Graham Rice

Phase one finished...

2012-01-22T18:22:00.001Z

Finished the carcase for the counter today, so that’s the first phase of this room done. I’ll pick some MDF next Friday, so progress will now have to wait until I’ve done that ….time for some sleep… :)

Day Three...

2012-01-21T18:45:00.001Z

Second side done and first part of the main counter built today...

Day two...

2012-01-20T19:55:00.001Z

One side of the room done…moving onto the otherside…

Shop building part 1

2012-01-19T19:54:00.000Z

The commission I’ve been working on was delivered earlier this week and the Studio looks very empty now all the paintings have gone; it was packed this time last week :)I’m now moving onto converting the Gallery room into a more inviting shop space(soon to be called ‘The Cuckoos Nest’) . The first job is building the carcases for the shelves…I’ll keep posting as I go, so you can see how it develops. :)

Coming soon...

2012-01-17T21:50:00.004Z

The Cuckoos Nest

Welcome to 2012

2012-01-03T05:11:00.000Z

Things were a little quiet in here towards the end of last year so I thought it was high time for a new post.

The Exhibition went well, many thanks to all that came along :) Some good sales, so I was able to eat this Christmas. The framing side of things is coming together, some new equipment to order later this month and then I’ll start advertising in the spring.

I've been working on a number of commissions which I’m unable to post on here for contractual reasons, I can’t really talk about them much either, but they’re proving to be very educational and lots of fun from my point of view. The current batch of those should be finished later this month, so you’ll see some proper posts and new work after that :)

That’s it, other than to wish you all a very Happy New Year :) G x

Winter Exhibition...nearly ready...

2011-11-25T19:52:00.001Z

Everything up on the walls now…just need to clean up…Opens tomorrow at 10 :)

Winter Exhibition 2011

2011-11-22T22:41:00.001Z

Open Every Saturday From 26th November to 17th December.
Hope you can come along :)

Sketch of Lucy

2011-11-11T21:09:00.001Z

I wanted to have a small pencil portrait to show alongside the portrait of Chloe & Ruby during my winter exhibition, so I’ve done this little sketch of Lucy. Next I need to get some prints done of the main paintings I’ve done this year & then order lots of framing things so I can get them all framed up nicely…I’m going to work on the portrait of Matthew & Meagan during the exhibition, as that will hopefully get people asking ‘oh, do you do portraits then?’… there’s the experiment for the book project to get back to…and some sort of Christmas print to think up and produce…lots to do :)

Framing Chloe & Ruby

2011-11-04T21:42:00.000Z

I’ve been working on the framing side of things so far this week. Lots of moulding samples arrived so I’m building some boards to display them on. I’ve framed the portrait of Chloe & Ruby, the main frame is oak which I’ve sealed and waxed, this is over a dark wood floater frame, a sort of contemporary take on a traditional framing material. I’m really pleased with the way it’s come out, the oak is gorgeous and really suits the painting, and the furniture in the room where the painting will eventually hang :)I had a little of the floater moulding left over, so I’ve used that to frame the picture of Bex, I’ve left a much larger gap around that which sets the painting off very nicely, I’ll do some more like this :)

The Painted Book...

2011-10-22T21:44:00.000+01:00

Started work on a new piece today. This is a test for the next series I want to do…Basically I’m planning on making a series of paintings based on familiar stories (eg Red Riding Hood) and linking all these separate story paintings together with an on-going narrative (the story of an artist meeting the characters in the paintings, by painting them…)This will then be presented as an exhibition and as a book…Am also experimenting today with some video of the painting as it develops…hopefully it’ll work… :)

Mr & Mrs Rice

2011-10-21T18:45:00.000+01:00

I’ve been working on the portrait of Matthew & Meagan today. Again working from dark to light. Also varnished the portrait of Chloe & Ruby and Gesso’ed the canvas I made yesterday…time for a beer now I think :)

Custom Canvas

2011-10-20T19:59:00.000+01:00

Opened up a delivery of art goodies this morning and found the 5 litre pot of Gesso had broken…very messy!!!Once that was all cleaned up I started assembling a new canvas for the start of a new series of paintings (more on what that series will be soon…) As well as developing the framing side of things, I want to be able to offer other artists a custom canvas service. As an artist if I knew of somewhere I could get a canvas made exactly the size I wanted and get a frame for it at the same time, I’d be a very happy bunny…I don’t know of anywhere like that, so I’m going to do it all myself :)

Chloe & Ruby portrait finished

2011-10-17T20:04:00.001+01:00

Chloe & Ruby all finished & a photo of the wood all cut for the frame :)

Golden Hair...

