Christine Holme

Welcome to my website and my Monthly Journal for April. Some of you might be joining me 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. You can catch up on previous journals by visiting my archive page.I feel like I’m finally there with the two paintings I have been working on for so long. But what does that mean? How do I know?I can identify the stages I go through when I am painting one of my landscapes and seascapes.Before I even begin to paint, I look for an image that will allow me to express the way I want my paintings to look and feel. I have lots of photos of views and of paintings that are ‘in progress’. I like to look through these and see if anything stands out.I start by painting the ‘bones/strong lines’ of the composition using a large brush, probably 1-inch flat.I usually use the left-over paint that is still on my palette.I try to get a sense of where the dark tones are and I usually paint in some bright coloured areas.Here is a painting I have recently started...

I also like to get movement onto the canvas with some bold gestural brush work. It’s a very relaxing way to start a new painting. It’s also exciting, knowing that I’m trying to create something that doesn’t yet exist.The next stage is trying to keep the momentum going.I always remember something I read that David Bowie once said...‘If you feel safe in the area that you are working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little bit further into the water than you feel capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you feel that your feet aren’t quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.’For me, I often feel that I can’t stop a painting until I’ve pushed it to the point where it could be ruined. I tell myself it’s just paint. If I stop when it’s nearly there, most people will think it’s ok. But if it’s not doing what I had in my mind’s eye, I don’t stop. Ok is not ok. So, I take risks and keep going.My painting style is very ‘painterly’. I like the paint to be visible. I’ve noticed lately that it’s verging on scruffy, which I like!Sometimes a painting starts to get too fiddly and faffy. That’s when I know it’s not finished. I get out the larger brushes and mix generous amounts of paint.And most importantly, I need to let a painting ‘stand’, usually in the living room propped up by the telly. Sometimes it can be a few weeks before I see something that I need to do.Since typing the above, I went back into this painting and now it really is finished. Confession time: I accidently caught some bright red paint on my brush and splodged it in the sky! But that led to the creation of something much more interesting, so happy days!

GALLERY FOR APRILLet’s get excited about paint!It’s great to play with colours and textures. Playing is where you just allow yourself time to enjoy the paint and explore different ways to apply it. It’s really important to make time for it.The images I have chosen this month are mostly of playful experiments. Some with acrylic, some with watercolour or gouache. Mostly on paper or card.I’ve kept them large so you can see the detail. None of these are what you would call a finished piece of work and quite a few don’t exist anymore.

My Art Room Catch UpTwo finished paintings and a new one started. I have already talked about one (see above). Here is the other. By the time you are reading this they will have been delivered to Merseymade, West Kirby, along with new blank greeting cards.

Next month I hope to have made some good progress on the seascape I have just started.

In Praise of Art GroupsI mentioned last time that I go to a few art groups. One has been going for almost a decade. It was instigated by my dear friend Peter Shaw, who I miss so much. He vehemently believed that people should have the opportunity to do art and he was very keen to set up an art group that would provide basic art materials and a place to gather with like-minded people. He and I were to ‘run’ the group, providing friendly advice as and when people felt they needed it. We would only charge enough to cover the hire of the room. We applied for a local council grant and bought a lockable cupboard and some resources to start us off.It’s a very simple format. We meet for 2 hours every week. We stop at 3 for tea/coffee and biscuits and take time to look at what everyone has been doing. Everyone is made welcome. They don’t have to book or sign up. Most people who turn up say that they haven’t drawn since they were at school. Some people come because it gives them 2 hours in a busy week when they know they will do their art.Over the years we have gained in numbers and there is a core of people who are the regulars. Between us we manage to be there every Tuesday apart from Christmas. People are so friendly and supportive.I love going because I know that it helps me, too. It’s really important for me to get out and mix with other people and be sociable. There’s a lot of general chat as well as art chat. There’s always someone that makes you smile. And so, we carry on, keeping alive Peter’s idea of what the art group should be.We all miss Peter very much. He was a fantastic artist and a marvellous man. We were very fortunate to have known him for as long as we did.He and his wonderful wife, Margie, were 30 years older than me, but I never felt that age gap. I am thankful that I knew them. They were both inspirational. Peter had a vast knowledge of art history. I miss our sketching trips and our discussions about art and life. He was a great friend. He continues to be a voice in my head reminding me that time ticks on and we need to make the most of every day.

GARDEN UPDATEThere has been a lot of gardening going on! I call it the garden gym. It continues to distract me and so painting is taking a bit of a back seat at the moment.The dry weather has caused the pond to ‘shrink’, but that’s ok. It is still looking great and the pond plants are growing well. There are water skaters, water boatmen, and snails. And yay! We have definitely got at least one frog!

We were so pleased to see that the Solomons Seal had survived all the upheaval and it is actually spread to double the size it was last spring.

I have been planting out things I grew from seed. The herb bed is looking good. It will really fill out in the coming months.

The area at the side of the house is burgeoning with plants that have been rescued from the raised beds we are slowly dismantling. We are replacing them with ‘no dig’ beds that will be a mix of flowers, herbs, soft fruits and fruit trees.I have been researching plant guilds and gardening by the lunar calendar, but more of that next time!

GETTING IN TOUCHYou 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.

