The Dawn is Surely Coming.
That moment when hope begins, the still beauty of the earliest hour when anything is possible and new mysteries lie ahead.
#earlymorning #dawnchorus #dawntoday #firstlight #wakingworld #anticipation #dayahead #whenhopewhispers #australianlandscapeartist #landscapepainter #contemporarylandscape #contemporaryart #artcollectors #artbuyers #artgalleriesaustralia #artgalleriesworldwide #allaprimapainting #treesoflife #mikestaniford
Memories through sketchbooks, from east coast beaches to the mountains, street scenes to beach huts, shipping channels to remote headlands. Life without art? I can’t imagine it. Stay safe everyone.
#sketchbooks #draw #sketchbookdrawing #visual #memories #pleinair #observation #momentsintime #personalhistory #mixedmedia #mikestaniford
Memories of Sicily from the sketchbook. The incredible restaurant…Trattoria Fontana d’Ercole, the innocuous black doorway to the left of the arch in the amazing hill town of Noto. The forum of Apollo in Syracusa and evening light over ‘the rock,’ in Cefalu. Dear Sicily, I will be coming back.
#sicily #sicilytourism #artinsicily #sketchbookart #sketchbooks #visualdiaries #watercolourpainting #acrylicpainting #ancienthilltowns #sicilianhistory #travel #traveladventures #memories #mikestaniford
Reflected light on water. Swipe for the initial charcoal drawing followed by the underpainting stages. The drawing worked in many ways and led me into the final composition, which is also a detail of a larger work finished recently. The purpose of the drawing is to explore, not explain and to give me room to manouvre.
Acrylic on board, 40 x 40cms
#reflectedlight #lightonwater #lightandspace #lightpainting #treesoflife #sunsetting #landscapepainting #australianlandscape #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #bayarea #abstraction #mikestaniford
Trying to lose myself in lockdown by wandering off the already deserted tracks and discovering the Hawkehead peninsula and all its abstracted elements of nature. Ink, graphite and charcoal on handmade paper.
#offthebeatentrack #hawkeheadpeninsula #inthewild #nature #elements #landscapepainting #abstraction #workonpaper #blackandwhite #australianartist #contemporaryart #drawing #draw #artistsoninstagram #art #modernlandscapepainting #contemporarycollectors #mikestaniford
Fragments of the landscape. Big brushes loaded with paint making those impulsive first marks very important. Once you’ve committed you can’t stop. All painted plein air with the light of the day very much in mind. The white paper plays an important role in 1 and 2 and the trick for me is not to take them too far. Less is more.
#landscapepainting #brushstrokes #elements #topography #hillsides #contemporaryart #australianlandscape #abstraction #abstractexpressionism #headlands #contemporarypainting #movement #skyline #mudgee #outback #centralcoast #mikestaniford
Family album.
Some have left home and found new families, sold before they had time to be part of the clan but some will be part of my solo show, hopefully opening on the 31st August…details to follow soon.
#treesoflife #likefamily #individualpersonsalities #artshow #soloexhibition #backstory #australianlandscape #artaustralia #landscapepainter #mikestaniford
How better to view the ocean than peeking through a COMPANY OF TREES.
Last weekend to view the Chasing the Sun exhibition on at the Michael Reid Northern Beaches gallery, or go live to their website for a virtual walk through.
#australianlandscape #landscapepainting #memories #summer #companyoftrees #oceanlife #oceanview #oceanart #artbuyers artcollectors #artinthehome #mikestaniford
@bensartworld @melaniewaugh @tymyee @emmafuss @gabriellepenfold @kathrynjunor @tanyamcallanartist @vynkasart
Responding to @robert_malherbe a great post Robert, about our own first painting. Well it seemed appropriate on this the day we arrived as a family in Australia 27 years ago to post this. Coming from London, I was struck by the ‘pathways to the beaches.’ Coming originally from Devon, beaches and the coastline were in my blood from an early age and Australia had it in abundance. I immediately felt at home. That spectacular view of ocean at the end of the journey, quite metaphorical in many ways. It’s in oil on canvas and still brings back great memories. I certainly couldn’t part with it. Thanks Robert.
#firstpainting #pathways #tothebeach #oiloncanvas #theocean #farhorizon #newarrivals #newbies #loveaustralia #northernbeaches #mikestaniford
Hardy’s Bay, 4pm, Wednesday afternoon. Whilst the painting is essentially about reflected light across the bay it has to have an impact in abstract thinking, blurring the distinction between figuration and abstraction.
#abstraction #figurative #blurring thelines #reflectedlight #abstractthinking #lateafternoon #contemporarypainting #lightonwater #intensity #amplification #fiction #realworld #spiritoftheplace #nature #landscapepainting #landscapeartist #mirage #paintersofinstagram #mikestaniford
Last embers of the day. SOLD and a very big thank you to the buyer in Melbourne.