2011-10-15T08:54:00.000+01:00

Golden hair done, just need to do the flower in Chloe's hair & work over Ruby's top :)

Stripes

2011-10-07T19:07:00.000+01:00

More work on the clothes today, Chloe’s top is pretty much done. Ruby’s stripy top is much more complex so that’ll take a couple of passes to get right. I’m working from light to dark on it initially, mainly to work out where all the stripes go, once that’s done I’ll go back over it from dark to light to get the folds correct.

Graham's Dog Kennels...

2011-10-06T21:50:00.000+01:00

The main pass on the faces is now done & I’ve started on the clothing, this is going to be painted more fully than the recent paintings and will (fingers crossed) be the style of the next set of paintings…and as you can see from the other photo, if the painting doesn’t work out, I can always open a kennel ;)

today...

2011-10-02T00:34:00.000+01:00

Todays progress...

some mid tones...

2011-09-30T22:06:00.001+01:00

Building up the mid tones today…

Dark to Light

2011-09-29T19:40:00.000+01:00

I’ve been working on the painting of Chloe & Ruby today, I’m working from dark to light, nearly finished the shadowed areas, more tomorrow…

studio stuff

2011-09-26T20:51:00.000+01:00

Last week was all about the framing side of things. Went out and bought the remaining kit I need and then build a great big framing bench…all done now, so I will be back to some actual painting this week I promise ;)

Chloe & Ruby (Matthew & Meagan)

2011-09-17T22:22:00.000+01:00

Drawn out Chloe & Ruby & now working on thickening the lines and filling in the darker areas on this one and the one of Matthew & Meagan, more work to do on both…

A new toy...

2011-09-15T20:39:00.000+01:00

No painting today as I’ve been reorganising the area at the back of the studio to make space for this new beast…a framing guillotine, super clean joints and super heavy to move about… all done now though, so proper work tomorrow :)

My furry assistant…

2011-09-11T12:51:00.000+01:00

I've finished the ‘surprise’ commission this week, so everything will be blogable next week.

Chloe and Ruby were in modelling for their portraits yesterday and as you can see from the photo, Bryn was a great help… Also did a little work on Matthew & Meagans painting, finished drawing the hands and started building up some of the main outlines…more on that next week…:)

Matthew & Meagan - Part 1

2011-09-03T16:38:00.000+01:00

Well August was a quiet month on the blog wasn’t it. Holidays & decorating took up most of the month, but I’ve also been pausing a bit while I wait for some feedback from Meller about the paintings. I think they’ll be moving from Witney to Oxford for a little bit during September, so if you haven’t had a chance to take a look at them yet, that’ll be the place to go, again, give Ewan a call first to check their whereabouts :)

I’ve got a few portraits to work on this month, I should be able to post progress on a couple of them as I go. The other has been commissioned as a surprise for a birthday, so that’ll have to remain hidden for a while :)

This is the first, a double portrait of Mr & Mrs Rice (or my little brother and his gorgeous wife Meagan, if you prefer). I’m going to do this in a slightly different style to the recent paintings, I want to paint the clothes more fully, rather than in the ‘printed’ style I’ve been using, still monochromatic, but more realistically done. Also, I ‘think’ I’m going to leave the Gold off this one & I’m going to varnish it with a regular gloss varnish, rather than the spray matt varnish that I used on the other paintings. Anyway, this is most of the drawing stage done on the figures, just the ‘ring’ hands to go in :)

Meller Merceux August 2011

2011-08-04T16:50:00.000+01:00

The paintings are now with Meller Merceux. They’ll be on show in both the Oxford and Witney Galleries over the next couple of weeks, so if you’re planning a visit call Ewan Macfarlane on 01993 708606 for details of location and timings. Hope you enjoy them :)

Finished...

