Stonebarrow Piano

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11 x 14 in  -  28 x 36 cm.     There will be a pause in posting new work for a few days so I thought I would show an oldie.

This was painted back in Sept 2006 while away with a painting group. The piano was in the large gloomy dinning room. I sat at a nearby table, did a pencil outline and painted it quickly.

I was pleased with it then and am still pleased with it now.

Henley Grandpa

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

This one has turned out way too maticulist for my taste. Maticulist is a word I coined. It comes from the obvious root of 'meticulous'. It is applied to a painter or to a painting that is done in a meticulous manner, sometimes to the detriment of the work.

Of course meticulism works for many painters it just does not work for me. I find in too exhausting to take 6+ hours on a work like this. That's way too long. I will have to find a way of balancing the areas in the painting that need detail with some areas that don't.

Still the result has turned out well and I can't complain about that.

The composition is, just as you see it, taken straight from the camera. It was snapped in Henley yesterday. There is a lovely walk by the side of the River Thames. At this time of year the sun is low and gives a wonderful side light with interesting shadows. I keep the camera to hand to catch shots like this.

Honfleur Quayside

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12 x 16 in  -  30 x 41 cm.     What a mess, if you wanted to know what an overworked watercolour looks like then this is a good example. The faults are extensive -

• Overworked reflections.
  
• Drawing with the brush (the chairs). Brushes are normally for painting, if you do otherwise then you had better understand why.
  
• Not thinking as you paint. The reflections of the buildings and the buildings themselves do not line up.
  
• Done at a number of sittings, so done in a number of different approaches (energy levels) and it shows. The dark red canvas giant table covers are good but the don't quite fit with the painted style of the buildings above or the coloured awnings below.

Note to self - large does not mean slower or more detailed. Keep the single thought in the head and get it done.

Here is the reference photo. I took it back in May 2005.

Nyhavn, Copenhagan

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

Painted as a two hour challenge but I over ran and came in at about 2 hours 20. There is more that should have been done the reflection of the stern of the boat is not right. But it will remind me to focus the time on the important things.

So overall, could be better, would be my judgement, but not bad considering the rush. I am no fan of taking a long time over a painting. The masters I have seen and most admire are those who get even large paintings done in around the two to three hour mark. They tend to go for a 'one touch' finish. I am thinking here of John Yardley and Charles Reid.

So enforced speed is good even if my results are currently only fare.

Here is the ref I worked from.

Shown by kind permission of the photographer.

Gordon Brown

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7 x 7 in  -  18 x 18 cm.    

Thought I would try something different. So had a go at a pen and ink drawing of our new Prime Minister.

I think I was trying to be more like a cartoon or an illustration. I certainly was not trying for any kind of 'fine art' pen and ink work. I am pleased with this. The theory is that you practice at these, where you can't rub out. As you do so your pencil line drawings, for watercolours, get better and better.

I used this as the reference. Many thanks to AP (Associated Press) for the unsanctioned use of this photo.

Inuit Stone Church

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10 x 14 in  -  25 x 36 cm.     This was done as a quick, if large, sketch as an attempt to get the painting to read as 'snow'. Even with the prompting of title, I think its success is marginal.

This was headed straight for the bin then I remembered that when I was starting out it was always comforting to know that those with more experience still had disasters.

Even if you do think it reads as snow it also screams "beginner".

Ref photo shown by kind permision of the photographer.

Roof of Casa Batlo

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

This was inspired by a photo I took in Barcelona a couple of years ago on the roof of Gaudi's famous Casa Batlo which was built for a well to do merchant who had made his money from fish, hence Gaudi's use of the fish scales motif. Does the painting work? In parts it does, but in parts not.

If we are 'fessing up' to language of the US cop show then I have to admit that I have tweaked the colour up a notch or two on the reference. The December day we were there was very dull. The reference photo is now much more is what you would have seen on a bright winters day.

Wokingham Winter Market

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10 x 14 in  -  25 x 36 cm.     Today one of the big UK mortgage lenders announced a survey which said that my town - Wokingham, Berks was the nicest place to live in the UK. See thier claim here.

What really happened is that a few years ago the English county of Berkshire was broken up into separate "areas", one of these was given the name Wokingham of which my home town is at the center. By chance this new local government area has very few poor towns or zones in it. The result is that it does well in all the new reports that only take these areas as their basis. The truth is that there are lots of nice places to live in the UK and Wokingham nice though it is, is not that special.

To mark this survey I thought I would paint another local scene. If you want to see the others click the image above and then go 'up a level' to display their thumbnails.

This one looks reasonable in thumbnail but looses purpose as you see bigger sizes.

I always think that a painting should look more interesting that the reference photo it was painted from. If the photo looks better than the painting why bother with the painting?

As I you can see from the photo the eye tends to want to know about all the detail and of course this is lacking in the painting.

John Yardley copy - January Snows

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12 x 16 in  -  30 x 41 cm.     For me this is on the large side but it does not really count as large, there being so much white paper.

My copy just about works, but as is always, it does not have the grace or style of the master.

John Yardley's original

Radio, Watch and Something Blue

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7 x 9 in  -  18 x 22 cm.     This was an attempt to make a sketch that primarily uses Ivory black and have it still be an interesting painting. Ivory black is very granulated and can be used to give shades of grey, it is NOT made from ivory, that is just it's historical name.

I did I succeed?

I think the honest answer is, No. But as they say, I learnt by trying.

