Last week a small painting of a pair of legs set over swimming pool water featured in the Blog and received a very positive response. I feel I want to paint more along these lines, hence the new work above, which is a little larger. I loved painting the water and as followers of my Blog will know, I always like painting female legs, but would like to have a bit more of a narrative theme to this piece. The title ‘Moving On’ is because I feel this woman wants to move on, start again, possibly from a failed relationship and she is going to kick up the water – making a bigger splash. There will be much more light to this painting as I work it up, more white highlights to make the splashing etc. There will be more light on the horizon, shimmering on the water, which looks a bit obvious, but I would like this to be a positive painting. There is darkness on the horizon as well, but the light is breaking through and the woman is, I think, happy to kick up the water. There will be more lighter tones on the water, but I…
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This is a relatively small piece, oil on block canvas, 8 x 10 x 1.5 inches (20 x 25 x 4 cm) One of my followers on Twitter sent me a link to a competition in The Hamptons, NY where water was the theme. I was interested until I saw I only had about two weeks till the deadline and had decided this was impossible. However I thought to myself, are you man or mouse? You CAN do this, so I did, hence the smaller than usual size. I have really enjoyed painting water, a first for me, and with the little time available, I realised I could not put a whole figure into the piece as flesh tones are notoriously difficult to get right (for me at least), so decided on legs only. Add the trademark red shoes in, and I am very pleased with the result. Even I do not get into the competition, it has pointed me in a new direction as I now want to paint a larger piece involving water and a whole female figure, with or without the red shoes…. Please have a look at www.opperandwebb.com to see more of my work. I shall…
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‘That Friday Feeling’ completed and available to buy. 9 March 2016
‘Art is not what you see, but what you make others see’. Edgar Degas This is one of my favourite quotes and what I am always trying to achieve with these narrative, figurative works. I am painting what I personally see, but I know and hope you, the viewer, will make up your own mind as to what is happening in the painting. I used to paint solely portrait commissions, but discovered I was more interested in painting a story with my own interpretation stamped on it. I have finished the above piece with some alterations in the final week. I have simplified the area around the three glasses, painting out the purse and a glass to the left of the painting, both of which I felt added nothing to the overall composition. Best of all, for me, is adding what my tutor used to call ‘spirited touches’, my own additions of colour right at the end; so a touch of the orange here and there and splashes of the turquoise on the leather jacket, the table and in the hair etc, all of which pull the composition together. Next week I shall be putting up a small piece I…
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