Playing with the boundaries between figuration and abstraction. I am fascinated with the space between the two, whereby I am not trying to represent things directly, nor align with the idea of total abstraction. Not that they are ever mutually exclusive but by reducing the landscape down to its barest forms, the works start to move away from the figurative process.
A series of A4 works on paper.
#figurativeart #figurativelandscape #abstraction #abstractlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #australianlandscape #australianlandscapeartist #minimalism #minimalist #worksonpaper #play #mikestaniford
This one started as a monoprint, pulled from the remains of the acrylic colour left on my palette and quickly turned into a memory of my time on the Monaro. As the light faded, the black shapes of sheep gathered before settling for the night. Within the hour it was dark and the shapes, forms and colours had merged into the dusk. A moment in time.
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
And when the light intensifies.
40 x 40cms acrylic on board, to be framed in Tasmanian Oak. DM me for details.
#trees #backlighting #firstlight #treestreestrees #treesofinstagram #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestanifordartist
Following on from my post on the passage of light through trees, these three small works are available from @beckerminty.
Contact joshuac@beckerminty.com for further details.
#beckerminty #hobart #tasmania #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #trees #treestreestrees #treesofinstagram #backlit #negativespace #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
What is it called when light shines through trees? Light through the canopies, tiny shards of sky filtering through the foliage and trunks. The Japanese call it Komorebi. It is a favorite subject of mine and I am fascinated with the negative space…the space around and between objects, often referred to as ‘air space.’
Apart from its compositional role, I like the psychological impact it has on viewers, that it can evoke a sense of tranquility or even mystery.
#trees treecanopies #treestreestrees #treesofinstagram #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #backlit #backlighting #sky #mystery #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
The landscape emerges. Time to step back and make some decisions, mostly to do with colour. If you swipe you will see my original pleinair charcoal sketch from my time in Tasmania as well as my initial drawing into the canvas. The white track snaking through the contours of the terrain makes the perfect intervention in the landscape.
#pleinair #pleinairpainting #acryliconcanvas #acrylicpainting #thelongview #farhorizon #distance #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #interventions #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
The manner in which I paint a landscape is determined by following my thoughts and the route to the final destination can vary each time. Instincts and ideas come into play.
The beautiful chaos of the landscape is always a challenge and the more I look at nature’s raw topography, the more the terrain takes on an abstract quality, with its contours and features transcending mere physicality. Trees and rocks, gullies and crevasses give way eventually to the distant trees and even more distant hills.
I started this one way back, put it to one side and finished it today.
Acrylic on paper
40 x 58cms
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #distanthills #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #workonpaper #abstraction #abstractlandscape #beautifulchaos #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Yes, another flashback to 2017 and a memorable 5 days in Venice, my favourite city.
So many wonderful locations that my watercolours were totally depleted by the time we left by train, heading south to Orvieto. Everywhere in Venice provides seductive opportunities and these boats were moored very near the fish market and bobbing provocatively in their stalls. It’s a quick work with minimal pre-drawing and deliberately kept…well watery and loose.
What’s your favorite city?
#veniceitaly #venicebiennale #pleinairpainting #pleinairartist #landscapepainting #watercoloursketch #venicecanals #boatsofinstagram #boatsandboats #traveljournal #mikestaniford
The road to Velez Rubio, Andalucia. Spain. We had a very memorable 2017 art residency @joya_air ❤️❤️ Highly recommended as it was a defining moment in my artistic journey so far. This is a work that I deliberately kept very simple, allowing the colours to carry all the emotive description of time and place.
Acrylic on paper.
#artresidency #andalucia #spain #espana #artistssupportingartists #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Towards Winnaleah. Back in Sydney after a terrific art workshop with @artablestudios in Tasmania and I’ve been reflecting on some of the dramatic landscapes and skies.
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #tasmania #tasmainianlandscape #pleinairpainting #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Gouache on paper
When the landscape becomes a series of connecting colours, shapes and forms, taking the painting a long way down the spectrum towards abstraction.
