Hours and Days

Flower and Pear

2012-02-01T12:52:00.000Z

Flower and Pear - oil on panel

A study of "dark light".

The Gloaming

2012-01-30T12:10:00.000Z

Red Flower - oil on panel

I have been looking for something very specific in my recent paintings. Something which I have been trying to understand for quite a while. There is a certain aspect of the light which exists between two extremes. Between the light and the darkness is an area of twilight - the dusk of the light -the gloaming. Not shadow or halftone, but a darker light.
The area of intense light which hits the surface of an object directly falls away very quickly from the highest point. Most of the remaining light sits within this twilight area. Rather than a building up of light towards a high point, It is a falling away of the light from the source into a more subtle state. Colours are more subdued - becoming generally cooler and more muted. It is an area which at first seems quiet, but is actually full of life.

Glenmorangie

2012-01-04T16:10:00.000Z

Glenmorangie - oil on panel

Translucence #2

2011-12-31T08:38:00.000Z

Oleifera - oil on panel

.....and another one.

Studies in Translucence

2011-12-23T22:36:00.000Z

Galliano - oil on panel

Not sure if translucence is even the right word, but here are a few studies where I'm just trying to get the jewel-like quality of the light as it passes through coloured liquids.

Faustino (for "The Routledges")

2011-12-18T19:57:00.000Z

A bottle of fancy Faustino dedicated to "The Routledges", I suppose you can have it back now!

...and another one - Pink Converse #2

2011-12-04T15:27:00.000Z

Pink Converse #2 - oil on panel

Here's the second converse. A bit tighter this time.

More Converse - Pink Converse #1

2011-11-29T19:25:00.003Z

Pink Converse #1 - oil on panel

Following on from an older converse painting - and still keeping with the loose approach (this time probably to the extreme). Here's the first of two more converse.

Linseed Oil - Staying Loose

2011-11-16T21:36:00.000Z

Linseed Oil #2 - oil on panel

Occasionally - either accidentally or deliberately - I revert to a much looser style of painting, allowing a large amount of the ground of the painting and the canvas to show through. For me, this is usually a raw umber tone. When using the stained canvas itself as a major unifying value within the painting, I'm always surprised by how little actual painting work needs to be done to make the painting work. When I do this, I do no real underpainting - using a fairly dry brush to just block in the basic shapes and suggest the structure of the subject, as quickly as possible - whilst allowing the stained canvas to hold the piece together in a unified way. The umber ground acts a middle tone for the entire piece and does the bulk of the work. All that's really needed are the darkest darks and the lightest lights, along with some suggestion of structure and mass in the middle range. I suppose the key is to put just the bare minimum onto the canvas to make it look like the subject. The painting comes together surprisingly quickly and, when it works out, I think is much more interesting to look at - warmer and more dynamic.

Anders Zorn was a master of this technique in his looser work as well as Sargent in most of his portraits….

Anders Zorn - Antonin Proust


Anders Zorn - Coquelin Cadet


John Singer Sargent - Robert Louis Stevenson

I know this isn't a new or surprising technique, but I'm always aware that I don't do it often enough. Staying aware of this approach and keeping it in mind is the challenge, and like most people I never know when to stop and usually end up overdoing it and spoiling the simplicity of the painting.

Keeping this in mind I picked up the old linseed oil bottle again and had another shot at it, trying to stay simple and let the underpainting do most of the work. The result is above.

Four Fruit Studies - #4- Strawberry

2011-11-12T16:53:00.000Z

Strawberry - oil on panel

Four Fruit Studies - #3- Tomato

2011-11-11T18:07:00.000Z

Tomato - oil on panel

Four Fruit Studies - #2- Two Cherries

2011-11-10T11:49:00.000Z

Two Cherries - oil on panel

Four Fruit Studies - #1- Orange Segment

2011-11-09T15:06:00.001Z

Orange Segment - oil on panel

Hello?

