Painting Light and Colour

‘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).

As we head off for the Christmas break, I thought that I’d post a few drawings from during the year. Drawing from life is an essential skill, and I try to get as much in as possible, but it’s never enough.

Anyway, all the best for the Christmas season and for the coming year!