'Penzance 9'

'Penzance 9'    30x40cms

Another Penzance painting that changed dramatically- the only constant the rose-colour of the Inner Harbour. I enjoyed highlighting it's house-shape, echoed by the images of the Lifeboat Station and concertinaed warehouses. I don't usually care or remember the paintings underneath but I'm still very fond of 1, below. It was my demonstration painting in my very first Freedom in Painting workshop at the Penzance School Of Art - I was new to teaching and talked too much and one of the artists left after 10 minutes saying she was 'going home to paint'!

1

2

3

'Penzance 2'

'Penzance 2'   150x120cms

The still center in 'Porthleven 22' brought memories of this painting - a wild night in Penzance when it seemed the town was about to be overwhelmed by the sea. Penzance 2 was shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2012.

As usual the painting changed orientation several times during the process, hence the two lighthouses in the detail below!  Male (structure) and female (the sea) in battle. Curiously, towards the end, when I was asking friends which way up it should go, opinion was split by gender, with the majority of females i asked preferring it with the left hand side as top and all the males liking it this way. 

Throughout my career, I have intrigued/obsessed with the shapes of places and how that shape can define their uniqueness. With Penzance, I was particularly interested with the house-shaped inner-harbour which appears in a different position in each of the  paintings in the series, the lighthouse pier moving round like the hands of a clock.  Looking at it now, sea-shape in the earlier version lookjs like a creature, a sea-horse? The almost-diamond shape remains, now it's like a spinning top, the painting full of movement. 

detail

detail

in progress

'Porthleven 22- (The Red Studio)'

'Porthleven 22'   70x50cms

Wed 11 November

The reds are so dark and dense- I've been waiting for two days to see the painting in the daylight. The cross/post/vertical has gone back in, further to the left and not as stark. Also a little bit of drawing of a building - an incident in the bottom left corner, breaking up the reds. The building is the Old Lifeboat House, the studio where we hold the Porthleven workshops, and it's presence gives an opportunity to acknowledge the enormous influence of Matisse's 'The Red Studio' on my work and re-title the painting. Nice balance with the angled lines of the slipway in the top right, creating a diagonal movement across the painting. The final act was to strengthen the bottom line of the top-right of the four central piers, which had seemed a little bit lost. A long journey from the original drawing which I think works as it is- an exploration of the idea of angled lines. On to the next painting.

Wednesday

Mon 9 November

The last session I think. Neil Young's 'Southern Man' blasting out. Saturdays painting was just a little too graphic, a little too still, so I've gone in with more red and used directional lines in the paint to create movement. The final dilemma was whether to remove the post/cross at the bottom of the painting which seemed to be grabbing too much attention. Lets' do it - let the red dominate the drawing. 
The line is now barely there, deliberately off-vertical, and doing a job for the painting, linking with those other discreet verticals. 

Saturday

Sat 7 November

A good day in the studio. Sorry to tease, it was too dark to photograph, I’ll post  a new image tomorrow. 

My latest painting, ‘Porthleven 23’ made me look again at this piece last night.  I concluded that while ‘23’ was a painting, this was an illustration. I saw confusion: too many shapes, too many small areas, too many lines, too much painting to the line. Perhaps I was too deferential to the linear elements of the original drawing.  Above all, I saw lazy colour: is that the best blue against that red, the best green?- answer, no. I also realised that the red and blue/green areas were too evenly balanced - very dull - and that the sea, compared to the sea in ‘23’, was a cartoon, an illustration, the marks stopping you seeing the quality of the marks up the left-hand side. There is a point where information, drawings, photos, have to be put to one side and imagination allowed to take over. Paint is different stuff. I realised there was a stronger, purer painting to be found. I had no hesitation in taking the plunge to find it, do whatever it takes for the painting. 

Freedom in painting.

Listening to early Bjork -'Definitely, maybe'  Ho hum.