#artcollectors #artbuyers #artinthehome #eveninglight #lastlight #treesoflife #landscapepainting #contemporaryart #liftsthespirit #mikestaniford
Out where the water’s deep.
#distantheadland #daybreak #yetanotherday #adventureahead #areyouready #freespirit #contemporarypainting #mikestaniford
At a time when we are feeling trapped indoors and restricted in our movements, what better way to breathe in a sense of the great outdoors. 🔴IMMERSED IN NATURE has caught the eye of a Sydney collector and is off to a new home. Many thanks to the buyer and to all of my followers and supporters, your continual dialogue and reaction to my work is much appreciated.
#artbuyers #artcollectors #artinthehome #landscapeartist #buyingart #mikestaniford
A long walk down to Little Tallow Beach, it’s rocky headland devoid of people despite of it being Sunday and lockdown. Drawings are about exploring not explaining . The first sketch a quick intuitive study in acrylic marker, not leaving the paper, before switching a finer pen for some interest and detail. Followed by one that throws more into the equation…not exactly reality but creating a new one of the same intensity. Finally a shift to oil pastels. To be honest I prefer the chalk variety but I seem to get through them so fast. The good ones aren’t cheap and they crumble under pressure but work to great effect. Whenever I think I’ve got enough colours I usually haven’t. I like landscape that sits somewhere between abstraction and representation but there are plenty of spaces on that spectrum of scale. Don’t let it invoke doubt in your mind, the best response is to ‘just do.’ Record the fundamental structure of a place, the land, the subject, by looking, thinking, responding.
#landscapeart #draw #drawing #draweachday #lookbook #think #respond #differentmaterials #mixedmedia #sketchbooks #fieldstudies #pleinair #beingoutdoors #artoftheday #intheopen #mikestaniford
After two days of gale force winds and rain, the sun’s back out, the ocean has reverted back to blue and the shadows are playing through the trees. It’s time for a walk on the beach.
When a glimpse of the ocean isn’t enough and you have be there, feeling the sand between your toes. Gouache on handmade paper.
#beachlife #afterthestorm beachwalk #summerlandscape #oceanside #throughthetrees #positivevibes #landscapeartist #landscapepainting #artcollectors #worksonpaper #mikestaniford
Delighted that MELTING THE DARKNESS has found a new home. 🔴 Huge thanks to the buyer and all of those followers and supporters.
#artbuyers #artinthehome #owningart #landscapepainting #landscapeartist #artcollectors #mikestaniford
GOLDEN HOUR. That moment when the sun is just about to set and those lovely shadows throw everything into stark contrast. Acrylic on board. 40 x 40cms. Swipe for my preliminary sketch in oil pastels.
#goldenhour #newcontemporary #contemporaryart #treesoflife #personalities #treesofinstagram #contemporarylandscape #contemporarypainting #landscapepainting #contemporaryartcollectors #abstractlandscape #wintersun #shadows #bayside #outdoors #longwalks #artbuyers #artcollectors #mikestaniford
Hello old friend.
Currently on display @michaelreid.northernbeaches
in the group show: Chasing the sun
#artshow #michaelreidnorthernbeaches #chasingthesun #contemporarylandscape #artbuyers #artcollectors #mikestaniford
Last embers of winter light.
#eveninglight #winterlight #endofday #painting #australianpainter #landscapepainting #newcontemporary #landscapeartist #contemporaryart #contemporaryartcollectors #contemporarylandscape #modernlandscapepainting #abstractlandscape #art #artistsoninstagram #australianart #australianartcollector #mikestaniford
I couldn’t resist painting the ocean on the Sapphire Coast, back in February as the last days of summer were upon us. The incredible colour…it’s called Sapphire Coast for a very good reason…framed through the trees, beckoning me to the beach. And now those memories become even more poignant. This painting is now available and hanging in the gallery @michaelreid.northernbeaches Why not have a memory of summer and chasing the sun. Contact the gallery direct for details and a glimpse at the catalogue.
#chasingthesun #summerpast #memories #treesoflife #michaelreidnorthernbeaches #contemporaryart #artbuyers #artinthehome #mikestaniford
Every time I go back to my favorite location I look for something new and a way of expressing it. The more you look the more you see and the Hawkehead peninsula is, apart from being a breathtaking remote location, rich and varied. I could have made these even more abstract, the shapes of rocks and vegetation blur into such undefined structures. The last one’s got something interesting going on. Next time perhaps. And loving the easy flow of these Posca pens. Essential to have a plan in these prolonged periods of lockdown: 1 Breathe 2 Walk 3 Smile 4 Be grateful 5 Drink water 6 Draw
#landscapeartist #landscapedrawing #acrylicmarkers #worksonpaper #breathe #exercise #creativeprocess #outdoors #studyingthelandscape #amongstnature #blackandwhite #headland #nswcoast #lookingsouth #mikestaniford
Delighted to be part of the group landscape show @michaelreid.northernbeaches opening tomorrow with three of my works, 1 Days at Depot Beach 2 Hello old friend 3 The company of trees. Each painting reflects my fascination with the personality of trees and their place in the landscape and the light and sun of this past summer. They are like people in so many ways.
