on the other side 12" x 16"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
there are rare moments when i am not holding the camera to take photos and when i am caught on the other side i feel very uncomfortable! i am guessing this artist might feel similarly when being the subject of a painting: having someone peering and analysing your features is not something i would relish, yet perhaps it is an experience we artists should have: to sit for others to learn what it involves and what we could do to get the best out of our models if we are working from life. having said that.... maybe i'll try it next year or the year after:)

study of a face 16" x 14"

oils on winsor and newton canvas paper

when painting a face, for me, is like a journey into that person's life; a reflection on my own life; and an analysis of tones and colours.
with a simple pallette i feel so much more in control. i titled this 'a study' only because i feel i need to come back to this subject and develop it further. definately no room for complacency:)

study of a moment 8" x 8"

oils on hard board
hey guess what? i just noticed the last post was my 100th! ok so i'm a bit late in mentioning it but the obsession with working on this elusive brushwork leaves me little time to think:)

what can i say about this subject: a very sensitive person who needed the support of his friends and gave them support too. it's a pity that i no longer know where he is but wish him to be all that he is truely able to be....

generation apart 8" x 8"

oils on panel board

talking at me 8" x 8"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board

practising with loose brushwork and limited pallette. i intend to do more studies in a similar vein. i wanted to keep the grandmother rather faded despite her being more in front. and on a personal note, these two treat each other like princesses:)r.

the second painting was done later and finished today but i have put both under the same post simply because i was continuing in a similar thought. the title, perhaps inappropriate, seemed so right to me.

a handful 12" x 8" (revamped)

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
not a strong study i guess but it's all i could manage. i probably won't be able to post for a while due to some other issues. it is going to be difficult to stay away from my easel but perhaps being forced to might also push me to reflect on my painting. so packing some art books which i hope i will read rather than just look at the pictures:)r.

i have reworked this painting since initially posting it (jan 24)

morning light 18" x 14"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
have you ever watched people's dazed expression and body language when they get up looking for breakfast? well maybe having someone waiting in the kitchen with a camera in hand produces such a reaction.

inside out 10" x 8"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
a wonderful fruit to eat inside when it is snowing outside. snowflakes falling an inch and half in diameter... i'll go for a walk with ipod.

christmas morning walk

went for a walk this morning. the forest silent except for the the birds. and then the sun came out. i could hear the dripping of melting snow from branches and i remember snow melting on a face. as i made my way home again, and looked at homes, curtains still drawn, people still slumbering in beds... and yet something magical was happening outside....

silence 10" x 8"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
an old door handle, perhaps even a door knocker, rusted and bent from over a hundred years of use, stands still, unacknowledged, always serving its purpose. i guess if it stopped being there it would be missed.

thank you all of you near and far for your support throughout 2009: it has meant so much to me. although i have not met many of you i value you and your individual contributions, suggestions, humour and support .....and yes you would be sorely missed if you stopped being there:) wishing you all the best in health and spirits in the coming year. my new year resolution: to paint better:) take care, r.

self determination

charcoal and pastel on paper

the title states something about this woman: her determination to be herself and to be accepted for herself. i believe she has achieved that to a large extent and has let go of a lot of her old ghosts. this is of course only my humble interpretation. if this had been a painting i would definately have put her in a sparkly purple outfit....i think she is going to hate me for writing this:))

interpretations 16" x 12" (reposted)

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
it's been a long struggle and a lot of wiping down of canvas. the portrait i was working on just didn't work and i realised why: it was the composition. it said nothing.

this portrait is part clown, part something else. i was asked if it was a self portrait and told how harsh i was on myself... i think it sums up some of me...

i received some feedback in the comments and have made changes since i posted this. thank you for your enlightening thoughts: sometimes i get so caught up in painting i can't see the larger picture. is it finished? never is, is it?

beyond knowing

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
This is a commission for this young man's family. i never knew him but it is strange how through painting someone, you kind of get to know something.i had only a black and white photo and somehow the orangy red in the background was my instinctive choice of colour. i later learnt that this was important to him.

not forgotten...

sold

oils on winsor and newton canvas board

These were painted some time ago and never put on the blog. i have a soft spot for them as they individually remind me of different times in the recent past and stuff that i was going through. the first of the child is from an idea i saw in Bongart's book that resonated with me; the pears was a single pear painted over and over again because i thought this would help; the pencil and rubber was another study in which i wanted to control my paint; and the broken glass was the bottle that i used in previous posts when it broke accidentally on purpose for the sake of art.

man in brown 16" x 12"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
this has taken me a lot longer to complete as i restudied and reworked edges and colour. i continue the studies and have put this on the blog though there is so much more analysis to be done.

after note: i read this on Sadie Valeri's blog
Sometimes a piece of artwork is falling out of control but we can't admit it. We are too attached to the work we have already put in, and we want the artwork to be better than it is. This is where integrity comes in: the artist must hold themselves to the highest standard, otherwise no learning or exploration is happening. If we tell ourselves our art is "good enough" it isn't. That is self-deception.

To be art, it must be better than "good enough".