Scissors and Thread 1

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5 x 7 in  -  13 x 18 cm.     This is the first of a number of 5 x 7 inch sketches. My 'half a plan' is to frame them at moderate cost so, to have them ready for the next local art show. The idea is to have simple 'Original Art Work' from a local artist and to have it moderately priced so hopefully it will sell well.

I think the present composition is a bit thin but then again maybe not, what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment.

I also thought of showing it with a copy of the ref hanging below the painting. Something like this. I know that, I like comparing the two, maybe a buyer will as well.

It occurs to me that at some time in the future a buyer of one of these mini paintings may be reading this. If so, I do hope you enjoy your painting whether you hang it in the loo or elsewhere.

Cream Jug, Mushroom and Pasta

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7 x 10 in  -  18 x 25 cm.     It's not bad, but I think I have become stuck between two stools with some of my recent sketches.

On one hand the work (like this one) is turning into a painting. Whereas I think I should making them more sketch like. This took an hour which is fine for a painting but I feel these would teach me more if they were more sketchy and took less time.

This was something like my view.

Ronald

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13 x 10 in  -  33 x 25 cm.    

This was from a portrait challenge that I chose to attempt in the style of Alex Powers. He has such grace in this work in this style whereas, I do not.

Many thanks to photographer Li Newton for letting me show you the reference photo and to Ronald for being such a great model. Ronald - I really did not intend to make you appear so piratical. It shows the lack of control I have over this style.

Cuban Boy

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    

I painted this last year it was my first and only other attempt at the Alex Powers style. I really do need to be more subtle.

The boy was caught in the corner of a photo I took in Havana in 2005.

Kitchen Corner

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7 x 11 in  -  18 x 28 cm.     As the title of this sketch says this is clearly the corner of our kitchen. As a piece of art work its nothing special. Best not to work tired is the lesson of the day. :)

What I was trying to depict.

UK Power Socket

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4 x 4 in  -  10 x 10 cm.     Who says you can't have everyday subjects for sketching. The lower edge of the socket is a bit off but otherwise this is OK.

This very yellow photo is something like my view

Headphones and Ant Trap

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7 x 10 in  -  18 x 25 cm.     This one was done using black watercolour paint. If you look back a just couple of days to the 'Knife and Sharpener' you can see that it uses a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Brunt Sienna (a strong reddy brown) to make the black.

Black paint, as a watercolour, is frowned upon by some 'purist'. To them back paint, as used here, is "bad", where as mixing your own black as in 'Knife and Sharpener' is "good".

What those 'purists', they aren't purists but that's another story, have done is to turn the very sound advice to beginners of - "Don't use back to darken other watercolours" into the nonsense of - "no watercolourist should ever use black".

What the painter saw.

Banana skin and half an Apple

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5 x 7 in  -  13 x 18 cm.     This one has not quite come off. The banana peel just does not have the correct feel to its shape, too many important subtle tones are missing. But you can't win them all.

My usual after paiting attempt to photograph what I was seeing.

Brush and old Pen

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4 x 8 in  -  10 x 20 cm.     Another quick line drawing. It always surprises me how effective the result can be for such a comparatively small effort when working in this line and wash style (and this is not a good example).

I used an old 'Rotring' pen for this one it, was harder than expected to control the direction. I will have to stick to fibre tips in future.

This is roughly what I was seeing.

Knife and Sharpener

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6 x 10 in  -  15 x 27 cm.     This looked way off while it was being pained. I went for a dark wash for the paper so I could make a feature of the reflection of the light down from the knife, but when it was being placed it looked way too dark. Well, it still is too dark.

I lost it a bit on the shape of the sharpener but over all the shapes work and it does read as a knife with reflections. But I also made the blade a bit over dark. It looks as if it was in shadow, which it can't be if it is also reflecting the light on to the paper.

Here is what I was seeing.

Food Blender

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7 x 10 in  -  18 x 25 cm.     A quick sketch, if you count half an hour as quick. I need to be more thoughtful as to what is going on when I draw. The pen I used is a bit dry 1 mm marker and you have to press hard. I wonder if a wetter pen would produce smoother results or is having to press hard making a more definite statement?

This is roughly what I was seeing while I painted.

Folded Towels

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6 x 7 in  -  15 x 18 cm.     This was the first sketck of the day before I did the food blender above. I must confess to getting lucky, all of the speckled texture in the mauve towel is from the watercolour paper. I knew I would get come texture but this was way better than expected.

Here is my photo of what I was seeing.

Malamute Hoonah

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14 x 10 in  -  36 x 25 cm.    


Painted in just over 2 hours, the challenge was to do it in no more than 2 hours. I am pleased with how it looks but I should have been braver and gone in with stronger dark colours from the start. It's just hard to go in hard with what appears at the time to be something that is way too dark.

Mirror Self and Phonebooks

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10 x 7 in  -  25 x 18 cm.    

Another attempt at a quick small painting or sketch. Drawn and painted from life it took me 1 hour 15, pencil up to brush down.

Below is my attempt to photograph what I was seeing.

Wasabi Tin and Spoon

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6 x 10 in  -  15 x 25 cm.     I think this one goes in the "it works" column but a few things could have been better thought out. What do you think?

Here is a photo of 'something like' the view I had while painting.

Transparent Pencil Case

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6 x 8 in  -  15 x 20 cm.     A quick sketch to start off the new month. Painted rapidly with only a rough pencil outline first. I can see from looking at the, after sketch, photo of the scene that I forgot the blob of blue tack which I use as an eraser. That will teach me to try to be too quick.