Week 2, new work. 8 Feb 2017

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Decided the bikini colour was too bland against the light shades of the sand. So the bikini is now a lovely shade of red; I may introduce some orange shading as time goes along. The sand is beginning to take shape as I paint in more shadows and tones; in fact I may have to soften those lines by next week as they look a little rigid at present. The shadows on the sand of the legs and the parasol stand break up what could have become a rather dull foreground. As usual, I am not a fan of brown in my palette so those shadows will veer towards purples and blues. Enjoyimg painting in the vibrant colours of the parasol, getting more definition as the painting develops. Skin tones gaining strength; horizon no longer drunken, getting there! It’s amazing what staying in a warm and colourful place like Cape Town is doing to this artist’s thoughts and ideas! I will be returning with an IPhone full of new and wonderful photos, of swimming pools, blue seas and skies and hopefully masses of colour. Africa is a vibrant place and gets under my skin just as the cliche says it…

Week 1, new work. 2 Feb 2017

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Miche

A complete change from the last work, less fabric, more flesh tones to deal with; both always challenging. This is very much a first draft as it were. At the moment the bikini is golden yellow but it may well change to a vivid red to give more emphasis against the sand as the composition looks a bit bland. I want to inject more colour after the more muted tones of the last painting ( see last blog, Dreaming of Lady Gaga ). I will be levelling out the horizon of course as it looks a bit drunk as it stands. I will also be adding in more colour to the sand to bring it to life more. As for the parasol, well that will burst alive with colour! I am away in Cape Town just now on a working holiday, hence this composition. I hope to take some more great sunshine shots for future paintings so keep reading my updated blogs for more info. It never ceases to surprise and uplift me when I am staying somewhere hot. The people seem more alive, the colours are just amazing and I end up wanting to paint so much more…

‘Dreaming of Lady Gaga’ completed. 26 Jan 2017

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This piece is 12 x 12″ (30 x 30cm) and is now finished. It is painted on gessoboard and is in oils. The title is very much tongue in cheek. When I was about half way through the work, one of my followers on Twitter suggested there was a resemblance to Lady Gaga and that I should send it to her. I had never set out to paint Lady G; this is in fact my daughter in law sitting nursing a little glass musing….. I decided to put the work up on one of the groups for artists on LinkedIn and got a lot of interesting feedback. I did stress that it was never my intention to paint Lady Gaga, which was a good thing, as several people commented that she would probably not have been happy to be painted without her permission. My own thinking is that she must get so many Tweets etc, it was highly unlikely she would look at my one photo! It was fun to see all the comments and of course I will not be sending it to her, but I couldn’t resist the title. This young woman could be looking into her…

New work, week 3. 18 Jan 2017

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Into the third week and getting down to detail. Should be finished next week when the fine work is added. I want to add softer focus to the fabric, possibly adding in some lighter mauve and blue shades. More work is needed on the shading of the arms. The sofa I think is almost complete. The hair has been lightened to a blonde shade and I think needs less height to it – next week. This model, one of my favourites, was coming to pose for me as I loved her blonde hair. However, a few days before the photo session unbeknown to me she dyed her hair a darker blonde! I kept on with the photo session regardless as she is so good, but was a bit sad as had blonde shades in my mind. I also have a follower on Twitter who has bought one of my blonde paintings and is always asking me when there will be another. So Roy, this one is for you! If you are a follower of mine on Instagram, please have a look at recent posts of mine as I have put up a couple of images showing my work now…

New work, week 2. 11 Jan 2017

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‘If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced’. Vincent Van Gogh. This quote was on Instagram recently put up by another artist I follow, and it rang such a chord. It was not so much that I was dissuaded from going to art college when I was young, as it was considered a second class career (!), but more the voice inside my head telling me I wasn’t good enough and believing that voice. Only very recently, a dear friend who I have known forever said to me about my art progression ‘ I didn’t think you had it in you’! Sigh. Well I have indeed persevered and now paint each and every day following my true passion. I love what I do and will continue until I physically can’t paint any more. So to week 2 of this work which I am enjoying working up. The Ampersand gesso board is wonderful to paint on, giving a smooth finish. Not sure how it would work for a large piece but it is great for smaller works to get the detail right. Looking forward to…

