Oil paintings and portraits for sale by contemporary artist Michael Heseltine based in Scotland. Scottish Landscape oils in an abstract style influenced by the Scottish colourists and the expressionists.

The gallery of Michael's portraits and oil paintings can be seen by pressing....

HERE

“He is a glorious colourist, as his complementary quivering purples and golds, or deep aquamarine and oranges, bear witness.” The Field

“ ... an interesting young painter who becomes increasingly convincing and original.” The Independent

Prestigious commissions include HMY Britannia and paintings for financial institutions such as Charterhouse Bank, J.P. Morgan, Edward Erdman, Brinson Partners, Ocean and Transport Trading, The Palace of Westminster and various other financial institutions. Several paintings are in the Palace of Westminster1s collection and one of these was used for the House of Commons official Christmas card for 1994. A view of the chamber was used by the House of Lords as their official Christmas card for 1997.

Michael has spent the last year completing four oil paintings commissioned by the House of Lords for their new dining room, the furniture for which was made by Viscount Linley. Michael was given permission to paint throughout the Palace of Westminster including areas where access is tightly restricted. He is currently working on a series of paintings commissioned by the Palace of Westminster on places where parliament have sat.

He has had several one-man shows at the Mall Galleries, including an exhibition in association with Campaign for Oxford, raising money for the Ashmolean Museum. His involvement with the preservation of Britain's heritage has included an exhibition on the temples and landscapes of Stowe in conjunction with The National Trust.

Inspired by painting buildings and his interest in architecture, he is now restoring a Victorian castle in Scotland.

Please visit other areas of Michael's work:
Oil paintings from 1990 to 2000
Portraits
Links
Some Scottish art links
Mirror paintings site
Old paintings and art site on a different server

Michael's art has gone through a significant change over the last year. Previous paintings were in a traditional style, but since his move to Scotland his paintings have been influenced by the Scottish colourists and the Expressionists. The combination of these influences and the new landscape he now lives in has made the work more vibrant and confident. Marc Rothko, Cadell, Furgusson, Hunter and Peploe are the main new influences on his oil paintings. A clarity of thought has now matured in his work and the resulting confidence has meant that the paintings have increased in their intensity and scale. The subject matter has moved from representational to a more mood making quality with elements of symbolism. A stylish and inventive approach has become more evident in the use of colour and composition. Inspiration has been taken from his garden and local landscape, using this as a vehicle for expressing the mood of both his feelings and the places he paints. The earlier painterly tradition of his work has provided the ability to now abstract, a discipline which is all to often rushed into. Technique has become instinctive, allowing freedom of expression.
Portraits have become a new interest and provide an interesting balance to the highly expressive landscape style. He is currently working on a series of portrait commissions alongside his normal work.

Portraits
Charcoal portraits can produce a very striking image because of the simplicity of the medium. I tend to limit myself to just the charcoal and use the white of the paper for the highlights within the drawing. The emphasise is on the composition and great drama can be made of the tone and contrast.

Portraits can be commissioned by contacting me at michael@heseltine1.demon.co.uk

I enjoy the simplicity of using just tone without colour. This enables the subject matter to concentrate on compositional values which produces a unique qualtity. The paper can effect the textures and is another subtle contributer to the effects one can achieve in charcoal.

Scottish modern art

Scottish modern art.

Having been influenced by Mark Rothko I decided to do a map of the loch using colour to represent the mood, while also painting within that the places where fish were seen. The two main blue colours evoke a sensation and mood while, juxtapositioned against that is a very different objective of a 'map' of the movement of fish. The island and boat house also feature, with a swan nesting on the right. However, the overall sensation hopefully echoes some of the Rothko abstracts. I am fascinated by the combination of map making and including the mood of a place within the map. Modern Scottish art has often touched on this, perhaps due to many Scottish artists being interested in depicting places and incorporating their history.
I have recently enjoyed keeping with a subject for a series of paintings over a long period. I have often made the mistake of either working the painting to death or painting over it too quickly! Often a rejected painting when returned to some months later appears much better and just a few alterations makes it work. This discipline of never throwing anything away is worth keeping to. By sticking to a subject an in depth knowledge and understanding develops. This allows you to distill the real essence and identify what to leave out as well as what to depict.

