I have added a new link for the Nature In Art Museum and Art Gallery and also added a new event.
Nature In Art really is a 'must visit' for those interested in art and wildlife. It was the world's first museum and art gallery dedicated to showing work solely inspired by the natural world. I shall, no doubt, be referring to this place a lot in my posts, as it is a haven for me. Whenever I visit I really feel myself relax as I drive up the long driveway to the grand Georgian House, even if I'm there to work.
As well exhibiting a wide range of art including paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics and netsukes it runs a very popular Artist in Residence programme. One or more artists set themselves up in a studio in the grounds of the house for a week, where they work on their respective art form whilst the visiting public come in to watch and chat.
I have been on this programme since 2000 and usually share the week with my good friend and fellow wildlife artist, Julie Askew. The dates that we shall be there this year are listed under 'Exhibitions and events'.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The eyes have it!
The wildebeeste calves are started, but I struggled.
Whilst painting in the background I was having great difficulty focusing, which was creating an effect I was not planning on achieving! This eye strain problem, is carrying on from when I was finishing the cheetahs, so I am not happy. As it seems to have got the better of me, I've decided it's best not go near my easel for a few days at least, to rest them. However it's very difficult to rest ones eyes unless you lie/sit somewhere and keep them shut for several days... not very practical in many respects; especially when there's so much to do!
Whilst painting in the background I was having great difficulty focusing, which was creating an effect I was not planning on achieving! This eye strain problem, is carrying on from when I was finishing the cheetahs, so I am not happy. As it seems to have got the better of me, I've decided it's best not go near my easel for a few days at least, to rest them. However it's very difficult to rest ones eyes unless you lie/sit somewhere and keep them shut for several days... not very practical in many respects; especially when there's so much to do!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
New stuff
I've added a new feature to this page - a listing of exhibitions and events I shall participate in this year - you'll find it under 'Welcome to my chit-chat'. This will obviously be updated as and when I enter or am accepted to the various exhibitions/shows/events.
Also... I've started a new painting..... although tis not the cheetahs. But fear not, that piece HAS been planned and is waiting in the wings for a suitable sized canvas to be acquired, so it will get done.
The new piece I have started is of two wildebeeste calves still in their brownish-yellow colouring, which they lose after the age of 2-2½ months.
Funny what you learn whilst researching a painting. I knew for example that there are two species of wildebeeste - the blue (aka brindled) Connochaetes taurinus and the black (aka white-tailed) Connochaetes gnou. And on my different trips I had noticed that the wildebeeste I saw in southern Africa were much darker in colour to those I saw in East Africa; was this merely coat colour affected by the soil and dust on the body of the animal or something more? Before drawing up my animals, I got out my text books and found that there are four or five subspecies (depending on which scientific reference you look to) of the blue wildebeeste. The ranges of the subspecies must therefore be taken into account when portraying the animals in a specific location. The ones I saw in Amboseli are the Eastern white-bearded Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus. White-bearded wildebeeste (Western -C t mearnsi and Eastern - C t albojubatus) have a body colour that is paler than the other subspecies and amongst other subtle differences in colouration their 'beards' are, obviously, noticably white or pale grey instead of the dark grey or black of the other suspecies.
As a wildlife artist these facts are vital when portraying the animals, for example if I had not been to both southern and eastern Africa I would not have noticed the colour difference and therefore would have continued to assume that there was only the two species and that in in the blue wildebeeste one was very much like another. It may not have occured to me, then, to research much deeper than pictorial reference gathering. I could have painted a wildebeeste in the wrong setting - not the best plan for building your reputation as a wildlife artist upon!
Also... I've started a new painting..... although tis not the cheetahs. But fear not, that piece HAS been planned and is waiting in the wings for a suitable sized canvas to be acquired, so it will get done.
The new piece I have started is of two wildebeeste calves still in their brownish-yellow colouring, which they lose after the age of 2-2½ months.
