Sharon's Pics

Baby James

2012-01-26T17:48:00.000Z

Hello!

Here's a quick portrait I completed the other night, while sitting in front of a lovely roaring fire. I couldn't bring myself to leave the room and head up to my 'studio', so I brought all my stuff down and enjoyed the painting and the fire at the same time :-)

I'm never too sure about pastels - I always seem to go a bit mad with the colours (maybe I need to invest in a better range of colours), and I tend to overblend them, but maybe that's something you can get away with when the subject's such a cute baby (I am biased, this is my nephew!). But it's nice to have a change of medium every now and again.

Various pastels on pastelmat paper, 8 " by 8" ish (cropped from a bit bigger, 9 by 12ish).

Edit: I've replaced the pic with one that's a bit more true to the original (the first pic I uploaded look rather orange!)

Painting outside, kind of

2012-01-24T15:47:00.000Z

Hello again

One of my art goals for this year is to give landscape painting one last go, and see if I can muster any enthusiasm for it by painting outside, from life, rather than from photo refs. As it happened, the December/January Year of Painting challenge on the Painting Friends forum was to either set up a still life, or paint en plein air. I decided to go for it, despite it being the middle of winter and thus rather cold, windy and wet... in the end I actually painted from the relative comfort of my car...

First off, here's the painting. It's acrylic 12" by 8". I was painting for about an hour or so.

Here's a pic of what I was looking at - it's the village cricket team's pavilion, and the cricket field beyond:

And here's my set up - I had the pochade box on my lap. Just about enough room!

I have to say that I enjoyed the experience, so maybe there's hope for me and landscape painting yet. I'll have to get a portable easel if I want to actually paint outside the car one day - if anyone has any recommendations, let me know. Not the greatest painting ever, but I was pleased enough with it for a first outdoor attempt! Roll on the warmer weather!

Mad hair day

2012-01-19T14:19:00.001Z

Hello!

Well, I decided to try a painting based on a sketch of my other half (see earlier post) and this is what I've ended up with :-)

12" square, acrylics on canvas. Not sure I'm completely finished with it yet. I'll leave it in a corner for a few days to decide whether anything annoys me too much, or if I want to do anything else with it...

Life drawing

2012-01-13T15:57:00.000Z

Hello again:-)

Life drawing classes have started up again. Here's the best of the bunch from the other night.

I seemed to be having a tiny feet problem with this one! This was the first of the evening, and I was feeling a bit rusty.

This one's a bit better I think. Still need to work on faces, hands, feet, the usual bugbears in life drawing I reckon!

Both 25-minute poses in pencil.

I may have overdone the hair...

2012-01-11T12:22:00.000Z

Hello again!

In an effort to up my rate of sketching and drawing I've been doing some sketches from photo refs, working from the computer monitor, and here's one of them. Not a great picture I have to say, it looks a little distorted, but you get the idea!

A4 sketchbook, black kuretake sketching pen and grey tombow brush pen.

These are fun to do, and I was pleased with this one, from a fairly unpromising snapshot. Sketching in pen also means that I don't go back and fiddle (too much...)

Sketching from life

2012-01-09T20:40:00.000Z

Hello!

Here are a few quick sketches, done over the festive season, to get me set up for (hopefully) a year of lots of sketching...

These were all done in an A4 size sketchbook, with a Kuretake sketching pen and, variously, a watercolour wash and a tombow brush pen. This is my long-suffering other half, trying to concentrate on puzzles in the newspaper...

Family picture

2012-01-05T17:45:00.000Z

Hello everyone! Here's one from the end of last year.

It's got to be one of the toughest paintings I've attempted - and it was a commission, from my aunt and uncle, as a Christmas gift for my grandmother. There's no way I'd have taken on a five-head portrait if it hadn't been for family!

I have to admit I was fairly stressed about getting this one right. But the recipients liked it, so all is well!

Watercolour, approx 20" by 20"

A snoozy start to 2012

2012-01-02T17:47:00.001Z

Hello all!

2012 is here already (just where does the time go??) I've been visiting various art blogs, and lots of people have been sharing their arty goals for the coming year. As 2011 drew to a close, I gave this some thought myself, so for anyone interested (and so I have a record of my goals to remind me how far off track I go!), here are some of mine for the coming year...

1. More sketching and drawing from life. This has been on my mind for a good while now. I reckon that the basis of a successful anything arty, for me anyway, is a confident drawing. I'll continue with the life drawing class (for as long as it runs anyway!), and will endeavour to do much more general sketching.

2. Get out and about with the sketchbook. This is very much related to the above, in that it's more sketching and drawing; however, there is the added proviso of going places - there are some places I'd like to visit, including the local raptor rescue centre, maybe some zoos and wildlife parks and the like, sketching wildfowl along the river locally to me, and at a local nature reserve. That kind of thing. Would like to do much more nature sketching. I'm thinking a trip out once a week would be about right...

3. Landscapes. These are my bugbear. I just can't get into them, and having thought about it, I began to wonder whether I would enjoy painting plein air. So getting out and about again (there's a theme emerging here!) and giving landscape painting one last go...

4. Not worrying about painting a 'finished' painting. Although I do enjoy the challenge of a completed painting (I'm thinking particularly of portraits here), I do have a tendency to not start them as it all seems a bit much. So, more small studies and watercolour sketches, painting/drawing from life or using my own photo refs. I've enjoyed the recent small watercolour sketches I've done of animals, painted from zoo refs etc; I've found I've painted more freely and not worried about the end product. So there's mileage in that idea, I'm sure.

5. Experiment a bit. Try combining media, use different supports etc.

So, here's my first effort for 2012, based on my own photo of my cat Sophie, now sadly departed. Started off with a very loose pencil sketch, then dropped colour onto damp/wet paper. Went in with the water-soluble ink pens, and took it from there.

Snoozing

Watercolour and ink, approx 4" by 6" ish.

Happy 2012!

2011 top ten

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000Z

It's that time of the year again! Here are ten of my favourite paintings from my blog this year, in no particular order.

