Stop to sketch

Up to now I have never made time to sketch while on holiday , this year I set out to change that making a little time to stop and sketch.

After you get over the strangeness of getting your sketchbook out in public, making time to sketch and not to just grab photographs, makes you more aware of the place even if it’s not always captured in the sketches.

Got to get into the habit of doing this more as it’s more personal record of the places you visit, I am sure they will help me remember if I want to make paintings later.

 

Benchmark

I have been trying my hand at painting for about 3 years now, so I thought it might be  interesting to go back to the beginning and attempt another version of an earlier painting.

I have always liked this portrait by photographer Ronald Vogal who kindly gave me permission to use his  photograph as reference.

I have use oil paints on canvas as apposed to Acrylics on paper but still I am pleased with the marked  improvement in my technique.

I am certainly looking forward to trying this benchmark again in another 3 years.

 

 

Sixth sense

I have been working on my art class summer project Senses.

I had the idea of creating 5 tarot like cards one for each sense, trying to add a little twist to each illustration Sight being blindfolded  in the dark and Smell being roses and something rotting in a bag, I guess you get the idea.

The sixth sense is just suggested by a downturned card and the tarot.

Thanks for dropping in.

 

 

Come to my Senses

Just finished a short term at art class, closing for the summer.

This term we looked at the senses  and the parts of the body we use for them ears, noses, eyes, lips and hands looking at the anatomy and how they fit into the face really good  stuff, if like me you like faces.

we  made  some 3D heads from dough, morphed animals into faces and faces into animals, sketched each others bits and looked at cartoons and how the artist simplify the features to capture expression.

I have planned two final pieces to complete over the summer,  one painting which I have  posted my sketch here and a set of 5 tarot cards covering each of the five senses and  hinting at the sixth.

Thanks for dropping in.

 

 

 

Birdman

At my local Art group we had a lecture and demonstration on sculpture using papiermachie  by a local artist Annie Wootton , it was one of those lectures where you go away thinking, I’ll have a go at that!

Easy materials and  a little mess made it  very appealing, I had an idea  for a super hero character using comic books, so I started  out to make the figure, using aluminium foil and covering it  in  masking tape, there it stopped no comic books so it went in a box  waiting for the day I picked some up.

Easter break from my art class and  we are  encouraged to try something new, out comes my super hero but with no comics, I set about making some modifications, and ended up with Birdman.

I might still find those comics and have a go at my super hero idea.

Pathways

We have come to the end of our art class pathways project, its been another interesting term first looking at perspective line and colour, then looking at maps and aerial views  finished up exploring something alternative.

Working with the idea that the body is  full of pathways, I found some vintage anatomy illustrations  and used these as the starting point for my painting,

Had a go using acrylic inks on paper in a very loose style, with big brushes and many layers, I am pleased with the results and it should create some reactions on the little gallery wall : )

Map

7h

As part of our artclass pathways project we have been looking a maps and as a warm up exercise we took a square of map and extended it. Hoping to improve  on my first attempt I had another go. started by leaving  out the map square but in the end decided to include it.

Return to Reality

I try to think of a different approach to  my paintings and this idea came when I was photographing my pictures, I noticed the great distortion you get  from selecting a  strange view point.  The idea was to start with the distortion and perhaps return to reality when  viewing the picture.

It didn’t really work, l need to think this one out again.

like all my paintings it went through a few  different looks, I  am pleased with the final slightly graphic feel.

Got there

Been working on my  art class pathways  picture for a few weeks, this one has been a real journey, even with all my planning it kept changing direction , after the finish it made one final turn, l guess knowing where you are going in your pictures is not always straightforward.

I framed it up now so there’s no going back.

Small faces

A invite to exhibit really cannot  be passed over, all I had to do was make a postcard size portrait. Everyone who makes a submission is exhibited in the exhibition at southamptons Solent gallery, exhibition opens on the 2nd of March.