Click above for my blog dedicated to a brand new collection inspired by JRR Tolkien's mythology of Middle-earth

Monday 5 November 2012

Initial selection for HG4 Gallery, Ripon (pending approval from gallery)

Summer Garden 36 x 48" approx
A Magic Tale 40 x 30" approx
Autumn Chorus 20 x 30" approx

Friday 19 October 2012

Launch of new blog - From Mordor to the Misty Mountains

My brand new exhibition collection inspired by J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and his wider mythology of Middle-earth was completed earlier this month after a development period spanning almost 7 years. The pace had really been gathering momentum since January 2012 and required new acquisition of photo manipulation skills to bring the work to full completion from July onwards. More detail about the work is given in a dedicated blog to this collection which now has a permanent link under the title image of this blog above. New image additions, news and developments will be posted there. It's incredibly gratifying to have achieved what I set out to do particularly with many struggles along the way - and out in time to hopefully celebrate the imminent film release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December.

Autumn Update: Work displayed at The Rapture Gallery, Harrogate

Early September signalled the closing of the six-month exhibition of 'Colour and Magic' paintings at Lockwoods restaurant in Ripon. Once again, thanks is extended to the Managers of the restaurant for the opportunity to exhibit, and the resulting sales that came from this. Somewhat overlapping this exhibition and beginning in April (making this post a little late!) a selection of my paintings also went on display and sale at the Rapture Gallery on Westmoreland Street in Harrogate. It's a great gallery run by Sculptor Wayne Malton who shows his own fantastic sculptures as well as supporting vibrant local North Yorkshire artists. Upcoming themed exhibitions will focus on Sci-fi and gaming art, which will obviously appeal to a strong fan base and regular 'inspired by' exhibitions feature at the gallery with a recent Batman/Dark Knight show of work being one notable example. In addition to dropping off a few paintings in April I began discussing my recent developments in creating some Tolkien inspired Art to celebrate the release of The Hobbit in December...but more of that in another post

Wednesday 21 March 2012

'Colour and Magic' arrives at Lockwoods restaurant in Ripon

It's a fantastic pleasure to have been accepted as the new exhibiting artist at Lockwoods Restaurant in Ripon by the Proprietor Matthew Lockwood and General Manager Mimi Mikulova. 15 selected paintings went up yesterday on Tuesday afternoon (March 20th) and will remain for a period of approximately 6 months. Preparation for this exhibition has been underway since January and it is satisfying for it to be up and running. As I live in Ripon, it is more the pleasure to be exhibiting in the city and I look forward to reactions to the work. The original paintings are for sale and, new also for 2012, many are now available as Fine Art Giclee prints. Information on pricing, prints and commissions is to be sought directly from myself via email johncockshaw@googlemail.com
Further information about the restaurant itself, which I thoroughly recommend, can be found on their website lockwoodsrestaurant.co.uk

Picking up speed in February and March 2012

Since my last exhibition in 2011 at Bainbridge came to a close in February, a whirlwind of events in my family life generally put all Art matters on the backburner but I'm pleased to announce new upcoming exhibitions, and other completed creative projects for 2012.

The paintings at Leyburn Medical Practice came down in February 2012 after 2 years on show. Many thanks to Stephen Brown, managing partner of the surgery and all other staff for kindly hosting the paintings over this period.

March 2012 marked the completion of a 2-year film project that I've been working away on. The Power of Ultram is a 30 minute film in two parts where Sci-fi and fantasy meet art house cinema on a zero budget. A more comprehensive account of it is given on the film's recently set-up facebook page, but to paint a quick picture of it think - The Lord of the Rings meets Inception and Bladerunner via Silent Cinema! (yes it really is as crazy as it sounds - and if you can decipher, or offer interesting interpretations of the circular plot I'll be prepared to give away a Special Edition DVD of the film as seen below.
So get in touch...


The publicity poster above was designed to announce it's arrival to view online on You tube, Vimeo and Dailymotion. In addition to the poster a 2 minute promo trailer is also available to view online to offer a brief glimpse of the main feature.

Monday 7 February 2011

Nice surprise in the Dalesman!

'Sprinkled with Colour and Magic: Abstract and Landscape paintings by John Cockshaw' gets a nice bit of coverage in the 'Out & About in Yorkshire' section of the Dalesman publication (February edition)

'Colour and magic' hits the Yorkshire Dales

This post is a little belated but select paintings from my 'Sprinkled with Colour and Magic' collection have been on show at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Office in Yoredale, Bainbridge since 6th January 2011. The paintings were delivered to the site on 23rd December and will remain until approx 25th February when I return to collect them. The photos below give an overall impression of how the finished exhibition came together. Many thanks to Lesley Knevitt, the Administrator at Yoredale, for assisting the organisation of the event and all staff who have given great feedback about the show