Precious

Oil on mdf panel 17.5" x 15"

 

I finished this today - sometimes I can grab only half an hour or so but it seems beneficial to do that every day if possible.  If I miss a few days I reckon it's a bit like training for the Olympics - you have to "get back in the zone again".  I am a little excited by this painting. It is a development I feel. It is still a kind of portrait based on the Edwardian photos but I feel that there might now be a way forward from this towards some more abstract figurative work again, which I feel in my bones I want to do.  It's made with lots and lots of thin, transparent glazes (water mixable oils), kept applying, rubbing it away in parts, then some semi-opaque zinc white applied to the face and clothing.  She's precious to me in a strange way. 



Society of Women Artists 2013

I heard yesterday that the two paintings I submitted recently to the Society of Women Artists annual exhibition in London (Mall Galleries) have both been accepted.  Here they are below:

"Charity" - oil on panel 12" x 12"

 

 

"Threshold" - oil on panel 12" x 12"

Ink drawings

The model did not turn up at the life drawing session last night so Angela generously gave up her painting time and posed for us again - this time with an umbrella as a prop.. The first ones were very quick poses, between 2 and 5 minutes each.  I was determined to get in the whole figure and not worry about the detail.

I tried out some new media..

The three drawings below were done with a Kuretake "Twin" marker (it has a chunky end and a fine end - these were the fine end). It is a water soluble pen which is nice because you can use a brush and clean water to quickly establish some tonal areas.  Looking forward to using this in the next Life drawing session.

 

 

The one below is done with Caran d'ache water soluble Neocolor II crayons - (indigo). It was my first time using these crayons. They are good to use but it didn't feel as "natural" to me as the pen does.

 

 

See below a "blind contour" drawing using the Kuretake felt pen (I did not look at the drawing at all whilst making it and tried to keep the pen on the paper at all times)

 

 

The two drawings below were done last week with a Unipin fine line marker. Interesting to notice the difference the media makes to the style. These pens are much finer and not water soluble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contour drawing and George Bellows (not connected)

In my life and constume studio sessions I have been trying to work on a concept of contour drawing.  It's the very first kind of drawing kids do -  just outlines, no tonal variation, suggesting the form through the line. It's really difficult because I am tempted to keep "tidying up" the line as I go along. I'll keep working at it.  See two recent examples below.
Yesterday I went to London to hand over two paintings to a kind client of mine and also deposit two more at the Mall Galleries in the hope they might be considered for the upcoming Society of Women Artists annual show. Fingers crossed -  (hey, maybe if I keep my fingers crossed the whole time something miraculous might happen with the contour drawing, there's a thought).
With an hour left to the day I went to see the George Bellows exhibition at the Royal Academy. Loved it. The guy was so lacking in pretentiousness.  I could say loads about him but this quote on one of the walls really struck me:
"Try everything that can be done. Be deliberate. Be spontaneous. Be thoughtful and painstaking. Be abandoned and impulsive. Learn your own possibilities." George Bellows, 1920

 

More faces on my website..

I have just added 4 new paintings to my Faces and Places grouping on my website, http://www.sheilavaughan.co.uk .  Here is the most recent one - Yvonne. Please check out the website to get pricing details and to see the others.

Some new paintings and the Manet exhibition

I have painted this quiet young woman before from an old faded black and white photograph of a family from South Wales who had a connection with my family.  Last week I went to London to see the Manet portrait exhibition.  There was a video on a small screen showing Manet's calling cards photograph album. The photos were around the same time as this Welsh one was taken and it seems Manet used photos as references as well as painting from life.  I found the album almost as fascinating as the paintings about which I am left with a memory of surely the creamiest skin colour ever mixed by a painter, but shame on you Manet, that your paintings of Berthe Morisot show no indication of her profession and yet some "salon" female painter, Eva Gonzales, is shown simpering at the viewer in her muslim and taffeta off white dress,  her loaded brush poised to a canvas and with a full palette balanced on her hand.  I suppose it was the money. Plus ca change, eh.
To see more new paintings from the Vaughan collection please refer to: http://www.sheilavaughan.co.uk  my website..

Update 2013

I have been working hard painting since my last post.  A lot of the output was the result of a process of free expression, which I really needed.  Eventually a few weeks ago I went back to painting faces and combining them with a contextual background relating to the landscape of the north of England - a landscape I am most familiar with.  Five of these recent paintings are now on :

 http://www.sheilavaughan.co.uk>  my website..

