Art from the past

A friend recently emailed me photos of some paintings I did in my late teens and had given to her many years ago. I went through a phase of painting with acrylics onto slate. I liked the rustic romance of slate as a material, although the smoothness of the surface often left something to be desired.

Seascape - acrylic on slate

This seascape was a present for my friend’s mother. Her daughters had commissioned an artist to paint a seascape for her birthday but the artist had produced a rather peculiar fantasy-style painting entirely in purple that she wasn’t very keen on. I did this one as an alternative and as I understand it, she still has it on display.

Tiger - acrylic on slate

I was fond of painting animals at that time – mostly horses, big cats and wolves.

Horse at dusk - acrylic on slate

And here is a horse. In a meadow at night. Sure there was a good reason for that.

The final image is another horse, this time on canvas board, and I’m pretty sure this was done in oil paints. I didn’t use oil paints very often as I didn’t have my own set (unlike acrylics) but my dad had a set I borrowed occasionally. The drying time was also a bit off-putting when you’re young!