What with one thing and another, I haven't spent any proper time in the studio over the past month. Today I returned to a new idea I have been brewing for a while. Following on from the 'Man Made' composition for the RA Summer Exhibition, I thought I would continue the style with a portrait using bright colours rather than monochrome.
This is the result of this morning's efforts. A canvas 16 x 16 inches square.
All I have done is cover the canvas in paint to give me a base to work from. My idea is to have a girl embracing herself yet staring intently outward. A way to go yet, but I am pleased with some of the effects and can almost see where this one is going.
Getting paint down like this lets you see where you need to make changes. Much easier that trying to paint each little part exactly as you go along. It also allows for much free-er brush strokes and
carte blanch (or in my case palette
blanche) where colour is concerned.
Wherever possible, I prefer not to draw out my paintings beforehand. And this is an example. Drawing with paint from the inside out is something I learned a while back and, for me at least, allows much more freedom of expression than trying to 'paint within the lines'.
Did some more work on Alice ( as I have decided to call her). A way to go yet but I am pleased with the colours and contrast, This painting is destined for an exhibition in Oxford at the end of this month.
Triptych 60 x 90 cm and a favourite of mine. For those of you familiar with the Saatchi Online Gallery, this one is in the showdown for next week. I might not be blogging quite so frequently over the next week or so since my laptop was treated to a milkshake at the weekend and is still drying out. ...( a four-year-old involved).
Here is the finished article. Painted on canvas paper and about A4 in size. What started out like a great idea to paint on this kind of paper has turned into something of a nightmare as the paper is so textured it took ages to get paint on. If you zoom in on the bigger picture you can see the texture of the linen and although arduous, I am pleased with the final result.
I went to Liverpool this weekend, with a friend to visit her artist brother, John Boardman, aka Darkly. He is genius. Please go look around his website at his work, this is just one example. He also writes poetry and holds forth at Stamps Bar (you may even spot him on the bar webcam here, he always sits by the window behind the stairs). I am saving up for one of his paintings and his posters are for sale at modest prices.
Getting models and poses for a composition is always a bit of an exercise so I have been looking at some royalty free images for inspiration.
It combines my love of vibrant colour with some interesting composition. I just hope I don't get vilified for showing a child smoking. Its my intention to represent how children mimic.
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