MARK HARRISSIMPLY JUST ART
From the studio

Studio Blog

From photo to digital pen — the Christmas cards

A little insight into my latest Christmas cards and how I made them, using a digital pen and an app.

When I lived in Briantspuddle I made a few cards using photos I took and then loaded them into the Brushes app using my old iPad. It, in truth, isn't something I would have considered, as I thought unless it came from my brush and a canvas then it wasn't really real art. Then I saw a documentary on David Hockney using an iPad to draw on and thought, wow, that looks fun.

So I treated myself to a Wacom Intuos Pro — similar to the iPad, but you have a pad (a plastic tablet) that you draw on, and use an app called Krita, which is free, and off you go. Well, it takes a little time to get used to, as you are looking at the image on your Mac or screen and not drawing directly on the screen like on the iPad.

I think the results were quite effective — hope you enjoy them.

The Wacom Intuos Pro tablet and digital pen Mark uses to drawThe old chapel, dated 1854, on a bright winter morningFrosty thatched cottages on a winter morningThe village street on a frosty morningFinished Christmas card — Design 32, Sydling St Nicholas StreetFinished Christmas card — Design 37, Sydling St Nicholas Village

The new website

Well, all my good intentions to blog regularly went out of the window pretty quickly — life kinda did life things.

On the positive side, I have been busy and productive producing commission works — one was 8ft long and 4ft deep in old money.

I made what seemed to me a crazy decision and moved away from my website, which I built on Wix some 12 years ago now, and built a new one using AI. Well, it just goes to show you're never too old to make stupid decisions, and this one ended up being two months of stress, elation, brick walls and a "why did I do this to myself?".

Mark Harris's studio — a triptych in progress on the workbench

The site, as you can see, is there now. It may have a few glitches that I am still not aware of — that's the great thing about AI, it does things you didn't ask for when you aren't looking.

I had all the intention to blog regularly once my new site was built, as the main reason I moved away from my Wix site was that the AI could make me a marketing plan. It duly gave me a huge shopping list of things to do, and here was the problem: it also made me realise that that's not what I want to do.

So I have decided that my work and time are more precious than making content, and not being genuine is something I am just not comfortable or willing to do.

So I thought: a simple studio blog that I will update randomly, with real work and not too much in words. Thank you for reading this blog, and feel free to sign up to my mailing list if you are interested in latest works — and don't worry, I won't be bombarding anyone with "content", just my work.

Large triptych commission

A large triptych commission for a client who wanted the view of the landscape that she lives in, and had kept a wall specifically ready for one of my paintings. You can see in the photos the progress from the start and the finished work.

The finished triptych hanging on the client's wall
The finished triptych hanging above a sofa in its new homeThe triptych in progressThe finished triptych

A smaller commission

Also, you can see a smaller commission of Pilsdon hill looking towards Golden Cap and the Jurassic Coastline. I did have to use my own references for this one, as the sun had turned our usually glorious countryside to a single palette of caramel.

Luckily, having lived, walked and painted in these hills for decades, I was able to bring it back to life with my own palette.

Painting in progress on the studio benchThe finished painting looking towards Golden Cap

Join my mailing list for latest works and future collections.

Mark Harris holds your details privately for this mailing list. To be removed, email simplyjustart@gmail.com.