In a culture where Christmas is so often subjected to commercialism, rebranding, renaming and cancellation, it is uplifting for me to reflect on the beauty and humble truth contained in the Nativity story. Today’s blog takes a look at a special and colourful version of the Nativity that I painted in 2002.

La Sagrada Família in Barcelona is arguably one of the world’s greatest places of worship, both artistically striking and original, designed by genius architect Antoni Gaudí, whose love of God and nature inspired him to create audacious and forward thinking work. The basilica has yet to be completed, some 139 years later.

Shadows in paintings are often assumed to be negative, receding spaces, trailing behind or in between objects. However, they are much more than simply dark blocks of tone. Shadows in nature are rarely completely black in colour and they often contain complex and stimulating visual contrasts for the artist to tackle.

Visit gallery B at London’s National Gallery and you will see important works by European artists such as Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Claude Monet. Placed alongside those works is a large painting entitled Men of the Docks by American painter George Bellows. It caught my eye there during a recent visit, something of an exciting excursion which contrasts against the usual means of viewing art via swiping on a smart device.

In June 2011 I quit my full-time job as support worker with a homeless charity in London. After several years of service helping vulnerable adults I came to the realisation that the role had morphed into tick box results rather than a genuine compassion or striving to make positive changes in those vulnerable people’s lives. At that moment I felt that it was time to embark on my art career. After all, painting was my ability, and I owed it to myself. The journey since then has been exciting, challenging and creatively expanding in so many ways.

Each Tube station makes a contribution to London’s collective sense of place in a unique way, whether great or small, which makes each one worth visiting and considering as a painting.

The River Thames in London has featured extensively in my art over the years. The ease of access along much of it’s route, the dozens of interesting viewpoints, an ever changing architectural backdrop that sits inside a familiar place, make it a natural choice to set up an easel, or sit and paint with a sketchpad. I also feel that I take my cue from the many great artists of the past who have painted and sketched the river’s dynamic scenery in original and compelling ways and captured a London of a bygone era that was contemporary to them.

Making fine art is my primary passion but I also like to apply my creativity to other areas of my life such as hobbies. One such hobby that I really enjoy is mixology - that is the art of making cocktails. More than just drinks, cocktails speak of timeless traditions, associations and tastes, as is reflected in the ingredients used, the visual appearance and the names. Mixology is art, science and style all rolled into one.

How I perceive my own artwork changes constantly over the years. Past pictures often look remarkably different than from when I first produced them. This is especially true of my self portraits which often take on multiple meanings, triggering specific memories, the comparison to how young I looked, specific personal feelings of the time, and the artistic progress and creative experiments that I made over the years.

I am blessed to have three artistic ancestors in my direct family lineage: a great grandfather, great great grandfather and great granduncle. Two were sculptors and one a painter and illustrator. They all had successful careers and their works can still be seen today in public places in Spain.

When publishing regular blog posts, I often write about the various basic skills and techniques that I incorporate in my work practice. Though these are presented as insights into my own art practice rather than teaching aids, I do believe that sharing such knowledge and experience, even in a short and simple way, might be of help to those learning about making art and also help me with articulating my own artistic approach.

I am pleased to say that 2020 is the third year that I am showing at this prestigious event and it is always exciting and rewarding to be part of the experience.

Autumn is a short but inspiring season for artists. Nature’s unique and vivid colouring at that time of year makes for bright fiery paintings whilst giving the artist a wide berth for interpretation and feeling.

Joan Eardley (1921-1963) was an English born painter who resided in Scotland, creating a wide array of outdoor landscapes depicting the ruggedness of a fishing village called Catterline and it’s surrounding area, and real life depictions of poor children in Glasgow. Her work retains a freshness and realism that is both immediate and enigmatic.

One of the most basic but important skills of an artist is the ability to appreciate and render perspective accurately. This month’s blog takes a look at how various artists have solved and utilised perspective for their advantage.

This month’s blog post features a completed draft started back in January 2018, just prior to edmundpalao.com and blog series being launched. It features a story about how I made a painting of a night time scene depicting a local area in north east London.

“Art for art’s sake” is often a phrase that we say when referring to alleged superfluous and meaningless pieces of work. It’s the vocation of the true artist to pursue meaning and then convey that meaning successfully, something that is a lifelong process.

The first painting you see on my homepage is an urban scene full of wheelie bins catching sunlight. The view was located behind restaurants in Borough Market London, painted in 2014. The scene presented me with an unusual subject matter and formal artistic challenge in reproducing the juxtaposition and colour structures of the bins and the fabric of their surroundings. But why paint wheelie bins?

Recent clear blue weather reveals a dazzlingly bright star in the evening time - take a look at it through a telescope and you will see a tiny moon like crescent that is the planet Venus. I decided to make a painting of this elusive crescent before the planet slips into the sun’s glare. Throughout history art and science have collaborated and influenced each other, with the realm of astronomy being no exception. Today’s blog takes a look at artists who have been inspired by - and contributed to - the field of astronomy.

Despite the pandemic crisis I take heart from seeing artists globally continuing to post their latest creations on social media. The artist’s studio, it seems, is a natural refuge and a place where positive things thrive regardless of the happenings in the outside world.