Funny what you learn whilst researching a painting. I knew for example that there are two species of wildebeeste - the blue (aka brindled) Connochaetes taurinus and the black (aka white-tailed) Connochaetes gnou. And on my different trips I had noticed that the wildebeeste I saw in southern Africa were much darker in colour to those I saw in East Africa; was this merely coat colour affected by the soil and dust on the body of the animal or something more? Before drawing up my animals, I got out my text books and found that there are four or five subspecies (depending on which scientific reference you look to) of the blue wildebeeste. The ranges of the subspecies must therefore be taken into account when portraying the animals in a specific location. The ones I saw in Amboseli are the Eastern white-bearded Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus. White-bearded wildebeeste (Western -C t mearnsi and Eastern - C t albojubatus) have a body colour that is paler than the other subspecies and amongst other subtle differences in colouration their 'beards' are, obviously, noticably white or pale grey instead of the dark grey or black of the other suspecies.
As a wildlife artist these facts are vital when portraying the animals, for example if I had not been to both southern and eastern Africa I would not have noticed the colour difference and therefore would have continued to assume that there was only the two species and that in in the blue wildebeeste one was very much like another. It may not have occured to me, then, to research much deeper than pictorial reference gathering. I could have painted a wildebeeste in the wrong setting - not the best plan for building your reputation as a wildlife artist upon!
Cheetah painting gets in!
Got some great news confirmed this morning... my cheetah painting is through selection and is in the 'Art for Survival' Wildlife Auction to be held at Christies, South Kensington, London. This auction is organised by The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation to raise funds for their conservation projects.
I am very pleased to have not only been invited to submit work but also for my painting to have been accepted as one of the 80 paintings/sculptures chosen for the auction, most of which are by some of the top wildlife artists from around the world.
All the work to be auctioned will be viewable on the website - www.artforsurvival.org - at the end of March. The actual auction is on May 2nd and I hope to be there to soak up the atmosphere, meet some fellow artists and chew my nails to the elbow as the auction gets underway.
This will be my second time as a participating artist at a DSWF 'Art for Survival' auction and it's very exciting, scary and nerve-racking. You have no idea whether your work will bomb, reach the reserve much less the estimate bracket. Of course, you always dream of a bidding 'war' for your piece and even if it's not your picture being fought for, it's still very exciting to witness. Time to cross those fingers hard and hope it's mine this time.
I am very pleased to have not only been invited to submit work but also for my painting to have been accepted as one of the 80 paintings/sculptures chosen for the auction, most of which are by some of the top wildlife artists from around the world.
All the work to be auctioned will be viewable on the website - www.artforsurvival.org - at the end of March. The actual auction is on May 2nd and I hope to be there to soak up the atmosphere, meet some fellow artists and chew my nails to the elbow as the auction gets underway.
This will be my second time as a participating artist at a DSWF 'Art for Survival' auction and it's very exciting, scary and nerve-racking. You have no idea whether your work will bomb, reach the reserve much less the estimate bracket. Of course, you always dream of a bidding 'war' for your piece and even if it's not your picture being fought for, it's still very exciting to witness. Time to cross those fingers hard and hope it's mine this time.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Am I mad?
Believe it or not, but after my 'battle' with the cheetahs in my last painting, I'm now contemplating doing another!!! I must be mad!
Today I start planning my next piece and at the moment another cheetah idea is at the forefront of my mind. Maybe I just want to prove to myself that I didn't just win the battle but I'm looking to win the war, as well!
Watch this space!
Today I start planning my next piece and at the moment another cheetah idea is at the forefront of my mind. Maybe I just want to prove to myself that I didn't just win the battle but I'm looking to win the war, as well!
Watch this space!
Gouache workshop
On Saturday I tutored a workshop for an art society in Gloucester.
A few years ago I had done an evening talk and slideshow for this group and several of the members were interested in the paintings shown that I had done in gouache. A workshop was suggested to help them with their paintings in this medium.
