Nothing like a deadline

Recently I decided to enter a competition to see how I might get on. Coming across the competition late in the piece I left myself 4 weeks until the entries closed. I then realised it was subject specific and nothing I previously painted would fit the theme.

The theme was the New Zealand environment with a focus on areas we needed to take care of. I chose to paint a scene of a penguin splashing through the shallows. I liked the way the penguin almost looked down at his own reflection. Titled 'Time to Reflect' my concept was our need to reflect upon our individual responsibilities to take care of our precious environment, for it is our actions that effect the defenseless. Environmental responsibility is a subject I am passionate about.

Myself and the final piece.

2017, Oil on canvas, 203 x 203mm , (8 in x 8 in)

Detail. 2017, Oil on canvas, 203 x 203mm , (8 in x 8 in)

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Grazing in Glentunnel - Landscape Oil Painting

It's always satisfying looking back over the process of a painting in retrospect and seeing it come to life. Throughout the process there are often times when it feels like portions are not working out. It's part of the challenge of painting - resolving areas until you are happy with the final result.

Here is 'Grazing in Glentunnel' from start to finish shown in progression. At the end of each step or session I would take a photo. First is the acrylic wash, then a charcoal sketch and then building up the oil layers.

Music: Good Old Times (Alex Cohen)

Grazing in Glentunnel, 2017, Oil on canvas, 700 x 400mm , (27.5 in x 15.7 in)

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Observational painting practice - 10 minute apples

I am always wanting to improve and learn new things when it comes to art. I usually paint from photographs for reference but I want to learn more about drawing and painting from life.

There is something so challenging about working from a realtime subject, the lighting changes and the perspective changes as you tilt your head. But as the impressionists found out, there are some colours and observations you can only make from life and not from a photograph. For example a photograph will flatten the colours out within shadows and detail is lost, detail that our eyes can see.

So I wanted to start simple with some quick observational paintings at home. I can’t take credit for this exercise as it was one I read in the book Daily painting by Carol Marine. She is a master at daily painting and paints mostly still lifes from life in her studio. I found her book very inspiring and she gives lots of handy tips she has discovered along her art career.

10 Minute Apples:

Setup your painting surface with 8 or more small squares. Light your apple dramatically and set the timer. Sketch and paint the apple in your first space. When the timer goes off - stop and don't go back to fix anything (as temping as it is I know!). Then change the angle, maybe even the lighting and paint it again mixing up the compositions as you go.

With the pressure of time it forces us to simplify the shapes and focus on conveying the most important things. Looking back I could reduce my brushstrokes even further (I can't help but pop some detail in!). Give it a go it’s so much fun!

My 10 minute apples.

If you are interested in Carol Marine's book it is available on Amazon here.

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20 Days, 20 Sketches

This July I challenged myself to create a draw each day for 20 days. I wanted to celebrate reaching 200 followers on my Facebook page the best way I know how - to create.

It was a great way to explore and refine new techniques. I mixed things up with a range of realistic charcoal sketches and looser 'Wash & Ink' imaginative drawings. With my Wash & Ink drawings I splash a bit of watercolour on a page and then let the story reveal itself. These drawings are quite liberating.

What I also found interesting was the pressure of sharing a new drawing daily. Drawing each day was easy. Producing something that I felt was to the standard I wanted to share was much harder. Often drawings in the past have spread over days (if not longer) until I felt they were finished but with this challenge I wanted each piece to be completed within the day of sharing. Thankfully the pressure paid off and I am proud of the drawings I created over the 20 day journey.

So here are the 20 drawings I created:

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Sailing on Wanaka - From Start to Finish

'Sailing on Wanaka' oil painting process from start to finish shown in progression. I took a photo at the end of each step or session. Starting with acrylic washes, a charcoal sketch and then building up the oil layers.