Acrylic on canvas
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Watercolours and sketchbooks. I do love the medium, keeping the washes of colour fresh and simple and rarely painting wet into wet. I came across this ‘Cloudscape’ of the Monaro Plains, painted a few years back. The location, for all its flatness has become a favorite location and I am currently working on a series of paintings of the region.
The sketchbook is from some time ago and features images of time back in the UK as well as impressions of Australia. My favorite is the wreck of the SS Maheno on the beach at Fraser Island, how surprising to be driving along the sand and coming across the rusting hulk. Lastly, my favorite London building, the Tate Modern.
Richard Diebenkorn stated that sketchbooks are excellent examples of one of the processes many artists struggle with: The capture of information - in his case from landscapes or anatomical renderings of the human figure - and the effort to process that. I would agree it is one of the challenges I like to help artists with when I’m teaching workshops.
My belief is not to worry about mastering techniques when it comes to sketchbooks but moreover to explore, experiment, let freedom be the driving factor when it comes to recording subject. Even the quickest scribble is usually a valuable record of time and place.
#sketchbooks #watercolor #watercoloursketch #watercolourartist #scribble #freedomofexpression #draw #draweachday #timesndplace #landscapeartist #australianlandscapeartist #mikestaniford
A field of breathing colour.
Having spent the last week pleinair painting in Tasmania, looking at the wide open spaces, it was great to be welcomed back into the studio with this one hanging on my wall. The idea of spaciality - the relationship between colour, tonality, lateral space and depth. Part of a new body of work.
Acrylic on canvas
123 x 123cms
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #bigsky #skiesofinstagram #australianlandscapepainter #australianartist #australianartgalleries #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #spaciality #colourtheory #mikestaniford
And that’s a wrap! What a wonderful week with @artablestudios in Winnaleah, north east Tasmania. @enclave.tasmania made us so welcome…many thanks Gillian, Steve and all the team for such generous hospitality.
And a huge thank you to all the artists who made the week very special! You really threw yourselves into the challenges. Working with enthusiastic artists and alongside partner in life and art @debbiemackinnon is for me always rich and rewarding.
This work is from Binalong Bay in the Bay of Fires on the east coast. A quick gouache painting that started off quite tight before I set the paint brush dancing.
#tasmania #tasmanianlandscape #binalongbay #bayoffires #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #artworkshop #artiststogether #gouachepainting #pleinair #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Interpreting the complexity of the bush, light spilling through the canopy of trees. A fast and loose A3 work in gouache, the free flowing orange across the middle of the painting adding a final touch. Swipe to see an initial sketch and the actual location on the fringes of the Mirror Lake.
#tasmania #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #lightaesthetic #light #throughthetrees #gouachepainting #bushland #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
High up above Winnalea, the late afternoon light casting very long shadows. Swipe to see my original ink sketch, which always helps to resolve some of the challenges and issues.
This landscape just keeps on giving and what great energy from all the artists @artablestudios workshop. We left the hilltop location with temperature at 13c and arrived back @enclave.tasmania to log fires, red wine and a roast dinner! Come on…!
#tasmania #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #winnalea #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #sketchbook sketching #artworkshop #artiststogether #collectiveenergy #mikestaniford
The new sketchbook is off and running. The north east corner of Tasmania has some stunning landscape reaching all across the coastline to the Bay of Fires.
#sketchbooks #winsor&newtonau #traveljournal #tasmania #tasmaniagram #artworkshop @artablestudios @enclave.tasmania #winnalea #mixedmedia #bayoffires #gouacheart #charcoaldrawings #australianlandscape #australianlandscapeartist #mikestaniford
The Little Blue Lake, this morning’s pleinair location for all the artists. Incredible colours and clear skies plus the incredible colour of the lake itself.
Acrylic on paper
#artworkshop @artablestudios @artablestudios enclave.tasmania with @debbiemackinnon #thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Staying with the theme of vanishing point. The road to Derby. Turn left out of Winnalea and suddenly the land opens up and the ribbon of tarmac leads the eye across country.
@artable
@enclave
@debbiemackinnon
#tasmanianlandscape #winnalea #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Sunday afternoon high up in the hills of north west Tasmania just a few kms from Winnalea, where our @artablestudios workshop will start on Monday. Primed and ready with partner @debbiemackinnon to give our ten artists a rewarding and instructive week.
