Back To Basics…

It doesn’t harm to get back to basics now and again and work on technique or theory. Or even maths! It’s so long since I did any geometry that I had to ask someone to help me to construct a mandala onto this canvas, with a pair of compasses and a ruler. I’m painting itContinue reading “Back To Basics…”

Even More Carrying On ….

This is the reality of making art at times. Doing it for a bit. Then stand back and look at it. Then do a bit more. Then sleep on it. I find this happens more with a painting than with a drawing or printmaking. So I’ve done a bit more to this painting of myContinue reading “Even More Carrying On ….”

Being Bolder ….

Carrying on with my most recent painting, I realised that I’m pussyfooting around and I need to get a lot bolder and stop worrying about it. If it goes wrong, I can paint over. I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints and I can cover up mistakes if I need to. I had a quickContinue reading “Being Bolder ….”

By The Seat Of My Pants…

I’m doing a bit more work on the painting I started earlier in the week. It’s weird working like this. Normally I draw, and that’s pretty spontaneous and quick. Or I make prints, which is methodical and well-planned. But with this painting lark, I’m flying by the seat of my pants! I started out withContinue reading “By The Seat Of My Pants…”

Pushing It ….

I’m carrying on with this painting onto a recycled canvas, from a sketchbook scribble I did a while back (below). I’m way out of my comfort zone here, I normally try and work directly from life, or from a photo if I really have to, so to try and make a painting from what isContinue reading “Pushing It ….”

Making A Start ….

I’ve been scribbling in sketchbooks for decades but I hardly ever develop any artwork from these little drawings. I don’t know why, it’s a huge resource but until recently I forgot about the sketches almost as soon as I’d done them. So recently I decided to make a real effort to go back to myContinue reading “Making A Start ….”

The Chinese Model In Timelapse

I’ve been trawling through my YouTube channel and thought I’d post one of the short timelapse films that Husb makes while I work. Here I am copying Tretchikoff’s “The Green Lady” or “Chinese Girl”. It took ages, so much detail in the dress, although the head was fairly straightforward. Here’s me painting her in lessContinue reading “The Chinese Model In Timelapse”

The Cat Loves A Dali ….

I began to copy Salvador Dali’s “Christ Of Saint John Of The Cross” back in the Autumn, in a Zoom tutorial with the painter Ed Sumner. I started painting along with Ed early in lockdown in Spring 2020 and made it my pandemic goal to improve my painting skills. I’ve learned loads by copying greatContinue reading “The Cat Loves A Dali ….”

The Finished Bottom…

Almost finished copying Dali’s painting “Christ Of Saint John Of The Cross“. Today I did the final details on the bottom half of the picture, the sea and sky, the distant mountains and the foreground figures. I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics onto a stretched canvas with Winsor & Newton brushes for acrylics. It’s muchContinue reading “The Finished Bottom…”

Upside Down Again.

STILL painting my copy of Dali’s “Christ Of Saint John Of The Cross”. It’s the really complicated detailed bits now, so I learnt from my last one, Manet’s “A Bar At The Folies Bergere” that it’s easier at this stage of copying to turn it all upside down. That way you see what’s there, notContinue reading “Upside Down Again.”