Various … oil and soft pastel experiments

‘Oil Poppies’

Approx. 12″ x 8″

Underpainting of alcohol inks, added area of gold metal effect medium, then overpainted with oils (not artist quality) on canvas board.

I didn’t have any linseed oil or other mediums, as well as cleaning solvents, so was hesitant to try out these oils but then discovered that I could use Baby oil to dilute the paint and to clean the brushes, also much better on the skin!  So far the baby oil doesn’t appear to have created any dull patches – the paint is still wet, I expect it will only be dry and fully cured in a month’s time.   The oils and canvas board came with the set I describe below.

Soft pastel studies – my first attempts using this medium:

‘Dartmoor landscape’ from reference photo in a book.

Approx. 11″ x 7″

Soft pastels (not artist quality) on cheap scrapbooking type project paper (blue).

‘Orange landscape’

Approx. 5½” x 7″

Soft pastels (not artist quality) on cheap scrapbooking type project paper (blue).

Footnote:

I was given a compact artist’s kit comprising oils, acrylics and watercolour materials, plus palette and sample canvas boards, sketching pads, brushes, painting knives etc. etc. for a Christmas present.   These sample paintings are the results of playing about with the stuff in the kit.

I have never used soft pastels (chalk pastels) before and am finding them really fun to work with.  I enjoy the way I can layer over the colours and blend to get quite interesting effects.  This has inspired me to try and purchase better quality soft pastels as soon as I can, as well as some good quality paper – I’d like to turn out more impressive work in the future – so watch this space!

I hope everyone who visits this page had a lovely Christmas and everything of the very best fo 2017 – let’s hope it’s a positive year for all of us!

Art exhibition!

I’m very pleased to write here that I’m going to be exhibiting five works in a local show, which is to be held towards the end of October.  I understand up to a hundred artists take part in this exhibition, so this is a brilliant chance for me to meet and mingle with fellow painterly types and make some connections (I hope).    I’ve had very positive comment from the curator of the show on my work.    I’m going to be showing the following pieces:

One large work:

And four smaller paintings:

  

 

Another one bites the dust …

Surprisingly (for me … well, it always is) … I had a lot of interest in my Poppy painting and potentially it is now sold – pending collection.   Woop woop … crack open the bubbly 🙂

“Poppies”

20″ x 16″ x 1/2″

Acrylics on stretched canvas.

Some new thingies

“New beginning”

Acrylic, inks, gels and pastes on stretched canvas.

17½” x 23½” x ½”

Close up of texture.

 

“Going for a walk”

Acrylics on stretched canvas

20″ x 16″ x ½”

Close up of texture:

And flip …

I was moving things around over the weekend and ‘accidentally’ stacked my latest large painting the wrong way up.  When I stood back and looked at it, I realised that it is far more dynamic this way up and has more sense of presence.   There is something almost cathedral in the illusion of space.   To me it feels like I am standing on a snow covered street looking up the road  – either side at very tall buildings.  What do others think?

 

New painting

“Blue shift”

50cm x 40cm x 1.5cm

Acrylics, inks, pens on stretched canvas.

 

Below to show room view (for scale)

 

Untitled – August 2016

I am going to stop now … quite happy with it on the wall.

 

120cm x 100cm x 4cm

Acrylic, inks, pastes and gels (for texture) on stretched canvas.

Below to show room view …

Doodling

 

“In the field”

10″ x 8″

Acrylics, Inks, collage, gels, gold foil on acrylic canvas board/panel.

Close ups of texture:

I’ve been in a bit of the creative doldrums since I returned from South Africa, artistically speaking.  Pottering about with clay hasn’t really helped, it’s just made me work small and that’s not what I’m about.  I decided yesterday that I needed to put all the clay away and get back to er ‘making art’ … lest I forget how.

Again, I’m working small, so I wasn’t feeling very confident.   I started working with tissue and forming the texture, the ground … I wasn’t really sure where I was going other than I wanted the little panel to express a feeling of wide open space and emotional depth.     Then I got to thinking about the other evening when my daughter and I were travelling home from doing our shopping.   It’s almost harvest time here and the wheat and barley in the fields is very high, golden brown and thick.   In this vast expanse of golden beige, there he was just popping his head out of the grasses to have a look around.  So he became the inspiration for this final bit of rather naive collage.

I hope to be able to get going with a very large canvas I have sitting around downstairs next week, it’s calling to me.

Collage on panel

“Big sky and windmill”

10″ x 8″

Acrylics, Inks, found collage materials (for the foreground) on acrylic canvas board.

Close up:

This is very much a bit of whimsy.  I will not be posting on here for a few weeks, as I’m going to be in South Africa soon for a short holiday, visiting friends and family.

Collage on paper

“Field study”

15 ½”  10 ½”

Acrylics, inks, found objects (threads), aluminium foil and gels on acrylic paper.