For those of you who have not heard of this medium, think of it as a sophisticated poster paint. The origins of the medium is ancient, I think I read somewhere that it goes back to the time of the pharaohs (but I could be wrong there), but it had been used a lot in more recent time by designers, until computers took over the industry. I was introduced to it when I went to college on a graphics design course in the early ‘80’s – way before computers took over.
Personally I think it would be the ideal paint to start with (that or acrylics) as it’s very versatile and for beginners especially, you can paint over your mistakes! Everybody seems to start with watercolours, which is one of the hardest mediums as it’s very unforgiving in the sense that it’s not easy to correct or go over a mistake. To achieve good results with watercolour you seem to need to know exactly what you are going to do before you put paint to paper – the colours to use, where the paint goes, where everything is with regards to composition, lights and darks etc. There is not much margin for error or alterations as you go. Now gouache on the other hand is great for this….
Anyway, back to the workshop……..
So last Saturday, on a beautifully sunny day in Gloucester, I had ten ‘students’ to work with; some had used the medium before (mostly in conjunction with watercolours) and some were new to the paint completely. This was my first actual painting workshop (I have done quite a few for drawing and batik) so I was a little nervous and unsure how the day would go. I hoped I would be able to help them get along with the medium much better and that they would go away feeling like not only was it money well spent but that they had fun too.
It was a day-long workshop and they had each brought their own photograph to get inspiration and work from; so the challenges of each one was different. I chose not to do a demonstration at the start, mindful of the fact that the day started at 10am, finished at 4pm and had lunch and tea/coffee breaks as well; which equates to about four and a half hours to get a painting done. Not much time at all. So in my planning I decided to do a quick introduction and then get them painting as soon as possible. Going around each person in turn on a one-to-one basis, dealing with the problems they faced on an individual level. However in hindsight (and with the helpful suggestion of a few of the ‘students’), I am now aware that a demonstration would be invaluable at the start. It’s easy, when you have used a medium for years (about 26 years for gouache and me) to forget what it was like when you first started using it– things like how to mix and use it; things you give no thought to now, but which at the start were quite daunting. So, should I do another painting workshop, I would start off showing things like the different consistencies to use and the effects you get, how you put the paint on, how you can paint colour on top of colour, but keep it short and limited to little cameo ‘dabblings’ as opposed to painting a picture.
As I walked around I realised, as I saw how the ‘watercolourists’ were painting, that the concept of painting one colour on top of another was ‘foreign’ to them; as in watercolour the luminosity of the paint and light is achieved with washes thin enough to allow the whiteness of the paper to come through.
It was, understandably, hard for some to get their head around using the paint so thick that you couldn’t see the paper and that light and depth is achieved differently than with watercolours.
However, the work that the ‘students’ produced was very good when you consider that they only had a few hours to use a medium they were unfamiliar with or had not used before. I was very pleased with what they did and hope that they went away feeling as though they had learnt and achieved something new. I’m sure some will decide the medium is not for them but I hope a few were inspired enough to pursue it at a more leisurely pace in their own time at home.
A few years ago I had done an evening talk and slideshow for this group and several of the members were interested in the paintings shown that I had done in gouache. A workshop was suggested to help them with their paintings in this medium.
For those of you who have not heard of this medium, think of it as a sophisticated poster paint. The origins of the medium is ancient, I think I read somewhere that it goes back to the time of the pharaohs (but I could be wrong there), but it had been used a lot in more recent time by designers, until computers took over the industry. I was introduced to it when I went to college on a graphics design course in the early ‘80’s – way before computers took over.