James's Jungle

Making a difference

Dunnock study

Year of Painting 1

Portrait

March daffodils

Humboldt penguin

Promise of Spring

Isabel

Nice weather for ducks

I've had great fun with my painting and drawing over the past 12 months, and have a couple of arty goals for the year to come. Thank you all for reading and leaving comments: it's lovely to be part of the cyber art community!

Happy New Year dear blog readers - here's to a peaceful, healthy and productive 2012!

Isabel

2011-12-27T15:24:00.000Z

Hello!

Here's a special painting, a Christmas gift for a great pal of mine who is always there encouraging me with my art. This is her daughter, Isabel - what a great subject! I've painted Isabel before, when she was much younger, and it's lovely to paint her again and have a record of her growing up.

Painting pictures (especially portraits) for other people can be rather a fraught process - you want it to be as good as you can possibly manage. Most of the stuff I paint is destined for storage in a box under the bed or on a shelf, or will hang in my own home because it's painted for me; having the added impetus of painting for someone else (or for an exhibition) certainly focuses the mind (no bad thing!).

Watercolour, 8 by 10" on 140lb Arches NOT.

Hello baby

2011-12-22T13:30:00.001Z

Here's yet another quick painting from my current obsession with watercolour sketches...

This a very cute baby orangutan, based on a photo I took at Twycross Zoo in the UK earlier on this year. Such a beautiful animal, and endangered in the wild mainly due to loss of habitat.

4" by 6", Watercolour

Serendipity

2011-12-20T13:14:00.002Z

This one was painted for the YOP challenge over on the Painting Friends forum, where the reference for this month was a beautiful white rose (madmum on wetcanvas, thank you!)

Serendipity means a 'happy accident' or 'pleasant surprise'; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it. That's what happened here...

I wanted to have a go at doing something delicate, but that kind of went out of the window rather quickly, as I managed to paint a big beige mess. Then I decided to add in some shadows, which made things much, much worse. It was awful. It was heading for the bin, then I decided to see just how bad it could get if I got the pens out, and... well, I actually really like the end result! It is not subtle or delicate, which was my original goal, but I love the structural feel, and the ink coss-hatching reminds me a bit of copperplate etchings.

So, unexpectedly, I'm actually quite pleased with it, and as a bonus I've discovered an approach to floral paintings that I would never have otherwise thought of.

4" by 6", watercolour and ink.

Nice weather for ducks

2011-12-17T16:43:00.000Z

Hello again!

Here's another little 'un, painted for a birthday card (happy birthday Dad!).

Watercolour, around 4" by 6" (ish), based on a photo I snapped a while back of a friendly mallard. I'm having such fun painting these little watercolour sketches - and I have a huge amount of photos to go through and discover potential subjects :-)

Humboldt penguin

2011-12-14T13:07:00.000Z

Hello all :-)

Here's another small watercolour study, again from one of the photos I took at Twycross Zoo - a Humboldt penguin.

Watercolour, 4" by 6" (ish). He's looking pretty pleased with himself!

Christmassy robin

2011-12-09T11:15:00.001Z

Hello again!

I've been painting another card for a Christmas card exchange on the Painting Friends forum - this little European Robin has found his way to much warmer climes, to a painting friend in Florida.

4" by 6", watercolour, mounted on cardstock.

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas....

A happy birthday elephant

2011-12-07T14:30:00.001Z

Hello again!

Here's a little 4" by 6" painting I did for a friend's birthday card - happy birthday Sarah!

It's based on a photo I took when we visited Twycross Zoo back in the summer.

Watercolour, 4" by 6"

Tough little cookie

2011-11-25T17:28:00.001Z

Hello!

Well, the challenge ref for an online portrait painting group I belong to was a toughie this time round - cute kid, but very even, soft light and not too many shadows, which always makes it harder to convincingly model the shapes of the face. I decided to give it a go in pastels.

So, I went a bit mad with the colours... But I do kind of like it...

Pastel on pastelmat, approx 7 by 10". Reference by babasteve on flickr, thank you once again!

Making a Difference

2011-11-21T15:39:00.001Z

As promised, here's my contribution to the 'World of Difference' fund-raising exhibition that happened at the weekend.

Ref: babasteve on flickr, thank you.

I'm pleased to say that this sold, which was the objective! I really enjoyed painting her, so I hope she's found a happy home.

Acrylic on canvas 12" by 12"

Anyone in Cambridge, UK...

2011-11-14T17:49:00.001Z

...might want to pop along this weekend to Chesterton Community College, Gilbert Rd, for this exhibition. All artwork priced at £45 (bargain!), and all hung anonymously. All proceeds to SOS Children's Villages, in particular to a project in Zambia. Fingers crossed for a successful fund-raiser - I'll share my contribution after the weekend!

Our mad moorhen

2011-11-10T13:04:00.000Z

Some sketching from life:

This is a page from my sketchbook, drawings of a moorhen - this is a bird you'd normally find on a pond or river, but this one had decided to climb up the conifer at the front of the house. I looked out of a window in an upstairs room and found myself at eye level with it...

Biro, A4 sketchbook.

Portrait

2011-10-29T19:12:00.000+01:00

Hello again!

Here's another acrylic portrait, painted from a reference photo by the talented babasteve on flickr with the online group of portrait painters I belong to. I was experimenting with colours here - purples and oranges. The photo here is a bit on the dark side, it's a little zingier in real life.

I'm fairly pleased with the way this has turned out. I definitely wasn't looking for cute or realism, was going for something painterly and with a bit of texture, and I had fun with the colours. I'm enjoy painting with acrylics, and I feel there are some nice things going on here. Will be exploring further!

Acrylic on Galeria acrylic paper, 14" by 10"

Birthday bullfinch

2011-10-25T16:18:00.000+01:00

I painted this one for a friend's birthday card. I'm lucky enough to have a group of these birds as regular garden visitors at the moment, helping themselves to the berries on the shrubs and trees.