New Work, January 2017

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First week, first underpainting of 2017. I alternate between being excited when I start a new work and impatient to get down to the lights, darks and details which I know I have to wait for until the underpainting is done. Catch 22. Two good friends kindly let me use their house as a backdrop to my next photo shoot with my model and I am hugely grateful for this. Much as I would like to paint from life, in practice I have to work largely from photos, so every few months I will set up a photo shoot with a different model and take a load of images for future use. The lights work perfectly in this and the composition benefits from the wonderful abstract painting behind the model. I am not usually a fan of green in my colour palette, but this time the colour of the sofa compliments the lilac Grecian style dress and also the cushions which will eventually be purple shaded. On a different note, I am absolutely delighted to have been given an Award of Merit in Manhattan Arts International ‘s New Beginnings Exhibition http://ow.ly/xOba307yJKd for this painting :- If you would like to…

‘Pause For Thought’ completed and available

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My apologies for being a bit late with the completion of this work and my blog update. For various administration reasons, my website went down and it has taken the best part of ten days to sort; not perfect timing for this sort of thing to happen ! This is a relatively small piece , 30 x 25 cm, 12 x 9″ and is painted on Ampersand board which I really like for smaller paintings. It will be up on Great White Art Gallery’s website in the New Year along with other work of mine so please have a look at www.greatwhiteart.com. Looking forward to starting new work as soon as 2017 is upon us. Until then I wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas and may all your dreams come true in 2017. If you would like to be kept up to date with what I am up to in the next few months, please sign up for my Newsletter at the top of the Home Page. I will be sending out the next one early in 2017. Happy New Year.

New work, week 3. 7 Dec 2016.

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Miche

“I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” Vincent Van Gogh. This quote was completely right for this week’s post. I was certain this morning that the painting would be finished today. However, the more I painted in the detail, the more I realised I am still learning and that I have a way to go yet. Each time I thought I had completed one area, I would look across and see another area unfinished. I would work on that and then look back at the piece I had just been working on, and realised I still had more to learn. But at least I am learning. I think with a larger canvas, an artist can be freer, more expressionistic in style, using larger brushes and being braver with colour. With a smaller canvas like this one (10 x 8″) however, one has to tighten up, smaller brushes, more detail, less room for mistakes. Both canvasses work for me, and I enjoy the challenge of both. So it will be one more week on this piece to get all the details and colour right. Still not sure about a name yet either…

New Work, week 2. 30 Nov 2016

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Miche

Very much enjoying this smaller piece (12 x 9″) on Ampersand board again, which gives a smooth, controlled finish. Not sure how it would work on a larger work as you would lose that control but for smaller paintings it is a great surface to work on. I apologise in advance that this young woman will be smoking a cigarette ( to be put in at a later stage when underpainting is completed ). I was myself a cigarette smoker for years, and I am well aware of the health risks, hence giving up a long time ago. However, I do think it makes for a good composition and I feel the same about placing a glass of wine into a painting every so often; sometimes it just completes the piece. I haven’t decided on a title yet, but I feel this woman is thinking quite deeply about something; she is weighing up the pros and cons of something important to her and she has come out to the hallway to be on her own, have a quiet cigarette and just…….. reflect. The colours in the dress will be much more vibrant and jewel bright as time goes on and I…

New work, week 1. 23 Nov 2016

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Miche

I love starting a new painting, always so exciting working out the composition and the colours. Sometimes I think I should leave a work at its first stages, as there is that loose impressionistic look to it which can be very appealing. However, the perfectionist in me then weighs in and I have to be very careful not to end up with a too ‘tight’ finished piece. Wish me luck. The model I worked for this time came and worked with me one evening alongside a wonderful potter/sculptor who had some great ideas about styling and lighting. We used his home as the backdrop to the photos and between the three of us came up with some fabulous images. My model just seemed to know which poses to settle into and turned up with beautiful dresses and accessories. I am delighted with the results as you will hopefully see in the next series of paintings beginning with this one. I went to see the ‘Beyond Caravaggio’ exhibition in London recently and yet again was overwhelmed by his use of chiaroscuro, the lights and darks in the paintings and this is what I am aiming to achieve myself. A long haul…

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