Want to be the first to see my latest work? Subscribe to my newsletter. Subscribers will get exclusive early access to my Unseen Landscapes catalogue, coming next week, along with updates on exhibitions, new paintings and upcoming workshops. You’ll be the first to know about anything exciting coming up.
You can unscribe anytime - no pressure, just a chance to stay updated.
Sign up through the link in my bio if you are interested. Would love to have you onboard
#soloshow #unseenlandscapes #exhibition #newsletter #newpaintings #workshops #stayintouch mikestaniford
It all begins with drawing, quick sketches and sometimes just a scribble in black and white. Other times I can sit for hours working in gouache completing a more finished field study.
Such an important part of the process and one that I am looking forward to sharing with you at my upcoming solo show, UNSEEN LANDSCAPES @workingdog.gallery opening on the 30th April.
I will have the books on display for you to look through and hopefully enjoy.
Don’t forget to sign up to my email list, link in bio. Subscribers get first look at the online catalogue and all the news re-exhibitions and workshops.
I’m keen to show you through the work.
#soloshow #unseenlandscapes #workingdoggallery #sketches #sketchbookdrawing #fieldstudies #geometry #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #unseenlandscape #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
Unseen Landscapes
Here’s one just back from the framer for my upcoming solo show. All the works portray different aspects of the wide open spaces, and there is an underlying idea that I hope exists in all of them - Eternal Optimism. The long view to a clear horizon suggests a way forward, a path to lead you on, a journey just beginning.
FRAMED BY NATURE 53 x 43 cm. Acrylic on board framed in Tasmanian oak
Unseen Landscapes starts on the 29th April at Working Dog Gallery in St Leonard’s NSW. All details to come in the coming week. Have you signed up to my email list? Link in bio. Subscribers get first dibs on all the news about exhibitions and workshops. And an early bird look at my online catalogue - coming soon.
#geometry #soloshow #workingdoggallery #optimism #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #unseenlandscape #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
Thrilled to have all the work back from the framers for my solo show, Unseen Landscapes opening at the Working Dog gallery on 29 April. Here’s a glimpse of some of the work.
There are so many ups and downs in one’s career and arriving at an exhibition is such a moment of excitement and reflection. And I have come to learn that you have to trust yourself, paint on your terms and believe in what has come to represent this ‘body of work.’
When it moves out of a busy studio and on to clean white gallery walls, I feel I am seeing the paintings for the first time and it genuinely is quite uplifting. It brings out the inner critic in me, fills me with satisfaction and invariably sets the course for future exploration.
I am hoping that some of you will be able to come by and share your reactions to what has been quite a journey.
Why not sign up for my newsletter which will tell you more about the show and will also give you an early look at the catalogue.
#unseenlandscapes @workingpainting #soloshow #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
Thrilled that Against The Light has arrived safely at its new home in Abu Dhabi 🔴 A big thank you to the collectors.
#trees #againstthelight #treeshadows #landscapepainting #hardysbay #killcare #painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
The first spark for Unseen Landscapes ignited back in February 2022, during a residency at Kelton Plain on the vast Monaro Plains, just north of Cooma in New South Wales. Surrounded by a group of fellow artists, I found myself immersed in a landscape strikingly different from the hills and mountains I’m usually drawn to.
At first, I was unsure how to respond to such flat, open country. But as I settled in, the land began to speak—subtle shifts in grasses, the shimmer of vehicle tracks filled with rainwater reflecting blue skies, and the quiet marks of human presence like old fence posts and rusted gates. These elements wove together to reveal the quiet complexity and rhythm of the Monaro terrain.
That experience changed the way I see. It became the foundation for further explorations across Italy, Cornwall, and Tasmania—and the beginnings of the work in this show.
Here’s a glimpse of some early sketches from that journey.
Want an earlybird look at the exhibition catalogue? Head to my website and sign up via the link in my bio
#unseenlandscapes #soloshow #geometry #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #unseenlandscape #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
Guiding Moon and Glimpse Of Gold, just two of the works that will feature in my upcoming solo show, Unseen Landscapes at The Working Dog gallery in Sydney’s St Leonards, just five minutes walk from the new metro.
The show opens on 30th April and I will be at the gallery each day to welcome you. I will post more information details and a catalogue will be online soon.
#soloshow #unseenlandscapes #landscapepainting #landscapeartist #geometry #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #landscapepainter #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
Something quite different for me. A morning drawing and painting in the disused turbine hall on Cockatoo Island with partner @debbiemackinnon and the Thursday morning group of artists.