Music: Good Old Times (Alex Cohen)

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Wash & Ink Sketch - Invisible Armed Man

I call this a 'Wash & Ink' sketch rather than an Ink & Wash because the wash very much influences what the ink sketch becomes. I first lay down some colour and let it dry. After a staring at it for a while, the drawing then reveals itself within the shapes of the overlapping colours. Then I bring the story to life with ink pen.

The story: No one has ever been seen touching the elusive Clydesdale Gorelop so it seems iconic that here I capture the invisible armed man tentatively touching the animal’s tail. Keeping the myth alive the bearded leaf back man has no hands to prove his claim.

The final sketch. Watercolour and Ink pen on paper, A5.

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Charcoal Sketch Time Lapse: Dog Portrait

I have put together another time lapse this time of charcoal sketching.

Here I show my process when drawing a portrait of a happy looking dog. First I use a willow charcoal which gives a soft line. Then I add further detail with a charcoal pencil which creates a darker line. I like the use of the two charcoals to create depth to the shading.

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Grazing in Glentunnel - Landscape Oil Painting

It's not every day you get to 'break into' a house to deliver a painting. This was the surprise waiting for the client arriving home from her honeymoon. By 'break into' I mean - let in by the house-sitter to hang the painting in place.

Grazing in Glentunnel insitu above the fire place.

I started this commission in January, it was to be a surprise wedding gift. So I have been itching to reveal the results - but only after the client had seen it first! Thankfully they arrived home yesterday.

I am stoked with how this painting worked out and I am truly going to miss it. I find the colours so typically 'kiwi' and restful yet there is also an energy to vibrant colours. I took a series of photos out at the farm to work from. I returned home thinking I hadn't quite captured the true essence of the place but after a little merging of different shots I came up with a composition that both I and the client were happy with.

This was my first time painting a cow I'm quite happy with how this came out. Check out some of the detail photos below.

Grazing in Glentunnel, 2017, Oil on canvas, 700 x 400mm , (27.5 in x 15.7 in)

Detail photos - click on the right side of the photo to see more.

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Firenze - Portrait Painting

It has been a few months since my last 'proper' portrait. So I am excited to have started off a new one last week! Itching to get stuck into this project.

So I thought I'd show a bit of the process of 'Firenze'. I did this portrait as a birthday present for my partner's 30th. We came across this chap in a bustling market square in Florence. We wondered what was his story, was he waiting for someone, was he contemplating something or was he just having a rest?

Firenze, 2016, Oil on canvas, 350mm x 450mm (13.7 in x 17.7 in)

First session VS final session. Clearly a bit of time between these two shots.

Below shows the progression of the painting and the various steps along the way. I start off with a charcoal sketch on top of an acrylic wash. Then a monotone value study where I figure out where my high and low lights will be. This give me a road map for the rest of the painting. Then into building he coloured layers.

Progress photos: From start to finish.

Watch the time lapse of the painting coming together below.

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Mt Aspiring Painting Finished

Finished this bad boy of Mt Aspiring last week. It ended up taking longer than I expected to complete this painting. I had thought I would try a quicker style on this but then I couldn't resist and had to put the detail back in. As I explained in an earlier post this landscape is painted from a photo I took helicoptering over the Southern Alps. I remember circling Mt Aspiring, the sharp peaks standing so impressively. There were some hikers near the top on the other side which made me feel rather lazy at that moment. I bet it was hard work getting up that high!

As always, I learn from every painting. This time I was reminded of the value of "just paint over it and start again". I had a particular corner of this painting that was not working. I struggled with it for weeks until I just went over it. Fixing the corner in a matter of minutes! Sometimes a fresh approach is all you need.

Mt Aspiring, 2017, Oil on canvas, 700 x 400mm , (27.5 in x 15.7 in)

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Painting Time Lapse - Dog Portrait

My first time lapse of my painting progress. You get to see the way I work as I add extra detail to this dog portrait. Turns out painting with a camera in the way is more challenging than I thought!
Music: Myself dabbling on the acoustic guitar

I learned a lot working on this wee video. Film setup, video cutting, music editing, then adding start and end frames. This was a lot of fun and I hope to get better with the next one.

