Proportions and underpainting

When it came to transferring my idea to canvas I didn't want to make any early mistakes by painting my head too big, or my bum too big for that matter, so my cousin took some photos of me which I reversed (because I'll be painting what I see in the mirror in my studio, remember) and then printed out and squared up in inch squares, making sure I was working to the same proportions as the canvas.

Then I sqaured up the canvas in 3 inch squares with charcoal over the burnt sienna oil paint I'd washed on previously and sketched in the outlines. Next, I used a mix of burnt sienna and blue (possibly ultramarine, only it's dark in there) to block in the darks, and used a turpsy rag to wipe off for the light areas. I'm very happy with this so far, especially the balance of the pale area of my face top right against the table top bottom left.

Self Portrait January 2008

I've finished it, at long last, after nearly binning it last night.

I managed to get out of work (my day job) early this afternoon, and had an hour and a half in the studio with no distractions. As if by magic, it all came together, and has ended up quite different again.

I am very happy with it. I think it's strong, and it's definitely me.

I'm undecided as to whether I want to jump straight into another self portrait, of whether I want to start something different, or maybe pick up one of the themes I started last year; a sky-scape, or a nude. I'd still like to make use of the drawings I've been doing of people at the bus stop. Mmmmmm. Lots to think about. But I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, now that this one is finally done.

7 of 7 of Roker Sky #1

Here it is. I'm not totally happy with the roofs, I think they look like burnt-out industrial units, which wasn't the intention. But I'm glad I put them in because they were essential, and I could have made excuses for not taking the plunge for weeks. But then I would have been left with a 'pretty' sky, which wasn't my intention either.


Also, the whites in the upper areas weren't white but a very pale grey, the only area of true white was near the skyline where the sun was shining, under lighting the clouds. I won't change the painting at this stage as the paint is still very wet. I may put a slight grey tint over them when the paint's cured more.


In the next one the roofs will be on a smaller scale so that the sky looks even bigger.


The photo has pixilated the colours, but if you send me $5,000.00 I'll be happy send it to you, if you agree to pay the postage.

stages 3 and 4 of 7

When running downhill very fast, if you stop to think, then you'll fall over. That was the sensation I had when I was painting this. I think I held my breath for those 2 hours.

I'd take a slug of water every so often, stepping back to judge where I was up to, then I'd launch back in, to make a change, or to move on down the canvas.

I could see that the clouds were lit from below and slightly from behind. This was a sky in the late afternoon, early winter, with only an hour of light left in the day. It rained later that evening.

To think, those clouds don't exist any more. It's not like painting a landscape, where the hills and trees will be there tomorrow, even though the light changes and the seasons advance. With skies, I don't know. But it's different. I know one thing can't me more unique than another unique thing. But skies are. Maybe I just need more coffee.

stage 1 and 2 of 7

I made a start in oils on a sky today, working from the photos I took.

The canvas is about 14" by 20". I decided to work on it as though I was painting a landscape, blocking in the distant blue sky first, getting the general proportions, but keeping it loose. Then I painted over the blues in a wash of white spirit, because i didn't want the texture of the canvas showing through with any dry-brushing in those areas.

Then, starting top left where the deep grey cloud bank was, I worked my way gradually down. I worked with my eyes half-shut sometimes at this early stage to sketch in the areas of deepest greys and blues. I was amazed at how twisting and contorted some of the areas of cloud were.

Whilst I was working on this, I was listening to Mendelssohn's 'Elijah', a very stirring choral work which suited, or maybe even set the mood perfectly.

I have finished this in the one 2 hour sitting, but I think I'll build your anticipation and reveal it over the next few days. I can say at this moment that I'm very excited about this painting. And already I can see what I want to do next.

over tonked but happy

Here's the lastest stage on my self portrait. I'm very happy with the nose and chin, and the far cheek, but the mouth needs some work and I'd kindly ask you to ignore the eye for the time being. When I was working round the eye and forehead I found I needed to blank out some of the underpainting with the background colour. Whilst doing this I decided to paint in some texture on the background - verticals to the right and some ceiling along the top.

Having just added the image to this post I can see there's still more structural changes to be made. But I felt I was getting to grips with the paint this morning. So much so that, having tonked off some thick paint from the forehead, I found I'd over tonked the chin so that the under painting was showing through more than I'd wanted. That's life, as they say. Or, as the French say 'Une absinthe, garcon!'.

A new painting

I've started on a self portrait in oils today. I found that I was frowned when concentrating furiously, and I liked the wrinkles at gave me. So I stopped painting and did a charcoal study. Then I continued the under painting, tonking* at the end to remove the thickness

I'm excited to see how it will end up, and I hope Bill in Ballaugh will bear with me during these early stages.


* Tonking is laying paper over the painting and rubbing all over with a scrunched up tissue, so that the thickness of paint transfers to the paper, leaving only a thin layer of paint but still most of the detail, on the canvas. This enables the paint to dry relatively quickly to enable you to get on with the next stage, and stops a huge build up of paint in the early states when working fat on lean - which I'll explain another day.

Finished, for the moment at least

Well, here's the finished painting. Thank you to my fantastic hubby who was there to keep me free of distractions while I worked on this.

