In passing.............................

I would normally never write a post like this but I was very touched by the death of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 9 April 2021.  I would also not be posting any news about the Duke at all except to note that he occasionally dabbled in oil painting and the first painting below is one he did of the Queen at breakfast.  The second one is a painting of the Duke on the yacht Britannia in front of his easel.  Again, for some reason I cannot understand, these have inspired me to post some of my recent work.  

"The Queen at breakfast" by Prince Philip

"Prince Philip painting on Britannia" by Edward Seagoe

Mini Abstract 6.

Another mini-abstract during lockdown.  This experiment was mainly an exercise using colours I love but haven't used in years.  This was done using gouache but would work much better with proper acrylics on board.

Mini Abstract 6.

Gouache on Paper - 10" x 10.5"

Mini Abstract 5.

A quickish gouache and water colour mini-abstract done this afternoon, just to let off steam.  This worked out as I intended but it would have worked out far better in oils.

"Mine Field"  

Mini Abstract - 9.52 x 9" - Gouache and Watercolour on Watercolour Paper

Snow Scene

A quick gouache of a snow scene to get me through the day.  I left off finishing it completely as the paper wasn't fine enough to capture more detail, but I am happy with the overall sense of place evoked.  Landscape formats are unusual for me as I prefer a square for some reason or another, but this seemed to work.

"Snow Scene"

Gouache on Watercolour Paper - 9" x 6.5"

Homage - Portrait Sketch

As I have no access to a live model at present, I thought I would get the juices going with a homage to one of my favourite artists, Annigoni.  This was inspired by one of his drawings.  The paper should have been smoother to capture the half-tones I was trying to emulate and the photography isn't that wonderful either.  Another very important realisation is that to truly explore and reveal the gradual, although dramatic, gradations between values, a much larger sized of paper is required.   Next time, maybe.

"Homage"

Graphite on Watercolour Paper - 9" x 6.5"

2020 - First Sketches

These are the first three sketches of 2020.

They were done quickly without much fuss as all I wanted to experience was the use of these new tools for drawing; water soluble chalks which are just superb and lots of fun.  I am not posting these because I like them, although there are some interesting marks in each work. I am posting them because I want to get back into the discipline of recording what I draw and sketch throughout the year without being strategic about posting my best work.  It's all going to be out there in 2020; good, bad and wholly indifferent.

"Close-up"

Collage 1 - First Collage Experiment

It's been 21 months since I last posted to this blog for one reason or another.  I am not going to explain too much about the work below except to say it's my first foray into collage.

I adore the engravings of Gustave Dore and combined a few vertical images of the same engraving and just reconfigured the scene, just for fun.

"Gustave Dore - Reconfigured"

Mixed media on MDF Board - Photocopies, Acrylic Paint - 12" x 12"

This is the original engraving I worked from.

The collage has this image multiplied three times.

Drawing of another era

This drawing and watercolour was influenced by another painting - a sort of homage but I can't find out who the artist is; I screen-grabbed the image so long ago. I adore the viewpoint. This was my first attempt and it was done very quickly for an online challenge. I will work up this style when I have more time but, in the process of making of it, I was inundated with new ideas for bigger works. Lovely to work with pen on a ready-made background which consists of splashes of watercolour.

"Long Time Ago"

Waterolour, Pen, Gouache on Cartridge Paper - A5

Quick Sketch III

This was done in ultra-quick time. I had a load of small A5-sized paper with watercolour markings all over them and I started painting and drawing on them today allowing myself to be led by the marks. This one reminds me of the illustrations I used to love in childrens' books. I guess it is the innocence and softness of the lines.

"Avoiding the Day"

Pen, Watercolour, Gouache on Cartridge Paper - A5

Quick Pencil Drawing II

This was done very quickly last night while watching television. I just had the urge to sketch something, anything. The problems in doing portrait sketches from photographs are many, but the light in the room was pretty poor, but the end result is passable enough to post here. At least something got down on paper.  I see many mistakes, but I'm not fixing them.  No point really.

"Portrait in front of the television"

Pencil on Cartridge Paper - 11.5" x 7.5"

Another quick drawing this time with gouache.