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Same, same but different

If you saw these two artworks side by side in a gallery you would be forgiven to think that they were from different artists. I would think so too. A few years ago these two works did hang side by side in a gallery in Akaroa. I wonder if many people noticed they were from the same artist. Were they confused, surprised, intrigued I wonder.

Two completely different styles of mine. In my best attempt to explain, I believe these artworks come from different sides of my brain. One side the detail focused perfectionist, thriving on the challenge to convey realism and the ever challenging likeness of a familiar face.

The other side the relaxed make it up as I go along, spontaneous, subconscious, imaginative, make mistakes into positives side of my brain. So in other words it's bizarre and I have no real clue why but it is fun to work in completely different styles.

Left 'Lost Youth' 2012, Ink on paper, 230mm x 330mm (9in x 12.9in). Right 'Father and Daughter' 2013, White and black charcoal on brown paper, 260mm x 400mm (10.2in x 15.7in).

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Nature is crazy... crazy cool

My Saturday night was spent being completely blown away by the Aurora Australis dancing over Lake Tekapo. We hiked up to this beautiful spot overlooking the lake in the afternoon. It was well worth fighting through the matagouri shrubs and a freezing river crossing. Totally unaware the Aurora forecast was high, this was a welcome surprise and the highlight of the weekend. Having never seen the Aurora before this was such a buzz! What a million dollar view! No better motivation to get outdoors than this! These photos are straight from the camera with no colour tweaks.

Aurora Australis over Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. April 22nd 2017.

Camping with a view. Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. April 22nd 2017.

What I had never realised before was the colour we see in the photos is not actually seen by the naked eye. What we saw in real time was actually more of a white haze. You could see the vertical streaks and after time faint colour could be spotted. I did a bit of research and it turns out our eyes are just not built to detect all the colours within an Aurora. At night our eyes use a different part of the eye to detect faint light and will detect this in black, white and shades of grey. Cameras do not have this limitation and can therefore pick up the wider range of colours. Depending on the strength of the Aurora some people can see hints of colour without a camera.

Comparison of what we see and what the camera captures.

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Making art while making art

It's amazing that you can be making art without even realising it. I looked down at my painting cloth yesterday and just loved the overlapping colours. How often do we stop to reflect on the colours we have mixed on their own, as these are the foundation on which the painting is built. This cloth is the result of years of use. I really must get a new cloth as it is hard to find a clean spot. This can be quite frustrating at times but I love the way it looks. It tells a story of the paintings I have created over the last few years. Some of these colours are never seen in the final paintings and as time goes on the colour of the cloth itself is slowly disappearing.

Close-up on my painting cloth.

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Visiting family and a painting

There is something really nice about seeing a painting again after some years. I got to see this gem again on a recent trip to the States to visit my sister, her husband and my new niece. I had painted this as a wedding gift for them. My brother-in-law took this panorama of Yosemite as I hadn't been there. The painting spanned over a year, taking some 130 hours. I started the painting in California and finished it back in NZ before the painting was eventually settled back in California. It's a well travelled painting! Years later I visited Yosemite at that very spot and it was the most surreal feeling. It was like walking into my painting.

Yosemite, 2011, Acrylic on canvas, 1016mm x 609mm (40 in x 24 in)

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Mt Aspiring - Work in progress

I am currently working on a landscape of Mt Aspiring, New Zealand. I took this photo from a helicopter as we were crossing the Southern Alps. My brother-in-law took my sister, partner and I on a trip in 2014 and I still cherish the memory of that trip, even though, I was a bit scared of the helicopter wobbling about in what was actually a very still day (thank fully). I am happy with progress and I will show the finished piece soon.

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Work in progress on Mt Aspiring, Oil on canvas.

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