Do what it takes to learn and get better with every mark of every piece. Otherwise, we may as well go find a less demanding endeavor. Why be an artist, if not to get better?

woman in blue II 10" x 8"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board

ok so i didn't take up bungee jumping as my vocation in life.... instead i turned her around a bit or maybe i turned my easel around and here she is from another perspective.

woman in blue I 8" x 10"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board

i have been driven to despair by this woman. over a week of studies... just when i thought i had sorted something out about art, it comes up and says 'you got a heck of a lot to learn'...
so here are some of the phrases in my head that stopped me throwing all my charcoals and paints and brushes out the window: slow down... what is that colour, really think about which way it is going.... a lot of artists take months or years to sort out a painting.... maybe a cup of coffee and cheesecake will make you feel better about your painting... i wonder what charcoal tastes like.... i won't try that again... i've never done hand-gliding or bungee-jumping...slow down with that paint brush for goodness sake...

study III 16" x 12"

charcoal and chalk on canvas paper
this portrait has kept me at the easel for over 5 days. i initially started painting with the model present; then i came home and continued the painting but wasn't happy with how it was going; then i decided to draw using reference photos... no, still not right; then i started the painting again... worse; then with a determination and an early start yesterday, and several hours later, this is the result.
i also drew on canvas paper and loved the freedom that it gave with charcoal (though not so for oils which seem to dry too quickly for my liking).

study II 11" x 16"

charcoal and pastel on paper
SOLD
i have spent days doing portraits in charcoal and although dissatisfied with the result, i learnt something... i hope. meanwhile, i came across a photo i took recently at the start of autumn at the reservoir near my home and spurred on by my music i decided to do it in charcoal. i had specifically set out to photograph skies and water: water because i love how it sparkles and dances in the sun; and clouds because i have always loved them. my earliest memory, as a child of 5 or 6, lying in the garden looking up at the clouds passing by and imagining how wonderful it would be to travel on one to another land. i even choose my cloud depending on how friendly it looked as some looked liked gargoyles. from that first memory to this, my first real attempt at drawing these.

study I 11" x 16"

charcoal and pastel
SOLD
yesterday i went to an art class: the model, a young woman, was brilliant... after 2 hours of charcoal drawing, i left the class with a blank sheet of paper. devastated by my incompetence and lack of ability, i dragged my feet out with head hanging. hands covered in charcoal dust, i wiped a tear before it became noticible to anyone... i leave the rest to your imagination. the others had not responded in the same way as i did, and jollyed away home.
so i decided today, as i couldn't bring the model with me, i would do the next best thing and work from a recent photograph. and i am banned from oils until i have done several studies. my self imposed ban probably won't last but at least i got one charcoal drawing to an okayish stage.

solitude 12" x 16"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
i spent quite some time working on a charcoal study of the values before i attempted the painting. he was an excellent model, constantly maintaining the same pose for the two hours with only a few yawns and one break in between! unfortunately the model couldn't be there during the oil painting stage (i think that would have tested his patience too far) so i took some reference photos after the sitting to complete this painting. backgrounds fascinate me and looking at other artists' work and the backgrounds they use, i still seem to come up with my own version... :))

funk, chic and attitude

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
how do you title a painting? the titles i use often seem like a factual statement of items painted. however, sometimes on a more emotional level, the painting responds... perhaps obvious only to the painter. thus, my excuse for the title. this young woman is the gentlest of indviduals i know and it was good to glimpse this side of her. (i have made some changes to this since the first time i posted it... more greens etc)

woman in profile 16" x 14"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
i started this one some weeks ago and then left it as i couldn't work out how to move forward on it. today something said finish it.... so after several hours of focus on those skin tones and shadows this is the result. but i have a sneaky suspicion i will do something to it tomorrow. meanwhile on to the next...

attached 14" x 10"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
it was a chilly spring day, a walk in the forest, a moment... a glimpse of a heart... if we have the vision to see.

artist as still life 14" x 10"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board
ok a strange subject, composition, expression... but this is how i feel sometimes after hours of painting that turn to mud and i think i should apply for a real job. however, don't you think there should be a thought bubble above his head? i wonder if my fellow bloggers can suggest something funny or serious that he might be thinking....

the rose garden 10" x 8"

SOLD
oils on winsor and newton canvasboard
a beautiful sunny day and a walk in the rose garden... i hope i have done justice to the moment.

differences 10" x 8"

oils on gessoed hardboard
this painting was started some weeks ago and worked on repeatedly over a period of time. how can a clump of garlic and a shallot give one so much anxiety? the title was just an instinctive response.... recently i have been working on a commission for a portrait, which i will post with the owner's approval.
after thought: a comment from Chuck Dilmore about the anxiety i felt made me realise that it was a result of having a certain image of what i wanted to achieve in mind before i started the painting and as it developed i became more and more worried as it was not going as i initially intended. it was put away and when i did rework it i had come to an acceptance of the painting as my 'style' and thus the title. suddenly everything falls into place

three pears 10" x 12"

oils on canvasboard
i think it was Bongart who said 'make lots of starts and the finishes will take care of themselves'. it has been some time since i posted as i made 'lots of starts' but bad finishes. it was frustrating as each painting became more and more distorted with every additional brushstroke and for each i had such high hopes. however, it was not a waste (well of paint, yes) but a valuable experience in understanding oils better, learning more about my own preferred style. perhaps i am taking the roughest road to understanding but somehow a few falls and grazed knees are quite memorable experiences:))

bottle of water 16" x 12"

oils on newton and winsor canvas board

one problem i have found with still lifes is the changing light. I could use a proper set up with lamps but prefer natural light. being in Scotland, sun and cloud are in constant competition. So i need to take reference photographs and for this i have found a use for my younger son: officially appointed, unpaid. He can get to all angles, pliable as a chimney sweep. And I move the set up around and let him know when the sun is about to appear from behind a cloud. he has microseconds to take the photographs before another cloud appears.

empty bottles 12" x 12"

oils on winsor and newton canvas board

i had this small collection of bottles lying in the back of a kitchen cupboard, bought many years ago. i like what happens to sunlight through coloured glass. it is rather like looking up at the sun through the swaying of tree branches, everything sparkles and dances. as a result i was mesmerised while painting this one:)

little dreams

a fellow blogger sent me this link. as i struggle with my next painting, it lightened me up to keep going with a laugh.
Thanks W. R. Jones