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By Ashley, 01/28/2010 9:08 am

I have been working on this abstract painting on off for a four months now. I used thick paint and mixed many of the colours directly on the canvas.

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By Ashley, 01/25/2010 9:01 am

Please to announce the art auction at Williams Gallery raised well over £2000. All the art for sale was donated by Cambridge Arts Movement artists. I donated broken circle which I am pleased to say sold.

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By Ashley, 12/09/2009 10:17 am

This painting is experimental in both technique and subject matter. I have used both acrylic in the early stages building up layers and dribbling paint from a stick at different angles. I then used glazes of oil paint to build up depth, colour and tonal changes. As for the subject – well judge for your self.

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By Ashley, 08/16/2009 1:02 pm

Most of my recent paintings are in oil but a lot my earlier experimental work is in acrylics and mixed media. And for some of my new abstract paintings I have dug out my acrylics again as one of the benefits is it dries so quickly. This allows me to experiment with different effects and to continue working on the paintings for extended periods rather than wait for it to dry.

Still, I love working on oils and will work over the top with glazes and stumbling.

However, the question arises of is it okay the paint over acrylics with oils? Many artist do this and belive it is okay and believe that the acrylic paint is a sufficent ground to hold the oil paint. Conversely, other artists say it is not the ideal surface for oil paint. Perhaps only time will tell – probably long after we have gone! One thing I do know is I have paintings that finished fifteen years ago, that I painted oil over acrylics, and they are perfectly fine!

Another reason I have returned to acrylics, is after several conversations I had with artists whilst on holiday in Dorset. The artist I spoke to work almost exclusively with acrylics (well, actually emulsion and acrylic), mainly because they have a large turnover of work through their galleries and cater for the tourist market. Many said they did use oils for longer and more experimental work: By experimental I mean work that is not so targeted at the tourists and work that perhaps takes longer to sell.

What interested me most was the fact that they used emulsion paint with the acrylics. One artist advised me to buy the strongest red, yellow and blue I could find (or have mixed) but make sure it was a very well known brand. In their experience it worked absolutely fine. Again, I have found mixed views of using emulsion but I intend to give it a try. As long as you are honest about its use I don’t see a problem. Anyhow, it has been used by many modern artists recently in work that is highly valued. John Myatt, the famous art forger, still uses it and did so in many of his works that fooled the ‘art world’!

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By Ashley, 07/24/2009 1:04 pm

I painted this view, another in my Fenland Series,  of Ten Mile Bank near Brandon Creek in June. I painted this wet in wet with mostly a large brush as I rushed to capture the vivid blue fen sky and the morphing clouds.

Ten Mile Bank Viewed from Brandon Creek

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By Ashley, 07/02/2009 12:01 pm

Two of my abstract paintings are now hanging at Cambridge based Williams Art Gallery.

I have had some very positive feedback about both paintings, Inside Out and Street Walk, from fellow artists and visitors. It always good to get feedback (good or bad) especially with abstract art as it is fascinating to find out if the viewer sees what you intended or something completely new.   A lot of work time and much thinking went into creating both paintings.

Street Walk - oil on canvas

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By Ashley, 06/16/2009 9:33 pm

I have paintings on the go, all at different stages, some very close to completion and others midway. However, they are all at a stage where they need to dry before I can continue.

Three are landscapes and two are abstract. Hopefully, I will post some pics of them soon.

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By Ashley, 04/22/2009 10:45 pm

Just finished this experimental painting, it is painted in oils on canvas board, and in style sits somewhere between my abstract and fenland  landscape work. It is my way of expressing how I see some of my local landscape disappearing and being polluted. On the other hand, with engineering and sculpural background, I find the structures fascinating! And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for progress and I know many areas need regenerating and people need jobs but sometimes the development is not well thought through and with no regard to nature and the enviroment. Often, a petrol station pops up in the middle of the green belt, soon followed by other buildings: The station closes and then another pops up a few miles down the road and so the process continues. All the time eroding the landscape!

Progress Green, oil on canvas board, framed

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By Ashley, 04/11/2009 9:35 pm

I have updated www.ashwinstudio.co.uk with high res images of some of my earlier mixed media work. Both works andare 2d 3d works that include found objects but also oil paint – they are 3 dimensional paintings:

Oil paint and found objects. Materials include; copper plate, oil, paper collage, wood, hessian and metal off cuts.

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By Ashley, 04/06/2009 7:02 am

I’m exhibiting alongside Gail de Cordova, Tess Recordon and Nick Welsh in the 4@5 Abstracts exhibition. I am showing 2 paintings, 2 sculptures and one mixed media.

Constructed from surgical instruments

The work by Nick Welsh is very graphical and based on his recent journey to San Francisco and well worth a look.  And the paintings by Gail and Tess are also very beautiful and impressive.

We just had the private view a lot of people turned out and best of all really liked the work.

Gallery details: