Christine Holme

Welcome to my website and February’s Monthly Journal. If you are joining me this month for the first time, this is where I now share my art and thoughts about art, as an alternative to posting on Facebook or Instagram. Here is the link to last month's Journal.If you would like to ask a question or make a comment, I would love to hear from you. Many of you can contact me via WhatsApp. There is also an email address at the end.I am fortunate to live within a short drive of RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Wirral. This is a special place. When the world gets too Arrrrrgghh! This is somewhere that says, ‘breathe. It’s ok. Look, there is that vast sky. Here are the birds just going about their business, being birds.’ Maybe there are lots of people out there who need a bit of that calm. I find it when I’m out with nature.The wintery skeletons of the trees are a beautiful sight on a bright February day. I love the reflections of them in the water. And I love the sight and sounds of geese flying overhead, calling to each other as they go.Photos of RSPB Burton Mere:

Here is FEBRUARY'S GALLERYThis month’s selection of my drawings and paintings.

My Art RoomThe big news from my art room this month is that I am trialling a way of reducing the amount of acrylic paint I wash away down the drain. I love using acrylic paints, but I know they are not great for the environment because of their plastic content. This doesn’t sit well with me and I have seriously considered giving up using them all together. I know I am just one person, but I have a conscience.So, I did a search and found a great ‘tip’ which I was able to put into action straight away. I wonder how many other painters who use acrylics wrestle with this dilemma?This is what I am now doing:

Finding the FlowI am still excited to let the creativity flow. But I will be honest, it’s not flowing that freely... yet. I’m expecting to establish a better working routine very soon. I did continue to work on the painting I mentioned last month, View Across the Dee at Low Tide and it is finished, probably. It went through quite a few changes. I wanted to keep it loose and not get into too much detail. I also had to achieve a sense of distance.Over time, I have come to realise that painting for me is a search for a feeling and that feeling is a sense of open space and light. I don’t ever achieve this feeling by copying the scene accurately. I’m interpreting. I’m mixing what I see with all my other senses.I had an inspired afternoon or two where I felt like 'the force' was with me! I could finally let go and my intuition took over. Here is a video that shows the progression of my latest painting over several weeks.And yes, I do look at it and think that some of the earlier versions looked better than I thought at the time! C'est la vie!

I mentioned that the creative juices were not exactly flowing at the start of the month. Keeping a good rhythm going is not always easy. The Christmas holidays can often have that effect.I re-read a book called Dancing with the Gods by Kent Nerburn. I find the whole book very inspiring and whenever I need a kick start, I know I can rely on it to fire me up again.Chapter 1 is called Courting the Muse and the author talks about ‘Finding the place where time stands still.’ ‘…being nothing more than the vehicle for a vision’. He urges us to ‘Do whatever you need to do to find that place where you inhabit your art and your art inhabits you.’I have come to realise that some days I will just work and it will be difficult to find that ‘zone’. But I need to carry on anyway. It’s all part of the process of learning. The alternative is to do nothing. If I’m really frozen I take a pad and pen and just ‘doodlesketch’. Sometimes I make small, simple sketches of favourite paintings or photos that are on my phone. If it’s a pad with ruled lines it doesn’t matter. There’s no pressure. It’s never wasted time.

Here are things I do that help me to find my ‘zone’ when I'm in my art room:

This is one of my favourite paintings by the artist George Leslie Hunter. I have this image as a double spread page in a book about the Scottish Colourists and I think it’s just fantastic. I have been looking at it a lot lately and I’m finding it very inspiring.There is an exhibition on in Edinburgh until 28th June at The Dovecot Studios entitled The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives. I would really like to go and see it!

I have been looking at progress photos on my phone. This painting no longer exists, because I carried on painting on more layers. But, looking back, when it was at this stage it had something exciting and this image really interests me. I’m taking this ‘feel’ into my future work.