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Christine Holme

Welcome to my website and my Monthly Journal for March. Some of you might be joining me 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. You can catch up on previous journals by visiting my archive page.March proved to be a mixed bag of a month. It was full of distractions that kept me out of my studio quite a lot. Although I am sure that some of these activities will feed into future paintings, so I am not beating myself up over it! Feed the soul...Firstly, we did take that trip to Edinburgh, and we went to the Exhibition at The Dovecot Gallery, The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives.

It was incredibly inspiring to see so many beautiful works of art. My favourite Colourist painting was there! I spent a long time looking at it (see Februarys Journal).The Gallery used to be a swimming baths. There is now a huge tapestry studio where the pool would have been. You can view the looms and people working at them from a balcony, so we did.

We also visited the National Gallery twice! What a fabulous building.I discovered some artists I’m not familiar with; Sir James Guthrie and Bessie MacNicol. Their work on paper dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s, using pastel and watercolour, in particular. Created over one hundred years ago and looking so fresh and exciting! It has given me the incentive to revisit these mediums.

Three Ladies of Fashion by Bessie MacNicol, 1900. Watercolour on paper.

Moniaive by James Paterson, 1880’s. Watercolour over pencil on paper.

We took a stroll round the Greyfriars area of Edinburgh and happened across an art shop. So good to see, feel and smell art materials in real life!A few choice purchases were made, including a couple of my favourite flat head brushes.

The weather for our three day trip was glorious bright sunshine. Dry, but chilly. So much to see and do and not enough time. We will return.

A small pencil sketch I drew of the view from The National Gallery.

GALLERY FOR MARCHThis month’s selection of my drawings and paintings is all about trees. I am a self-confessed tree hugger. Although I am very fond of painting seascapes, I have always loved drawing and painting trees.

My Art Room Catch UpWell, here’s a very truthful photo of how my room looked at the beginning of March. Where else would you store a useful, but now redundant item???I’m happy to report that it has now been dismantled and put back in its box. I’m also pleased that the husband’s recovery from his hip operation in early January is going very well.

My art room is back in some semblance of order. The painting on the easel is still being worked on. I have gone in with the larger brushes and it’s getting more exciting to look at.

This one isn’t finished but it is showing signs of how my mind's eye wants it to look. It will get there. Sometimes paintings come together very quickly and others need a bit more room to grow. It’s all part of the creative process; allowing yourself the time to reflect on what you’ve done, so that you can see your path more clearly.

I am celebrating a sale. This painting sold at Merseymade, West Kirby. So, a big thank you to them and to the person who made the purchase. I hope you love it and enjoy it every day.

INSPIRED BY NATUREA very big part of my life is a love of nature. I am inspired to create art because of what I discover when I’m in nature. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I tell you that our garden is one of my loves and it’s also one of the main distractions keeping me from being at my easel. I’m now going to go on a bit about our garden.Having a wildlife pond has been something we’ve wanted for a very long time, knowing how much it will add to the diversity of our garden. It became a reality in the middle of March and we can’t quite believe it. There will be weeks of waiting for all the plants to settle in and flourish and for all the pond life to arrive. We have pond snails and we have spotted a pond skater. We would love there to be frogs and frogspawn. Newts would be amazing!

I’m proud to say that we have never used chemicals of any sort in our little patch of the planet. We’ve lived here for 25 years and we let nature pretty much do its thing. Then we ‘edit’, to keep our garden from becoming a wood!We planted a hedge of mixed native trees about five years ago. It’s now over 7 feet tall. We have teasels and many other great pollinator-friendly plants that self-seed and pop up every year. We have a slow heap where we put thicker stems and branches to decompose over a long period. It’s been there years and I’m certain it is a haven for many creatures.We have a bramble patch under a row of mature poplar trees. We know hedgehogs live under there and we saw them emerging last week, to forage in the garden. An increasingly rare animal that deserves as much help as we can give it. They need more gardens than just one, so it’s essential to their survival that the whole neighbourhood is on their side.Hedgehogs are the best form of garden pest control, as too are frogs.Just a quick fact about weedkillers and slug pellets. Yes, they are still for sale, but they are poisonous chemicals that get into the food chain and kill the creatures we share our gardens with. Hedgehogs, frogs, toads and some birds eat slugs, snails and other minibeasts, so they really don’t need their food supply being killed and covered with poisons. We have a choice. They don’t.

HERE COMES SPRING!The clocks will have gone forward by the time you read this. Time is certainly marching on. It’s great to have the lighter, longer days.We can hear the morning chorus of birds. The daffodils took over from the crocuses and now there are seedlings popping up in every corner. It will be fascinating to see the garden and the pond come to life.I feel a tad guilty that there is not a lot of art happening in my life just now. Not just guilty, but also sad that I’m not finding time to do something I know makes me happy.Apart from all the aforementioned distractions close to home, the world at large is feeling unstable and even more ARRRGH ! than last month.I am concentrating on things that I can control, to help quieten the ‘chatter’ and ease my mind. Not exactly being an ostrich, but distancing myself from things that I know bring my mood down. I’m trying to preserve my sanity in ways I know work for me. I’m lucky to have a garden and an art room to escape to.Next month I will tell you about the special art groups I attend and how much I value them.

GETTING IN TOUCHYou 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.

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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. You can catch up on previous journals by visiting my archive page.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.

Contact Me

Or e-mail me with any questions or enquiries at hi@christineholmeartist.com

I must say a huge thank you to Mark, who is the technical know-how behind this website. Check out his website at: https://lightvineweb.com

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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.

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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.

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Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

Christine Holme

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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.