CONISTON WATER

John Ruskin was regarded by Kenneth Clark - former Director of the National Gallery - as one of the finest watercolour painters of the late 19th Century. A few days ago I came across a watercolour he painted of Brantwood his house on Coniston Water. This prompted me to try an iPad watercolour simulation. I worked from a half-sheet watercolour which I painted some years ago. It's a view from the southern end of lake looking towards the ConistonFells which make a fine backdrop. I wanted to try for the soft colours which are produced by thin transparent washes. Even working as I did on four layers it proved difficult to capture the same effect.

HOBBY AT MINSMERE 2

One thing leads to another! I came across an article about David Hockney's iPad paintings in the Daily Telegraph app and discovered he works with the BRUSHES App. So I just had to give it a go. I've used it to add some finishing touches to the Hobby painting in the last post. I downloaded BRUSHES 3. It's a simple bit of software – easy to use. The only drawback is that the basic version does not have a layers feature but you can purchase it as an add on. Mr Hockney's iPad paintings made with BRUSHES are astonishing - an inspiration for anyone following the digital trail. For the moment though I think I'll stick with Sketchbook Pro which has more features and I'm getting used to it.

Hobby in long grass, Minsmere

This is another iPad painting of the Hobby this time using Sketchbook Express. I'm trying out different iPad drawing apps to find one which suits me. Sketchbook Express has more painterly features than Sketchbook Ink so the bird's feathers and the long grass are treated in a more interesting way.

iPad Sketch made with Autodesk Pro

I was disappointed with my first iPad sketch made with Sketchbook Ink. I was working from a line and wash sketch and I lost my way somewhat. I decided the next attempt would be more considered. In this post I’m using Autodesk Pro – a more sophisticated app. It has a range of ‘brushes’ for producing different effects and it allows the use of layers which makes planning the work easier. I was working in front of the subject – a view across the Teme Valley – from the comfort of my living room. I worked directly rather as an oil painter might when sketching en plein air. I flood filled the base layer then worked on three extra layers for different treatments of each stage. It was late afternoon with mist forming and with backlit clouds. Nice atmospheric qualities which were beyond my grasp working digitally.

Jackdaws on St, Catherine's Hill, Winchester.

This painting has taken a long time to reach completion. It was developed from preliminary studies that were the subject of previous blogs. I've used an acrylic primed board and and worked almost entirely in Golden Open Acrylics.

GOING DIGITAL

I’ve always had a soft spot for David Hockney; there’s no doubting his talent he was noticed early on during his later student years at the RCA. Sir Hugh Casson said ‘he drew like a dream.’ A recent BBC Country File programme showed him making use of an iPad as a sketching tool. Well out of curiosity I had to try my hand at digital sketching. I searched the Daily Telegraph mobile site where there was an article on sketching apps for the iPad and downloaded the Auto desk Sketch (ink)App. Here’s my first attempt with it – a reworking of a line and wash sketch sketch of a Hobby

DABCHICKS ON THE RIVER ITCHEN

Christmas New Year and birthday celebrations of of the way I'm looking forward to completing paintings that have been put hold. Finishing is a slow process with me I like to have paintings around in temporary frames because – for me – that is the only sure way to pick up the passages which are not working properly.

I've used Golden Open Acrylics on primed MDF board for this painting of Dabchicks Their slow drying properties are what appeals and the only minor failing of the colours is that they are transparent are except for the whites. But there are ways of working round this and glazing by using a gell medium is easy.

 

 

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

 

I sold this pastel years ago to a local doctor at one of our Ludlow Art Society Exhibitions. She died and clearly her family did not rate it as a family heirloom because it turned up in a local print gallery. Judging by the price he was asking the owner probably bought it as part of a job lot at a local sale room.

I went into the gallery and introduced myself as the artist who'd painted it. I briefly considered buying it back to resell it but the gallery assistant said she liked it because she knew the location. Her appreciation convinced me that the painting had found a good home so I said farewell to it for a second time!

I keep a digital photograph of all my work so here it is adapted as a Christmas Card.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL VISITORS TO MY BLOG.
 

GOING DIGITAL

I’ve dabbled with digital painting for a few years using Painter. I began with Painter 9 and progressed through upgrades to the current version Painter12.  Professional illustrators produce quite stunning images with Painter for a variety of applications. Painter though has a quite complex interface and it takes some time to appreciate and become familiar with many of its features.