Mon 26 Oct

Dreaming about my painting- got up early to resolve a niggle and put in a tiny red, near horizontal-line to hold the sea-shape in place. It's on the right hand side near the top, bang in the center in the detail below. Not only are reds difficult to work this they are also difficult to photograph- they look garish on some screens, dull on mine. You have to see the real thing- I think these are pretty tasty reds!

Apologies for confusing my friends on Facebook by putting out 2 versions of the painting yesterday!  I think this final version is stronger and more interesting spatially. Since turning the canvas round, I repainted the sea, reversing the direction of the waves and adding a warmer green at the top to make the transition into the center green basin less harsh. I much prefer how the harbour is held now by the pink curve, with the choppy sea leading the eye into the painting. I quite often turn my paintings round during the process - this painting started off in the landscape format- doing whatever it takes to make a stronger piece. The buildings you see on the left-side are in fact the buildings you would see 'in reality' at the back of the harbour at the top of the painting. But I feel they work better for the painting on the left- painting-truth. 

Earlier version

So, after one or two false alarms, I’m finally happy with the painting - it has something else, something new, something different to the other paintings in the series. Maybe to tie in with the ‘Red’ workshop in Canterbury in December, I thought it was time to explore red again: Indian Red, Venetian Red, Cadmium, Alizarin, Light Red, Rose….

Red is difficult because it changes so much in different light; bright reds in the artificial light in the studio become, deep, dark reds in natural light.  I have to find the reds that work in both. And of course, the blues and greens look darker in the studio…

The start-point was a drawing I made recently in Porthleven from the fisherman’s quay, picking up the rhythms of angles and triangles of cranes and boats, the slipways and the buildings behind.  The painting followed the spirit of the drawing but I wasn’t happy with the big shape- like a loaf of bread- the too obvious blue sky and the static viewpoint.  

The painting began when I put the drawing away and turned the canvas: immediately the imagery was less obvious, the space more interesting. Now we are looking at the whole harbour, with its’ three distinctive kinds of water, separated/broken down by the two pairs of piers and jetty.

Forms, structures are hinted rather than illustrated, the marks and shapes and colours have their own interest. The viewer has to work!

detail

Now I do like the large shape and how it sits within the rectangle of the canvas, and the strong and beautiful  's' - shape within. The painting is full of intriguing shapes, the pink curve, the sea barrelling in, the warm green still center, the curious curved triangle/structure/pier, pointing in from the right.  It is probably the most ‘Lanyonesque’ of my Porthleven paintings, with its’ twisting forms and multi viewpoints, but I am enjoying its’ colour, the cascade of red shapes and the journey around the painting, in and out and around.  It is Porthleven and it is a painting, and in my eyes has the elusive balance between freedom and control that I'm after.

P.S.  Soundtrack: 'Brilliant Trees' by David Sylvian., 1984. '..drowning in my nostalgia....'
         Five Live- United win again
         Bjork, 'Debut' and 'Post' 

October 'Freedom in Painting' Course in Porthleven

Porthleven - The Old Lifeboat House on the left

The Old Lifeboat House in Porthleven, Cornwall once again became the perfect studio for our 7 experienced artists from all over the UK. Porthleven delivered - wild weather and big seas followed by beautiful sunny days, giving our artists plenty of inspiration for their paintings. Under Ashley's guidance the artists worked extremely hard resulting in a very strong and eclectic exhibition by the end of the week.

On Sunday afternoon the artists had their first experience of the studio's stunning location, with the sound of the sea through the open door. After setting up their space, Ashley gave a brief talk about the aims of the course and an insight into the week ahead before hosting an 'unofficial'  meeting at The Ship Inn next door - a great way for everyone to get to know each other.

Hils Sketchbook

Stormy Weather Photo - Courtesy of Hils

The dramatic weather on Monday morning didn't deter our group -  they were excited! Many wonderful weather-charged drawings were produced during that first session around the harbour. Back in the studio, Ashley then set a series of challenging group exercises throughout the afternoon, exploring different ways to start a painting.