2011-11-09T11:05:00.000Z

..…Nearly two years since the last post?! Suppose it'll be time for another update!
Since signing with a publisher it seems like I've been doing a ridiculous amount of work over the last 18 months - around twelve to fifteen paintings a month, which is ALOT for me. I suppose it's less than many of the "Daily Painters", but for me this kind if volume doesn't sit naturally with my painting technique. As much as I've tried, I have never been able to finish a painting in one session and have resigned myself to a kind of three-stage attack - which works for me, but is time consuming. As a result the blog has become a bit neglected. Same goes for my website. I'm onto it though!

Matchbox #3: Orange & Matches

2010-01-14T14:39:00.004Z

Orange & Matches - 7" x 12" - oil on panel

Matchbox #2: Figs & Matches

2010-01-04T21:17:00.003Z

Figs & Matches - 7" x 12" - oil on panel

Matchbox #1

2010-01-03T19:33:00.005Z

Matchbox #1 - 6" x 8" - oil on panel

I have been thinking for a while now about painting matchboxes. I included one in an earlier painting and liked the look of it, so decided to do a study of it on its own. This first matchbox painting has led to the beginning of a series of paintings which, at the moment, all include the same matchbox. To me, matches represent something very powerful. They are symbolic of fire, an example of pure elemental energy. Not just the spark that leads to the fire, they are the catalyst – they precede the spark and exist as pure potential energy, and what they become depends on the intention of the person holding the match. In this way they represent human potential, the ability we have to create something from nothing and the power that human beings have at their fingertips.

Three Figs

2009-12-14T15:15:00.002Z

Three Figs - 7" x 12" - oil on panel

Poppy (power,sleep,death)

2009-11-29T13:41:00.003Z

Poppy (power,sleep,death) - 7" x 11" - oil on panel

Green Bottle (Obscurum Cado)

2009-11-26T19:15:00.003Z

Green Bottle (Obscurum Cado) - 8" x 18" - oil on panel

Satsuma II

2009-11-20T10:05:00.003Z

Satsuma II - 6" x 8" - oil on panel

All Star

2009-11-19T22:10:00.003Z

Converse All Star - 10" x 12" - oil on panel

I liked the look of the old Converse from the compartments II painting so made a study of just the shoe itself.

Apple

2009-11-19T21:59:00.003Z

Apple - 6" x 8" - oil on panel

2009-11-19T20:51:00.002Z

As usual it’s been ages since my last post. A lot has been happening though, and I’ve been pretty busy with one thing and another. When I first started this blog I was mainly focused on portraits and figures and expected to continue down that road. I started painting small still lives mainly as practice and to work out ideas for backgrounds and interiors for portraits. Then I got kind of hooked on the still life work and now it has almost completely taken over everything I do. I ended up with quite a big and unexpected body of work and as a result (and after alot of thought about which is the best way to go with it at the moment) I have just signed a publishing and distribution deal with DeMontfort Fine Art. Although they want ALOT of work, and I was worried whether I’d be able to keep up with the demand, it has been a positive experience and has actually forced me to really improve my working methods – to focus and to work more quickly and much more efficiently. As a result I have probably produced more work in the last three months than I would normally have done in a whole year. I’m really hoping to find the time to do more portrait work over the next few months, but this is what has been taking up most of my time recently and I’ll start posting more work here soon.

Marmite, Ketchup, Mustard

2009-07-06T19:44:00.004+01:00

Marmite - 20cm x 14cm - oil on panel

Ketchup - 20cm x 14cm - oil on panel

Mustard - 20cm x 14cm - oil on panel

This is a set of three paintings which were done recently as a commission. A while back I posted a small (but crude) painting of a Marmite jar, which was one of my first still life posts, so it was good to get the chance to have another go at it and I'm quite happy with result. I think the ketchup turned out pretty interesting too with the translucent effect of the ketchup on the sides of the bottle.