It’s a former dockyard with facilities for refitting warships. It also has historic houses and a convict precinct.
I loved the scale and complex geometric structure that strangely I also look for in my outdoor landscapes. Railway tracks criss cross the entire site and the vast ceiling height makes it a fascinating space to be in. Small pockets of light breakthrough the dense framework of steel beams. It’s not hard to imagine what it must have been like back in its heyday.
#cockatooisland #pleinairpainter #turbinehall #sydneyharbour #industrial_interior #industrialsketch #urbanlandscape #historicalplaces #gouachepainting #landscapeart #landscapepainter
From my recent time in Tasmania, a glimpse towards a threatening sky and the patterned fields of agriculture.
Acrylic on board
20 x 30cms
#geometry #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #agriculture #ploughedfields #humanintervention #skiesofinstagram #unseenlandscape #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
When that last intense light of the day softens everything for miles around, obliterating detail and casting a veil of orange light across the landscape.
Guiding Light
Acrylic on board
43 x 43cms
Framed in Tasmanian Oak
Freshly framed and all ready for my solo show, opening on the 30th April at The Working Dog Gallery. Details to follow but if you haven’t done so already, why not sign up for my newsletter and you will get an early peek at the catalogue. Just go to my website via the link in my bio and the subscribe box will pop up.
#geometry #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #unseenlandscape #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
CHASING HORIZONS
The last light catching the peaks.
Acrylic on canvas
84 x 100cms
#painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
Life is series of sunny days and dancing clouds. One of my smallest landscapes ever!
In A Corner Of A Foreign Field
Acrylic on board
21.5 x 22cms
Contact me for details.
#painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #clouds #cloudsofinstagram #cloudsinthesky #sunnydays #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
By no means finished but a sneak peak at a work in progress. Mist skimming across the top of the peaks protected by an army of trees. Any guesses as to where this might be?
A cool breeze blowing through the studio and @thewildmans playing through the headphones. What a great day to be painting.
#workinprogress #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #australianlandscape #wilderness ##painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
After an initial framework in charcoal to then swiping and smudging, I get the final drawing down in dense blacks. The final touch is to draw with an eraser, to reintroduce some white, all the time exploring the formal possibilities of landscape composition. I like the dialogue with perspective and the illusion of distance.
This one will feature in my upcoming solo show opening 1st May. More details to follow.
Pathways To Light
Charcoal on Arches paper
56 x 76cms
#drawing #charcoaldrawing #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporaryartwork #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #perspective #composition #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
Shadowplay across the quiet Main Street of a small Tasmanian town. This painting has kept me occupied all week, pushing back on my colours, brush marks and technique. I will leave it till the start of the new week and see how I feel. As always I appreciate your comments and thoughts.
#painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #streetscape #shadowplay #smalltown #mainstreet #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
Moving between flatness and texture, the lights and darks and the formidable marks of human intervention.
Spirit Of Place
Acrylic on board
40 x 40cms
#geometry #spiritofplace #spirituallife #landscapegeometry #agriculture #patterns #fieldpatterns #vanishingpoints #diagonals #illusion #unseenlandscape #landscapepainter #landscapeartist #artgallery #abstraction #mikestaniford
Far from the wilderness of the Tarkine forest, Stanley fishing harbour throws up some interesting perspectives. I deliberately avoided the fishing boats themselves and focused on the sheds, the roads in and out and the industrial sense of architecture.
The first two are in gouache and the last one is pastels!
#painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #lightindustrial #fishingharbour #stanley #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
The Journey Begins
Acrylic on board
63 x 63cms
Delighted to be supporting the Barnardo’s auction, The Unbound Art Show. I have donated this painting and the online auction is now underway!
Every dollar donated goes to Barnardo’s safety and prevention programs to help children and young people at risk of homelessness.
The show opens on 20th March and tickets are now on sale. Visit the link in the bio barnardos_au for the auction and to purchase tickets.
Follow @theunboundartshow for updates and sneak peeks of the show.
#barnardos #unboundartshow #liveauction #horizonsofhope #artauction #thejourneybegins #mikestaniford
Trouwata Arch in the Tarkine wilderness of Tasmania. Just one of today’s stops with the @art.travel.adventures art workshop. Thirteen artists working together, mark making in mixed media and achieving great results!
#painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
Northern Tasmania, somewhere between Mole Creek and Deloraine. Wild and varied landscape!