The last few hours I managed to work on it in my back garden on the lightweight easel I have, so I was in daylight, and not under striplights. Now I want to rip off the roof of the garage and cover it in clear corrigated PVC stuff, to let the light in. In my dreams I think. Actually, in my dreams I'm in an airy attic studio at the back of a hugh victorian terraced house, with the windows open, and the sounds of the kids playing in the garden filtering through a massive cherry tree, the smell of coffee on a hotplate, hubby in the kitchen preparing the fish for dinner....... I have some great dreams.

But don't knock the reality; I have a room of my own, time to paint, money to buy paint, I have my health, so I can paint. Life is good.

I've started so I'll finish......

I didn't want to start another project, with two already on the go, so I'm working again on La Mothe, and it's coming on well.

Today I started work on the hotel facade, to get that cracked, defining the roof, balconies and metal work detail. Then I moved to the pavement and shadows there, and lastly I've gone over the tree branches, as they're key to tie it all in.

Next I'll finish the foliage and highlights to the foreground, and I think I'll be done.

It's started to take on a life of it's own, and I'm finding myself looking more at the painting than the photo I'm working from. I'm also checking it out with my eyes unfocused, to see if I'm achieving a sense of depth.

Now I see it on screen I don't like the roof, and the house on the left is too bright. I also think the sky is too dark, too 'blue' but I don't want to have to over paint it, or it'll fudge the branches. Damn. We live and learn. Maybe I could add a wash to the sky to make it even darker, so the house really stands out!

Any suggestions anyone?

a morning's work

Thanks to a supportive hubby, I got a couple of hours working on the kitchen still life on Sunday morning. I've decided to loose all but the yellow book on the table. The white wall in the background needs to be duller, as does the brick fire surround, and I'm panicking about the tiled floor. But overall I really like it so far.

I've stopped myself adding highlights and details at this stage because I know it's all too wet at the moment. It took a lot of self control to slow down and work on one area at a time, but I've had to because I'm only just learning about colour mixing, and I can't yet grab colours confidently to add a touch here & there yet. But I feel like they are skills within my reach. All I need is time to paint.

I also finished reading 'The Yellow House' and I've ordered a book of Van Gogh's letters. I'd love to go to the Tate in London to see his Yellow Chair.

still life

I've been reading The Yellow House, about Van Gogh & Gauguin. Although, as a novel it's poorly written, it's inspiring none the less.

I've also been looking into oil painting techniques, and I'm all buzzed with excitement and want to get my teeth into painting more and more.

As a result, today I've made a start on a still life of my kitchen table. I replaced my usual garish table cloth with a plainer one laid upside down so the pattern is only hinted at, and I photographed the scene to check the layout. Then I did a simple sketch to see how it sat on the paper. At this stage I've omitted detail, including the objects on the table.

Looking at the preliminary sketch, I love the arrangement of chairs round the table.

The background of my children's artwork is very busy, and I'll be simplifying this in the painting itself. I'm also fascinated by the table and chair legs and lino under the table, and although these aren't the focus of the painting, they'll add depth to it I hope. The books, cup and pen on the table are what I've been using this morning, so it's fallen together quite nicely.

Tidying Up

I've spent some time this morning in the studio having a bit of a clear out, stacking primed canvases, and having a look at the painting I'm working on of hotel in New Orleans. I started it in July, and I got stuck on the foliage. This morning I added some more shadows and some more foliage, and have set it aside as I wasn't happy with it. But viewing it on the blog I can see that I have achieved an amount of depth, and the foliage is starting to hang together. Now I want to work from far to near; to look again at the colours in the sky, then get to grips with the hotel facade and the house beside it and the pavement. Then block in the foliage in the background and the shadows on the road. And lastly, get some strength in the tree trunks and add the last of the foliage highlights, and touches of overhead wires.

I think my problem has been that I have only looked at the canvas close to, and have not spent any time viewing it as a whole, which is what the small image on the blog lets me do.

So here it is so far.

I have no idea what I'll be working on next, but I intend to keep my sketch book with me this week and see what pops up for me to draw.

The funkiest little hotel in New Orleans

Some years ago my husband & I got the chance to visit New Orleans. Repeatedly. In fact we went 4 times in 3 years.
Anyway, I took some great photos, some in colour & some in black & white. I cam across them this morning while sorting through an old box, and was struck by the blues & pinks & greens.
So here's the start of a new painting. It'll probably end up quite impressionistic, but I don't want it to be too pretty. Actually, I have no idea how it'll turn out, as it already seems to have a life of it's own. I like the way the view is obscured, with trees, and shadows from trees. I wonder how it'll turn out?

Finished canvas

Last night I looked at the canvas of the two torsos I'd started in May and could see what needed doing. So here's the result.

When I'd finished I looked at it in the mirror and saw that there was some imbalance, but after a cup of tea and a think, I decided to leave it as it was, because if I corrected each side to match, it would become sterile.

I also over-painted the yellow background with a neutral flesh tone, merging into the figures.

It's pretty much what I had in my head, which means this is the first painting I've composed and executed totally. I must sign & date it. I felt like staying up all night, ignoring phone calls, drinking lots off coffee, and starting another three canvases which I now have in my head. But real life demands come first.

Life is good though - I have a friend sitting for me on Thursday for some life drawing, and yesterday I stumbled across a chap at work who is a fellow artist & is eager to get together & share ideas. Life is very good.