Watercolour, 5" by 7"

Autumn arrives

2011-10-23T14:56:00.000+01:00

Over at the Painting Friends forum we have had a Fall Card Exchange (that's Autumn to us here in the UK!). I chose to paint some rose hips which I photographed a couple of years ago at one of my local nature reserves here in Cambridgeshire. I've painted this before, but this time I thought I'd go all out on the autumn colours.

This went to my Painting Friend Cindi, in California.

Watercolour and ink, 5 by 7" on HP watercolour paper.

Life drawing

2011-10-20T18:06:00.000+01:00

We're breaking for a week for half term in the life drawing class, so here's a couple of drawings from this week and last week. The coloured ones were 30-min poses (using pastel pencils), and are in preparation for getting some paint out after the break (how exciting!). Obviously our model wasn't really this colour! It was an exercise in dark, mid and light tones in colour.

I've been working away on a painting for a charity fundraising exhibition (more on that at a later date), and on a commission as well. I'll share both here at some point. And I'm trying to get into better sketchbook habits too...

Life drawing

2011-10-05T13:30:00.000+01:00

A couple from last night. I always enjoy these drawings on dark paper, I seem to find it easier to get the shapes down.

portrait sketch

2011-10-01T18:21:00.002+01:00

Well, here we are, back to the portraits. This is a 'getting acquainted' sketch, from a ref from babasteve on flickr, under Creative Commons (thanks!). I'm part of a small online group of artists aiming to improve our portraiture skills, and this is our current ref. I'm intending to paint this in acrylic, and have a fairly good idea of what I want to do.

There are issues with this sketch which I'll bear in mind for the painting, but really I'm hoping to end up with a pleasing painting rather than an exact likeness with this one. We shall see...

Pencil in an A4 sketchbook, a quick sketch, about 15 minutes.

James's jungle

2011-09-26T17:48:00.000+01:00

I've had fun over the last few weeks painting a big picture for the nursery of my new nephew. Finally delivered it at the weekend, so now I can share it here my blog.

And some details:

Acrylic on canvas, 20" by 30". This was so much fun to do, loads of initial sketches of the animals and plants, then putting it all together. Took longer than I thought it would though - it's all a learning curve!

Year of Painting - cardinal

2011-09-20T17:53:00.000+01:00

Here's what I did for this month's Year of Painting challenge, over on the Painting Friends forum, a study and a sketch (maybe I'll do a painting one day!). I'm not familiar with this bird other than from photographs (it's North American) but it looks fairly similar to the waxwings we sometimes see here in the UK in the coldest of our winters. Ref photo courtesey of mensatic at Art Morgue, thank you!

Both are around the same size, 8" by 6" (ish). I did the ink and wash sketch first; I went in with the paint first, putting down general areas of colour where I saw them, then refined with the pen, then back in with more paint. For the wc study I did a quick freehand pencil sketch first, followed by several fairly thin washes.

The ink and wc sketch was done very quickly, the wc study I took more time over. Having done the sketch definitely helped when I started the study (I did them side by side, on the same piece of paper).

Watercolour/watercolour and ink. 8" by 6".

Red kite, ongoing

2011-09-05T16:32:00.001+01:00

At the moment I'm painting a picture for the nursery of my impending nephew or niece, so in the meantime here's another piece I've been working on, off and on...

This is based on a photo by Tom Melton on Birdforum, with permission. This is the biggest watercolour painting I've attempted - a full sheet. I started it over a year ago when, full of enthusiasm, I got it drawn out. I then found that it was almost impossible to actually work on it without having to clear absolutely everything away first, so it lurked, propped against the wall... One house move later and I find myself with more room, so it's seen the light of day once more and I've been painting it, slowly....

Image is clickable for a closer look as always.

Watercolour, 22" by 30"

Faded

2011-08-21T13:04:00.000+01:00

Here's a study of a couple of roses, deadheaded from the rose plant in the front garden. I enjoyed the observational exercise; drawing and painting these small life studies is good fun.

Watercolour from life, on Daler Rowney Langton NOT paper, 12" by 9".

Year of Painting no 5

2011-08-21T12:31:00.000+01:00

The ref pic for the Painting Friends forum Year of Painting this month was a seascape. Never having painted the sea before, this was a bit of a challenge for me!

I like the long letterbox format, which I think works well here. I like the overall colour scheme, with that greeny aqua feel. Not keen on the land mass in the top corner; it looks a bit like a big storm cloud. I’m not pleased with the figures, which I think look rubbish! I debated whether to include them or not, but they act as a good point of scale for the scene.

I would love to spend some time at the coast, watching and painting the water. Hmm, maybe a few days away are beckoning!

Acrylic on canvas, 8” by 20”

Another sad tale, another pm study

2011-08-10T16:10:00.001+01:00

We've had another window-related casualty, which is a bit upsetting. This time it was a dunnock, which flew into a different window. I'm hoping that it's just coincidence that we've had two birds hitting windows within a couple of days - we haven't had any in the previous 6 months that we've been here...

So, another post-mortem study. These little birds can look quite drab and unassuming from a distance, but they have beautiful hues and subtle colours in their plumage close up.

Watercolour (on HP paper), quarter sheet.

Blackcap, a sad tale

2011-08-08T19:07:00.002+01:00

Here's a study I painted on Sunday afternoon, of an unfortunate juvenile blackcap (a kind of warbler). We found it dead on the path in front of the lawn - I think it probably flew into the window.

In the spirit of one of my favourite artists, Tim Wootton, I thought I'd do a post mortem study. So, two studies of the same unfortunate bird. It was an excellent exercise in observation.

I'd been watching this youngster only the previous day, being fed by one of its parents. I was pondering the long, long journey it was going to be making - blackcaps migrate to Africa - sadly, this one didn't make it any further than my little Cambridgeshire village. Such is the natural world, but what an amazingly fragile little creature to make that journey...

Watercolour, quarter sheet. As always, you can click the images for a closer look.

Javan Langur, at the zoo

2011-07-28T13:30:00.000+01:00

Here's my latest effort, another zoo-based painting from my photos from Twycross Zoo.

