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Most of the paintings featured on this site are available as prints & greetings cards. Some of the originals may still be available too.

Graham Lock - Artist

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Painting of the month...

June 2009 - 'St Mark’s Square'

Graham Lock - Painting of the Month


St Mark’s Square, Venice. An unusual viewpoint. I loved the long shadows and sketched it quickly from a balcony, painting it in this elongated format back in the studio – the subject seemed to suit this composition. I hope you like it ... feel free to let me know.

Tip of the month...

Check each month for artists' tips

June 2009

South East Open Studios
June sees the 13th annual South East Open Studios. For a fortnight from 5th -19th June 271 artists throughout Kent, East Sussex and Surrey will open their studios to the general public. Why not visit a studio near you? Not only do you get to view the art, but you also have the opportunity to discuss the work with the artist. Plan a circular route and visit several studios

My studio will be open on:
Sat 6th and Sun 7th 10.30 – 4.30
Mon 8th 11.00 – 3.00
Sat 13th and Sun 14th 10.30 – 4.30
Mon 15th 11.00 – 3.00


For a full listing of artists, their studios, addresses, directions, opening times etc visit www.seos-art.org or pick up a SEOS ‘Guide and Artist Directory’ from your local library.

May 2009

Using a Sketch Book
Sketch books are an invaluable aid to an artist. Photographs can be used to capture detail and as a back-up to your sketch book work, but are unlikely to capture the essence of the scene as you saw it as well as sketches or paintings completed on site. Back in the studio, a series of thumbnails in your sketch book can help you to decide upon composition, tone and colours to be used in the final painting

April 2009

Painting in Tones
Tone, for me, is often more important than colour in a painting. It is light and shade which defines form, which is why black and white photos are often so atmospheric. It is also why when you are painting you can use a limited palette. I am quite happy to use just three colours in some paintings, knowing the tone is more important than representing the exact colour of what is in front of me.

March 2009

One Colour
It can be very helpful to paint a picture using just one colour as this will force you to concentrate upon tone. Use a colour that has the potential to give dark tones – Burnt Umber, Paynes Grey, or Prussian Blue, for example. Try using just three tones to start with. Leave the white of the paper for the lightest tone, and paint everything else in a mid tone of your chosen colour. When the mid tone is dry, mix up a dark tone and paint in just the darkest darks on the top of your mid tone. You might be surprised how recognisable the subject is. Try using 5 tones – white paper, light tone, mid tone, light darks and darkest darks. Photographs are useful for this exercise. Squint your eyes to see the tones clearly.

February 2009

Colour Mixing
Here is an exercise that can be both fun and frustrating, but will certainly help you to get to know your paints.

Collect a free paint manufacturer’s colour chart from an art supply shop – Winsor and Newton, Daler Rowney, Holbein, Shmincke, Talens – it doesn’t matter whose, they all do them. Now from the paints you already have, see how closely you can mix colours that match those on the chart. You might be surprised how close you get to the originals.

Do be aware that the colours you mix may look the same as a named colour, but may not have the same properties (eg transparent, granulating, etc). Also be aware that different manufacturers will use different names for what is the same colour, or will use different pigments to make colours that have the same name. So, for example, Raw Sienna is not made from the same pigment(s) in all ranges.

January 2009

Yellow, Red, Blue - The Three Primaries

This month I have quite a bit of information (including image samples) to pass onto you; so here is a link to a pdf file on the theme of Yellow, Red, Blue - The Three Primaries.

BTW, Happy New Year to everyone!


December 2008

What colours should I use?

There is no answer to this question. Some artists use a lot, others use only a very few. Most artists, I estimate, have a range of 12-18 colours, but probably use only half of these in any one painting. There are no right or wrong colours – but there will be colours that work for you and some that don’t. If you are new to painting use only a few at first – perhaps just a yellow, a red and a blue. Whether you are new or not it is important you know your colours well – for each colour whether, for example, it is a good mixer, transparent or opaque, staining or non staining, and whether it granulates or not.

If you don’t find time to paint every day, try to find a few minutes to mix some colours together. Mix pairs of colours together, then three, and then four or more – mix them in different proportions to each other and keep a record of your results. Finding time to get to know your colours is never time wasted.

More on this theme in January 2009...

About Graham Lock...

Graham Lock is an award-winning artist who lives in Chatham, in the county of Kent in the South East of England. Painting in a variety of media and styles, he has exhibited and sold his works widely. He receives regular commissions from clients and has paintings in many private collections around the world... in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

As well as being a member of a number of art groups in Kent, Graham has been elected to membership of the United Society of Artists and the prestigious London Sketch Club.

In London Graham’s paintings have been exhibited at the London Sketch Club, the Westminster Gallery, the Cotton Centre, the Coningsby Gallery and at The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. He has had work chosen to be exhibited with two Royal Societies at the Mall Galleries, namely the internationally renowned ‘Royal Society of Marine Artists’ and the ‘Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers.’ In Kent he is represented by the Francis Iles Gallery in Rochester.

Many of Graham’s paintings are available as prints and greetings cards.



Graham Lock - Watercolour Paintings
No. 46


Graham Lock - photo
Graham I Lock

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