter was anything in a mile radius of Longridge. I'm not sure whether if its a competition thats a valid enough rule. As such all the painters duly turned up and painted anything. Perfectly normal behaviour to painters but not to the on lookers who asked what we were painting and when we gave different replies looked baffled.. If the onlookers want to know about painting they should read the work of James Elkins who wrote about the painting process in What Paintings Is describing painting and the studio or I suppose anywhere paint and support meet as a kind of psychosis. Im not sure how to judge psychos.
Sadly for the second year running the weather was typically poor English summer so the rain fell in that deceptively Lancashire wet mist way..that leaves no spot dry after a few minutes.
I turned up late as ever on both days 2016 and 2017 paid my £10 and had my board stamped before returning it to my mabef pochade box. As ever I was totally unpracticed or prepared but lets life life on the edge.. For some strange reason two years running I also headed out to the top of the moor and duly got rained off. In 2016 I painted curled up in the car boot and produced Birks farm which I handed in but must check what happened to it.
In 2017 I produced a picture of Birks lane working alongside Steve who had already been rained of once earlier in the day and was bordering psychosis. It went okay at first I painted as quick as I could and then hey when things had just started going well the Lancashire mist struck like a wetted knife. Within the half hour my painting had ruined and Steve's was not far behind..mind you he was painting on a daringly large canvas and his earlier acrylic work had seeped into it. We abandoned camp when the rain turned even wetter like a couple of wet poodles... I drove back into town then not finding inspiration I felt that I had had enough and went home, whereas Steve the eventual winner of first prize carried on in some sheltered spot. A couple of days later I had just about dried out and gotten rid of my cold from the rainy day at #CreateLongridge; I went into my garage and lo to my surprise halleluiah; my little painting from the day was dry..... so; 20 minutes later and hey "nothin but blue skies" has emerged. I dedicate this to #SteveRostron Im proud to have painted next to the days winner...Now then, next year I must pack 15 umbrellas, 20 ponchos, 12 tarps, wellingtons, southwester hat, snorkel, flippers, compass, waterproof chocolate, get certified as a competent crew member; bring the wayfarer dinghy and waterproof paints
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| A painting of Lancashire Longridge Fells Kemple End oil on canvas Picture House Padiham Gallery |
Longridge and Ribchester have long been old family favourites for a sketching trip, or a drive and later dinner out and more lately happy memory journeys of those Roelee days Mum trips. So it was nice to spend time there as part of Create Longridge 2016 and 2017. The brain child of Alistair who owns and runs the Longridge Gallery which is siutauted on the towns main street.
I entered a competition called Create Longridge, for the second time. I had entered because I wanted to meet other painters, which I did and it was great and have a chat with painters which I did all about paint which was great. The rain kind of stopped any amazing interaction and surely though Steve Rostron the eventual winner and I pitched up together on the top of the moor any starting conversation on the merits of composition colour and form became subdued under a formless wet mist. This was a great shame for at Padiham a couple of weeks before people had chatted that much about paint that we forgot to paint.
I don't normally do competitions they are the antipathy of what painting is about for me. But prize money is money, money, it makes the world go round. A lot of artists, of all different persuasions and experiences seemed to have planned their painting location etc and even went and practiced the weeks before. Art Competitions like this are all a bit strange because the only rule was in fact to turn up and paint and be judged though there aren't any criteria set except to paint. The subject matter was anything in a mile radius of Longridge. I'm not sure whether if its a competition thats a valid enough rule. As such all the painters duly turned up and painted anything. Perfectly normal behaviour to painters but not to the on lookers who asked what we were painting and when we gave different replies looked baffled.. If the onlookers want to know about painting they should read the work of James Elkins who wrote about the painting process in What Paintings Is describing painting and the studio or I suppose anywhere paint and support meet as a kind of psychosis. Im not sure how to judge psychos.
Sadly for the second year running the weather was typically poor English summer so the rain fell in that deceptively Lancashire wet mist way..that leaves no spot dry after a few minutes.
I turned up late as ever on both days 2016 and 2017 paid my £10 and had my board stamped before returning it to my mabef pochade box. As ever I was totally unpracticed or prepared but lets life life on the edge.. For some strange reason two years running I also headed out to the top of the moor and duly got rained off. In 2016 I painted curled up in the car boot and produced Birks farm which I handed in but must check what happened to it.
 |
| A painting of Lancashire Birks Farm Longridge Fell by Rob Miller |
In 2017 I produced a picture of Birks lane working alongside Steve who had already been rained of once earlier in the day and was bordering psychosis. It went okay at first I painted as quick as I could and then hey when things had just started going well the Lancashire mist struck like a wetted knife. Within the half hour my painting had ruined and Steve's was not far behind..mind you he was painting on a daringly large canvas and his earlier acrylic work had seeped into it. We abandoned camp when the rain turned even wetter like a couple of wet poodles... I drove back into town then not finding inspiration I felt that I had had enough and went home, whereas Steve the eventual winner of first prize carried on in some sheltered spot. A couple of days later I had just about dried out and gotten rid of my cold from the rainy day at #CreateLongridge; I went into my garage and lo to my surprise halleluiah; my little painting from the day was dry..... so; 20 minutes later and hey "nothin but blue skies" has emerged. I dedicate this to #SteveRostron Im proud to have painted next to the days winner...Now then, next year I must pack 15 umbrellas, 20 ponchos, 12 tarps, wellingtons, southwester hat, snorkel, flippers, compass, waterproof chocolate, get certified as a competent crew member; bring the wayfarer dinghy and waterproof paints
 |
| wet work in oils and rain drying. |
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| lets not waste it lets get gestural A painting of Birks lane Longridge UK |
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