This is on my easel now. It started off as a place to use up some left-over paint. It’s on a stretched canvas 46cm x 36cm. It’s loosely based on a photo of a view across the Dee from Thurstaston. I am using large brushes and so far I am really happy with the feel of it.

GETTING IN TOUCHI wrote last month that ‘It’s not a perfect world’ and that is so true. I wanted to leave Facebook and Instagram and that is a very noble aim. But here is an admission; I still look at Facebook and Instagram and I am finding information on there that I want to read. Mostly about art, music and gardening. But I am not posting on my Facebook or Instagram pages. I have liked not feeling that urge to constantly check on what comments people might have left.So, this monthly journal/website, is how I communicate what I’ve been up to in a way that allows me to focus and use my time wisely.I have had some lovely feedback from people about my Journal, which I really appreciate. Thank you so much if you have taken the time to get in touch. It was great to have a non-toxic oil paint thinner recommended to me. It is
Gamsol odorless Mineral Spirits by a company called Gamblin. Someone else recommended a daylight strip light that is very reasonably priced and can be purchased from Screwfix. Both really helpful suggestions.I loved hearing about some of your art rooms and your art projects.You can contact me by email here or WhatsApp if we are connected that way. It would be so good to hear from you and I promise to reply.

Christine Holme

Welcome to my website which is going to take the form of a MONTHLY JOURNAL, so please join me regularly to view my work and read my musings. It will be my way of sharing my art and thoughts about art with you and I would love to hear from you.My name is Christine Holme. I live at the very southern edge of the Wirral Peninsula and many of my paintings are inspired by the Dee Estuary and Wirral Coastline. I love to be out and about in nature.I really don’t like having my photograph taken. Anyone feel the same??? Anyway, this is me. Taken at Calgary Bay, on the Isle of Mull in the Western Isles of Scotland. Definitely one of my favourite places. I absolutely love a beach in any weather! I wonder if you do too?

Here is JANUARY'S GALLERYThis is where I will share a different selection of my drawings and paintings each month.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

My Art RoomI’m not sure why I have reservations about using the word Studio?Maybe because it is our spare bedrooms knocked through into one. Neither of the rooms were very big, but it’s made a large enough space for me to work in. I do have to share it with the husband's wardrobes.After Christmas I reclaimed it from being the place we use to store stuff.On sunny days it gets very strong daylight most of the afternoon, which can be a problem, hence the roller blind. I also have a daylight bulb lamp that helps to even out the light.

If I find I need more space, I take my easel downstairs and set up in the kitchen.This is Dylan. He is my studio buddy, wherever I am painting. Cat and wet paint are not always the best combination! My art room has become a sanctuary for plants that he can’t resist nibbling. It’s the only room that can be shut off from the rest of the house, bar the loo/bathroom. But when he joins me in there, I must keep a close eye on him! Hmmmmm…

I often work with acrylic paint on stretched canvas and some of my paintings are quite large, over a metre wide. I have a wooden easel that can be adjusted to accommodate many sizes. I can create a horizontal surface, which is useful for working with watercolour.I have tried various mixing palettes for acrylics, including paper plates and tear off palette pads. I now use baking paper taped to an old A3 palette pad and I find it works very well.

My favourite brushes are flatheaded, shorter handled brushes, in a range of sizes up to 1 ½ inches wide. I have several that are a similar size, so I don’t have to keep washing colour off all the time.