2011-07-31T21:59:00.000+01:00

Finished ‘Whispering to the Wind II’ & ‘Chapter 1’ today. Many thanks to Rachel and Kerry for modelling :)

I’ll be delivering all six paintings to Meller Merceux on Thursday, will post details on which Gallery they’ll be in & when, as soon as I have it :)

Whispering to the Wind II - part 3

2011-07-30T20:54:00.000+01:00

Todays progress…Gold and tidying up tomorrow, varnishing on Tuesday and I should be good for delivering to the Gallery on Thursday….then I’m going to sleep for a month ;)

Whispering to the Wind - part 2

2011-07-29T20:19:00.000+01:00

I’ve been working on ‘Whispering to the Wind II’ today, lots more to do so it’s going to be a busy weekend, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

Chapter 1 - part 7

2011-07-28T19:34:00.000+01:00

Nearly finished, just a couple of highlights and some Gold to add…:)

Chapter 1 - part 6

2011-07-24T20:01:00.000+01:00

Working on the flesh tones today...

Chapter 1 - part 5

2011-07-23T21:03:00.000+01:00

Second colour finished today and I’ve started on the flesh tone…lots to do….:)

Chapter 1 - part 4

2011-07-22T20:35:00.000+01:00

More work on the secondary colour today, quite a complex pattern on this one so it’s taking a while, but it’s coming together nicely, well worth the effort… I love this feeling when the picture forms in front of me and I’m almost detached from its creation, I kind of steer it along, but it has a life of its own, this group of paintings are increasingly working that way…I know the direction, theme and emotion I want them to have, but there’s something extra they seem to feed back to me…
All in all a good day….and I got 33 points on Pop Master, which I haven’t done in AGES…lol

Chapter 1 - part 3

2011-07-21T22:24:00.000+01:00

Birthdays, sickly pets & broken cars got in the way of painting last week, so 12 hours in the studio today were most welcome. LOTS left to do to get the final two paintings done for August, it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks…First colour finished on ‘Chapter 1’ today and just starting on the second colour…Dr’s and Vet’s tomorrow, so a less than perfect start to the day, but the rest of the weekend is clear, so fingers crossed…

Lucian Freud died today aged 88…I’m not a fan of ‘modern’ Brit art…Hirst and Emin do very little for me…but Freud was a true master, a wonderful, honest painter, an inspiration, a thinker, a joy…

Chapter 1 - part 2

2011-07-16T13:41:00.001+01:00

A little bit more work done on this...

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Chapter 1 - part 1

2011-07-10T17:06:00.001+01:00

Just painting in some of the outlines today. Not much done yet, but I thought I'd post it anyway. It's called 'Chapter 1' and the model is Kerry.

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Whispering to the Wind II - Part 1

2011-07-09T20:58:00.000+01:00

This is…or will be, ‘Whispering to the Wind II’. The model is Rachel. Basic drawing and the first two colours on the clothes & hair done. Flesh tone and dandelion seeds to follow.
I’ve also started drawing out the sixth canvas today so I’ll work on the two of these for the rest of the month and that’ll be the first set of these done for the August exhibition. Lots of work to do, but I’m getting there…:)

I Saw the Crescent - Finished

2011-07-08T19:13:00.000+01:00

‘I Saw the Crescent’ all finished. The model is Emma.

I Saw the Crescent - part 8

2011-07-07T19:38:00.000+01:00

Nearly done now, I finished the moon & figure then put a final coat of background colour on today. So just the gold to add tomorrow and it’ll be finished :)

I Saw the the Crescent - part 7

2011-07-02T20:53:00.000+01:00

There’s a lot of skin tone to be painting on this, so another day working on that today. It’s coming along well and Emma is starting to emerge from the canvas, a couple more shades to go on and then the balancing and highlights will be all that’s left… :)

flesh tones...

2011-07-01T18:58:00.001+01:00

Todays progress...:-)

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Two for the price of one...

2011-06-30T20:46:00.001+01:00

I've finished the second colour on 'i saw the crescent' & in the background is 'whispering to the wind - II' which is half way through the first colour...

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I Saw the Crescent - part 3

2011-06-25T20:35:00.000+01:00

Several people over at the studio today, so only got a little bit of painting done, but it’s all going well. Drawn the moon in, so it’s definitely called ‘ I Saw the Crescent…’ now :)

Might now be titled - part 2

2011-06-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

More work on the first colour today, the hair took a while and there’s more to do on the chair before I move onto the next colour.
I’m leaning towards having a small moon up in the sky, so it might get titled ‘I Saw the Crescent’…

Currently Untitled - Part 1

2011-06-23T21:02:00.000+01:00

Finished the drawing and started on the first stage of painting on this piece today. I haven’t settled on a title yet, will depend on what I have her looking up at…might be a bird…might be the moon…I’m in two minds :) The canvas is square. The model is Emma.