Love these rolling hills and the ever-shifting light, the odd light shower and the physical challenges of painting outside.
#artworkshops @enclave.tasmania #winnalea #artiststogether #pleinair #mixedmedia #thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Winnalea, Tasmania and just around the corner from @enclave.tasmania where with partner @debbiemackinnon we are running an @artablestudios mixed media workshop starting Monday morning.
The local landscape is stunning and I’ve always loved street scenes, especially when they have telegraph poles accentuating roads to the far horizon.
A gouache work on paper, one of my favourite pleinair mediums. Looking forward to running through a demonstration of this technique with the ten artists who arrive tomorrow.
Colour pallets on this one:
Cadmium Orange
Burnt Umber
Prussian Blue
Olive Green
Payne’s Grey
Naples Yellow
White
#artworkshops #learningnewskills #developingtechnique #artisticdevelopment #artcoach #tasmania #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
First day charcoal sketches around Winnaleah in the north east corner of Tasmania. Stunning countryside which should provide some wonderful challenges for the ten artists arriving on Sunday for the @artablestudios workshop with @debbiemackinnon
Glorious weather, fabulous accommodation @enclave.tasmania and looking forward to supporting and encouraging the artists.
#artworkshops #tasmania #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #tasmanianart #mikestaniford
Walking up on the Hawkehead Peninsula and looking across Broken Bay.
Acrylic on board
63 x 63cms
#australianlandscape #landscapeartist #killcare #nswcoast #landscapepainting #australianlandscape #perspective #thelongview #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #abstraction #mikestaniford
Easter at Hardy’s Bay. Last night ended with spectacular clouds and reflections as the lights from Ettalong came on. Swipe to see some more A3 gouache studies, made over the last few months. Light and its assertive beauty is the real subject in these works. If you would like to purchase one (or two) DM me for details and further images.
#australianlandscape #landscapeartist #tidalwaters #bayarea #hardysbay #killcare #clouds #cloudscapes #reflections #landscapepainting #landscapeartist #waterways #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Hardy’s Bay at 4.30pm, the tide drifting in and oystercatchers and white-faced cranes are wading in the shallows on the look out for sustenance. The rain has gone, Good Friday tomorrow. Time to kick back. Happy Easter everyone and thank you for your support.
Incoming tide
Gouache on paper
25 x 25cms
#happyeaster #landscapepainting #hardysbay #killcare #workonpsper #gouachepaint #gouacheart #allaprima #tidal #tidalbasin #bayarea #australianlandscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #mikestaniford
For many years, I have been moved by the blue at the far edge of what can be seen, that colour of horizons, of remote mountain ranges, of anything far away.
REBECCA SOLNIT
Acrylic on board
61 x 61cms
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
I like looking back at times past especially through the medium of sketchbooks. How incidental those quick scribbles seemed at the time but how rewarding they are now as many senses of place unravel in my mind.
These pages are from one of my travel journals from 2013/14…the best coffee in Venice, a performance of Tosca in Orvieto, a sidewalk cafe in Turkey, buildings in Cannes and the doorman at the ITC Hotel in Mumbai and a quick portrait of one of my colleagues from back in the day. And one of me from 2017 with Charlie, the studio dog. What a character!
#timespast #memories #sketchbooks #traveljournals #personalexperiences #drawing #mikestaniford
An ocean of silence between us.
After the rains. Swipe for details.
Acrylic on canvas
84 x 105cms
#thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #aftertherain #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #mikestaniford
Making that integration between the figurative and the abstract, which to some degree exist side by side in terms of the landscape. I get very involved with the horizontals, verticals, diagonals and take license in enlarging their importance within the construct of the picture.
Open Country
Acrylic on canvas
125 x 138cms
Available now @beckerminty
Contact joshuac@beckerminty.com for further details.
#beckerminty #tasmanianlandscape #australianlandscape #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #untamedbeauty #diverselandscape #pleinair #thelongview #farhorizon #distance #clouds #cloudlovers #cloudsoninstagram #thelongview #mikestaniford