Another quick drawing/sketch this afternoon. Same subject, different photo. I cannot replicate the sitter's face as I am so out of practice. Again the lighting for the photography defeated me. I do see some improvement over the last effort though, so that's something.

"Inspired by Anna (2)"

 Pencil, Watercolour & Gouache on Cartridge Paper - A5

Quick Pencil Drawing

This didn't go exactly as planned, but certain aspects of it surprised me. I haven't done representational work like this for years and years and it was quite liberating.  If the photography was better, the sitter's clothes would be much darker.  I honestly have to find a way to photograph pencil and charcoal works.

"Inspired by Anna" 

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

A Sketch and a Drawing

I felt like putting up some drawings on the blog today, and found these two. I haven't shown the complete work in either case.  The first is a section of a full life drawing and the other, a close-up of a charcoal portrait of no particular distinction.  In the latter, I rather liked the transformation of the original drawing by getting up close and personal and in the end, the close up can almost not be recognised as fragment of the original. That's photography for you. More drawings to come in the next few days I hope.

Close-Up - Life Drawing - Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Close-Up - Portrait - Charcoal on Cartridge Paper

Mini Abstract 4.

I've had this unfinished mini-abstract on the easel for months now. I took advantage of being in a positive mood this afternoon and completed it. These mini-abstracts are entirely personal and will cease once I buy some larger format panels to paint on. However, I am learning a lot. The first lesson is, obviously, to get the effect I desire, I need panels four times the size.

Mini Abstract 4.
"A Corner of Someone Else's Forest"

12"x 12" - Oil on Gessoed Panel

Mini Abstract 3.

Another one. This is more assured and again, the expressionistic markings require a bigger format but I learned a lot using colours I have never used together. I'm not sure I liked them but something is out of my system.

"Mini Abstract 3.

Oil on gessoed board - 6" x 6"

Mini Abstract 2.

Another mini abstract hot off the easel. This one was easier than the last one probably because it was so small, but harder because the 'concept' required a larger format. More to come, hopefully.  Lessons learned.

 Mini Abstract 2.

Oil on Gessoed Panel - 6" x 6"

Mini Abstract 1.

I am re-posting this work as I deleted the original post by mistake I can't remember too much of what I wrote except to say these sketches are inspired by larger finished works, either representational or abstract. A small detail of a finished work is isolated and then that section is painted much larger as if it is an original work. Well, it is original in one sense, but it is possible to see what section of the original work was chosen and worked on when finished. We learned this method at University as a method to get us into abstract painting.  (It's not the optimum method, by the way, but it is revealing as to what goes into a painting).

Mini Abstract 1.
Oil on Gessoed Panel - 12" x 12"

Sunday Gouache Beginnings - Work in Progress

I rarely post photographs of my work in progress as I think it might be uninteresting to readers but today I got down to some free-wheeling with gouache and what started out as totally messy and unpromising, ended up with some hope, if only a little. Lots to do, yes, but I'll keep posting this work in stages to show the process. I just hope I know when to stop. Hopefully by mid-week I'll have more life drawing to show. 

Studio Desk

Close-up

Lots to work on here

Life Drawing Class...second time around

Last night's second attempt at life drawing was inhibiting as we had a male model whose form was very difficult to depict and standing there in the squashed drawing room, I thought "what a strange way to spend an evening!". Yes, it was strange. My irritation subsided after acknowledging that I wasn't in the mood for stiff challenges, but I carried on and did some acceptable work. The 'head only' was the best but I had some additional problems because I thought the gouache tint I had painted on beforehand would be slightly more sturdy and permanent but all eraser marks wiped off a little of the colour which makes the finished work slightly untidy.  Two more classes and then a Summer break.  I am so out of practice.

 

Head in Profile

Graphite sanguine on gouache tinted paper - 30 x 21 cm

 

Head in Profile - Close up

Graphite and sanguine on gouache tinted paper - 30 x 21 cm

 

 

(Also posted on Drawing Vault)

Life Drawing Class...It's Been Ages

It's been years since my last life drawing class and it shows!  However, it was great to get the charcoal scratching along the paper and to let go.  This was a 15 minute pose and I didn't have much time to correct anything but the model thought it good enough to photograph for her portfolio.  More next week, I hope.

Life Drawing Class 1.

Charcoal on A2 Cartridge Paper