ART, Everything you don't have to do.
Got some new colour pencils faber castell polycromos these are oil based and are wonderful for blending, using two or three colours together gives some wonderful results.
Spent six two hour sessions adding colour to my green man drawing very relaxing I can see why folks like these colouring books.
A couple of strange scribblings from my sketchbook.
Not sure where these come from, just start with marks on the page made by scribbling or squashed ink and they sort of grow.
Maybe ideas for future paintings.
Tried reusing one of my old canvas boards, by painting on a couple of layers of gesso, it covered the original ok and seemed to give a ok surface, but painting on it was like painting on gritty sandpaper, so not the way to go for future recycling.
Thanks to Iain McKell for his reference picture of modern Gypsies.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Back at art class and this term we are exploring pathways, started by looking at how line and colour create depth in pictures.
A few artist to look at and draw inspiration Philip Hughes, Karrie Kilpatrick, Hundertwasser, Grant Haffner and others.
A template to think about how line works in a picture and a attempt with some of our own.
As we continue in my art class with our still life theme, we have tried musical instrument and mono printing, this is a wonderful technique where you paint glass or a ceramic tile with oil paint and by using pressure, transfer the image onto paper, it was suggested that you could only take a single print and to use smooth paper, I had a go using watercolour paper and water with my water soluble oil paint and got a very pleasing result that I might work up some more.
Then we went back to basics, pencils and cloth I am told this was first principles for artist and they would spend hours studying the folds in cloth, I loved this exercise and became completely lost in it for far too many hours in class and afterwards.
Dropped into a preview exhibition of portraits by Eleanor Johnson at a local gallery, some wonderful paintings made with such a carefree approach big wide brushes and running paint scratches and squeegee type strokes, I was well impressed and inspired.
not really having room for a 6 foot square canvas and a place to throw paint around I put my brushes down and pushed the paint around with my credit card.
definitely need to think about how to work with more freedom and mess.
jeff coles art 