Happy New Year

9 x 12 inches

Acrylic on board

A very happy New Year to everyone! I hope you gave 2011 an enjoyable send-off and welcomed in the New Year with good spirits and high hopes. I'm looking forward to the promise of another year and seeing what it will bring. It will be my first full year as a full-time artist so I'm naturally excited about the opportunity to create a lot more art and hopefully many more commissions.

This is my first painting of 2012 and was originally supposed to be my final painting of 2011. However, I simply didn't have enough time to finish it before the bells. Like my previous cycling painting this one is also done in acrylics, and once again I decided to set aside my brushes and use a palette knife instead. I have to say, I'm absolutely loving working this way for a change. If like me you sometimes want to avoid painting in too much detail - but can't quite help yourself - then I highly recommend using a palette knife. It really forces you to focus on form and values rather than getting bogged down in too much detail. I'm certain I'll be keeping the palette knife out for more cycling art and, who knows, I may end up incorporating it into my portrait work as well.