Scottish colourists

Scottish colourists influence - Michael Heseltine

Cadell, Fergusson, Hunter, Peploe, have all influenced me since coming to Scotland. They capture the vibrance and intensity of the Scottish landscape. By using the same strength of colour, I hope to transform the painting away from a representation of a scene to having a mood and impact of its own.

London art galleries

london art galleries - Michael Heseltine

This painting is about making an emotional yet also factual map of Orchil where I live. We are currently restoring the castle depicted in the middle of the canvas. The painting has an energy which captures the excitement and enthusiasm I have for the place. Over the last year I have been experimenting with this new approach and style, very different from the earlier work seen on the pages: Oil paintings from 1990 to 2000. I have been influenced by Marc Rothko's use of colour to effect an emotion. The scale of this type of work is important, making it difficult to exhibit in many London art galleries. I want the painting to dominate rather than having the spectator dominate the painting. This concept was explored by Rothko. I enjoy the pattern making quality which due to its simplistic style introduces an uplifting mood. The boldness is attributed to the surrounding Scottish landscape which, due to the climate, is brash and powerfull.

Art in Scotland.

Art in Scotland- Michael Heseltine

The reason I paint is to explore the qualities of a subject. The medium of oil painting helps me to annalyse and discover. By constantly questioning why am I painting a subject, I determine the essence and express it. The process of oil painting, with its strengths and weakness's directs the course and nature of the discoveries. It makes it a unique journey, different from photography or other mediums, but the oil paint must be given the freedom to 'talk back'. Too much contol will just mirror already preconcieved observations. The exciting part is the unknown or accident which I try and run with if it happens.
This painting is part of my map series. It is a subject I know well, being the loch at the end of my garden. I try to paint from memory, hence the view from above. It is filled with old experiences, expressed as colour, within the map like definition of the place. The fish symbols denote places I have caught fish, while the overall blues suggest the tranquility. I like the idea of the painting having a very practical purpose... a map, while also working as a piece of self-indulgent nostalga.
Art in Scotland has always been heavily influenced by the landscape. It is bold and confident, with strong colours generated by the climate. Scottish artists such as the Glasgow boys and colourists have produced work that captures this energy and strength. I have moved on from more delicate work done in England to a bolder approach. This may be partly due to maturity as an artist, but I think the landscape has encouraged this move. My scottish paintings are a world away from the Oil paintings from 1990 to 2000 painted in England.
Recently I have been trying to limit my colours to help define an overall emotion. My art in Scotland has produced a clarity of thought which is less cluttered. I love Monet's paintings which have an overall emotion created by the predominence of a colour. I try to identify the colour which best describes my feelings and use that as much as possible.
Fine art in Scotland is dominated by Scottish artists who tend to work in isolation. I know many Scottish artists who have chosen to avoid the publicity sort by so many. It is a combination of the life style and country which attracts a more intaverted approach and I have been influenced as well. Scottish artists seem to have a culture of experimentation which the demands of frequent exhibitions can suffocate.

Expressionists

Expressionists influence - by Michael Heseltine

Vlaminck, Kirchner, Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky and Andre Derain have all influenced me since moving to Scotland. The energy and vibrant style is not unlike some of the Scottish colourists and both styles are suited to the Scottish landscape. This painting was particularly inspired by Vlaminck.

I enjoy the process of clearing my mind of all thoughts of technique and trusting to a simple direct approach. Limiting the space between perception and the resultant mark on the canvas is one ambition. Too many thoughts and techniques removes the reality into a process of picture making and not an honest response to the observations.

With this painting I made no premeditations of the landscape, I just responded. Thoughts of paintings by Vlaminck and the Scottish colourists passed through my mind but I tried to discipline myself not to dwell on too many previously seen works, as that could detract from my own true response. However, we are also a sum of our own experiences and these can never be totally rejected.

Colour and pattern making echoes the emotional feeling I had and contributes to the vocabulary I use to express these feelings. I like the painting to be partly representational, but also a creation of mood and experience, which depicts the whole landscape around me, and what it was like to be there. In many ways it is a painting of me at 40 years old and my attitude to life.

Copyright Michael Heseltine, 2001.
These images may not be used, in whole or part, for any other product. No reproduction, lamination, mounting, trimming, matting, framing may be made using any Heseltine image contained herein.

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