making art at 56

Since it is my birthday, I thought I should post a selfie, along with Sarah and Elliot who came by for supper, to wish me happy birthday. I have had Rachel and David chatting on the phone, and asking to see latest portraits so I will post these too. Thanks also to Mum, who dropped by yesterday, and for Richard and Mary and Sarah Proctor, and to Jon for all the kind wishes and calls.

We came back early from Cornwall as it was raining and cold; this is us dressed for the beach, and the beaches were almost deserted. First here is Carol on one of our days out walking along the beach and adjacent cliff trail. Note all the layers for a fine Spring day ,at Crantock, near where we parked the van.

And this is me also dressed for the weather, but we got to this beach (Newquay) by bike.

Since we got back from Cornwall, we have been busy with the creative stuff again; Carol is sewing patchwork, and I am making paintings. These are a couple of portraits that I finished before we went to Thailand, both quite small - A3 sized portraits. A good likeness of Rachel Weeks, and a rather poor likeness of Richard, although I quite like the exagerrated handling of colour, since it shows my learning to use the full warm - cool colour combinations for contrast. So there is quite a lot of green in the painting, more than is strictly required.

And here is another done earlier this year, of one of Rachel's MFA Goldsmith classmates, painted without any detailed underpainting, and therefore a little inaccurate as a likeness.

Just before we went to Thailand, I ordered an online one hour course on portrait painting by Ben Lustenhouer, a Dutch artist, and I have started to do detailed underdrawings in red watercolor pencil, like this. Usually you would have no idea of this kind of work, since the artist does not show the under-drawing, but I have come to realise that the more detailed the drawing is, the better the final portrait result. This is Scarlett Johanssen from the film "Love song for Bobby Long" So no oil on this portrait yet. That will take another two days work.

Here is one that has been partially painted to show the background painted in, and the faces and hands not yet painted in. This is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as "Mr and Mrs Smith". It takes me a day (well about 90 minutes) to do the underdrawing, and then another day to do the backgrounds, and a day to do the faces and hands. So one more day to complete Brad and Angie. So far it is a symphony in greys.

And here is some pop art, a concept that I decided to pick up after visiting the artists in Thailand, who often use film star portraits, and pop art as their draw for the public to come in and look around. 

Pop art is quite easy and straightforward, and took me just one day for each. I decided to do these two after I had a palette full of greys and it was easy to just mix them up into three or four tones.

I found it surprisingly difficult to paint the words, harder than the portrait, which is just 3 or 4 tones of grey, and a touch of red, and gold. Marylin Monroe is obviously something for the ladies to relate to, and then Einstein is for the Dads to put up in their study and remind others that sitting doing nothing can be work too......! In the colour photo you can see the blue quite clearly, but in cool light it is quite subtle and requires a close look. But it does give extra life to the eyes.

So there you are, a few pictures and portraits, mostly recent. I don't want to put too much of my work up on my blogs or it will spoil the eventual exhibition.

I finished my portrait of John Kiley also, (from two 90 minute sittings and then finished from the photograph taken during the sitting) and here he is: