I have a note written large above my easel. ‘Put pinks in BEFORE adding blue shades’. I learned the hard way that if you mix the blues, pinks, yellow ochres and naples yellow, you end up with a mud mix. So I start with the highlights, then the darker tones, a mix of ultramarine, Kings Blue Deep (Michael Harding paint) and Quinacridine Magenta and then the pink mix. Then, and only then, when all is good and dry, I start adding the blue highlights which for me make the painting sing. I will also start adding in more pink tones next to other shades as opposed to blending in. Blending does work in the initial stages, but it can look a bit bland if done in the final stages. These are just my thoughts of years of learning (and mistakes) so it may well not work for everyone. You have to find your own style really. I have started to put detail on the face but need to do a lot more work here, at the moment something is not right…..will also add pattern on skirt as we go along. Have block painted better with this work so far, i.e…
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So new work as cold gone and roof mended (sort of) and ready to paint after wonderful holiday. I noticed on my travels in and around San Francisco that blonde is still the norm and mobile phones are everywhere, so am not going to apologise for another ‘blonde’ painting or two, but will move on after these two! I liked both poses so much that I decided to have them both in the one painting and I think this works well. Early days mind you…..In the photo the model is wearing black skirt and black shoes, but I always shy away from black for some reason. If I have to use black, I will mix ultramarine and burnt sienna to get various shades of ‘black’. Bright mediterranean colours appeal to me far more as they are happy colours. I may add more orange to the skirt as I go along as complimentary colours always work well (Google colour wheel if you get a chance to see more about complimentary colours – simple but effective use of colour). I am not sure what to call this yet, so any help from my Twitter base would be great, not rude please! Originally…
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Recent work, new painting next week, illness….3 June 2015
I really meant to start new work this week on my return from holiday, but I came back to a flu type virus and water leaking through the ceiling of my front room, so painting has had take a back seat for one more week. So…this painting, called ‘Thinking’ is a mix of two images in my head. I saw this woman sitting in the old square of Prague and just loved her serenity and other worldliness (at least in my head). In the photo her eye was visible, but I decided not to show that because I am learning that buyers do not always want a recognisable face. Interesting eh? You will notice in other artists’ paintings that people are sometimes painted back view, or in profile or with sunglasses etc. I think the naked eye can make up its own mind what is or is not there in a picture. The background to this painting was somewhere completely different. A cafe in Clifton, Bristol which had this amazing wall with faded lettering all over it. I just thought it might make a more interesting composition than the original background which was a bit mundane. The painting is available…
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