 So click on the link if you are interested to see them.  You will find them in the new section called "Faces and Places".  Here is a taster:

 

Improving competence

Just letting you know what I have been up to.  Yesterday apparently I had 57 page views so it's obvious people do pop round to see what's going on in this neck of the woods, lol.    You know, actually, I am in a learning trough, which initially seemed a rather negative, undesirable and uncomfortable place to be.  Don't get me wrong - I put myself there.  Just me and the paint and the canvases.  And the ideas.  When we become more aware of "process" and of "referents"  our competence levels begin to drop and it needs lots of conversations - with yourself, with others (if you have others), with the paint and with paintings - your own and other people's, in order to provide support for progress - improving competence, on your own terms.  After a while I realised that actually, this is not an uncomfortable place - it has become a comfortable one. I have thrown a few cushions around metaphorically speaking.  I love that there are no distractions; no rewards, (kindly bloggers admiring my work), no punishments (rejections from exhibition organisers etc), nothing except me and the paint.  There will come a day when I emerge from my trough, because I do like the idea of showing my work but I want it to be work I am proud to show. I'm really into the struggle and feeling positive about it.  And I'll put the key to the trough in my pocket so that I can always go back for a return visit.

A Process conversation

I have decided for a while to separate the "what" from the "how" of painting.  The "what" will always lurk not far beneath the surface for me, but the "how" - well that is different.  I have come to the conclusion that you can stare and stare at a person's work until you are blue in the face but until you come to copy it directly you will never understand how they painted it.  The self-delusion is that through the staring you have begun to feel so intimate with it that you feel you "instinctively" know how he/she did that.  But believe me, until you try it, you don't.  Reflection and introspection is one thing -- doing is another.   It is not that you want to be that person but it is that the way they apply paint has become seductive to you. There must be a reason for that.  I have said in the past that just because you like the way someone applies paint does not mean you have to  also paint that way but it does mean that something in your subconscious is responding to something that was perhaps in theirs.  We are all many people inside ourselves.  And so we have to pay attention to that.  

Yvonne profile

Charcoal and graphite on smooth drawing paper approx 15" x 12"

I worked quickly with the charcoal at first, really just looking to establish tone and value. Then I smudged the whole thing with my fingers (I need to learn to make a mess, lol). I then started to pick out with a putty eraser the light areas. I then switched to an 8b pencil and started working into the dark areas.  I think this drawing captures "Vonnie" better than the other one. Both drawings took about 45 minutes each.

Yvonne

Charcoal and graphite on smooth drawing paper approx 15" x 12"

Yvonne was last night's studio session model.  She was a bit younger and a lot jollier than she looks here!

Kelly in stripey tights

Charcoal and charcoal pencil on smooth paper approx 15" x 12"

Kelly

Charcoal and charcoal pencil on smooth drawing paper.  Approx 15" x 15"

.I know I have not posted for a while. I have been painting but following a new track and not ready to show yet.  I do however have lots of drawings from my Studio Sessions. This is one of them - Kelly -  I have a second drawing of her in her fabulous stripey tights which I'll put up next.

Model

Acrylic on wood panel 24" x 24"....  This is probably the last of the portraits for a while. I'm working on some new stuff and will post it soon hopefully.  This young man was a newcomer to the studio session but the model didn't turn up so as newcomer he was asked to pose and he did so very well indeed.

Linguist

Acrylic and charcoal on wood panel 24" x 24"

Music man

Acrylic and charcoal on wood panel 24" x 24"

Metamorphosis

Acrylic and charcoal on hardboard 24" x 24"  It is hard to believe that an earlier stage consisted of bright cadmium red, yellow and cobalt blue - oh and plus ultramarine violet - just slapped on any old way.  I hope it gives a kind of depth. It's funny - I didn't plan to paint this in this way. I intended a much more abstract output but the process kind of insisted itself.  Technically, I kept working with charcoal in between acrylic sessions and then fixing the whole surface with Daler Rowney fixative.  It fixes great on the acrylic surface. If it's technically risky then too bad - that is what I want to do.  I'm still liking the asymmetry of faces as you can see and I loved working on this bigger size of support.

Updated website

I have recently updated my website with a lot of "new" content and  different group headings although the framework is basically the same The url is:    http://sheilavaughan.co.uk

I'm hoping to be a much better website manager and keep it updated every couple of months or so and will post a link on the blog whenever I do. 

Clara

Acrylic on hardboard 12" x 12"  Did some more work on this today so it's different to the first posting. That little voice that tells me ever so quietly "it's not right" does not make itself heard right away.  I am not even sure it is right now but it's righter than it was. I know that much.

Missionary 3

Acrylic on hardboard 12" x 12"