Rewarding Work

My efforts at creating abstract art were quite rewarding. I probably spent a couple of hours, experimenting with various ideas, to create refracted light through water. The photos that I took are unique. I cannot reproduce them. I didn't know what images I had captured until I downloaded then from my camera. I was pleasantly surprised - 15 unique and unusual photos. I chose the best ten, named them and then entered them in a contest. I probably will not win, but I don't think they are bad. 5 of them are really beautiful and unusual. I can't wait to get them printed and framed. Have a look on the website and see what you think. Any favourable comments welcome.

Abstract Art

I've been busy trying to take photos of refracted light through water. These are to enter in a contest which I have no chance of winning. It's fun though, creating unique images that are very colourful. I don't normally get involved in abstract art, but I've got a couple more ideas for abstract paintings too. Watch out for new uploads coming soon.

Online Store

Please visit the online store to see the latest additions to my collection. I can't upload everything here, but the slideshow shows the latest images. By visiting the store, you can see a much bigger image. I'm really pleased with the last few photos. Most of them were uploaded mainly to enter into competitions, which explains the unusual subjects in some of them. I like them all the same and I hope others will enjoy them too. My absolute favourite out of the latest batch is called "Angels and Dragons". The name came from the shapes created by leaves and shadows of leaves in the photo. When I showed it to one of my daughters and before I had chance to say anything, she immediately said "It looks like Tinkerbell". Then I knew I'd chosen a good name. Take a look.

Facebook

There will be quite a few new uploads to the my website in the next few days. To avoid missing them, check out the Art Of Mart Facebook page. All new uploads with be posted there, but not necessarily on this blog:
https://www.facebook.com/ArtOfMart

Spring Through A Rainbow

Right now I'm feeling really artistic. What I want to be doing is painting watercolours. I've got several ideas in my head for new paintings, but at the same time I keep getting ideas for photographs. That's great too and sometimes a quick way to produce new and exciting images. However, it's not always so quick. My latest photo, Spring Through A Rainbow, took two days and nearly 200 photos before I could settle for the right one. I'm still not 100 % happy with it because I wanted to achieve a much bigger image. I still think it's an exciting and original photo, I just wish that I could share it with more people who would really appreciate it and maybe send some feedback. What I'm trying to say is, thanks for reading and please feel free to tell others about this blog.

Spring Through A Rainbow 2013 photo

Another oldie just uploaded onto the website, Shirley's Dog. Shirley was a woman that I worked with in England. This was painted from a photo of hers that she lent to me when I asked around for photos that might make a good painting. The picture on my website has better colour and a larger file size, which makes the painting available for reproduction in sizes up to the original size.

Shirley's Dog (watercolour)

Slapton Lock

One of my older watercolours, uploaded yesterday to my website and online store.

Slapton Lock (watercolour)

Dunstable Downs Sunset

This is a painting I gave away. I was quite pleased with the sky. I t was quite an unusual sunset.

Dunstable Downs Sunset (watercolour)

This was my first real painting that I sold, in an art shop in Dunstable, England. I thought my success would continue after that, but it wasn't to be. I decided after selling this, that I didn't like parting with my artwork and have rarely sold or given away any originals.

Swan 1989 Watercolour

A portrait of my first daughter, Charlotte. This is another of my favourite paintings. Painted in watercolours but in a different style to my usual work. I used much smaller brushes than I normally use in order to achieve greater accuracy.

Charlotte 2005 Watercolour

John Lennon

One of my heroes, John Lennon. This was a painting that I did in 1982 which is a copy of a photograph that came with the Beatles 1968 White Album. It was done in oils and took 3 days to complete. It took huge motivation. I started several more oil paintings after this but rarely managed to finish them due to the time they took. It was very frustrating until I took up watercolour painting. These paintings could be finished in 2 to 3 hours.

John Lennon 1982 Oils