This is a Javan Langur, who had an irresistibly wise and somewhat world-weary appearance. This was painted with no preliminary drawing, and is in watercolour. I really enjoyed this one, and it's got me itching to go back to the zoo to do some sketching... I see a day out in my near future ;-)

Watercolour, quarter sheet.

Missy

2011-07-23T12:07:00.000+01:00

A few weeks back I went to an acrylic portrait demo, invited by fellow arty blogger Pat Elliot. As it was a bit of a drive for me and the demo was in the evening, Pat and her husband were kind enough to feed me and put me up for the night. I painted Pat's dear little dog, Missy, as a thank you.

Acrylic on paper, 14" by 10". No preliminary drawing, straight in with the paint - good fun!

YOP 4

2011-07-21T12:11:00.000+01:00

Here's the next in the Year of Painting challenge on the Painting Friends forum.

This was from a lovely but busy reference photo from mr sandbanx on Wet Canvas.

My aim with this YOP ref was to try to imagine I was on holiday (if only!) and that I was in situ with pen and watercolours, sketching the scene. I have seen a lot of beautiful journal-type art along these lines, and I am always impressed - there's a real sense of being there, a unique capture of a moment, or an afternoon perhaps. So for this YOP I sketched in ink (no pre-drawing with pencil) and tried to capture the scene as if I was actually there...

...I think I need a holiday!

12" by 9", ink and watercolour.

Portrait

2011-07-16T16:14:00.000+01:00

Here's my latest painting, painted from a photo I took a few months back of my beautiful niece...

Acrylic on acrylic paper, 10" by 14"

I'm pretty please with how this has turned out in the end. I was getting a bit frustrated with it at one point - it was looking a bit bleugh - then I mixed up some purples and started slapping the colour on, and it gave the whole thing a much punchier feel. The likeness is ok, and the anatomy has some issues I think, but really I was having fun trying out the colours.

You can click on the pic for a closer view, as always.

I must admit, I'm stumped for a title for this one. Though maybe 'My muse', as I always seem to be painting the poor girl!

Giraffe, at the zoo

2011-07-08T21:16:00.001+01:00

In super-quick time, another little pastel from the zoo residents appears (can you tell I'm having fun with these!)

Another 9ish by 6-ish inch pastel painting on pastelmat paper, from a photo I took at Twycross zoo at the weekend. It's a bit bright, a bit soft, and a bit comical, but it makes me feel cheerful and puts a smile on my face ;-)

Prairie dog pup, at the zoo

2011-07-07T13:41:00.003+01:00

Now for something a bit cuter than the last post!

I went last weekend for a visit to Twycross Zoo, in the beautiful English Midlands, and took loads of photos of fab animals. I decided to try out some pastels that I've had lying around for ages, and used a ref of a Black-tailed Prairie Dog pup, almost too cute for it's own good... Pleased with how this turned out, as it was really only an experiment to try out the pastels and some newly acquired pastelmat paper.

I haven't used pastels very much but I enjoyed this, so no doubt I'll be adding some more zoo animals along the way.

Pastel on pastelmat paper, approx 6" by 9"

Return of the Living Dead...

2011-06-28T19:42:00.002+01:00

...aka my latest self portrait...

A couple of weeks ago I went to an excellent demo by Hashim Akib, having been very kindly invited by fellow arty blogger and all-round lovely lady Pat Elliot (thanks Pat :-)), and this is my first effort, having been well inspired.

It's acrylic on canvas, 10 by 14".

Despite having the appearance of an animated corpse, I'm actually fairly pleased with this. When Hashim Akib did his demo, he started off by laying on paint without any kind of drawing - he then built on this, looking for shapes, shadows and highlights, only getting 'fiddly' (and not too fiddly at that) right at the finish. His portrait style is a lot more colourful than I've managed here, but I was fairly happy with this for a starter. Painted from life (using a mirror) with flat brushes, no drawing. I did have some lovely juicy colours early on but managed to lose them along the way...

So, it's been a confidence booster in that I know I can paint without needing to draw first; for my next attempt I'll aim for something a bit warmer and less deathly!

Year of Painting 3: Koi

2011-06-21T19:23:00.001+01:00

The Painting Friends Year of Painting challenge last month was Koi. I decided to try for something delicate.

Watercolour, 5" by 7".

I used a bit of clingfilm to try to get a watery ripply effect, which I think worked OK, but I failed to get the lost edges I had in mind.

Promise of Spring

2011-06-05T16:20:00.001+01:00

Here's what I've been up to over the last week or so, a painting to add to Old Man Winter for the 'seasons' series.

Watercolour and ink, using the clingfilm technique.

Quarter sheet, on Fabriano Artistico HP.

Year of Painting 2: Still Life

2011-05-22T19:11:00.001+01:00

Over on the Painting Friends forum, the Year of Painting has reached month 2. The reference for this month was a still life set-up, and I decided to have a go in acrylics.

Acrylic, 10 by 14"

My version is much simplified from the reference photo - the original had a stripey tablecloth for a start (and that looked way too difficult!). I think I could have been braver with the colours in the white cloth, but I like the texture I managed to get (applying paint with a palette knife), and I like the overall feel of the finished painting.

It was fun to do, as always, and it's great to try out different approaches and subject matter. Though I do think that I prefer painting still lifes from life, rather than from a reference photo, so I'll have to make the effort and set some up I guess...

Portrait from life

2011-05-08T19:54:00.001+01:00

Thought it was about time that I did some more drawing from life. My model today was happily sitting, minding his own business and watching the Formula One Grand Prix on the telly...

Charcoal and white pastel, on some kind of grey, fairly lightweight paper with a little bit of tooth to it. I found it a bit of a struggle as the charcoal lifted off at any opportunity (ie me putting my big clumsy finger in the middle of it...)

Not the greatest likeness, it has to be said, but not too bad....

