Couple

Oil on hardboard 8" x 8"

It's amazing to me what I am still learning about colour after what seems such a long time of painting. I am learning to be very careful of introducing earth colours into shadowy areas. They can kill a painting if you are not careful. My reliance on the umbers and the ochres has to be tempered in some way. Must experiment with using just the cadmiums and see what happens.
This top painting - Couple - turned out in digital image to be slightly bluer than it is in reality but I like it, so when it is dry I may put a blue wash over part of the painting.

In France (IV)

Oil on Canvas board 16" x 12"

In France (III) The Auberge Ravoux

Oil on hardboard 12" x 12"

The Auberge Ravoux in Auvers sur Oise is where Vincent Van Gogh spent his last weeks of life. This is the bar where he most likely propped himself up on the evenings when he had a bit of spare cash. His tiny room was upstairs. I visited Auvers sur Oise in July last year and wrote of what a sad experience this was when I posted a pen and ink sketch of the outside of this building which is virtually unchanged to how it was in Vincent's days.
The waitresses had that old fashioned air of sweetness and patience. I meant it to come out as a much more abstract painting but it turned into one which is in my mind unashamedly romantic and almost impressionistic and I just followed the drift of where I felt the painting wanted to go.

Christopher

These two were done last night at the Studio Session. The top one is done in ordinary black ball point pen and the second is in Pitt charcoal. Still experimenting with media. I am mildly irritated by the fragility of charcoal and pastel drawing - not the results so much as the process. I hate how you have to "be careful" in case it smudges and storing them is a pain.
Christopher was a most interesting man to draw. He is a member of the Art Guild but maybe the model didn't turn up and he offered his services. Glad he did. Thank you Christopher.

In France (1)

Oil on hardboard 12" x 12"

Concentrating on how light hits figures, objects, walls and how we lose "edges" in our peripheral vision. Insubstantiality is interesting.

Stalybridge Gothic (re-worked)

Oil on hardboard 24" x 24"

I have a passion for re-working things. I knew I was not satisfied with the first version of this (see below) so I just dived in and started painting. These people came out of my head. I like the oddness of it, but then life is odd, sometimes very odd. For me the painting has moved from being a pastiche of Gothic to perhaps a truer state of Gothic.

I will leave the original in place for a few days so that people can compare. It is surprising to me that both were completed within a space of about 5 days. We have all so many untapped resources if we will only embrace them.

Brother and sister

Oil on hardboard 24" x 24"

I enjoyed the wetness created by the rain here, washing out even the details of the model's face. I like the almost artificiality of her pose too. Somehow this painting satisfied me.

Ellie in profile

Pencil and charcoal on paper approx 20" x 15"

Ellie is one of our regular models both for portraiture and for life sessions. She has marvellous auburn hair and wears quite a lot of green and always when I see it is Ellie, I regret not bringing my paints. I started this in pitt charcoal but I was in the mood for careful rendering and switched to pencil about a third of the way through. The drawing took me about one and a half hours.

Self portrait in striped shirt (removed)

I started to mess about with the portrait and now think I have to start again. So I will.

I have realised I like two very distinct and somewhat different styles. One is what I would call the “psychological” approach where the painting is about a message of some kind. In this “psychological” group I would include Wyeth, Hopper, Hammershoi, Dorothea Tanning, Sasha Bowles and a recent discovery , Andrea Kowch. Andrea is described as a “symbolic” painter and she claims to paint “an alternative reality”. These works are captivating, mysterious, ask questions, challenge us and are downright riveting – to me. The use of paint is almost sparing, neat and careful. On the opposite side of the equation I love painters who appear to simply love manipulating the paint - examples are Hughie o’Donoghue, Alex Kanevsky and Dan (and Danny) McCaw. It’s strange why I should adore both very different styles. It’s also dangerous to pigeon-hole people. Because there are psychological messages embedded in the work of the latter group and although the former group tends to use paint very “carefully” it would be blatently untrue to suggest they have no interest or technical ability in the use of paint. What all these painters have in common of course is their interest in the exploration of the human predicament through painting the human figure and maybe that is my main reason for liking them.
So I set out here today to do the first painting for absolutely ages. Didn’t know where to begin (I have a big painting planned but need to get my models into position etc.) so whenever I feel unsure it’s always a self portrait. I decided to let go and just “paint”. A satisfying experience.

New website, Ethiopia and last night's studio session

Thanks for your welcome back messages. Ethiopia was an amazing experience. I got back on Sunday, tired but with great memories especially of the visits to the village communities. There was not much time for sketching but I did manage to do a couple of little studies of acacia trees (very common in Africa and to me, fascinating shapes- they are flat on top).

Whilst in Addis I managed to get the website launched.
Please check it out by clicking here.

The model last night was Barbara. She was an English lady probably married to a Pakistani guy because she was wearing Shalwar Kameez. She was not conventionally pretty but had a kind of regal beauty. It was a pleasure to draw her. Please see the pics of Barbara plus the acacia trees below.(Note -I have re-shot these pics since first posting to more accurately represent the surface tints).

The good news is that the Millyard Gallery in Uppermill have sold 6 of my paintings whilst I have been away including two large figure studies. (Have to get back into the groove soon).

Barbara (2)

Barbara (1)

Acacia trees, Bishangari, Lake Langano

Pencil on paper

Acacia trees, Desta Mender, Ethiopia

Pencil on paper