Close ups of texture:

The rape seed fields are now turning a glorious golden / electric yellow – I took this picture whilst out on my own last week, when I went to go and find some bluebells in our local woods.

Bluebells at Tyrrel’s Wood

 

Collage on panel

“Hot – study”

“10” x 8″

Inks, glitter, found items for texture, pebeo fantasy prisme paints (for the round ‘stones’ in the foreground) on acrylic canvas board.

Photos to show texture:

Abstract on paper – small

“Spring fields”

11 ¾” x 7 ¾ “

Acrylic paints, Daler Rowney inks, Pebeo Fantasy Prisme paint (still settling and drying, so there will be changes in the final effects once it’s dried and cured overnight).

Texture detail:

Driving home the other evening, I took a quick photo out of the side of the car of the rape seed fields … I love this time of year.  I was inspired by this scene but didn’t want to create just another yellow, blue and green picture … so got fiddling about with the Pebeo paint, which takes an absolute age to dry completely but the results are always interesting.  I will also press this when completely dry so that it lies nice and flat.

Abstract on canvas – large

“Sea”

47″ x 39″ x 1 ½”

Acrylics, metallic paints and inks, on stretched deep wrap canvas.

Ground has been highly textured over a period of months, resulting in a very robust, cured surface that is quite hard.  I used caulk, modelling paste and other gels to get the texture.    It’s currently hanging in my bedroom (swamping my room as well because it’s quite a large painting), ‘cos I don’t have anywhere else to put it!

 

Close ups of texture detail

   

Abstract on paper

“Reef”

11 ¾”  x 7 ¾”

Own modelling paste and Inks on acrylic paper

Smaller photo below of picture in a pre-cut frame.

This is heavily textured and I decided to only use inks for colour.

Close ups of texture – sorry took the photos as light was fading, so I’ve got glare on the image.

Abstract on Canvas

“Vibrant field”

20″ x 16″

Acrylics, inks, gels on heavy textured and sculpted surface (my own texture paste), displacement chemical (Surgical Spirits), Montana copper metallic spray paint on stretched canvas.

Again, I haven’t sealed this yet with a binder or clear gel. My daughter likes this one so much, I don’t think I will be allowed to do anymore work on it 🙂

Close ups of texture:

Abstract on canvas

“Warmscape”

22″ x 18″

Acrylics, texture paste and gels, inks, spray paint on stretched canvas

I haven’t sealed this one yet with an acrylic binder or gel, waiting for it to cure.

Close ups of texture

Abstract on paper – A3

“Rocks”

Acrylics, inks, thick bonding agent (sort of like grout), gels on A3 acid free paper.

Some close ups of texture:

 

I may have finished this series of abstract on paper paintings for now, as I would like to get back to using a more robust support, like canvas or board.  This particular piece has not yet cured, so it is still a bit rippled and wrinkly, it will settle down eventually and be completely flat.   However, I need to start preparing a body of work that I hope to exhibit and hopefully sell 🙂 in the spring/summer (not sure where yet).

I would just like to say thank you to everyone who visits this blog and ‘likes’ or comments on my work, it is very much appreciated and if I don’t automatically go to your blog and like your work it’s not because I’m a cow, it’s perhaps because I got a bit busy and didn’t have time.  I look at all the blogs by the authors who visit this site and all of them are spectacular.  I feel really privileged to have such a strong, experienced and talented ‘peer group’ of people who regularly make the effort to pop by here and look at my work  – thank you all very much!

 

Abstract on paper – A3

“Somewhere, a place”

Acrylics, inks, glues, gels on A3 (297 x 420mm or 111.7 x 16.5″) acid free acrylic paper using various techniques.

Close ups of colour and texture detail

Abstract on paper – small

“Sparklers with a fire stick”

Acrylics, inks, gel, metallic effect medium on mixed-media paper.

10 ¾ “ x 7 ½ “

Close ups of texture:

About the title:

I was going through old dvd’s I have of stored family photos and came across a picture I’d taken when on holiday in the Southern Drakensberg with my family for a long weekend over Easter back in 2008.  We made a fire outside whilst we were braaing (you guys in the UK call it a barbeque).  My son placed a few twigs in the red embers, waited until they were glowing and then began making circular patterns, zigzags and drawing words in the darkness (as we would do with sparklers on Guy Fawkes night back in the day when people were responsible and there was no need for stupid draconian health & safety regulations for everything).   I digress.  Anyway, that moment inspired this painting.  (even though I promised I’d lay off the gilt paper for a bit, couldn’t help myself) 🙂

Abstract on paper – A3

“Abstracted Pebbles”

Acrylics, inks, gels on 140lb A3 size acid free Acrylic paper

Actual size of painting:  14½” x 9¾”

Close ups of texture detail:

This started out a bit of a mess …

but I think I saved it okay. 🙂