Lunch on the Beach

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9 x 13 in  -  22 x 33 cm.     I started this one a couple of months ago, I put it aside when it started to become too meticulist. (Meticulist is my invented word for paintings that become far to tight, to meticulous). While a meticulous style works for some people it is not where I want my head to be.

The ref for this painting was a corner of a snapshot taken on holiday last year. One of the delights of digital cameras is that you can make use of snippets of a frame like this that would otherwise just be ignored.

Did it work? Well it came out better than I was expecting a half way. The presence of the bodyboard, not painted until it was nearly finished, works well to place the couple in the space of the beach.

At the Mall

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9 x 13 in  -  22 x 33 cm.     Another try at figures in a street scene. Not as well turned out at last weeks attempt (18th Aug) but you have to keep trying.

Sun Hat

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13 x 9 in  -  33 x 22 cm.    

This is painting did not come out a well as I wished. While it look reasonable in this small format there are a quite a few "could have done better"s about it. I don't normally show the ref image in this blog but this time I will make an exception so you can see the sort of feeling I was trying to get.

A big pat on the back to any one who recognises the fellow and yes, he is a well known UK watercolourist.

Figures in Blue

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10 x 13 in  -  25 x 33 cm.     This is another painting that was done from a ref photo shared over the net. We are not to take longer than two hours. I probably went a little over time in total as I did the drawing in front of the TV last night.

The figures aren't too bad. They do follow the reference quite well but the composition as a whole is a bit "so what". But if you don't practice you won't improve.

New Red Hat

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

Well the portrait aspect has come out OK but the strength of tone of the red v blue overwhelms the face too much. I probably should have been less strong i.e. more 'hi key' on the red as it is so very hard to strengthen the tones on such a light toned face and still have it look good. And we would not want to leave the model with a 6 o'clock shadow would we?

I should also have thought of a better way to have 'blue in the middle of red'. The way I picked has not worked too well, no merging of colours. I rejected the simple idea of wet cobalt into wet cad red as that would have produced a nice but unwanted purple. Note to self try out ideas it future next time.

Edmonton from Afar

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10 x 14 in  -  25 x 36 cm.     This was painted in a couple of hours from a reference photo put up on the web for a group of us to paint. I like it when I can attempt to break a "rule". Here that of course the rule in question would say that I should not have had such a strong division right across the middle of the composition. Did I pull it off? You decide.

Two Sold

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14 x 9 in  -  36 x 22 cm

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

Today is the last day of the Wokingham and District Art Group show. Two of my paintings have sold, which is very pleasing.

I framed these two a year ago as part of my submission to join the art group. While there is alot about them, that I like, there is a lot that I wish was better. But isn't that the way with the world.