My latest work - celebrating colour, line & texture through the Wild West

Over the past few months and nearly the whole year, I have been busy turning my sketchbook doodles and drawings of cowboy, cowgirl and Native American characters into some more polished artworks. Why cowboys, cowgirls and Native Americans? I answered that a few blogs ago but the short answer is so I don’t have to think about my subject matter because the theme is never ending (and so is the inspiration).

You will be able to see them on display very soon at the Circular ArtSpace in Bristol during their 11th Community Art Exhibition. The exhibition runs from 2nd - 24th November and it’s on a bus!

By sticking to a simple theme and subject matter, I can pour my creative attention, energy and thought into the methods, materials and aesthetic of my work. These have mainly included oil paint, oil pastel (my favourite), pen and pencil but also some crunchy charcoal thrown in recently.

I try not to overcomplicate things, instead choosing to think more about my colours and marks. With many of these works, I chose specific colours to reflect cultural traditions. For example, instead of using Prussian Blue for my underpainting, which shows through in the final oil paintings, I opted for Indigo because of how this pigment was is used in dying denim jeans and this seemed fitting because cowboys wear jeans! I also opted for more Umbers than Siennas because Umbers look more like a Sepia tone, reminiscent of those early photos one might associate with Westerns.

If you want more artists working with a similar theme and aesthetic, check out Caitlin Flood-Molyneux here. I love the painterly and drawn qualities of their work (and the collage!), there is so much texture and contrast - what’s not to love? They really show what I think drawing and painting is all about - communication.