Personally I think it would be the ideal paint to start with (that or acrylics) as it’s very versatile and for beginners especially, you can paint over your mistakes! Everybody seems to start with watercolours, which is one of the hardest mediums as it’s very unforgiving in the sense that it’s not easy to correct or go over a mistake. To achieve good results with watercolour you seem to need to know exactly what you are going to do before you put paint to paper – the colours to use, where the paint goes, where everything is with regards to composition, lights and darks etc. There is not much margin for error or alterations as you go. Now gouache on the other hand is great for this….
Anyway, back to the workshop……..
So last Saturday, on a beautifully sunny day in Gloucester, I had ten ‘students’ to work with; some had used the medium before (mostly in conjunction with watercolours) and some were new to the paint completely. This was my first actual painting workshop (I have done quite a few for drawing and batik) so I was a little nervous and unsure how the day would go. I hoped I would be able to help them get along with the medium much better and that they would go away feeling like not only was it money well spent but that they had fun too.
It was a day-long workshop and they had each brought their own photograph to get inspiration and work from; so the challenges of each one was different. I chose not to do a demonstration at the start, mindful of the fact that the day started at 10am, finished at 4pm and had lunch and tea/coffee breaks as well; which equates to about four and a half hours to get a painting done. Not much time at all. So in my planning I decided to do a quick introduction and then get them painting as soon as possible. Going around each person in turn on a one-to-one basis, dealing with the problems they faced on an individual level. However in hindsight (and with the helpful suggestion of a few of the ‘students’), I am now aware that a demonstration would be invaluable at the start. It’s easy, when you have used a medium for years (about 26 years for gouache and me) to forget what it was like when you first started using it– things like how to mix and use it; things you give no thought to now, but which at the start were quite daunting. So, should I do another painting workshop, I would start off showing things like the different consistencies to use and the effects you get, how you put the paint on, how you can paint colour on top of colour, but keep it short and limited to little cameo ‘dabblings’ as opposed to painting a picture.
As I walked around I realised, as I saw how the ‘watercolourists’ were painting, that the concept of painting one colour on top of another was ‘foreign’ to them; as in watercolour the luminosity of the paint and light is achieved with washes thin enough to allow the whiteness of the paper to come through.
It was, understandably, hard for some to get their head around using the paint so thick that you couldn’t see the paper and that light and depth is achieved differently than with watercolours.
However, the work that the ‘students’ produced was very good when you consider that they only had a few hours to use a medium they were unfamiliar with or had not used before. I was very pleased with what they did and hope that they went away feeling as though they had learnt and achieved something new. I’m sure some will decide the medium is not for them but I hope a few were inspired enough to pursue it at a more leisurely pace in their own time at home.
Friday, March 02, 2007
So how DID you paint that? The finish
I will not capitulate to cantankerous cheetahs!
Only the cheetahs to do… Ha! Only!
I thought one day would do it, but it took me two. Two days of fighting with them to go right, to form in the paint as I wanted!
All started off so well… and I had them done in one day- I worked on them to about 8.30pm to make sure all I had to do to finish it off was just a little titivating when they were dry. Or so I thought! In the cold light of the following morning I sat in despair looking at what I thought had gone comparitively well the day before. Disaster, stared at me in the face!
I had painted the spots using the wrong brush and my over-tired eyes had not notice they were all square and in the wrong places! Aaaaaggh! The shadows weren’t strong enough. Aaaargh! The body was too short on one- despite looking fine in the prep drawing. Aaaargh! The legs looked wrong on the other. Aaaargh! Put it another way….. not much was right!
So painting over yesterdays work, I started again and probably because my eyes are still very tired and a bit strained from the intense bout of painting over the last week (they kinda feel like two hard aching lumps in my head) I struggled and struggled to get the cheetahs going right. I knew how I wanted them to be, but just could not make it happen. Expletives abounded and once or twice an artistic tantrum sent a brush flying across the room. Maybe on another day I might have given up and walked away there and then during the morning’s attempt; but today was the last day I had to work on them if I wanted to submit it to the wildlife art auction I had been invited to put a piece forward for. So, I had to do it. I did walk away once or twice to stop me doing anything violent to the painting! But I stood back and pulled myself together, telling myself I would not be beaten by these cheetahs… This was a battle I had to win. They would be as I wanted them to be and I just had to get on with it and persevere. Eventually things started to come together and by 6pm, I am glad to say, I felt I had achieved what I needed to and with a sense of great relief signed my name in the bottom corner. Done!