In Dreams You're Mine - I - Finished

2011-06-19T10:55:00.000+01:00

All finished...:)

In Dreams You're Mine - I - part 3

2011-06-17T19:31:00.000+01:00

Just the Gold to go on tomorrow and it'll be done....

In Dreams You're Mine - I - part 2

2011-06-16T20:29:00.000+01:00

I’ve finished the second colour on the figure & bench & started drawing in the feathers. I need to continue with the feathers & paint the face & hand tomorrow…if I can get that done I should be able to get the gold on Saturday and then It’ll be done…

In Dreams you're mine - I - part 1

2011-06-02T21:01:00.001+01:00

First colour all done :-)

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Artweeks 2011 draws to a close, next stop Meller in August...

2011-05-28T21:56:00.000+01:00

Well Artweeks comes to an end on Monday (If you haven’t been over yet, I’m open tomorrow 1-6 & Monday 12-6 ;)) Things have gone very well, lots of visitors, good sales & some excellent feedback on the paintings, particularly the latest pieces, which is great, all in all a very productive month :) If you’re one of the people who came over and inquired about the latest paintings which I said would be going to the Meller Gallery in June, they’ll now be going in August, but they’ll be more of them (keep looking in here to see the extra additions) I’ll post when I know the exact date and which of their galleries they’ll be in (Oxford, Witney or both).

As you can see from the photo I’ve started on the latest piece ‘In Dreams You’re Mine – I’ and primed several canvases ready for the August Meller show paintings…Lots of work to do :)

Dreaming of you - Finished

2011-05-28T10:41:00.000+01:00

All done...lots more to paint for August...more on that later....

'Dreaming of you - I' Part 1

2011-05-22T23:14:00.000+01:00

I’ve started on this new piece over the weekend ‘ Dreaming of you – I’, there may, or may not be a dandelion flower floating about her…I haven’t decided yet :) The model is Rebecca.

Waiting for the Right One - I - Finished

2011-05-20T22:48:00.000+01:00

Another long day today, but that’s meant I’ve finished ‘Waiting for the Right One – I’.
I’m really pleased with this one, the best picture I’ve painted for a few years I think…I wanted something that was beautiful as an image, while having a very personal meaning to me & a flexible meaning to viewers in general…I think I’ve got much closer to that aim than I have for a while…hope you like it & find something within it that speaks to you…

Waiting for the Right One - I - part 3

2011-05-19T21:33:00.000+01:00

Late night opening for Artweeks, so 11 hours in the studio today…knackered now, but I got a lot done :) I’ve finished the second tone on ‘Waiting for the Right One I’ & painted her face, so just the hands & Gold to go…

Waiting - Part 2

2011-05-17T18:42:00.000+01:00

waiting - part 1

2011-05-15T19:04:00.001+01:00

Artweeks is well underway now & we've had some lovely visitors in over the weekend, in between borring them with my chatter on pigments I've managed to get a little work done on this new painting. It's called 'Waiting for the right one - I' & the model is Katie.

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Whispering to the Wind I - Finished

2011-05-13T21:54:00.000+01:00

Whispering to the Wind I - part 3

2011-05-08T23:27:00.000+01:00

Artweeks, week 1, is all up and running now & having finished getting prepared for that, I’m back to painting…I’ve applied the Gold Leaf to the dandelions and finished painting Aimee’s face, just her hand left to paint now.
I’m really pleased with the way this one has come together, the balance between the quality of the finish, the overall design, the depth of the story & the time to produce it all feels right. I’m really keen to continue a series along these lines…Hopefully they’ll go down well at the Gallery :)

whispers I part 2

2011-05-03T20:56:00.001+01:00

Starting on some tone.

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Whispering to the wind I - part 1

2011-04-29T22:07:00.001+01:00

Bryn 'admiring' the start of a new piece. Whispering to the wind I. The model is Aimee and there's lots more to do :-)

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Forbidden Fruit & Autumn

2011-04-24T12:01:00.000+01:00

finished the 'painting'...

