The 19th August is International Orangutan Day. To mark the day I will be releasing a new painting featuring a mother orangutan with her baby against the backdrop of their rainforest home being devastated. If you are inspired to help visit http://www.orangutan.org.uk .

#art #painting #orangutan #rainforest #nature #wildlife

The 28^th of July is World Nature Conservation Day intended to remind us of the importance of nature and the need to protect it. This painting of an orangutan is intended to highlight the conflict between humankind and nature. The orangutan is critically endangered. Their rainforest habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate. This is a double whammy – threatening biodiversity and accelerating climate change. I will be donating the profit from every fourth original or print sold of my paintings to the Orangutan Foundation’s “Sponsor an Acre” scheme which helps protect habitat and combat climate change. If you would like to contribute directly, please visit www.orangutan.org.uk . It would be great if you could share this post with as many people as possible.

COVID has made travel abroad elusive which made me think about past holidays. This painting is a scene in Taormina, Sicily which always brings back memories of long relaxing days under the Mediterranean sun.

The Vespa was “born” on 23^rd April 1946 so celebrated its 75^th anniversary this year and is still going strong. To many the Vespa scooter is one of the iconic symbols of Italy. Made by Piaggio from Tuscany the name means “wasp” in Italian. According to Wikipedia the final design was the work of aeronautical designer Corrandino D’Ascanio and when Enrico Piaggio saw the final design for the first time he said “sembra una vespa” – “it looks like a wasp” and the name stuck. I hope this painting of a Vespa scooter parked outside a family run restaurant captures an archetypal vision of Italy.

2020 saw the 102^nd anniversary of the end of the First World War. As the nation fell silent on Armistice Day – 11 November – to remember the millions who died in the conflict, I found my thoughts focussing on the poppy, that simple yet beautiful and vivid flower which has become the enduring symbol of remembrance of the war. Amid the death and horror of the fighting poppies were a common sight, especially on the Western Front where they flourished in the soil churned up by the fighting and shelling. I found myself contemplating the stark contradiction between the simple beauty of the poppy and the horror of war and wondering if I could symbolise this in a painting. “Poppies” is the result. The two trees symbolise the opposing sides in the conflict with the poppies slowly spreading peace across the canvas whilst at same time alluding to the blood-soaked war zone. The previously stormy sky is transforming to something more tranquil reflecting and emphasising the red of the flowers. My thanks go to Derek Mack whose Unsplash photograph I used as the reference for “Poppies”.

Joppolo is a beautiful, tranquil town in Calabria, southern Italy. Lungomare is a seafront road of several kilometres that is a favourite morning walk for locals and visitors alike. I have tried to capture the key features along Lungomare in a single painting. I hope you like the result.