Size is about 13" by 17"

Sally again

2011-04-23T15:19:00.001+01:00

Here' the latest portrait I've been working on. It's a reference I've painted before, but I wanted to have another go. Not sure if this one is any better/more successful; I was really struggling with it for a while as I'd somehow gone a bit bright with the skin tones. Managed to drag it back a little with a couple of thin washes of blue/blue green. The likeness is better this time anyway.

Watercolour, quarter sheet, on Fabriano Artistico HP paper, a very smooth surface.

YOP 1

2011-04-21T17:29:00.001+01:00

Over on the Painting Friends forum there is a challenge running - a Year of Painting (YOP). Each month a reference photo is supplied which we all paint and then share on or after the 20th of the month. Along with the painting, we are encouraged to share our thought processes, sketches, studies and goals, the idea being that having this kind of focus really will make you think about your painting approach.

The theme for the first month was landscapes - my absolute bugbear. And the two refs provided didn't fill me with joy either! However, I gave it some thought and went and researched some landscape painters, including Bruce Docker, one of my favourites. My first effort was very much in his style.

I then thought I'd try something a bit more 'painterly', while trying to keep the energy of my first effort, so this is what ensued:

Both are acrylic, 8" by 12" on acrylic board.

I actually quite like both of these, but the first is my favourite. I think I'd like to be able to paint something that sits between the two styles - I love the energy and almost abstract shapes that come out of the first approach, but it looks a bit 'cartoony' for my liking. I am going to persevere with this approach for landscapes, and I might even venture outside and try a bit of plein aire painting, if I can work out a system for outdoors acrylics. Watch this space, as they say!

The visitor

2011-03-31T10:53:00.000+01:00

Here's one I painted a couple of weeks ago, based on a photo I grabbed of a muntjac deer which visits my garden.

8 by 10", watercolour.

I enjoyed the colours in this one - the russetty tones of the deer, and the blues of the background.

March daffodils

2011-03-18T17:29:00.001Z

Every now and again I like to have a go at something completely different. I've been doing a lot of portraits and life drawing over the last few months, so I thought I'd get the acrylics out and paint some flowers from life.

Bought these from the market a few days ago - they were all still tight buds, but now they're fully open. The thing I love about acrylics is the intensity of the colours - there's nothing delicate about these daffodils ;-)

Acrylic on canvas board, 8 by 12", painted from life (with quite a lot of artistic licence!) Click the image to see the (much nicer) bigger version.

Pastel portrait

2011-03-09T18:50:00.002Z

Here's a portrait done with pastel pencils, for the portrait group. This is a very close crop of the original photo reference, from Redfloor at Stock.xchng

A4 pastel paper.

I'm playing with a couple of other crops of the ref, just to see how different crops can produce different moods etc.

Life drawing

2011-03-04T16:11:00.000Z

A couple more from the life drawing class

10 minutes, charcoal on newsprint

15 minutes, charcoal on cartridge paper

And 20 minutes, pastel on cartridge paper.

This might be the last of the life drawing for now - the class will only run if there are enough students signed up, and it wasn't looking good the other night...

I'm having a bad day

2011-02-28T16:54:00.001Z

This was painted with the small portrait group I belong to, and with the portrait challenge on paintingfriends. My aim with this reference was to try to capture the mood more than anything else. I was going for sulky, but I think I just ended up with sad, or possibly evil. It looks even scarier in real life...

There are, um, fairly major issues with the features (the mouth is especially wonky and the eyes aren't great either). Sometimes these portraits just plain get away from you, and I got fed up of fiddling to try to get it right. I think I'll call this one:

'I'm having a bad day'

Reference photo was from Grunge on WetCanvas. Twas an interesting exercise but I don't think I'll be hanging this one on the wall :-)

Acrylic, 11 by 15"

Life drawing

2011-02-18T17:25:00.000Z

At the risk of boring you all to death, here are a couple more life drawings, from Wednesday night's class ;-)

This first one is charcoal on newsprint, a 10-minute pose.

And next we have chalk on black sugar paper - this was a 30-minute pose, which I found really enjoyable. As you can see, I urgently need to work on facial features... and feet... and hands...

Some more life drawing

2011-02-10T19:10:00.001Z

Here are a couple from last night's life drawing class.

25 minutes, charcoal on cartridge paper, A2.

20 minutes, charcoal on A2 cartridge paper again.

I feel I'm getting a bit better with the proportions, but I'd like to improve my drawing style, to produce something a bit more refined and confident. Practice is the key...

Youngster enrapt

2011-01-24T18:27:00.002Z

Here's a painting from the Painting Friends forum portrait challenge. The ref is by luisrock62 on morguefile, thanks!

This kid was looking rather jaundiced for much of the time on my easel, but I think he's recovered... Practising skin tones and trying to keep loose...

There was much debate about whether out portrait subject is a little girl or boy (hence my non-committal title, lol)... I reckoned a little girl, but changed my mind while painting him. What do you think?

Watercolour, quarter sheet.

Old man winter

2011-01-21T16:44:00.003Z

Well, moving on from my getting acquainted sketch, here's what I've ended up with:

Watercolour, gouache and ink, using clingfilm; quarter sheet. Ref photo by bboomerindenial on morguefile.

The reference photo for this painting was supplied for the January challenge in a small portrait group I belong to, and was in black and white, the idea being that we could apply our own colour without being influenced by the colour in the original. This is where I ended up. I'd like to say that flashes of inspiration brought me here, but in reality my thought processes were more akin to continental drift...

I may well try a series of these, one for each season, what do you think?

Edit: this painting was featured on the RedBubble homepage, 1st Feb 2011 - well chuffed!

sketch

2011-01-07T23:36:00.001Z

Here's a "getting acquainted" sketch - thanks Linda, perfect description ;-) - for my next painting. Ref photo by bboomerindenial on morguefile, thanks!

Did this in my little sketchbook, 8" by 6". I have a few possibilities in mind here, but I think I'm going to try a 'Jack Frost/Old Man Winter' approach first off, and I think I may be getting the clingfilm out...

