Three in the Sun

Here is Simon and his sons in conversation in the sunshine.

A painting that started life at the 2010 Enable Charity Ball. Simon, at the top, made the highest bid and won himself the uncommon experience of sitting for a portrait in oils. The three made the trip down to the studio late last summer to chat about the portrait and have some photographs taken. The boys came with a sense of fun and we all agreed to carry the relaxed and casual atmosphere into the final work.

The photo session included sittings inside the studio and also outside in the courtyard. The sun was pretty strong and I didn’t think the outside poses would work, so we didn’t linger on those.

Only when I studied the pics did I get excited about the patterns and contrasts that the bright sunlight threw onto the figures. I liked the triangular composition, and the knitting together of the three men here. The circular journey of the eye from head to head. A difficulty I faced from the beginning was how  to render the shadowed surfaces of skin. The lack of direct light tended to flatten the surface to the point where muscle tone is lost to the eye and tricky to find. I persevered because I felt the strong composition made the challenge of the shadows worthwhile.

It’s a painting that took a long time to finish. Partly because of the complexity of the thing but I was also guilty of putting off the starting of it because I was probably a wee bit feart .

Glad to say it is now with the owner, who came down today with the son on the left. Both were surprised and delighted with the painting. Their delight overcame the strangeness of seeing themselves on a canvas!

Peggy

My paintings from the Dick Institute exhibition were returned today. It turned out to be a popular show and always good to hear positive feedback. Seeing paintings fresh after a time always unsettles slightly. Not that I don’t like seeing them,  just that it is a reminder that I get a bit tight when painting commissions. The paintings done for myself or at my invitation seem to have a bold touch not evident in the commissioned work.

Here is one portrait that I feel has fulfilled somewhat my desire to put the paint on thicker and with more of the  “touch and leave” idea.

This is Peggy, my wife’s granny, who worked daily in a charity shop in Kilmarnock till the end. Peggy was a well kent face in town. She is pictured here behind the counter of “The Innocents” shop. I’m sure she would have been very proud and also slightly embarrassed to know her portrait was hanging for two months in her home town in the “Dick”.

Harry’s Garden

Harry began with my group in September and has completed his first painting. Not only his first painting with the group, but first ever! He took some time over this and took gentle weekly ribbings for his patient and measured progress. But it has paid off. I think for a first oil, this is amazing. He tells me he has learned a vast amount just painting the one canvas. Next up, he is going to change tack and learn a looser technique.

I went to visit the garden a few weeks back and of course it is exactly as seen here!

Did I say he was finished it? Oh, I forgot he has a bit to do to the slabs at the left. Thats another month then, Harry?

Kate’s “Revenge”

Kate has submitted her final painting for part of her higher art exam. Her friend Emily modelled various emotions linked to anger.  Painted in acrylic and worked on till midnight, the night before deadline day. Alongside trying to finish a ballet dress she made for the same exam, it turned into a busy and fretful week leading up to submission. This is the dress unfinished. Kate finished it at school so we dont have a photo of the finished thing. There are a lot more mirror shards to be glued onto the bodice. The dress is designed for the Snow Queen.

Sandy’s latest

A fine decorative portrait. Sandy has found a way to use colour in a portrait without compromising likeness or realism. The strong yellows and blues have an energy and  freedom, yet stay controlled and believable.

This one reminds me of the wild (relatively speaking, of course) portraits by Augustus John. An artist I am guilty of forgetting about. I’ll need to to have another look at his work. A favourite of mine many years ago.

Blue Mask II – a goner

Sold “Blue Mask II” on Monday.

It’s good to see this one getting a new life. I am very fond of the picture and always wondered if it would translate, to mean something to anyone else.  I’ll get feedback when I visit the gallery next week. I have to go to put a signature on it before the new owner takes it away. I always forget to sign paintings! I had an idea in the past that signatures waste the surface of a painting and spoil the experience of “looking in”. The habit of leaving it out developed and now I dont sign because I simply forget.

So now I have had to sign a couple after the sale and have been put on the spot to explain why it’s missing on numerous occasions. I get the message! I’ll sign from now on.

Five Selected

I say selected, but having only about six paintings hanging about, it becomes an elimination of one.

These girl’s portraits sit fairly well together, all being similar ages and all represent my face-starin-right-at-ya style. Tomorrow night is the preview.