Matthew & Meagan - Part 1

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

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...

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

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

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

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

Chapter 1 - part 6

Working on the flesh tones today...

Chapter 1 - part 5

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

Chapter 1 - part 4

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

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

A little bit more work done on this...

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Chapter 1 - part 1

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

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

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

I Saw the Crescent - part 8

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 :)