2010 top 10

2010-12-31T19:08:00.000Z

Well, I've just been over at Crystal Cook's fabulous blog, where she has her top 10 paintings of 2010 - all beautiful paintings! She's suggested we all do the same, so here are my top 10 from what I've managed this year...

In no particular order...

Emily, watercolour, 11 by 15"

Her watchful place, watercolour, 11 by 15"

Charcoal portrait, A4

When I was a child, acrylic, 10 by 14"

If the wind changes direction, acrylic 10 by 14"

That basset look, watercolour, 11 by 15"

The glance, watercolour, 8 by 10"

Tom's old spot, watercolour, 8 by 10"

Faithful, watercolour, 8 by 10"


Best friend, watercolour, 8 by 10"

Have a happy and creative New Year - all the best for 2011!

Her watchful place

2010-12-29T20:58:00.002Z

So here's the finish of the WIP posted earlier. I added another couple of thin washes, including a warm yellow to warm up the left hand side of the face, which has a nice glow to it. I think I should probably stop fiddling with it now...

Watercolour, quarter sheet (11" by 15"). Reference by babasteve on Flickr under creative commons - thanks!

Emily

2010-12-26T22:44:00.001Z

I painted this one for my cousin Emily, 21 years old today :-)

What a great model :-)

Quarter sheet (11 by 15").

Happy birthday Em!

Her watchful place WIP

2010-12-19T14:54:00.005Z

Here's a work in progress, another portrait painting for the online portrait group I belong to. I'll post the finished image later (if it ever gets finished, you never know!), but as I remembered to take some pics along the way this time, I thought I'd share them here. Colours used were scarlet lake, new gamboge, lemon yellow, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, payne's grey, sepia, indigo.

I started off with a drawing, using a grid to help me place the features and to speed up the drawing process. A good drawing is an absolute must I reckon. I then put in some initial washes - a warm yellow on the left, a cool yellow on the right, and a blue wash for some areas of the face, hair and surrounds, all according to what I reckoned I could see in the reference photo.

I let the washes dry completely (this is where I often run into trouble with watercolour, being impatient and diving in too soon!). I've added some red/orangey and purple tones to the hair and ear shadow.

Again on dry paper, I've put in a reddish wash across the face, defining the areas of shadow and light. For the neck, which is pretty much entirely in shadow and darker than the face, I've gone with a purple wash. For the highlights, I either avoid painting the area altogether, or I use kitchen paper to blot away the colour where it's not needed, which actually produces a nice soft gradation for the edges, good for portraits.

More thin washes and blotting of highlights, and defining of shadows, under the eyes for example.

Yet another thin layer or two on the face, plus I added the background colour.

More layers to deepen the skin tones and blotting of highlights and pale areas on the face, and I've added texture to whatever it is she's hiding behind (something wooden, anyway). At this point it was looking a bit blotchy, but not to worry, it can be fixed with more washes...

...so more washes, drying in between, to smooth out the blotchiness a bit. This is the point I've left it at, though I think it still looks a bit blotchy, and I'm wondering whether I can go deeper with the skin tones without it getting overworked. But she does have a bit of a ragamuffin feel as is, so maybe I'll leave it...

Watercolour, 11" by 15". Reference photo by babasteve on Flickr, under Creative Commons.

portrait sketch

2010-12-07T19:30:00.001Z

Here's a drawing for a portrait painting I have planned. The ref photo is by babasteve on Flickr. There's a lot going on with light and shadows; I often find it helpful to do a drawing to help me focus on potential sticky areas.

Did this last night while listening to the England cricket team finishing off the Aussies (yay!)

A4 pencil sketch.

Life drawing

2010-12-07T18:56:00.000Z

Here are a few more from recent weeks:

Not sure how long this pose was for, but I can assure you that the model didn't have a 5 o'clock shadow (such are the perils of using charcoal!)

This one was a 25-minute pose, pencil.

This was, I think, another 20/25 minute pose. Here, the tutor gave us each a small piece of card, about an inch and a half square, along with a piece of charcoal. We had to load the edge of the card with charcoal, and use this as a drawing implement. I really like the result.

Iskamontero in the garden

2010-11-25T17:26:00.001Z

Here's one I've been working on for a challenge on Redbubble.

Watercolour, 10" by 12" crop from an original size of quarter sheet, on Fabriano Artistico HP paper, which is a rather smooth surface. Was going for a real sunny feel with this one.

The reference photo was supplied by Iskamontero herself, for a portrait challenge on Redbubble (in the Bubbler Portraits group).

The days darken round me

2010-11-15T17:13:00.001Z

Back to the watercolours for this portrait. I loved painting the skin tones of this chap - lots of very thin washes, building up some rich tones. The shadows were interesting too - very definite cast shadows along with softer 'form' shadows indicating how the planes of the face turn. I wasn't sure about the title - but he looks like he's contemplating something with a certain amount of worry...

Watercolour, quarter sheet (15" by 11"). Reference photo by chilombiano on morguefile.

Some more life drawing

2010-11-12T13:46:00.000Z

Here are a few more from the last few weeks of the life drawing class.

25 min. Really like this pose, the model looks well comfy!

?? not sure how long this pose was, but no longer than 30 minutes.

30 minutes

30 minutes.

The 2-hour class just flies by it seems! I'm not sure I'm getting any better but I feel more confident about my drawing... I seem to do better at the longer poses (20-30 minutes); I'm not keen on anything I've drawn in the short poses.

Washed my hair

2010-10-18T18:25:00.000+01:00

Many times I've looked in the mirror after I've washed my hair and thought, 'actually, that'd be fun to paint'. So I finally got round to snapping a picture of me with my hair wrapped up in a towel and got the paints out...

Acrylic on Galeria paper, 10" by 14".