A few years ago I discovered an article about colour mixing and using a limited colour palette of warm and cool primary colours, plus white. I started to experiment and this is now my shopping list for paints:Warm Red- E.g. Madder Lake deep
Cool Red- E.g. Light Vermillion
Warm Blue- E.g. Dark Ultramarine
Cool Blue- E.g. Primary Cyan
Warm Yellow- E.g. Dark Cadmiuim Yellow
Cool Yellow- E.g. Primary Yellow
Plus Titanium WhiteIt is my intention to begin using oil paints come the milder weather when I can ventilate my room or work outside. I haven't used them since I was a teenager (so that’s a long time ago!). The smell of the turps and linseed oil always left me with a fuzzy head.I have been advised that there are less smelly alternatives, so I’m eager to try them.Is there anyone out there with advice to share?In my art room I like to have a wall where I can pin things up; some of my own work that has something I’d like to keep in view, ‘Print offs’ of art that excite me, a scribbled quote that gives me a nudge.I have an image of a Paul Nash painting entitled ‘Shore’. I love the composition of strong lines contrasting with the pastel colours and the feeling of space (see photo).

I also have an image of a coastal lithograph print by Elizabeth Blackadder, entitled ‘Staithes’ (see photo). The lines, marks and application of colour are so energetic. She was an amazing artist of such variety. Well worth discovering, if you haven’t already.

THE YEAR AHEAD. HELLO 2025.I have lots of ideas for paintings going round in my head and a space to work that is ready and waiting. I’m excited to make a start and let the creativity flow!One of my first projects will be to continue working on this canvas, a view across the Dee at low tide. It’s an interesting composition as it’s slightly elevated. Getting that sense of distance is challenging and I love the subtle colours in the wet sand/mud. I am undecided about the foreground and whether or not to keep the grass edge. Hopefully it will be ready to show you next month.

GETTING IN TOUCHIt’s not a perfect world and I have found that social media is becoming something I would like to distance myself from. It's not easy to come off Facebook. It does such a good job of connecting people and makes it so easy to comment and communicate, especially for artists and art lovers.One of the things I don’t like is its addictiveness. I feel compelled to post something and then I feel the strong urge to keep checking in. At this point in time, I really don’t want that. I want to focus on making art that I love and that takes as long as it takes. I often have multiple pieces in progress and I like to have them hanging around until I know that they are truly finished.So, this monthly journal/website is my attempt to stay in touch in a way that allows me to focus more and use my time wisely.

• HOME

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Llanbedrog Beach, 2021

Original acrylic painting on stretched canvas (90 x 65cm). PRICE £450, plus P&P. Ready to hang as it is or could be be framed.Prints are also available: 45 x 32 cm, signed giclee print, unframed £60.Can you please email me if you are interested in purchasing an original. I understand that many people would want to arrange a viewing first and we can see if this can be arranged.Seeing artwork on a screen is not like seeing a painting in a gallery.

Christine Holme

Gouache Paintings

These gouache paintings were part of an exhibition at Staacks Gallery, West Kirby.They are now available as signed giclee prints (unframed) and also as blank greeting cards with envelopes.Prints are approximately 32 x 24 cm ... £45 plus p&pCards are approximately 18 x 13 cm ... £10 for any 4, plus p&pPlease state which numbers/ titles you would like, when ordering cards.To order please contact me.

Christine Holme

Giclee Prints for Sale

View Over the Dee 1. Signed Giclee Print. Limited Edition of 20. (50 x 50 cm) ... £60

View Over the Dee 2. Signed Giclee Print. Limited Edition of 20. (50 x 50 cm) ... £60

White Cottage, Thurstaston Beach. Signed Giclee Print. (50 x 38 cm) ... £60

Stone Jetty ,Thurstaston Beach. Signed Giclee Print. Limited Edition of 20. (50 x 50 cm) ... £60

Red Cliffs, Thurstaston Beach. Signed Giclee Print. (50 x 38 cm) ... £60

Me and this Tree. Signed Giclee Print. Limited Edition of 20. (50 x 50 cm) ... £60

Llanbedrog Beach. Signed Giclee Print. (45 x 32 cm) ... £60

Utopia Landscape. Signed Giclee Print. (60 x 30 cm) ... £60

Prints are unframed. Measurements are approximate and other sizes are available. Please enquire.Please Note: Colours may vary slightly due to different monitor settings and it may appear differently in print than on screen.If you would like to purchase a print please contact me.