Tuesday 24 February 2015

I'm quite new to this 'Blog' thing but it seems, nevertheless, a useful vehicle to put some thoughts (ramblings), ideas and images. Will they be read, who knows.

Painting is something of a way of life. It can hardly be termed a destination (destination..presumably from the same root as 'destiny'). It is, of course, a journey and, just like the musician, perhaps the best for which we can hope, is to be, but another songbird in the garden.

Vincent is reported to have been asked why he had to use a visual reference and why he did not just paint from his imagination. He replied that he had tried and that he couldn't do it. Interesting, as his works show paintings that are a long way from realism and the finished product (increasingly more so as his work developed) seemed to use the fields before him (or the model) as but a starting point for his vivid and colourful imagination.

There are many painters whose work is both realistic and artistic. There are many who I would personally like to emulate; who spend days and weeks over a portrait (or landscape or still life) and create an image which is both representational yet makes your heart sing. Sometimes there is a dash of colour; sometimes, an indication in the composition; sometimes, an atmosphere in the tonal values that lifts the spirit and makes life so much the richer.

We are but, of course, a product of our times. If we, as primary children, grew up with prints of Picasso on the walls, how can we do anything but be sympathetic to his work. In the age of photography, what is the point of emulating the photograph.

I've spent the last few days painting landscapes from the imagination. They are, in part, inspired by Dennis Sheehan (check out his videos) who manages to stand in front of his canvas and paint 'tonal' landscapes of extraordinary depth using simple colours and pure imagination.


From the half dozen or so which I have done recently, I think I like this one the best. It looks quite simple and quickly executed but is the result of several attempts.
There is a danger of just painting the same picture over and over again and perhaps soon, I'll go out and do some 'plain air' work although I'm not sure that the quality of my painting increases by painting outdoors.

This was completed today:



as was this:



they look a bit better in real life...







Monday 23 February 2015

Monday morning and a small Landscape...it would be nice to say it was 'plain air' but the truth is that I was watching 'The Go Between' (UK Period Film Drama of the early '60s with Alan Bates and Julie Christie about a time of glorious summers and innocence) when I noticed a scene that I thought would make a nice landscape. Thus freeze frame and a shot of the tv screen with an iPad gave me a reference...

and the reference




Wednesday 18 February 2015

A couple more Still Lifes over the last day or two....(whenever I take a look at Julian Merrow-Smith's luscious Still Life's (http://stillives.com/index.html) it leads me in this direction..





Monday 16 February 2015

Two Still Lifes today..



A couple of days and I haven't been able to get on with much painting...

A small portrait of Michelle (Daughter #1) Oil on Board 7x9 ins


Wednesday 11 February 2015

I've painted this fishing boat in the Marina a couple of times... its always very colourful...




This one was inspired by an ad. on TV..The colours on the bathing hats caught my attention. Freeze frame and a shot of the screen with an iPad were the reference..



Monday 9 February 2015

Another painting of Littlehampton Marina today...I've been down there several times and painted 'plain air' but these last two are from photographs... I can't help but feel sympathy with the painters that say that they only paint from life but somehow I don't see the point of limiting oneself to only paint in one specific way...it's a bit like saying i'll only paint without using 'blue'...

below is the painting and the image that was the model..






Thursday 5 February 2015

Seemed to take a bit longer than normal to do this... probably just as well as i'm accumulating quite a lot of (still wet) paintings.


Wednesday 4 February 2015

Second attempt at this sort of subject...Jaguar XK130 this time...alas, I don't own one so had to work from an on-line image....




Tuesday 3 February 2015

A little picture of Brighton... a bit dubious about there composition at first but quite happy with it when finished..




Monday 2 February 2015

Never tried a subject like this before but I thought a reasonably 'loose' style might be quite a nice picture... not entirely sure that its exactly as I had envisioned the piece..