This one has turned out pretty much as I had it in my head, so I'm pleased about that. It's fairly high key (ie there's not a huge amount of contrast - no really dark darks), but I reckon that adds to the mood of the piece (the bathroom generally feels and looks like a sauna by the time I've finished!), and it's what I was aiming for :-)

Life drawing

2010-10-14T17:39:00.001+01:00

Here's the pick of my efforts from last night:

35-minute pose, charcoal and white pastel pencil on a mid-tone paper (A2 in size). The idea was to really get looking at the shadows and highlights, using the colour of the paper as the mid-tone for the drawing. This is a brilliant exercise to do, and is just the same as I've done for some of my portraits. Only this is from life and in 35 minutes, rather than from a photo and taking hours ;-)

I'm enjoying this class so much - the 2 hours just flies by. In fact, I'm now kicking myself for not having signed up last year...

Life drawing

2010-10-11T21:11:00.001+01:00

In an attempt to improve my drawing skills I've signed up for a life drawing class at the local college. I'm enjoying it immensely!

All are drawn on A2 paper or newsprint, with charcoal or graphite pencil.

40 min, pencil

20 min, charcoal

10 min, charcoal

35 min, charcoal.

Charcoal portrait

2010-09-23T11:22:00.001+01:00

I'm pressing on with the portraits...

This is charcoal on pastel paper, A4 in size. The eye on the right needs moving a smidge, but otherwise this looks not too bad. I may well try this in acrylics at some point.

Nigel

2010-09-07T17:58:00.000+01:00

Haven't posted anything for a while; I've got a couple of paintings on the go at the moment, but whether either will see the light of day remains to be seen...

Meanwhile here's one from earlier this year.

Watercolour, 8" by 10"

When I was a child

2010-08-22T13:20:00.001+01:00

Here's another acrylic painting (I'm getting to really like these!). This is based on an old photo of me from many years ago. Enjoyed this one, and I'm definitely going to do more acrylics.

Acrylic, 10" by 14"

If the wind changes direction....

2010-08-12T19:52:00.006+01:00

...your face will stick like that! This is what we were told when we were kids, pulling faces...

Here's the result of my acrylic inspiration. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, and I think I'll be doing more along these lines. I found that the image this is based on had mysteriously appeared on my camera when I got home from visiting my sis...

I had such good fun with this, messing with the colours and generally enjoying my new-found acrylic confidence. Found it hard to get a good pic; there's a bit of glare on the right hand side. Click the picture for a closer look.

Acrylic, 10" by 14", on paper (I'll have to do a biggie sometime soon!)

And here's the work in progress: you really have to have faith that it's going to turn out the way you want it to, it looks pretty grim in the early stages!

JoeDaisy workshop

2010-08-12T17:21:00.002+01:00

Thought I'd write a few words about a fab workshop I went on a couple of weekends ago - Get Creative, at the JoeDaisy Studio in Mapledurham, near Reading. If you like the idea of getting stuck in, painting in your own way while enjoying guidance and support from a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic tutor (Cat Croxford, in this case), then this place is for you! Their website says 'Our Philosophy is to Bring Out the Artist in YOU!! and not just getting you painting like the tutor' - this is spot on, and it's what made the weekend so enjoyable.

I went with the aim of doing something completely different to my usual little watercolours, and I ended up painting in acrylic on the biggest canvas I have ever had - great fun! All your materials are provided, so no need to go out buying loads of stuff, I learned loads of tips about working with acrylics, and the whole weekend was very relaxed - a great little studio in a beautiful hamlet. The JoeDaisy guest house, where I stayed, was excellent too (especially for birders - I was watching red kites from the guest house garden - brill).

All in all it was just what I needed to get out of that bit of a rut I'd been in. I'm planning on going back and doing some more of their workshops. And I've been inspired to get the acrylics out (as you'll see in the next post...)

Garlic and onions

2010-08-08T17:22:00.004+01:00

Here's what I've been doing today and yesterday - this is an exercise in values from the Painting Friends forum. First off I did a value sketch using charcoal, trying to identify light, medium and dark values. I then used this as a guide for the watercolour painting. Actually I think I like the sketch better than the painting!

Reference photo was by yabby, from the Wet Canvas image library.

Watercolour: 9" by 12"
Sketch: A4 (just a bit smaller than the painting)

20 minute sketches

2010-07-27T17:59:00.003+01:00

Well, I haven't been doing much painting or drawing over the last few weeks; I've been finding it hard to get inspired. However, last night I did do a couple of 20 minute sketches of a shoulder bag I bought at a local charity shop (I'm planning on concealing a small sketchbook in there, and doing some covert cafe sketching, perhaps, if I'm ever brave enough...) I still haven't learned to get the drawing positioned properly on the paper, as you can see :)

Watercolour and ink, both about 12 by 9"

Tommy's old spot

2010-07-14T19:42:00.004+01:00

Well, here he is again, Tommy the pub cat. I decided to have another go at this one (it's an appealing ref photo!), and I'm happier with the result this time (what do you think? An improvement, or not?). Tommy has now officially retired from the hustle and bustle of pub life and is happily pottering about, away from the temptation of all the tasty snacks that come his way in the pub (yes, he's been to kitty fat camp before now!).

Watercolour 8" by 10", from my own ref photo.

That basset look

2010-06-23T14:50:00.001+01:00

Well, here's my latest, another canine portrait. The reference photo for this one came from the WetCanvas reference image library, courtesy of Artmutt - thanks! What a great expression, and a sweet doggie!

Watercolour, 11" by 15"

Pumpkins lost and found

2010-06-21T19:56:00.005+01:00

It's not often that I paint vegetables! This was painted for an exercise on the Painting Friends forum from a reference provided by Jaytee, to get us all thinking about lost and found edges. I like the foreground pumpkin, not so keen on the other one...

I think controlling lost and found edges in watercolour can be tricky, as it's easy to get a bit carried away and fiddle to much, and end up overworking, or else just be a bit too timid. With enough practice you will get to know the medium, but there are always unanticipated things going on - that's the nature, and the charm I guess, of watercolour!

9" by 12"

Feather for Drawing Day

2010-06-06T10:53:00.005+01:00

Here's a quickie I did for Drawing Day 2010, a feather I picked up while out walking along the river. I did actually do the drawing on drawing day, June 5th, but didn't get it uploaded til today!

