Ashley Reid

Joined Artfinder: July 2015

Artworks for sale: 32

(6)

United Kingdom

Updates from Ashley Reid's studio

  • Working on another drapery study [13.01.2017]

    Working on another drapery study [13.01.2017]

    My studio is in my bedroom (I make it work). This is a photo of me on the blending stage of my latest drapery study. I love the idea of depicting cloth almost floating in space, as opposed to be draped against another object. Dimensions are 90x30cm (11x35")

    13 January 2017
    'Drapery Study 1' has been sold!!!

    'Drapery Study 1' has been sold!!!

    Fantastic news! One of my paintings has been sold to my first international customer ^^

    01 August 2016
    Drapery Study 2 - a work in progress

    Drapery Study 2 - a work in progress

    Rendering cloth folds in a drapery study using white fabric was a great challenge in itself, so i have found using coloured fabric a little easier. This study is on 10x10" boxed canvas. I really love that the fabric is against a black background.

    19 May 2016
    A work in progress (teacup)

    A work in progress (teacup)

    I decided to continue with the theme of the dark and ominous background. It leaves a sense of mystery to the scene, almost like being on an empty stage. I think I subconsciously paid homage to the Old Masters and their still life compositions. It's here that I begin to think that I might have developed a signature style (everyday objects in an ominous setting). This approach makes me feel a lot better about my practice, because for so long, I wasn't sure what I was painting and why. I picked the teacup with the peppermint teabag in it because it's what I was drinking at the time. I just thought - why not paint this?

    09 March 2016
    ''An Afternoon Snack'' (as a work in progress, prior to completion)

    ''An Afternoon Snack'' (as a work in progress, prior to completion)

    It's taken a long time for me to come up with a particular style and subject matter for my work. My problem has been wanted to do a bit of everything, which ultimately makes my work hard to describe. I reviewed the images of artists (historical and contemporary), and it's clear that the ones I looked at had a signature style. I could describe their work in a sentence; an 'elevator pitch' if you will. I needed to do the same for mine. I liked taking photos of urban scenes, but when it came to rendering them into paintings, I struggled. It seemed better to just simplify everything first, and not get too crazy with my choice of subjects. So I began with a peeled tangerine. It was initially resting on a sheet of kitchen towel, but I felt that the background was too distracting, so I painted over it, resulting in the dark ominous background. It looks a lot better than before. This painting took just over a month to complete as I wasn't working on it daily like I should have

    09 March 2016
    (Work In Progress) Drapery Study 1

    (Work In Progress) Drapery Study 1

    Every time I've visited the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery here in London, I've been enchanted by the faultless rendering of fabric and folds in the oil paintings. I would often attempt to get as close to the art as I dared. At university I experimented with rendering cloth and scrunched paper folds using media like charcoal, pencil, oils, coloured pencils, and oil pastels. My intention was always to be as realistic as I could be during the process. So currently, I'm working on a 10x8" canvas board. The subject in the image is of one of my bed sheets. Painting from a photo here. I simply switched the main light off in my room, leaving only one of my small bendy clamp lights from Ikea on. With my left hand, I held the sheet up in a way that accentuated the folds, and with the right I took the shot. I adore the crisp look of white fabric folds in shadow and stark white lighting, very dramatic :) I'd actually love to do a larger rendering at some point.

    18 October 2015
    An Untitled Work in Progress - Canal Street, Manhattan.

    An Untitled Work in Progress - Canal Street, Manhattan.

    I love taking photos of places I've visited around the world, but I began to think that maybe the photography could also function as part of the process of creating my paintings. Possibly even looking better than the photos. The painting I'm currently working on is of a photo I took whilst on a uni trip to Manhattan, NYC a few years ago. I was en-route to the Ground Zero memorial via train and starting taking photos of the subway. There's a sharp contrast between London Underground and the Manhattan Subway :) I've recently been trying to just lay a ground on the canvas first, then going straight into composing the image with oils. This was a rather intimidating prospect because I usually sketch out the composition on the canvas using a charcoal pencil. So I'm taking a different approach, and working consistently but at a controlled pace, painting in layers, and then whilst allow it to dry, work on a smaller piece of work. 14x16" Oil on canvas board

    13 October 2015
    Organised chaos in the studio.

    Organised chaos in the studio.

    My painting drawer. I use ''Daler Rowney Georgian Oil Colour for Artists'' (75ml), and ''Winsor & Newton Artists' Oil Colour'' (37ml).

    03 October 2015
    Working on the 'Avocado' painting

    Working on the 'Avocado' painting

    My studio is my bedroom, so here I am working on the 'Avocado' painting (7x5"). Currently I work on an A2 sized wooden Winsor & Newton desk easel/board which is adjustable at the back. The larger canvas next to it is of another painting I'm in the process of creating. Just waiting for it to dry whilst I focus on the smaller painting.

    03 October 2015