The Forgotten Art UK

  In spring, at sunset, the area near Richmond Bridge is excellent for practicing photography and, in my case, photo-painting. The pictures I show below were produced in 2019. They are all part of the same series.  My artistic productions are a mixture of different artistic techniques: photography, drawing, infographics, painting... When I was a Fine Arts student at university I used to combine sculpture and painting, in particular mid-relief. While studying, I discovered the artwork by Spanish artist Uka Lele, who combined photography with painting techniques, mainly watercolour. In 1987 I was lucky enough to see her work live, while she was composing and shooting her artwork Rappelle-toi, Bárbara at Cibeles square in Madrid. And it was also around that time that I learned about an interesting technique used by Disney cartoon background artists, who layered flat colours, usually done with gouache or ink, with pastel gradients. Nowadays, I start my work by shooting a few phot...

  On our previous walk, through Dukes Meadows we returned to the Thames. Crossing the river is Barnes, with the "Leg O Mutton reservoir" almost in front of us, and the WWT London Wetland Centre a little further inland. Those are two good places for waterbird watching. And also for painting and photography. The Society of Wildlife Artists holds annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries, and any artist interested in depicting the natural world -birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans or insects in their environment- can apply. I am passionate about water birds in their habitat, and I have got some acrylic paintings in my art collection.  Japanese cranes in a snowy landscape (2004). Acrylic painting on canvas. Pelicans by the sea (2003).  Acrylic painting on canvas. The Leg O Mutton was built by Thames Water in 1838, for the local water supply. It was in use until 1960. Today it is a Nature Reserve 800 m long and 100 m wide where many birds live, both on the r...

Margaret, the protagonist of our previous post, painted almost every day, until cancer made it impossible for her to continue doing so. Our second story is dedicated to those elderly people who, like she did in life, strive every day to paint what they like best, and still dream of becoming better artists, and with enthusiasm, exhibit their artworks for others to enjoy. This time, the picture is a pastoral scene of lush green farmland in Britain, and whose dimensions are 380 x 250 mm. I acquired this painting just a month after the one in the previous post. A label attached to the back of the panel provided information about the painting: "Artist: Monica Taylor. 'Churchside'. Church Road. Otley, Ipswich. IP6 9NP. Title: Waiting for a spare part. Medium: Oil (watersoluble). Not for sale”.    Monica Taylor (née Wright, 1922-2019) was a London artist born in Hampton, Kingston-upon-Thames, and trained in Harrow, Middlesex, and subsequently based in Suffolk. She spent a few yea...