Portrait of Tony
First off, these really are terrible photos. That aside, this portrait was started around January time, shortly before Meg died. That event sadly interrupted my finishing of the painting, and as such the hands remained in limbo for quite a…
Something new… sculpting with clay
This is a long overdue post dating back to Easter, when a few of us in the studio bought some clay, organised some models, and got sculpting. This was my first serious attempt, and with that in mind, I don’t…
A Collection of Small Portraits in Oil
Here are some small portraits from the final few weeks of term before the Christmas break. I really enjoyed working on these, trying a few subtly different pigments – Michael Harding’s Warm White Lead Replacement, and Slate and Vine Blacks…
Portrait, as yet untitled
This is more of a teaser post for a recently finished portrait that is proving very difficult to photograph while it dries adequately enough for a coat of unifying varnish. Hopefully there’ll be some better images to come.
Grey. Three Kinds
Here is a recent life size portrait where I used a slightly smaller canvas than usual because I wanted the focus to be much more about just the head and shoulders. As the painting progressed I wasn’t sure if there…
L’amour est un oiseau rebelle
Another painting on one of my gesso panels. It started well, went astray midway through, then got back on track as we neared the end. Every project is a lesson in perseverance, although that’s not to say that every one…
Silent Prayer
I started this portrait last year, and have been reworking parts of it since then. To say it has been a lesson in perseverance would be an understatement. Originally the painting was larger and included the sitter’s hands and tops…
Charcoal Portrait
My first charcoal portrait for a long time and I was encouraged by how quickly I got a good likeness. The mark-making is quite controlled and the overall statement clean and stark. In a way though I’d prefer a drawing…
Ultramarine…beyond the sea
This is a terrible photo of a short portrait study that I finished this week. I haven’t worked on these particular gesso panels very much, and I really noticed how much this support altered my painting technique. For example, fusing…
Charlie. Another small portrait
Here’s a new, small portrait that was painted alla prima style over a few short ad-hoc sessions. These are poor quality phone pics unfortunately, and the actual painting does have much greater subtlety in colour and brushwork. I used another…
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