Ah yes, painting is such a relaxing past-time!!! I have to say I am glad it’s finished… I am relatively pleased with the piece – can’t say I’m ever totally happy with anything I paint… always something I might have done better/different. That’s what keeps you going, the need to do better.
Here's an enlarged section of the painting.....
For those who are interested, here’s some arty facts about the painting…… Painted with oils (no one brand, whatever I get my hands on – in this case Windsor & Newton artist’ oil colour and Van Dyck Ferrario). Main colours used- titanium white, French ultramarine, alizarin crimson, chrome yellow deep and light. Adding smidgens of burnt sienna, indigo, and black. Using Windsor & Newton Liquin original to thin paint. I mostly used watercolour brushes (synthetic) sizes 00,1 & 4 round and size 0 rigger. Painted onto canvas - image size 36”x12¼” (914mmx310mm).
Now I have to photograph it and send a high res digital image to be judged in the selection process.
Only the cheetahs to do… Ha! Only!
I thought one day would do it, but it took me two. Two days of fighting with them to go right, to form in the paint as I wanted!
All started off so well… and I had them done in one day- I worked on them to about 8.30pm to make sure all I had to do to finish it off was just a little titivating when they were dry. Or so I thought! In the cold light of the following morning I sat in despair looking at what I thought had gone comparitively well the day before. Disaster, stared at me in the face!
I had painted the spots using the wrong brush and my over-tired eyes had not notice they were all square and in the wrong places! Aaaaaggh! The shadows weren’t strong enough. Aaaargh! The body was too short on one- despite looking fine in the prep drawing. Aaaargh! The legs looked wrong on the other. Aaaargh! Put it another way….. not much was right!
So painting over yesterdays work, I started again and probably because my eyes are still very tired and a bit strained from the intense bout of painting over the last week (they kinda feel like two hard aching lumps in my head) I struggled and struggled to get the cheetahs going right. I knew how I wanted them to be, but just could not make it happen. Expletives abounded and once or twice an artistic tantrum sent a brush flying across the room. Maybe on another day I might have given up and walked away there and then during the morning’s attempt; but today was the last day I had to work on them if I wanted to submit it to the wildlife art auction I had been invited to put a piece forward for. So, I had to do it. I did walk away once or twice to stop me doing anything violent to the painting! But I stood back and pulled myself together, telling myself I would not be beaten by these cheetahs… This was a battle I had to win. They would be as I wanted them to be and I just had to get on with it and persevere. Eventually things started to come together and by 6pm, I am glad to say, I felt I had achieved what I needed to and with a sense of great relief signed my name in the bottom corner. Done!
Ah yes, painting is such a relaxing past-time!!! I have to say I am glad it’s finished… I am relatively pleased with the piece – can’t say I’m ever totally happy with anything I paint… always something I might have done better/different. That’s what keeps you going, the need to do better.
Here's an enlarged section of the painting.....
For those who are interested, here’s some arty facts about the painting…… Painted with oils (no one brand, whatever I get my hands on – in this case Windsor & Newton artist’ oil colour and Van Dyck Ferrario). Main colours used- titanium white, French ultramarine, alizarin crimson, chrome yellow deep and light. Adding smidgens of burnt sienna, indigo, and black. Using Windsor & Newton Liquin original to thin paint. I mostly used watercolour brushes (synthetic) sizes 00,1 & 4 round and size 0 rigger. Painted onto canvas - image size 36”x12¼” (914mmx310mm).
Now I have to photograph it and send a high res digital image to be judged in the selection process.
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