During the next few days there was a mixture of outside drawing exercises (weather permitting) and demonstrations from Ashley. As part of the course, Ashley worked on his own Porthleven painting, giving an insight into his ideas, methods and techniques- which the group seemed to love. Most importantly, each artist pushed their paintings forwards,  finding their own personal vision of Porthleven.

Ashley and Jane in the studio

Ashley entered into a dialogue with each artist, offering advice about where their painting might go and introducing them to the work of other artists including Terry Frost, Peter Lanyon and Alfred Wallis amongst others. A great camaraderie was formed and everyone was happy to share ideas and discuss each others work.

Diane painting

Antonia sketching

Ashley instructing for a drawing exercise

After the clear up!

Friday was Private View day - but not yet! All the artists worked right up until the 12 noon deadline  - before the big clean up. The afternoon was spent transforming the studio into a gallery, ready for the exhibition opening in the evening - it was now that the artists could see their work properly for the first time .

Friday night Preview

Speaking about the exhibition, Ashley said ' The work is very inspiring, I know Porthleven very well but the artists' paintings are making me see it in a different light. It 's fascinating to see how, during the week, some artists have moved from abstraction into figuration and others from figuration into abstraction. I would like to congratulate them all.'

Diane Bedser

Antonia Glynne Jones 

Hils Tranter'

Jane McClement'

Erica Shipley

Jo Rollnick

Mitzi Delnevo

Ashley Hanson- Porthleven 21

The Preview was a great success and one of the strongest paintings from Jane McClement was quickly snapped up. Following tradition the artists and guests (including the younger Hansons) celebrated with a delicious dinner at Amelies. After dinner I made a special presentation of one of Ashley's Porthleven prints to Jane, who has been on one of our courses every year, since our very first Painting Holiday, five years ago.

Celebrating at Amelies

Making my presentation to Jane

The exhibition continued all day on Saturday and the artists enjoyed chatting to the many visitors about the work. Ashley particularly enjoyed the conversation with Stephen Rod about the history of Porthleven and its' harbour.

Dramatic Porthleven

Freedom in Painting does what it says on the tin! The concept acknowledges that artists cannot stand still and all our workshops/holidays are designed to encourage artists to explore the possibilities in painting and to move their practice forwards - well done to our latest Porthleven group for your hard work, for taking the principles on board, and producing such amazing paintings. We hope to see you again soon!

Denise & Ashley

If you are interested in joining one of our Porthleven courses next year. The dates are:
Sat 21st - Fri 27th May & Sun 2nd - Sat 8th October but hurry as the courses are filling up fast! Contact denise@ashleyhanson.co.uk for more details. 

www.ashleyhanson.co.uk 

'Porthleven 21'

'Porthleven 21'   90x60cms

A bit of weather in Porthleven....mad seas, safe harbour. 

September Painting Holiday - Photos & Update

Port Isaac

Cornwall was really at it's best for our September painting holiday, treating us to an array of both glorious and wild weather  - perfect for capturing our artists imagination in their work made during the course.

Glorious Trebarwith Strand

We were once again delighted to have on board a few familiar faces along with our new artists looking to discover their own personal 'Freedom in Painting' experience -  with Ashley's help of course! The group were a great mix of varying abilities and as well as benefiting from Ashley's group exercises and individual tuition, they were able to learn and engage with each other's work, through group discussion and the sharing of ideas.

As always, everyone excelled themselves and there was was some fantastic work made by the end of the week. Here is an insight in to the week.....

Philippa painting in Port Isaac

Day 1 - The North Coast. Port Isaac was our first point of call. Now famous for the Doc Martin series  - we love it for its multitude of spectacular view points from above and below, its unique fishing harbour and backdrop of dramatic granite cliffs beyond. Ashley began the morning with some quick sketching exercises from different viewpoints to get the group warmed up before the artists were  encouraged to find their own special place to sketch or paint from. He then worked his way round to everyone discussing their sketches and ideas. What luck - we witnessed a seal swimming out to sea and a couple of a rainbows - all in the same morning!

