Blocks and Blocks

More paintings on MDF blocks. I have included the initial drawing for Ducati (motorbike) in the Circus (double crescent building in Bath.) The two hare painting finish a set of three, the first shown in the last post.

Second in the Sophie Ryder sculptures in Bath series.

Third in the Ryder series. These sculptures of hares are life size.

The initial drawing for a new painting. I like the contrast of the modern motorbike against the historic back drop.

Block Paintings

I have just moved from a large dark studio to a small light one, so its been a while since the last blog. Thanks for all the portrait feed back. Doing the portraits has sparked a slightly different method of working. I know a lot of people who will only ever draw from life. This seems to make good sense as you are able to view your subject in three dimensional space, rather than a photo which is flattened. When doing the portraits it occurred to me that I'm not really interesting in modeling with light or trying to make things look round. A photo makes it easier to pick out pattern and contour which I prefer. Combined with this I have decided not to draw on paper any more. I find mounting and framing clumsy. So begin work in the studio by drawing on wood blocks.

St Mary's in Bath painted in ink on 5 by 5cm wood block.

The Bath Abbey courtyard. The hare and bull are two large sculptures currently installed by local artist Sophie Ryder.

The latest block painting with Bath Abbey in the back ground. The inks come out very bright when painted onto wood.

Portrait: Sweet Seller

Following yesterdays busker is a portrait of the owner of Bath's Humbug Sweet Shop. Looking rather like a sweet.

A6 portrait of the a sweet seller in Bath (above) painted in inks.

Portrait: Busker

I'm currently working towards a group portrait exhibition to be held in Bath during July. The theme is to choose local subjects that represent Bath in some way to the artist. All the portraits are very small, no bigger than A6 in size. My first is this portrait of a the Jamaican busker who stands on Bath's main shopping street singing loudly. Due to his loud and constant singing I have yet to discover his name, or anything about him.

A6 portrait of Bath's Jamaican busker (above) painted in in inks.

Archive: Aerial

Thought I would begin an archive series, showing work produced a few years ago whilst the Shadowlands pic trundles on. Arial is a piece produced in Australia made in mixed media with string, ink and 3D paint which recreates the stained glass effect. I began by making an abstract pattern with the string then added in the lines and colours. The result reminded me of the view seen from the plane window as I flew into Australia.

Aerial, imaginative take on Australia seen from a plane window.

Shadowlands 3: Update 8

A couple more hours worth of dots, lines, dashes, fills and deletes. I find these big pictures come in waves. Sit down one day and they are enthralling to do, on another day they progress tediously. Today was tedious which requires more discipline. Yet the quality of what was made remains the same. A case of trying to remain focused regardless of what the games your personality starts to play.

Shadowlands 3 so on so forth...

Shadowlands 3: Update 7

Almost a week since the last post. Enjoyed a mini pre Easter break. The Shadowlands picture continues to rumble on. I have been drawing it in short bursts so the changes between updates can be hard to spot, especially on this scale. Thanks for all the comments left, makes a big difference when the projects are large and slow moving.

Yet more often tiny differences to spot.

Shadowlands 3: Update 6

Shadowlands 3 another day. 3 hours this morning.

Australian Grasses

As a bit of a break from all that heavy black and white work here is something a little different. One of the experiences that has most influenced my art practice was the time spent on a mango farm in Broome, Western Australia. I would get up in good time and go drawing in the orchards when it was quiet, spending the rest of the day picking, eating and boxing mangoes. This culminated in getting the terrible mango rash, that left me stricken with itchy welts. Grasses below is one of the pictures that I made from memory of sitting out in the blazing sun.

Grasses (above) from my time spent on an Australian mango farm.

Shadowlands 3: Update 5

Shadowlands 3 so it continues...

Shadowlands 3: Update 4

Many parts of the drawing now need to be refined, breaking down the thick black areas with white.

The drawing goes through a heavy stage (above).