2011-04-22T21:27:00.001+01:00

Just the gold and resin left to apply to these now. Really pleased with the way they're going. Gorgeous day today, got some good work done, had lovely walk in sunshine with Bryn, wonderful pint with good friends in the evening...a damn near perfect day :-) if only it could go on longer

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a busy day

2011-04-21T19:37:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Aimee & Bex who came over to do some modelling this morning, more of them in the coming weeks. This afternoon I've mainly been working on the painting of Jo, lovely pattern on her dress...nightmare to paint lol

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lovely green...

2011-04-16T23:25:00.001+01:00

I've finished the work on Jo's face today and nearly finished the Lucy painting, just some cleaning up & some gold leaf to go...

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more Jo & Lucy...

2011-04-15T18:09:00.001+01:00

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2 of 4...

2011-04-14T19:44:00.001+01:00

I've started on these two pictures today. I need to get four paintings done for Meller (in theory by the end of this month...) so i've got 'snow white' which is going well, the red one of katie, which isn't...and now these...one of Jo with an Apple and one of her daughter Lucy, with some leaves...both are using some of the elements from the snow white painting, so hopefully they'll go together well.....

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more red bits...

2011-04-09T18:29:00.001+01:00

Lots of interesting textures in this now, but its not working yet. I've been painting a lot of it with my fingers...which takes me back...seems to help the paint work over the textured surface better though.

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working on the red piece

2011-04-08T22:35:00.001+01:00

I've roughed in Katie on this piece today...painting on such a textured surface is a challenge...

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April...

2011-04-01T19:15:00.001+01:00

A new month and another new piece started, Bryn doesn't look to impressed so far but this is just the first layer of the background, eventually its going to be another portrait of Katie, but as you can see, much larger this time. Have also been working on snow white, the areas painted Orange will be gilded with gold. Most of the drawing is now done on this, still need to do the man in the moon though. I took the green painting of Katie up to the RA yesterday, so we'll see what happens this year ;-)

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some foreground

2011-03-18T18:00:00.001Z

Rough shading on the dress and some foreground elements today...

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a little form

2011-03-17T19:24:00.001Z

Started working up some shading on Snow White today. I need to get this and the dress roughed in before I start drawing more of the foreground elements.

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adding some detail

2011-03-11T18:27:00.001Z

I've been adding some extra details today, lots of stars and leaves roughed in, as well as some more swirling lines. So far, so good :-) lots more to add though...

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todays work

2011-03-05T17:38:00.001Z

I've built a clay shim and applied the first area of plaster. I've used a rather old packet of plaster so I'm hoping it'll be okay and set, if not I'll need to do it again next week...have also been working on Snow White, I've finished blocking in the main shapes, so the next task will be starting on the patterned sections. I've been working in a slightly different way on this picture, using charcoal to draw the lines I want and then sealing the correct marks with the acrylic, washing off the rest of the charcoal and then drawing the next layer. It's a very effective way of building up the design, Definately something I'll continue doing.

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blocking in...

2011-03-03T19:53:00.001Z

I've started working on the main shapes today, building up the curves and thinking about exactly how I'm going to try and pull things together...

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drawing snow white

2011-02-26T17:13:00.001Z

I've gridded up the board, transferred over the drawing of katie, sealed that with paint and then worked up the main lines of the rest of the painting in charcoal. Need to live with this for a little bit now, but it feels promising at the moment.

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stage 3

2011-02-25T21:23:00.001Z

I've covered the wet clay with silicone, building it up in layers and finally adding some ridges to key it Into the next stage which will be the plaster 'mother' mold... it took several hours to carefully work this all in, so hopefully it'll work ;) also started drawing out the 'snow white' picture today, more on that tomorrow :)

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stage 2

2011-02-24T18:37:00.001Z

Modelled a head in the end, spent longer on it than I really should have as its just an experiment, but I was really enjoying working with clay again...haven't used clay for 25 years ! Frightening how time flies...

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stage 1

2011-02-24T18:12:00.001Z

I've built a giant matchstick ! I'm going to build a simple clay model over the top of this, no idea what of yet, all a bit of an experiment, just want to go through the process and see what problems arrise. Large board in background has had base colour applied ready for next painting which will probably be titled "snow white"...

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some new toys...

2011-02-23T19:56:00.001Z

I'm going to do a little experiment with these over the next few days...first week in ages that i have 3 clear days in the studio... :)

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something new...