Trebarwith Strand

Lucinda sketching in Trebarwith

It was then on to Trebarwith Strand for a delicious lunch, overlooking the bay at The Port William Inn. Trebarwith never fails to deliver with its wild crashing seas and view of Gull Rock in the distance - it has a special magic all of its own!  Ashley kicked off the afternoon  by taking the group to a spectacular viewpoint for some more drawing challenges and then everyone discovered their own favourite place to work from.

Polperro

Ashley with Janet in Polperro

Day 2 - The South Coast. Charlestown was to be our original morning location but we had discovered the BBC were filming the second series of Poldark, so rather than risk any unwelcome interruptions, (unless of cause you prefer more figurative painting!) we headed off to the fishing village of Polperro - full of  Cornish charm. Here the group enjoyed the contrast to the north coast's landscape and Ashley got them thinking about putting down ideas for paintings, once back in the studio. By midday everyone had worked up a good appetite and the excellent lunch provided by The Blue Peter Inn was a welcome break.

Amazing skies in Polruan

Lucinda's sketchbook

We then headed down the winding lanes to Polruan -  another favourite spot and the last of our four inspiring destinations. Here Ashley introduced some linear drawing exercises from this amazing panorama and for those who wanted, there was more to sketch and paint, on the way down the hill  and at sea level with the 13th century Blockhouse, harbour and shipyard. Our artists were ready, excited and maybe just a little apprehensive of what Ashley had in store for them in the studio over the next few days!

Polruan

Days 3 - 4 In the Studio.  Our studio base for the next two days was the excellent Village Hall in St Breward, located high on Bodmin Moor and in Ashley's words 'this is when the holiday ends and the hard work, really begins!' The first morning was devoted to group colour exercises- experimentation and having some fun with colour. After a hearty lunch at The Old Inn Pub, (next door) it was then time to begin work on the artists own paintings.

Ashley Demonstrating

Catherine with her painting in progress

Over the two days Ashley showed the group a wide range of tips and techniques and opened up many new possibilities for working with paint. As well as plenty of demonstrations, there was time for Ashley to discover what each artist hoped to achieve in their work and Ashley set out out to help them achieve this. He also introduced the group to a number of artists that have had a major influence on his own work.

There were plenty of surprises and although the artists were sometimes out of their comfort zone they enjoyed being challenged and seeing a totally different outcome. By day two in the studio the paintings were really starting to take shape and some really exciting work was evolving.

Margarita painting

Malcolm's painting in progress

As always the last studio day ended with an invaluable group critique about the work made with everyone learning and contributing from each other.

Janet's painting

Mandy's painting

Roberta's painitng

Joy's painting

  

Philippa's painting

Margarita's painting

Our painting holiday finale wouldn't be the same without our celebration meal at the wonderful 'Asquiths ' restaurant in Lostwithiel, (after a swift pint at The Globe Pub beforehand.) It always seems like a fitting end after all the hard work put in by everyone throughout the week!

Christina's painting

Detail of  Lucinda's painting in progress

Lunch at The Old Inn, St Breward

A BIG thank-you to all our artists who signed up - we really hope you found Ashley's tuition and guidance beneficial and also another BIG thank-you to all our contributors, who help to make our painting holidays such a success, as we couldn't do it without you!

Kathleen's Diptych

Muriel's painting

Juliet's painting

Carolyn's painting in progress

Catherine's painting in progress

If you would like to join us on one of our Freedom in Painting holidays in Cornwall next year, the dates are :

9th - 14th May & 19th - 24th September 2016

To find out more about Ashley's art practice, painting holidays and courses see our website here . 


If you would like us to keep you updated, join our mailing list and we can let you know as soon as new details are released along with any special offers available.