Delivery from Darren
Newsletter #1: March 2023
Why Darren, why?
A warm welcome to my first artist newsletter!
I want to give supporters of my art regular insights and updates about my work that I can give directly to you via a simple email delivery.
A newsletter is much better than the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nature of the social media warped algorithms and it can provide me with a more healthy and cohesive relationship with you all. A little community could form which would give us the invaluable opportunity to converse about my work, techniques and where it journeys to.
So give yourself an excuse to make a hot beverage and without further ado…
My latest landscapes
Hasn’t it been a challenging few years? But amongst the frustration and obstacles I have had the extended chance to meditate on my art, reaffirm what it means to me and the directions to take it.
I decided to focus more on the raw feeling and atmosphere of my landscapes to express scenes of wonder and escapism with alternative colour and texture. Some inspiration comes from combinations of the recent photos of the Martian surface, the Aurora Borealis, satellite photos of our solar system and of all the various beauty here on Earth too of course. I lean heavily towards misty mountainous formations, seas or lakes…simply because I love them the most.
Those paintings took shape in the series ‘Exo’ and ‘Orphic’. Exo depicts more detailed other-worldly scenes whereas Orphic is a more abstract and loosely playful body of work.
My latest small paintings (shown above) explore my imagined worlds and are continuations of these two series. With these little works I tried painting on oil painting paper for the first time, a fudging lovely way to explore and try out concepts in a cost and time effective way. I also tried some small thin plywood panels which can provide a smoother surface to paint on. The freedom and flow state I feel when I create these landscapes is exactly what I need and I see endless potential with the mysterious worlds I can create.
You can see progress and in-studio video reels of these recent paintings on my Instagram and Facebook pages.
Coppery!
My early work as a jeweller have been inspiring my exploration of abstract techniques; mineral and metal ores have been in my visual mind for a while now. Many of my previous abstract elements reminded me of mineral qualities, particularly of agate.
However, I decided to start trying other ways of applying and changing the aesthetic of the abstract forms in my work. I applied some sculpting paste onto canvas before painting anything at all. The texture was more rough than what I usually create when using thick oil paint, so I thought I could use this moment as an excuse to get my copper paint out for a metallic effect.
By applying black paint followed by brushing copper coloured highlights on the edges and highest points (which was very fun) - I created an interesting volcanic and metal-like ore effect.
I’ll be exploring this technique more for sure.
30% off sale!
Cheeses crust, you can now get 30% off on selected original paintings through my online store! Each artwork is shipped (worldwide) with secure tracking, ensuring your painting(s) arrive safely.
The majority, but not all, of the selected paintings are inspired by the stunning shores of my home island of Guernsey and flowing hills of Hungary's Lake Balaton upland where I now reside.
You might find a tranquil painting to lose yourself in!
Join me on Kaleido Art!
Kaleido Art is a new free intuitive and beautiful platform for artists and collectors. The founders, collector Ian Panchevre and artist Cesar Biojo, have created a visual arts network that is so well considered and designed for artists, appreciators and collectors on every level. The augmented reality (AR) technology they’ve made is genius. They even provide digital and printable Certificates of Authentication (which also works with the AR feature) upon a sale of artworks. AND Kaleido Art only take 10% from a sale.
It is a pure joy to navigate across the site and/or app. The artwork uploading process is fantastic and the presentation and exploration is so clear and smooth. I have great admiration for this endeavor. Have a look for yourself!
Delivered!
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading my first newsletter. Please feel free to reply with any thoughts or feedback you may have. It’ll be nice to get to know you and hear what you think about my art and my newsletter.
If you’re new to my art, you can view my website which has the artwork galleries, more about me, available artworks and more.
I’ll see you with my next delivery!
Thank you and all the best,