My interest in it is as a means of exploring starting points that could be developed further by using traditional painterly techniques. An easy way to gain familiarity with the program is to explore the ‘auto painting’ feature. First copy a reference image into Painter and save it. Next open a new layer and start the autopainting tool. This will start to build up a clone of the reference image which in time would produce a clone of the reference source. The auto feature can be paused at any stage as the clone proceeds.

I’ve used a scan of a late pastel by Degas as the source reference and paused the process as a starting point for further development with Painter’s ‘Pastel Brushes.’ I don’t intend to do more work on it. The objective was to become familiar with methods that can be used with Painter.

DUCKS HEADING FOR COVER ON THE RIVER ITCHEN.

For the past few weeks I’ve been preoccupied with drawing. Pencil studies of birds mostly and some sketches for future compositions. I find I have to draw up watercolour compositions – it is a medium which is not easy to change once you have started. Others though like to live dangerously by laying wet washes and extracting a ghost image from them – does Turner come to mind? Of course he had a good eye and could draw better than most of us.

Acrylic is a friendly medium which offers much more freedom. I began this on a hardboard panel prepared with an even base coat of dark brown/green. I composed ‘on the hoof’ putting down markers to place the ducks and making small adjustments to position as the work developed.

I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics. They have a nice creamy consistency. I thin with a matt medium and a little water if I want to glaze over passages. When working quickly and freely the short drying time is an advantage. There is still much to do before I can say; “I’m happy with that” – my favourite quote from Alwyn Crawshaw.

LAS Members Summer Exhibition

Yellow-Eyed Penguins on Doubtful Sound, New Zealand.
Watercolour



Below

First Winter Blackback Gulls: Ostend.    Watercolour

These are two of five paintings I'm sending in to the Ludlow Art Society's Summer Exhibition.

The dates are:

Sat.18th to Sun. 26th August

at the Harley Centre,

Castle Square, Ludlow.

10.00am to 5.00pm daily.

Church Stretton Festival 24th July - 3rd August

Three paintings I've sent to the Church Stretton Festival Art Exhibition

Opening times are 10.00am to 6.00pm Daily

Tortoishell Butterflies: Watercolour

Nesting Kittiwakes: Acrylic



Arnside Oystercatchers: Watercolour



Exhibitions

The picture shows my submissions to the Ludlow Art Society Spring Exhibition which ran for one week opening on Easter Saturday. Now the local exhibition season has started in earnest.

After the recent event at Gt. Witley I'm sending to the Church Stretton Festival Exhibition which runs from 24th July to 3rd August. I'll be showing the Nesting Kittiwakes and the Avocets at  This event which didn't sell at Easter.

I have five more new pictures ready for the LAS Summer Exhibition which will be held at The Harley Centre, Ludlow from August 18th to 26th.

I hope interested followers of my blog will drop by to either of the above exhibitions. If I happen to be around please introduce yourself I'd love to meet you.

LADIES IN WINTER DRESS: Bramblings.

This watercolour will be my 5^th and final submission for the LAS Summer Exhibition which is held on the last two weeks in August.

Precise minded ornithologists might give ‘Hen Bramblings in Winter Plumage’ as a correct title of the picture. But I’m reminded that Charles Tunnicliffe painted a colourful watercolour of fancy pigeons which he called ‘Angels and Archangels.’ So I think ‘Ladies in Winter Dress’ catches the mood of the painting and would be acceptable in an open exhibition.

I make increasing use of opaque bodycolour these days prefering mainly Titanium rather than the traditional Chinese (Zinc) White. I think it has to be used sensitively and not make the painting look as if it's been given a coat of distemper. There are several ways white has been applied to this painting - ranging from pure pigment for the white parts of the birds to general washes which can be worked on while still wet.

YELLOW-EYED PENGUINS 0N DOUBTFUL SOUND

 

This is the final version of the ones shown in earlier posts. I'm making increasing use of acrylic in my watercolours - I like their strength and translucency. I've moved onto using Golden Open Acrylics almost exclusively they are never totally opaque. They do not flow freely like watercolours and I use them to soften and give 'body' to pale watercolour washes.

I suppose I prefer broadly stated paintings to precise detail - as Matisse said: 'exactitude is not truth.'

