artbyjaxxContemporary British artist, Jacqueline Hammond, is renowned for producing strong, punchy images that are rich in texture and colour. A prolific painter and multidisciplinary artist, she exhibits widely and is commissioned by individual clients, collectors and high profile brands.
Jacqueline’s inspiration comes from direct observation: subject matter is plucked from the world encountered every day. Some ideas evolve, others are reactionary. Thought-provoking themes explore today’s society, the media and cultural theory.
Whether inspired by the street or the sea, Jacqueline’s work has an edge: her paintings are consistently striking. Her natural disposition is to let the paint dictate the creative process, trusting the medium and her mind’s eye to translate the vision.
My afternoon kip was interrupted by a phone call from someone who had seen my current seascape commission at the studio / gallery requesting to commission one for themselves. Indeed, “worth waking up for”, thanks for calling me on their behalf Linda Love Shack, you know who you are, you’re a star!!
This painting is set to exist in this young man’s life with a purpose; as a way to remember, in memorial, in memory of his Dad, who died at sea while scuba diving. Painted from the heart and the imagination, the piece is a vision… an ocean… a lovely day, a beautiful place. The painting is becoming the picture to serve its purpose. After the client’s viewing, I could’ve painted all night! But this is where its at. The boat is about to set sail.
Looking forward to getting back on with the painting tomorrow. The client’s viewing at the weekend went really well, in fact he appeared to be delighted! He particularly loved the sea (I’m pleased as I put a lot inventing how his sea should be!). Most interesting was that, although he’d seen progress of the painting online, the sensation of seeing the painting in the flesh was like a revelation. It’s really a very different experience, different picture even. Reminding us that computers can’t paint, you can’t see the painting on screen and, in order to paint, you have to get away from ‘the screen’. In the time it’s taken to write my blog entry, I could have done a painting!
Latest developments to the painting have consisted of the following:
I’ve been working late in the studio when I’m into the painting. The problem with this is not just the eating of junk food but the lack of natural light, meaning the painting can look very different the next day. Mind you, it has to look good in both natural and artificial light, as the client will want to admire his painting in the evenings too!
After some planning with the seascape sketches and the stick-on cloud experiment, I couldn’t ponder any longer. Feeling brave one sunny day, I went for it and set about disturbing that cloudless blue sky. Here’s a photo of those first few marks:
I had several comments from people at the studio suggesting that I should leave the sky as it is because it looks beautifully warm and sunny and the blending had been well-executed. I agreed that it’s even simplicity worked well in contrast to the more detailed sea but the intention has always been to feature clouds in the sky. Somehow I felt it would only be half a painting without the clouds.
To experiment, I had fun painting and cutting out some (slightly comical) clouds to literally ‘stick on’ the painting. I reckon the experiment proved my point well:
At this stage I painted some clouds and stuck them on! I like the simplicity of the shapes against the perfect sky. Perhaps I’m on to something here… supply detachable clouds with paintings so that people can change the scene according to their mood.
