The textural qualities of cold wax encourage extensive mark-making and the exploration of surface irregularities. Beeswax, as a natural material, inherently reflects elements of nature and the processes of change and transformation.

In October 2024 I gave a presentation and live painting demonstration to the Isle of Ely Art Society. The event was held at the Methodist Church, Chapel Street, Ely, and focused on my working process with oil and cold wax medium. 'The First Temple' 130 x 100 x 4 cm on canvas The Demonstration The session centred on the layered approach that characterises my practice — the use of brayers, palette knives, and unconventional tools to build up and rework the painted surface. Cold

Using cold wax medium with oil paint to create a forest

This large-scale painting was developed over an extended period in the studio, its surface built up through successive layers of oil and cold wax medium. The title refers both to the colour — a deep, saturated green that dominates the composition — and to the sense of enclosure that the vertical forms of the trees create: a vault of branches and foliage that shelters and contains. Surface and Process The work was made using a variety of tools — palette knives, rollers, and pr

This is the work currently in the studio. I have decided to produce a series of paintings based on the VolksPark in Berlin

Artists are often asked this question — it is typically the first and frequently the last. The conventional answer is that the hours spent directly on the painting might add up to a few days, weeks, or perhaps a month or two. The artist would then wisely note that, in reality, the piece in question represents the accumulated knowledge and experience of a lifetime. Both answers are true, and neither is complete. Painting of a Forest by Peter Corr 'The Lie of The Land' The Infl

Painting in front of an audience is a different kind of exposure. At Fresh Art Fair I demonstrated my approach to oil and cold wax — the layering, the resistance of the surface, the decisions made in real time. It is a useful discipline: the work has to speak without explanation.

For centuries, the death of painting has been proclaimed. Since the invention of printing during the Han dynasty, artists have anxiously watched each new technological advancement. When the printing press emerged, artists had valid concerns, but they eventually leveraged mechanical reproduction to replicate their work and reach a broader audience. With photography's arrival, it became clear that the representation of reality could be handed over to an optical device capable o

Cold wax landscape painting techniques

The more I paint images of the forest, the more I see trees as a cipher — a kind of encoding, a representation of something else. This painting finally declared itself to me after a few weeks of alternately applying, layering, and removing pigment. 'Natural Theatre' 120 x 100 x 4 cm Oil & Cold Wax on Canvas Painting as Excavation This is painting as extrusion or excavation — not unlike a sculptor releasing a figure embedded in a marble block, or an archaeologist revealing an

This can't possibly be one of my paintings — or so you might think. Where is the impasto, the heavy texture and mark-making, the lively handling of paint that characterises my usual way of working? This was, in fact, my style some two decades ago. Whilst clearing a working space in my garage recently, I came across a large MDF board sandwiched between a couple of old doors and dismantled bunk beds. It was covered in dust and cobwebs, and I thought it might serve as a makeshif

I was recently contacted by a book publisher looking for a suitable image for the front cover of a new title. He was searching for something dark and mysterious to represent the Fenlands — and had come across my photography project completed during the lockdown period. 'Cambridgeshire Fenlands' Photography by: Peter Corr The Fenland Photography Project Followers of this blog may recall the project I completed during lockdown: a series of black and white photographs of the Cam

I have always considered Cubism to be the key movement in the development of contemporary art — the ultimate catalyst, a clean break with tradition and a revolutionary way of seeing, interpreting, and reconstructing the material world through painting. After Cubism, there could be no return to the false comforts and certainties of representational painting. It fatally undermined conventional ways of recording what we see. For the first time, the supremacy of Renaissance persp

I always return to the forest as a subject for painting. It is a source of limitless fascination and inspiration. I create these forest paintings primarily from memory. I do have photographs taken at various locations, but I rarely use them to complete a painting. They may offer a starting point, a way of seeing, or a particular quality of light — but ultimately a painting has to work on its own terms. Effective paintings have a convincing internal character and consistency.

This work represents something of a departure. It is a graphic rendering of a winter tree, with a pronounced emphasis on drawing and linear qualities — a shift from the more atmospheric landscape work that typically occupies my practice. The painting uses oil, cold wax, bitumen, pumice stone powder, and enamel on an 80 × 80 cm canvas. 'The Dream of a Golden Tree' Oil, Cold Wax, bitumen, pumice stone, enamel on 80 x 80 cm Canvas Materials and Process The general process is re

In May 2022 I exhibited new paintings at the Hampstead Art Fair with Linton59. The setting — on the edge of Hampstead Heath — felt appropriate for work rooted in landscape. This post documents the paintings shown and the context of the exhibition.

Oil and Cold ax painting of a forest 100 x 150 cm on canvas

'After Glow' 80 x 80 cm Acrylic on Canvas 'Afterglow' — The Light Series This painting belongs to The Light Series, a group of works concerned with the landscape of the Cambridgeshire Fenlands. It is a personal reflection on the open fields and skies of East Anglia, though the work carries no topographical information to act as a compass or guide. There are no landmarks, no trees or hedgerows, no features that would anchor the image to a specific place. The viewer is left wit

Creating art is a fundamental part of my identity and a way for me to express my emotions and thoughts. When I make images, I feel like I’m connecting with something deeper. This process feels like a journey, where each brushstroke or pencil mark leads to new insights and understandings. Art helps me capture the complexities of life—its beauty, chaos, and mysteries. Each piece I create represents a specific moment, emotion, or idea that interests me. Making art isn't just abo

This painting, 'Archaeology of Thought', is made in oil and cold wax medium on a cradled wooden board. It belongs to a continuing body of work concerned with landscape, climate, and sensory experience translated into paint — work that asks what it means to record a place not through description but through accumulation. The title is deliberate. Archaeology implies excavation: the careful removal of material to reveal what lies beneath. But it also implies the reverse — the sl