2011-02-19T19:12:00.001Z

This is the first of the small canvases. It's called "the girl with the boy in her eyes", 50 x 20 cm, acrylic & the model is katie.

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preparing canvases...

2011-02-17T19:27:00.001Z

I've been preparing some large(ish) boards and some small canvases today for the next series of paintings. Hopefully you'll get to see something of the first small ones of these tomorrow. :)

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stone...

2011-02-09T17:42:00.001Z

Here is the actual photo...I'll put that down to jet lag ;)

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stone...

2011-02-09T14:19:00.001Z

Well I'm back in the studio today after my trip to oz. Generally doing some cleaning up and a few odd jobs, but on a more exciting front I've just been out and picked up this little piece of stone...something new for 2011...sculpture... :)

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square finished sky started

2011-01-22T20:58:00.001Z

I've finished the latest painting of the square and titled it " reading in the square " need to live with it a while now to see which of the techniques grow on me :). I've also done some work on the "pastures new" picture, the sky is pretty much done and I've done a first pass on the gold.

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more acrylic progress

2011-01-20T21:18:00.001Z

Have been doing some more work one this today . I've been using charcoal to get the dark outlines which is giving me a really interesting line and variation of colour. There's more to do on the trees and railings around the cross and then it should be done.

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experimenting

2011-01-15T19:08:00.001Z

This is a quick test of blogging from my phone . Let's see if it works . I've been working on this picture of the square in eynsham using acrylic ,still a long way to go but I'm starting to get some interesting marks .

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Study of Katie

2010-12-20T11:41:00.000Z

This is a study of Katie who came in to do some modelling for me the other day. I’m hoping to get several people in to do some modelling for me early in the New Year and then start developing some more complex oil paintings…I’m looking forward to that :)

Work in progress

2010-12-12T00:35:00.000Z

When not spinning around and falling over following some foul bug I picked up off Jack this week, I managed to get a bit of work done on these two paintings. Underpainting finished on ‘Conversations’ and I’ve started on the background painting on ‘Happy Jack’.

Just one more week to go in the exhibition, so if you haven’t managed to get along yet, you’ve only got next Thursday, Friday and Saturday…:)

Moonlit Square - Finished

2010-12-04T20:37:00.000Z

Well today has been another busy day over at the exhibition with visitors particularly enjoying the gold paintings and the hot tea on such a cold day :)
Thursday and Friday were a bit quieter which allowed me to make some progress with the ‘Moonlit Square’ watercolour and I’ve finished it off today, hope you like it :)

Pick of the week

2010-12-02T20:42:00.000Z

Here are a couple of photos of the exhibition before people started arriving and a copy of a lovely write-up that appeared in today’s Oxford Times (Link to electronic version here). The opening went very well, with lots of visitors all enjoying themselves and the paintings.

My Paparazzi friend Neil took lots of photos, so hopefully I’ll have a few of those to post soon too :)

We opened again today and had several visitors in, so hopefully with the article in the paper Saturday will be busy once again. :)

The exhibition is open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday up to and including Saturday 18th December…

Hope you can come along :)

A Winter Wonderland of Art in the Woods

2010-11-18T08:24:00.000Z

A Winter Wonderland of Art in the Woods

Oxfordshire artist Graham Rice will be holding a Winter Exhibition at Cuckoo Lane Art Studios from November 27th to December 18th.

This will be Graham's first exhibition since opening his Studio and Gallery at Cuckoo Lane earlier this year. It offers visitors a chance to see his latest swirling watercolours, including a number of new local scenes, along with a contemporary series of oil paintings which combine Gold and Silver leaf with traditional oil painting techniques to produce works that sparkle with life.

Alongside the Gallery is Graham’s charming Studio, which gives the opportunity to see just how his artwork is created. All manner of artistic equipment is on display and the artist is happy to explain how they are used to develop his diverse pieces of artwork.

If all this creativity inspires you to want to have a go yourself, you can sign up for one of the many art workshops that are currently being held at Cuckoo Lane Art Studios, including an ‘Introduction to Linocuts’ being run by Graham himself.

The Winter Exhibition is on from Saturday 27th November to Saturday 18th December at Graham’s Studio & Gallery, Cuckoo Lane Art Studios, Eynsham Park Estate, Cuckoo Lane, North Leigh, Witney, OX29 6PW. Open hours are Thursday, Friday & Saturdays 10 – 6.

