NEW STUDIO STORY – DAY 1 – 29th March 2025

After a great deal of research and thought, the day has come. I’ve talked to as many neighbours as possible and posted letters to the others to let them know of our plans. Access from the front of the property is limited, so we are going between the buildings at the back.

Paul’s 2.5 tonne digger fits through the gap with 2cm to spare on either side. Good job it does, because we’ll need to it remove a stubborn tree trunk from the garden.

Access through the fence panel. 

Before. Toy diggers were used to mark the rough position of the studio. 

I’d spent hours trying to dig this root out by hand! It was therapeutic in a sense. In the planning stage, when nothing physical is happening, it was helpful to make a tiny difference to the garden. 

Loaded up.

Paul used a laser level and string to mark out the position of the studio base. Pythagorus theorem was used to check it was square. Clever stuff!

Removing dirt to level the ground. We used the dirt to create a bedding border for the neighbour, which saved us having to cart it away. 

End of a long day. Very relieved to have made a start and not be just talking about it. 

THE STORY of the NEW STUDIO – March 2025

I have been at my studio in Oyston Mill, Preston, for around 24 years. I love it. However, when we moved to our current house in St Annes, the big draw was the garden which is long enough to accomodate a studio.

I have been saving up for over a year and we are hoping to begin work around March 2025. Below are some of the specifications supplied by Hansons Steel Buildings. 

 

Hannah

PAINTING OF THE WEEK 
20th to 27th June 2018
“Passage”
20 x 20 inches, oil on board

(click image to enlarge)

Hannah is an enigmatic, talented young lady. We met when I gave a talk at her Art College and she is now launching her musical career with the band “Dream English Kid.” The two small paintings of Hannah below have already sold and the top one was shown  at the Mall Galleries, London, in the New English Art Club Exhibition.

The painting of the week presents the relaxed, contemplative Hannah, very different to her stage presence. The armchair, fireplace and decorations were set up in the studio to give a domestic feel. The title refers not only to a section of the book but to this transitional period in her life after Art school.

Hannah, 8 x 10, SOLD

Of Another Time, 8 x 10, SOLD

See more paintings from life here

Going The Distance

Norman Long’s most ambitious painting to date.
“Going The Distance”
89 x 59 inches, 225 x 150cm, oil on linen

(click image to enlarge)

Newly married and enjoying long beach walks near our home in Lytham St Annes, this monumental painting records my contemplation of a future life together. The young couple, actually based on a photo I took on honeymoon in Venice, look towards the middle distance, where as parents they are busied with children and responsibilities. The sunlit far distance is where they once again walk side by side, reflecting upon the distance they have travelled together.

The canvas is the largest dimensions that would fit on the studio wall. The setting is based on many drawings and small studies (like the one below) done on the beach. As you can see, St Annes pier once featured in the painting but was distracting from the true message so was painted out.

The little girl (below) in “Going the Distance” also appears, albeit walking the other way,  in “Divided Interest”.
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