Well I've been missing from these pages for some time and got to thinking it was about time that I broke cover and made my excuses.
In some ways the painting activity has been somewhat limited for all of the usual reasons but for one or two others as well. The main one being a commitment to work on my portrait work with a view to producing two large scale portraits and for me this has been a big task in terms of technique and application. The project is not yet complete and as I promised the subjects that I would not let anyone see them until they had had the opportunity to view them in completed form. Hence no blogging about the developing work, much as I would have liked to share the progress with you all.
However, there are I couple of things that I can share. The first is an unusual work for me. I was approached with a commission to produce a caricature of a group to be given to a chap who was retiring from work. As the gift was to be a surprise I only had a couple of photographs to base the work on. I spent a lot of time doing preliminary sketches to inform the final piece and it was with some trepidation that I presented the finished work to the people who asked for the work to be done. Thankfully they were pleased.
Off to the First Tee - Watercolour and Pen on Not paper 16" x 12"
My second picture in this post is one produced on a recent visit to the Norfolk Painting School. Regular readers will know of the high regard for Martin Kinnear and his workshops. My recent visit was to explore the use of glazing techniques as used by a variety of Masters. This was my favourite piece made as a study of a work by John Atkinson Grimshaw. Atmospheric effects courtesy of subtle glazes. I can see me trying more of this style in the future.
Back to my portraits, hope to be able to share them soon.
Study after Grimshaw - Oil on board 24" x 20"
10 comments:
Missed you. But commissioned work does take priority. Your retirement characture is charming and your glazing workshop was obviously a huge success. This painting study is a knockout Mick. The hazy atmosphere is expertly done. I do hope you will share some tips on that technique when your project is complete.
It was a pleasure to see your icon come up on the sidebar after all this time. Good to hear what you've been doing. An artist never stops, even when they are not physically moving, because the inner wheels are always going :). Have a lovely spring.
Hello Mick, Great to hear of your recent creative pursuits. Your oil painting is incredible! Simply gorgeous work and I look forward to seeing how it informs your future paintings. Sophia
Lovely to hear from you again Mick. Great to hear all of your news too. The oil painting is simply wonderful.
Linda - Thanks a lot. The workshop was certainly interesting and informative. We made a variety of glazing media using modern equivalents of those used by the Masters. Incidentally most of the materials were made in the States by Gamblin. Excellent stuff.
Rhonda - You are very kind. You are also correct in what you say - the artistic process does consume huge amounts of time and energy even when the brushes are not in hand.
Sophia - Thanks a lot. Pleased you like the painting. It's a departure for me but I am keen to see how it develops in the future.
Caroline - Delighted that you like the work. It feels good to be back. I've missed the blogging world.
Welcome back, Mick. I love the Grimshaw study!
Yvonne - Thanks a lot. Good to be back in circulation.
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