Moonlit Square Eynsham - Drawing

2010-11-11T23:13:00.000Z

I’ve started on a new watercolour of the square in Eynsham today. Just at the drawing stage at the moment, but it’s going to be a night time scene, hopefully with some interesting lighting coming from the doorways of the church and Bartholomew Rooms.
Posters for the Winter Exhibition starting to go up today (16 days to go…) and website beginning it’s overhaul, so all in all a busy day :)

St Peter's Church Eynsham - Finished

2010-11-08T00:34:00.000Z

Finished this autumnal view of St Peter's today for the Winter Eynsham Arts Group exhibition.

The Stag and the Moon - Finished

2010-11-06T06:50:00.000Z

Here’s a final print of ‘The Stag and the Moon’ and a drawing stage photo of a new watercolour ‘St Peter’s Church Eynsham’.
I’ve used silver and aluminium leaf on the stag prints which was an interesting experience…printing with gilding size is a sticky business…:)

Started a couple of new pieces

2010-10-31T23:00:00.000Z

I started painting the background on 'Pastures new' the other day but forgot to seal the gold first, so I need to wait for the oil to dry before I can move forward with that one. I’ve started a couple of other new pieces this week ‘Conversations’ and ‘One of us is going in the wrong direction’, just starting on the underpainting on both of those, but thought I’d post them anyway :)

I’m going to have an exhibition over at the gallery from 27th Nov to 18th Dec so they’ll be lots of work to do between now and then, hopefully finishing some of these new gold pieces as well as some new watercolour swirls…fingers crossed :)

Lino Cutting Class

2010-10-19T21:49:00.000+01:00

I taught the first of the ‘Introduction to Lino Cutting’ classes last Friday, all went very well with everyone enjoying themselves and producing some wonderful prints. The next class is on Friday November 19th, if you’re interested in coming along more details can be found HERE :)

The Stag and The Moon - Outline Print

2010-10-13T22:21:00.000+01:00

I’ve been doing some work on one of the ‘Stag’ linocuts today. Here you can see where I’ve refined the lines of the drawing, transferred it onto the block, carved the block and finally a test print. There’ll be another block for the background colour, more of that later :)

Pastures New - Just started

2010-10-08T20:51:00.000+01:00

I’ve started a new piece today called ‘Pastures New’. As you can see I’ve done the under painting for the ‘figures’ and gilded the relevant areas. I’m planning on doing a more complex sky on this one too.

I’m teaching a lino cutting class starting next Friday, so I’m planning on doing some work on the stag linocuts tomorrow...as well as building some cutting boards… If you’re interested in future classes have a look HERE for further information :)

Dreams 01 - Finished

2010-10-02T18:41:00.001+01:00

I’ve finished ‘Dreams 01’, just working over the flesh, sharpening things up, adding more contrast etc. I’m really glad I settled on keeping it grey rather than flesh coloured I don’t think it would be half as interesting if I hadn’t done it this way.
I’ve also started a new piece today of two sheep…I’ve sealed the drawing with acrylic, so you can’t really see it that clearly in a photo, so I haven’t bothered posting it yet. I’m going to paint the sheep in grey, the sky in blue and everything else in gold, so it’ll be another experiment to see how far I can push things but it feels like I’m getting close to a style I can run with now :)
Once again many thanks to Mary for posing for the ‘Dreams’ painting, and Jack and Mary for ‘Awake’ hope you like them…more to follow :)

Happy Jack - Underpainting and Gilding

2010-10-01T22:28:00.001+01:00

I started a new piece today, ‘Happy Jack’. This one is a bit of an experiment to see how small I can paint a full figure, I want to get on and paint the more complex ‘woodland’ paintings soon and I need to keep the scale of those under control. Partly due to the time involved, but also the cost of the gold I’ll need…so the smaller I can do a figure, in some ways, the better.
I’ve done the under painting using acrylic on this as it’ll dry nice and quickly and I find it a little easier to control at this stage, I’ve also gilded the background using silver on this one. I’m leaving the slight gaps between the sheets of silver as I quite like the effect and I think/hope it’ll leave an interesting texture once I’ve painted over the top.
The gilding will need a few days to dry so I’ll try and finish the ‘Dreaming’ painting tomorrow…
As you can see the winter winds have started to blow so the fire has been lit and Bryn in making the most of it :)