'Drums' & a couple of old ones

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Tree Study 1988. (14x19") Watercolour



Trecwn Arborial, 1988 (10x7") Watercolour on paper


Searching through my studio today, I came accross a pile of what I had assumed to be old sketch-notes. Lo-and-Behold, wedged amongst them I discovered a collection of small watercolours that I had completely forgotten. No doubt at some time in the past they had fallen out of favour and been relegated as 'references'. But I was surprised that some of them weren't so bad, so I thought I would share a couple of them here.

The other painting here today though, is one which was posted many moons ago, but had somehow escaped the ether.
It belongs to the series of three which I painted, inspired by jazz and blues music. The other two, 'Cryin the Blues' and 'Trumpet' can be found at the beginning of this blog. This one is called, simply, 'Drums', and was my expression of the colour, energy, enthuisiasm, and movement of a live stage performance. It was painted with just three colours: alizarin, cadmium yellow, and cobalt blue.


'Drums' (15x11") Watercolour on 140lb w/c paper.

'Windswept'

This is a painting I did last night, using just arylamide yellow, burnt sienna, and ultramarine, plus titanium white.
I think I'm beginning to like this palette

Windswept (20x24") Acrylics painted on stretched canvas.

Back Way

This is a painting which I completed last year, and is probably the most difficult image I have had to photograph. Modern digital cameras do not enjoy being persuaded into dealing with the colour orange, especially when it is so strongly represented as in this painting, flanked by equally powerful reds and bright yellows. The image that I have presented here is the result of considerable digital manipulation, and as such is a compromise, lacking some of the clarity of contrast and resonnance of the painting. It is, however, a reasonable representation of colour palette.
I had been taking my dog for a Sunday afternoon stroll around my village, when I came accross an ancient back-way which I had previously been unaware of. As I explored the route, I suddenly found myself having to shield my eyes from the glare of the sunlight as it was reflected from the brightly painted yellow wall on one of the old stone cottages. The passage-way was otherwise quite a dark place, but in this one particular spot all was illuminated by the reflection from that wall. The cottages and walls are constructed from a locally quarried crystalline red granite, upon which that golden light literally danced as one progressed along the route.
As always, my camera was ready, and the resulting painting is what you see here.
Of course, I could not resist the temptation to make as much of colour as possible, though in so doing this was not an easy one to paint.

The Back Way (20x24") Acrylic painted on stretched canvas.

Two new ones, Winter Light, & The Canal Bridge

These are two paintings that I finished last night.
Winter Light was created to portray the effect of the late afternoon February sun which was almost backlighting the bare trees and illuminating the tall dry grasses before them, creating a warm glow on what was otherwise a cold and frosty environment. The temperature hadn't risen above freezing for some days, but the bright conditions had tempted me outside with my camera. It would certainly have been too cold for plein-air painting.....for me at least!
Although I live in the heart of the industrial Midlands of England, my actual location is still relatively green, thus providing me with plenty of natural motifs to paint, within walking distance of my front door.
The Canal Bridge is typical of many such scenes to be found close to my home also. The river and canal meander gently through the flood-meadows, or leas as they are known, of the Soar Valley. They are a haven for wildlife, and provide me an easily accessible refuge from the noise and bustle of daily village life.



Winter Light (20x24") Acrylic painted on stretched canvas



The Canal Bridge (24x20") Acrylic painted on stretched canvas.

First encounters with acrylics

The Sarah Tree 16x20"

Well, what can I say. I have somewhat neglected this blog since its inception. Time to start making a few more regular posts.

Since the last time I was here, I have returned to painting more seriously. That's something I didn't do for nearly 20years, due to the responsibilities of being a lone parent. But now that the girls have all 'flown the nest', I have found myself with the time necessary to 're-learn' the skills which I had previously spent many years accruing.

Rather than return to my old favourite medium of watercolours, I chose to re-invent myself using acrylics. Although the basics of composition and colour harmony remain the same, I had a big shock coming to terms with the consistency, quick drying time, and permanence of this new medium. No more was I able to apply paint with the intention of discretely removing portions of it again, nor blending washes into those which had been laid previously. Furthermore, I discovered that colours did not mix in the way to which I had previously been accustomed.

Most of my earlier work I had been able to create using a very limited palette of alizarin red, cadmium yellow, and cobalt blue, with the occasional addition of viridian green. It soon became apparent that I was going to have to extend my range of colours somewhat. Only now, 18 months along the line, am I becoming able to work with just a half dozen tubes of paint. However, for the sake of convenience, I more often use up to twice that number, depending on the painting.

So, here I am, with new paints, canvases twice the size of the papers that I was used to, (another concept that required some coming to terms with), and a handful of brushes. Now, how the heck do I manipulate this thick stuff into the images I want to produce?

I was very fortunate in being directed to the WetCanvas! site. There I found a bunch of people, some beginners like myself, and some with years of experience and professionalism, and all willing and eager to share both their knowledge and their work.

Having gleaned the basics of the medium, and taking the general advice to just play with the paint, to experiment, and find out first hand what it would and wouldn't do, I set about attacking a 16x20" canvas. What great fun that was, to hold a brush in my hands again, and to just let my mind explode in a riot of colour. I soon found that it was fun to blend the colours on the surface rather than on the palette, bending and sculpting great blobs of the stuff into representations of the forms inside my head. Some things worked, others were miserable failures, but it was fun, and I learned so much from that first experience.

That first painting in acrylics took me over a week to create. Nowadays I would probably complete it in just a few hours.

This is the outcome of that first encounter.