Here’s my second week video / blog for 2025  @helenalicejohnsonartist  I’m in my French studio and working on four seascape paintings of the NE Coast above Newcastle.

Watch this video to see some of my sketchbook preparatory work as well as information about the Sacred Geometry that underpins my under paintings. You’ll see I’ve also done a bit of up-cycling in one of our upstairs bedrooms.

#sacredgeometry #upcycling #landscapeartist #seascapes #seascapepainting

In this video @helenalicejohnsonartist I show a small glimpse into my online painting classes. I practiced on my husband Ian, who hasn't picked up a paint brush in 50 years! This shows that my classes are suitable for all abilities so if you have a New Year’s Resolution to give more time to yourself, to be creative, to allow yourself some thinking time, then hop over to my website to find out more. https://www.helenalicejohnsonartist.com There are pre recorded classes available on my website and the next live online classes is Painting the Spring Landscape which starts on 5th March at 7pm UK time. Then fortnightly for the next 5 sessions. Each session is one hour long. And on the subject of New Year’s Resolutions, mine this year is to go all out for my exhibition Our Beautiful World, which shows at St Andrews Church in Corbridge in June, which is why this video did not come out at the beginning of January as it usually does. I have been frantically painting! But you get to see a glimpse of that here. And now I am off to send my annual application to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Fingers crossed and see you next week!

This week I started in my studio in Northern France and travelled back with paintings on board. Three of these were then delivered to the R Young Gallery in Wokingham before I called in at Oxford for a look around the Ashmolean. The Islamic section was particularly inspiring for me and this wooden door uses the same Islamic pattern as I use in my most recent paintings that are in the R Young Gallery in Wokingham. As usual I got lots done, and I am looking forward to getting back to my art studio in Cumbria, where I will be delivering my Online painting class this Wednesday - Painting a Winter Landscape. Check out my website at www.helenalicejohnsonartist.com for details of this amazing painting class bundle over October and November.

This week I took a break from my studio and headed down to the South of France on a bit of a Van Gogh Art tour.  It was fascinating to see how little of an impact Van Gogh had on Arles, whilst some of his most amazing paintings come from there.  If you know some of Van Gogh’s paintings, it is hard not to see his paintings in every building! They all look like Van Gogh art work to me. 

It was brilliant to see the site of ‘The Yellow House’, where he painted and lived with Gaugin in Arles.  Unfortunately, the house was bombed during the second world war, but the background buildings are still there, so it’s easy to imagine the two inspirational painters living their life out in this beautiful part of the South of France.  And the colours are amazing – beautiful light and soft stone.

The Romans also thought so, and there is far more to see regarding the Roman architecture, including a stunning Roman amphitheatre, where Van Gogh painted his painting ‘Spectators in the Arena At Arles’. 

And one of my particular favourites is ‘The Café Terrace at Night’ and again, in viewing seeing this in real life, it looks just like a Van Gogh painting!

Another busy week in my French art studio this week as I complete a large garden painting commission as well as begin an oil painting of Lake Windermere in the Lake District. My elaborate underpaintings have taken a lot of time this week as I use geometric pattern to create a base for my unique landscape paintings. And this week I am heading to the South of France to check out Arles and the home of Van Gogh and Gaugin in their Yellow House, so make sure you subscribe to my channel to see updates of my art history tour this week.

Join me this week as I deliver my second every online workshop as well as almost finish my latest garden commission. I have also begun to think about my next paintings of the Lake District and Lake Windermere and show you this week in my studio

Beatriz Milhazes is a Brazilian artist with an exhibition on currently at Tate St Ives (until September 2024). I am particularly drawn to her paintings because of the similarities I see in my own work. Milhazes' studio is in Rio de Janeiro and as such she is influenced by the landscape around her and the botanical gardens of Rio de Janeiro.

From Southampton City Art Gallery to my studio in Northern France, I have had time to think about my next online art workshop on painting a landscape en plein air in your sketchbook as well as time to get back to the easel and paint my latest large commission garden painting. If you want to join my online workshop, go to my shop and then Workshops. You can only access the Art Workshops once you have purchased through the shop. The summary is available on YouTube under my channel helenalicejohnsonartist.

Open Art Studio in Alston this Bank holiday weekend. I am opening the doors to The Old Police Station to show a range of large abstract landscapes as well as small original art works and limited edition art prints too. Some of my most popular paintings are now prints so this is not to be missed if you can make it.