Acrylic on board
40 x 40cms
#painting #contemporaryart #creativeart #contemporarypainting #artcurator #art #modernpainters #contemporarydrawing #drawing #painting #newartbuyers #landscapeartist #landscapepainter #artistsoninstagram #curator #artcollectors #artgallery #mikestaniford
A fork in the road. And which way do I go? Bit of a metaphor for life really! Countryside Tasmania offers up these wonderful perspectives, this one on the way to Branxholme.
A small work, 20 x 30cms in acrylic on board.
#forkintheroad #countrytasmania #tasmanian #landscapeartist #landscapepainting #australianlandscape #travellingartist #mikestaniford
A hike through the Montana Trail to the waterfall. We could hear the sound of it gradually getting louder, our only regret was not bringing our swimming costumes!
I love how the opacity of gouache allows you to dance the paint across previous layers. My insta story shows what I call the background sketch, whereby I deliberately lose the sanitized white surface and nudge the painting towards a desired conclusion. However, sometimes the final outcome swerves in a different direction…as with this one and it’s where I step back and let the painting take over!
#gouachepainting #tasmanianmade #tasmanian #landscapepainting #sketchbooks #sketchbookartist #waterfallhike #waterfalllovers #fastandloose #montanafalls #mikestaniford
I’m loving the sense of open road here in northern Tasmania. The idea that new journeys begin every day and that anything is possible! This one is in gouache and set in the early evening. Incredible colours. Winnaleah is just over the rise!
#openroad #possibilities #journeybegins #newjourneys #travellingartist #lovetasmania #landscapeartist #australianlandscape #australianlandscapepainting #mikestaniford
Winnaleah Road. The stark lighting against a backdrop of stormy skies caught my eye along with the wonderful perspective, reinforced by the receding telegraph poles.
Acrylic on board
20 x 30cms
#winnaleah #artablestudios #perspective #stormyskies #dramaticlighting #ruraltasmania #landscapepainting #landscapeartist #contemporaryart #contemporarylandscape #urbanlandscape #mikestaniford
Another take on the Ringarooma River, probably the best location I have painted in Tasmania so far! I have included a shot of the work at an earlier stage.
With our workshop finished I want to say a huge thank you to Gillian, Steve and all the team @artablestudios for bringing @debbiemackinnon and I to this fabulous location to teach! What a great week it was and made all the more special by the eleven participating artists, who threw themselves into different locations every day and producing great artworks!
Debbie and I are now kicking back at Mole Creek, walking, reading and of course painting…results to follow!
##lovetasmania #tasmanian #artablestudios #artretreats #joyofteaching #artworkshops #enclave #landscapepainting #gouacheart #contemporarylandscape #fastandloose #mikestaniford
The Ringarooma River in north east Tasmania. One of the many staggering locations for our @artablestudios workshop. Pleinair painting with our eleven artists is very rewarding and partner and co-tutor @debbiemackinnon and I are very impressed with their enthusiasm and courage to take on the diversity of the incredible landscapes, pushing themselves from initial warm up sketches through to, in some cases, finished paintings. I will be posting some of their works tomorrow.
#artworkshop #artablestudios #lovetasmania #artretreat #markmaking #landscapelovers #diverselandscape #artiststogether #landscapepainting #mikestaniford
Tasmania here we come!
Some old and new sketches of Winnaleah and the surrounding countryside. Flying back tomorrow to the beautiful rural landscape with @debbiemackinnon for @artablestudios.
Looking forward to meeting all the artists coming to the art retreat and exploring their ideas for making marks in the landscape!
#artretreat #artablestudios #mikestaniford #artworkshop #markmaking #discovertasmania #wilderness #artiststogether #landscapeartists
Standing Tall. From my last trip to Tasmania, trees from the Tarkine and Hobart! Swipe for details. Such a beautiful wilderness and thrilled to be heading back there on Sunday. Working together with partner in life and art @debbiemackinnon we will be jointly running an exciting @artablestudios workshop…Making your mark in the Landscape! Trees will surely feature in our exploration of the dramatic and diverse landscape of the region.
So looking forward to being back in Winnaleah, meeting all the artists and staying @enclave.tasmania, a characterful 100 year old hotel.
#trees #treestreestrees #treesofinstagram #treesoftasmania #lovetasmania #artworkshops #untamedbeauty #wilderness retreats #artablestudios #artiststogether #newskills #artexploration #acryliconpaper #mikestaniford