I’VE BEEN LOST WITHOUT MY COLOUR BRUSH

My favourite tool for sketching has been a Sepia Pentel Colour Brush. It had water soluble pigment which could be softened and blended with a Pentel wash brush. The range of Pentel Colour brushes seems to have been discontinued so I was delighted to discover an improved replacement in an Art Materials shop in Worcester last week.

This is the ZIG Art and Graphic Twin marketed by Kuratake.co.uk. Their full range can be found on their website. I've been trying one out on a sheet of A3 Canson.

The drawing shows a sketch of a jackdaw but the brush drawings were made with the brush end of the A&G Twin washed over with a colour brush loaded with plain water. I've doodled with the rubber marker tip which gives a fine even line. These can also be softened and washed over to good effect.

GREAT WITLEY FESTIVAL OF ART 2012

Great Witley is a pleasant village in the Teme valley near Worcester. The Festival is an annual event held in aid of the local Scouts and Guides Exhibition and this week-end there is an Art Exhibition where I send in paintings. The exhibition is held in a large functions room in ‘The Hundred House.’  It’s a very informal affair - tables are arranged round the walls with chairs on top and in front. Other tables are grouped in circles again with chairs on top and in front.

On receiving day – which was last Friday – your entries are checked and you are given labels to attach to your paintings. Exhibitors are then free to place their paintings on the chairs for display. One old hand brought his own radial easel to display two large canvases but most of us are content with the upholstered dining chairs with the paintings leaning against the backrest. All very informal and seemingly chaotic – but it works.  I found myself a circle with 3 vacant chairs and placed my 4^th entry on the table above. The thought occurred that as more and more artists arrived some rearrangement would be inevitable

My wife and I went on to Worcester for some shopping – she was looking for a summer dress and I was tempted by a showerproof jacket from the Rohan shop. Two hours later on the way home I decided to drop by the exhibition to see how things were going.  Sure enough I found that my pictures had been rearranged. One watercolour had been moved onto the table and the space was on the chair was occupied by two small watercolours. I found that the culprit was John Horton – a fellow TWASI member who paints beautifully crafted watercolours of birds. So I was quite flattered to be showing alongside a superior talent.

This year’s exhibition I was delighted by a rare surprise. On Saturday evening I received a telephone call from a man who told me he had purchased my watercolour of Mevagissey at the exhibition. He told me how much he admired it and I thanked him and said I hope the painting would give him lasting pleasure.  Not often that situation occurs.

 I will be setting off shortly to collect unsold work at the close of the exhibition.  I’m pleased at this year’s exhibition to have  met some nice friendly people and made a sale which will help pay for my Rohan Jacket.

ARCTIC TERNS OVER RAMSEY SOUND

This is another version of the painting I posted back in November 2011 – then it had a flight of oystercatchers over the Sound.  I was never really happy with it so I have reworked it again. I repainted the Sound to hide the Oystercatchers. I’ve reworked the sky because the overcast evening sky didn’t work. Some tonal adjustments were made to the cliffs on Ramsey Island.

To create a new wildlife interest to replace the Oystercatchers I’ve attracted some Arctic Terns to fly in from the Farne Islands to complete the picture. I’m reminded of how Alwyn Crawshaw always ended his TV demonstrations with.  “I’m happy with that.” That sums up this post for me too.

PENGUIN FLOTILLA STAGE 1.

This is a half-sheet watercolour on Waterford NOT composed from an arrangement of the Yellow Eyed Penguin sketches. After the initial pencil drawing I dampened the paper and laid a light background wash. 

As the work developed it became a study in the attitudes adopted by the birds as indicators of their behaviour. One had a fish in it’s beak another was preening and the others seemed to be alert. More detail work needs to be done on the heads and I have to work out how to exploit changes in tone on the water surface to unify the composition.

YELLOW EYED PENGUINS

New Zealand’s Fiordland has some wonderful locations. I took a boat excursion to Doubtful Sound. It was a day of heavy rain but that did not seem to upset a small group of Yellow Eyed Penguins that I was able to photograph with a 400mm lens from the boat.

I’m planning to make a series of studies from the photographs to  compose a painting. This is a page I did yesterday.

11^th May 2012

On this second page I thought for a moment I had a ready-made  composition because of the way the sketches were distributed quite accidentally. 

But then the attitudes of the birds were so similar I began to think that they were taken from frames of the same bird. Does that matter? I don’t think it does really the same bird preening strikes quite a different attitude to when it is at rest. So I’ll look further at my reference material to see what other poses I’ve collected.