Hi, I'm Philip Stockley

That statement may seem obvious to you.  But for me it marks a huge shift in mindset.

You see, like many people who wake up one morning to find they have become ‘older’, I have only recently been able to devote time and effort to improve my artistic abilities.

The years have sped by so fast!  I enjoyed art at school, and was even considered to be good at it.  Then life got in the way – with jobs, children, travel and sorting out a myriad things.

For many years my artistic creativity consisted of taking photos, but I always wanted to return to painting and the excitement of creating something new and original on a blank surface.

For me, creating art is both enjoyable and frustrating.  It‘s amazing how much there is to learn, and how difficult it is to translate one’s ‘vision’ into a worthwhile picture.  Sometimes my paintings work, sometimes they do not, but happily I find making mistakes and trying to correct them is the best way to learn.

I have come to realise that I am on an artistic journey, and like many travellers, I am keen to share my pictures and experiences.

So in my blog I aim to talk about what inspired me to paint a particular picture; some of the technical challenges I came across; what I learnt through the process;  and how I might tackle similar paintings in the future.

I mostly paint with watercolour and use a limited range of colors.  This forces me to work quickly and keep things simple – and focus on capturing the essentials of my subject.

My aim is to capture a sense of the short lived nature of a particular time, place, subject and light.  I also try to tell a small ‘story’ in each picture – it might be the fleeting light of a misty sunrise; the split-second a bird sits on a branch before it flits away; the trusting face of a dog, or the final moments before a race is won.

I like to photograph my paintings as I work – to help me identify where more work is needed and to document the process of the painting – which I sometimes use on my web site to explain how a picture has developed.

I am aware not everyone has the money or space to display original works of art – so I often turn my paintings into prints and cards, and even mugs, coasters etc.  It is interesting and surprising to see what works best at different sizes and on different substrates.

Please enjoy the paintings on this site.  If you like my ‘style’ of painting, join my email list and tell your friends ;  learn more about my artistic journey through my blog;  buy some of my art – such as an original, print or card;  or commission me to produce a painting of something which is important to you.