#landscapepainting #landscapeart #groupshow #michaelreidnorthernbeaches #chasingthesun #summerlight #treesoflife #personalities #artshow #artexhibition #contemporaryart #mikestaniford
A windswept morning draw/walking the Bouddi National Park coastline. Fast sketching with acrylic markers (Poscas) only. I like the enforced limitation of black and white and how it asks you to consider shape snd form. And they flow snd allow an energy to the mark making. Wind-resisting trees and foreboding headlands, not unlike Cornwall and it’s beautiful West Penwith coast. And just look at that last pic looking south to Sydney. Passed three other walkers in the last three hours. Stay safe everyone.
#draw #drawing #draweachday #blackandwhite #acrylicmarkers #onthemove #exercise #nswcoast #bouddinationalpark #outdoors #mikestaniford
Australian natives in the winter sun.
#stillife #flowerpainting #australiannatives #tabletop #wintersun #lockdown #floral #arrangement #intenselighting #shadows #shadowsandlight #shadowsinthesun #shadowsfall #mikestaniford
Acrylic on board, 40 x 40cms
Delighted to receive a belated birthday present, a fabulous work by UK artist @john.dobbs who I’ve been following for some time. Many thanks darling Deb.
#birthdaypresent #stillife #lemonsandknife #oiloncanvas #johndobbs
Sketches from ten days in lockdown. Staying positive can be hard during times of restricted movement and a ban on socializing. So many of my followers have expressed a sense of inertia when it comes to being creative. In some cases it has caused a complete stagnation, a sense of being becalmed, all motivation and energy zapped! Give yourself over to drawing, simple mark making, suspend your agenda, look at that table top arrangement or distant headland and let the charcoal, ink, pencil simply flow. Don’t be put off by the white sheet of paper just begin your assault on it and start to own the subject. Look out the window and observe whatever random offerings stare back at you. What I’ve posted is an entirely random collection of my time in lockdown so far, often executed on drawing walks. The first two are from the bush as we climbed what is known as the Flannel Flower walk, light and dark, ink and crayon, quite abstract shapes. The following two are precursors to my last post of a still life painting, Australian natives in a vase on a tabletop in brilliant sunshine. Both done with left hand, with the charcoal never leaving the paper until it was finished…about sixty seconds each. You could argue that they look a bit wobbly but I think there’s an exaggerated truth in both of these. And finally the ocean from the cliff top at one of my favorite very remote beaches, this time using oil pastels. And don’t feel you’ve fallen short when you look at the end result, that’s all part of the highs and lows. I seldom look back on rejected work without feeling a retrospective buzz. Share with me any thoughts, ideas, concerns. If I can help I will. We’ve all got to stay resilient and art is a way to keep your thinking fresh and instinctive. Go on…you know you want to.
#draw #draweachday #lefthandedartist #nondominanthand #drawfast #lockdown #staystrong #resilience #personalgoals #scribble #highsandlows #doodle #arttherapy #mikestaniford
Stay indoors they said, so I did. A long time since I painted flowers/still life gut the intense winter light made these colours and shapes explode.
Acrylic on board, 40 x 40cms
#stillife #stillifepainting #stillifeart #flowerpaintings #flowerstalking #shadowsandlight #shadowplay #winterlight #tabletop #lightanddark #banksias #lockeddown #keepingpositive #mikestaniford
The briefest glimpse of the ocean.
#lookingout #throughthewindow #oceanview #backyardgarden #landscape #treesoflife #treespirit #horizon #distantheadland #landscapepainting #outlook #indooroutdoorliving #mikestaniford
Art in a time of lockdown. Painting on the deck which is fun if not a bit on the cold side! Finishing touches from a series of sketches made down south on the Sapphire Coast earlier this year. Bringing back memories of warm summer days.
#pambula #sapphirecoast #landscape #summergone #memories #river #coastline #landscapeartist #contemporarylandscape #pastsummer #mikestaniford
From Australia to Italy to paint the beautiful evening light of Umbria and now it’s off to a new home in Utah, North America. Incredible how the internet connects us. A huge thank you to the buyer, a fellow landscape artist and art collector.
#travellingartist #italianlandscape #umbria #umbrialovers #eveninglight #daysofourlives #pleinair #italiancountryside #artbuyers #artcollectors #artistsoninstagram #mikestaniford
