Girl on the beach

Here's a new painting I just finished a couple of days ago. I've been making a conscious effort to paint more pictures of women recently. I thought I'd include some photographs of my working process too.

Website

I've now got myself a proper website with a CV and a sensible email address and everything! You can have a look by going to www.samcaldwell.co.uk

There is a bunch of new work which I haven't posted anywhere else online and a link to an online shop where you can buy prints and drawings.

If you want to get in touch, drop me an email at - samcaldwell91@gmail.com

Degree Show

So I have been really rubbish at keeping this blog updated. I think it's been over a year now since my last post, and a lot has happened in that time! I've been kept busy with dissertation writing, degree show construction and generally trying to make sure that I graduate with a decent mark. All of that is done and finished with now though and it's time to get back to working from home and keeping this blog regularly updated.

The photographs above are of the installation I created for my degree show in June. Over the past year I have been working on a new project which is centered on a fictional group of islands which I call the Cairnsbruck Islands. The shack (pictured above) is supposed to be the study/work place of an anthropologist who lives on the islands in order to study their inhabitants, histories and landscapes.
Viewers were invited to enter the structure and rummage through its contents to uncover the story of the islands.

The Idea of North - Peter Davidson

- Some images I have collected whilst reading 'The Idea of North' by Peter Davidson. 

Its full of some really interesting histories of Northernly places as well as lots of artists and writers who I have never come across but find really exciting at the moment.

Eric Ravilious being one of them -

Industrial Photos of Bolton

I recently bought a little 35mm point and shoot off a friend and took some research photos of some industrial areas of Bolton while I was there a couple of weeks ago. 

I'm hoping to use them to base some works on soon.

Stac Lee & Stone Circles

More bits inspired by St Kilda and remote islands.

Alfred & Ben

This piece was inspired by a recent visit to the Ingelby Gallery in Edinburgh who a few weeks back had a show of works by Alfred Wallis, Forrest Bess and Frank Walter. I've been a big fan of Wallis' naive paintings of boats and harbours for a couple of years now but going to the show was the first time I'd seen this famous photograph of Ben Nicholson talking to Alfred, most probably about getting him to come to London.

Ladies in Pubs

I'm working on a series of commissions at the moment based on images of people in pubs, a topic I could quite happily work with forever. The bottom portrait is a revisited version of a painting which I did a couple of years ago. I like to go back to works every now and again and try to update them, it always proves to be an interesting insight into how my techniques have developed. I'm pretty sure that the original painting is on here somewhere if you want to compare the two.

St Kilda

I've been reading about an group of islands off the west coast of Scotland called St Kilda. Once home to the most remote of Scottish communities, the island was evacuated in 1930. There's a really nice film about the island on YouTube which I'd highly recommend watching -

Grubby Lads

Two lads who could do to wash their faces. Based on a photograph from an old National Geographic magazine I picked up.

Hello again!

I got a nice email a couple of weeks ago asking where I've been and why I've not been posting on here as often as I used to.
Since starting at ECA three years ago I've kind of stopped using this blog and I'm not sure why. I suppose studying painting and making work on more of a full time basis has changed my approach a bit. I used to make a drawing in my bedroom then immediately scan it and stick it up on here whereas now I'm making a lot more work but it tends to just get stuck to a wall in my studio or filed away somewhere.
I have also been trying to use Tumblr instead recently. I decided that I liked the format and the accessibility of Tumblr more than Blogger but I've come to realise that the tumblr community is nowhere near as welcoming as it is on here. What do you guys think about this?

I owe a lot to this blog; when I first started out, getting comments and chatting to people through Blogger gave me a lot of confidence. I found out about tonnes of artists and illustrators exclusively through looking at blogs and leaving comments. The community I found on here is something I think I've been neglecting a bit over the past few years.

So I've decided to try to get back into the swing of it and to start posting on here regularly. However, if you are interested in seeing what I'm up to on a more day to day basis have a look at my instagram. I tend to take pictures of things I'm working on or just finished and I'm much more likely to post things on there as it doesn't require filling out a big scary text box which can be quite intimidating sometimes.

Huts

Some recent paintings I've been working on. They are part of an exhibition called 'Office Space' at Clarendon House on George Street in Edinburgh. The opening is tomorrow night so if you're in town, do come down for a drink and a snoop.

Shed

Peace

Here's a comic strip I did over the summer. I was given the word 'Peace' to illustrate by Foursight for their publication - VS which is available to buy here. First thing I've done digitally which has been used for something other than blog posts.