Water soluble graphite on watercolour paper
5" by 7"

The glance

2010-05-30T19:09:00.006+01:00

Here's my latest effort for the portrait paintalong on the Painting Friends forum. I especially enjoyed the colour combinations in this one, purples with orangey tones. It's a bit more subtle than the in-your-face man from Halong, anyway!

The original reference photo was by lisilk, and came from the WetCanvas reference image library.

I'm pleased to say that this image was featured on the RedBubble homepage - well chuffed!

Watercolour, 8" by 10"

There was an old man from Halong

2010-05-25T20:19:00.005+01:00

Here's another portrait from the 'portrait paintalong' on the Painting Friends forum. This one is a quarter sheet (a bit bigger than my usual 8" by 10"), and it's on Arches Rough paper, a surface I don't often use (found this piece lurking at the bottom of the drawer, it must have been there forever). Thought it might be ok to use for a nice craggy subject such as this chap, and I really enjoyed painting it. Best viewed from a short distance away, as with an awful lot of my paintings ;)

Watercolour 11" by 15".

Ref photo is by chilombiano from morguefile.

p.s. yes, the title is just begging for a limerick...

Tommy's spot

2010-05-18T18:43:00.002+01:00

Here's another painting of Tommy, the pub cat. Here he's in his basket, at the end of the bar, a vantage point from which he can keep an eye on what's going on, and also enjoy plenty of attention from people coming and going. Perfect.

I really liked the photo ref I took for this, but I think the painting ended up a bit overworked once again. Ho hum.

Watercolour, 8" by 10"

Frosty

2010-05-12T19:35:00.004+01:00

Here's a pencil drawing of a friend, completed a few weeks back from a photo I snapped.

A4 size (approx 8" by 11").

Redhead 1.1

2010-05-02T18:29:00.002+01:00

Having had a bit of feedback from the portrait paintalong, I decided to deepen the shadows further, and did a bit of work on the hair too. A step forwards, or a step back? Personally I think it's punchier, which suits the subject, so I'm happy with it.

Redhead

2010-04-30T18:50:00.005+01:00

This is a portrait I painted for the portrait 'paintalong' on Painting Friends - we're all working from a couple of references (there's a photo of a little boy as well, which I'm hoping to paint), and it's good to see how different artists approach the same reference.

This reference is Candace by devymarie, from the WetCanvas reference image library.

Watercolour, 12" by 9".

Faithful

2010-04-14T15:52:00.003+01:00

I painted this for a group challenge on Redbubble, from a beautiful ref photo by Trine of her dog, a retriever called Ditte, which had won another group challenge on Redbubble (are you still following, lol).

It's watercolour, 8" by 10".

Tommy 2

2010-04-05T18:58:00.003+01:00

Here's another watercolour of Tommy, the pub cat, curled up in his basket on the end of the bar. I feel this one ended up a bit overworked; maybe I'll have another crack at it sometime.

Watercolour 5" by 7".

Best friend

2010-04-02T19:01:00.006+01:00

I've wanted to paint a dalmatian for a while now - who wouldn't? - so here's my first attempt. Another for the dog collection!

Watercolour, 8" by 10".
Reference photo courtesy of photos8.com

Tommy

2010-03-28T18:08:00.003+01:00

Here's a small watercolour based on a pic I took the other day of Tommy, the cat who frequents my local pub. He had graciously waited for me to finish my lunch before making himself comfortable on my lap.

Watercolour 5" by 7"

Another rainy day

2010-03-27T14:53:00.004Z

Here's another painting from the reference photo I used for 'Rainy day'; a bit moodier, I hope, and not such a 'pretty' portrait. Used some white gouache along with watercolour for this one.

Watercolour and gouache, 11" by 14"

Boxer

2010-03-24T11:38:00.004Z

Watercolour, approx 11" by 9".

This was painted from a photo I took a couple of summers ago at one of my local pubs, of this beautiful boxer dog cooling off in the shade.

Tiger in the sun

2010-03-20T15:01:00.002Z

At last, a new post! Have been a bit busy, but a lovely tiger reference from Stephie on the Painting Friends forum caught my eye.

Watercolour, approx. 9" by 12"

Gull

2010-03-06T15:20:00.005Z

Here's a quick watercolour, from a reference kindly provided on the paintingfriends forum. Tried keeping this simple - watercolour seems to look its best when it's not fiddled with too much!

7" by 6", watercolour.

Rainy day

2010-02-27T15:03:00.007Z

Having practised eyes a bit, I decided to tackle this picture, from my own ref, which I've had on the 'to do' pile for a while.

Watercolour, approx. 11" by 14" (quarter sheet)

Practising eyes

2010-02-26T12:19:00.004Z

Been practising eyes - here's a few pencil and watercolour sketches (they do look rather strange, individual eyeballs scatted across the page!)

Sunshine Award

2010-02-23T17:31:00.002Z

My cyberfriend Nora Mackin was kind enough to send a sunshine award my way - thank you Nora! Check out Nora's blog, full of lovely stuff. I'm supposed to nominate another twelve deserving recipients - I'll have to give it some thought!

Snoozing

2010-02-07T14:58:00.005Z

This is what I've been working on over the past few days. It's based on a photo I took MANY years ago, of our cat snoozing on my beanbag.

8" by 10", watercolour.

Enjoy the silence

2010-02-02T20:49:00.006Z

Here's another watercolour based on a photo I took a few months ago. I especially liked the light in the photo, which makes the painting a bit easier - the areas of light and shade are well defined.

12" by 9", watercolour.

Chaps in hats

2010-01-30T13:17:00.005Z

Here's a summery painting, based on a photo I took at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year.

Watercolour 8" by 10"

Another self portrait

2010-01-29T21:08:00.004Z

Well, I promised more people and more sketching, so here's an unconvincing self portrait! Not a great likeness, it has to be said, but I will persevere.

Drawn in pastel pencil, A4 size, from life using a mirror (which I find really hard!).