Painting Light and Colour

‘Candle’

Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm

Status: €295

‘Hitherto the nude has always been represented in poses which presuppose an audience. But my women are simple, honest creatures who are concerned with nothing beyond their physical occupations… it is as if you were looking through a keyhole.’ (Edgar Degas)

Candle

Although I have been doing a  lot of landscapes lately, it’s really nice to be able to settle down in the studio and work on a figurative painting. It’s also a lot more comfortable and warmer. My apologies for the relatively poor quality of the photograph. I was only able to use my phone camera, as everything else is pretty much packed away in storage as we move down to South of France. Should be able to post some nice landscapes from there soon, as is appreciably warmer than Amsterdam this time of year.

‘Pensive’

Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 cm

Status: €295

Seated nude

‘The nude does not simply represent the body, but relates it, by analogy, to all structures that have become part of our imaginative experience.’ (Kenneth Clark)

One of the differences between a nude and a portrait – both pictures of a person, is that the portrait is personal, ie it is a picture of John Smith, hopefully clearly recognisable by all, and, on the other hand, the figure should represent or evoke a feeling of empathy in the viewer who (presumably) shares a similar body, and can recognise the feeling which produces such a pose.

This one was looking a little pensive until I changed the position of the hands which now convey  a more relaxed demeanor in the subject. It’s funny how little things like this alter the message the viewer receives.

‘Naturals’

Oil on canvas, 30 x 20 cm

Status: €265

This is a small painting which I painted recently. I took quite a bit longer over this one than I normally would for a canvas this size. Reason was, I had an enormous amount of difficulty in deciding the best position for the arms, as you will be able to see if you click on the Utube link below. However, I eventually decided on what is below as it suggests movement more successfully.

It’s only a small painting, but one of the things that I am pleased about it is that it is able to convey a sense of space within the picture.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ32AkLKcrs&feature=channel_page]

‘Figure 1″

‘Figure 2′

Mixed media on cartridge papaer, 15 x 10 cm

Status: For sale

‘All art is but imitation of nature. ‘

Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The Roman patrician came up with this observation before the intellectualisation (?) of art. That is, before it was taken from the academies (a good thing), and eventually handed over to the Universities (!?), who proceeded to classify it and grade it and give the students marks out of ten for their work. As those of you who have been there know, you don’t necessarily have to do a lot at Uni to succeed, espaecially at Art School! Basically, the ability to sound convincing is enough (especially at Art School!), and much time is spent discussing what art is, and precious little of any good is done or taught.

I don’t know if I agree with Seneca completely, but I do know that most good work starts with direct observation of nature. Once you have the key elements observed, then you can push it and pull it around a bit. Like most artists, I do tend to put emphasis or overdo the things which attracted me or drew my attention to them in the first place. If this wasn’t the case, I might as well take a photo and be done with it! (Nothing wrong with that, a lot of people do, but I prefer to paint or draw).

‘Beach’

Pencil and watercolour on paper, 30 x 27 cm.

Status: Private Collection, New Jersey, USA

This is an line and aquarelle (watercolour) I did recently, and was a part of the recent exhibition at the Gallery Upstairs. One of the enjoyable things about water colour is (as everyone who has used it would know), that the whole exercise is basically a controlled accident, and you learn to let and leave alone things that may happen if they improve the picture. After a while, and a little more experience and you have an idea what will happen, you can start to prompt or initiate the ‘accident’. This one started with a line drawing in pencil, and then layered washes of colour.

This is a nude I painted in the studio over a period of three days which comprised about 6 sessions. I have posted a lengthy clip on utube which follows it from the first to last brushstroke. Well worth  look if you have a spare 7 minutes or so. Click here to go to utube.

No models were actually used for this painting. I started with a drawing I found in one of my reference books, and transfered it (freehand) to the canvas. No again, that’s not cheating, it’s simply using an existing (and very good) drawing as a starting point. The lighting, colour and background are all imagination, and the finished picture is an original piece of art. It is, however, reasonably prudent to be up front about it, rather than have to explain it away later if you get caught out! It is, actually, much easier working directly from life, as there is never a problem if you are unsure of what needs to be painted in where – you just have to look. Subsequently, there is inevitably a certain ammount of ‘faking it’ here in order to make the picture work. I am now making a point of avoiding this way of working, but it’s quite a nice picture, so I thought I’d put it up. I only took a few snaps of this one as it progressed, so the clip is very small.

If you don’t have the software required to view this on your pc,  you can see it on UTube by clickinghere.