New article in Artists & Illustrators magazine

I have a one page article in the May 2015 issue of Artists & Illustrators magazine called "Small Quick Works". Slightly awkward title about painting small pictures in a strict two-day time limit and includes a short step-by-step progress through a small painting.

Jet - stage 4

Got back from the weekend away and realised that the painting was looking far too cold so introduced some yellow into the clouds and put warm and hot colours into the main building. I am considering giving the whole painting a light yellow glaze at the end, it might give it a more interesting atmosphere.

Jet - stage 3

Worked on most areas today before I go away for a couple of days, back on Sunday.

Jet - stage 2

I noticed this morning when looking at the tonal underpainting that it was looking very Edward Hopper-like which wasn't the conscious intention but he is obviously an influence on these paintings, even unconsciously. However I intend to steer it away from that and paint it the way I have been doing all the series so far. Today I have painted the colour underpainting with the start of an ominous shadow in the foreground of a sunny but deserted street; I want it have a strange atmosphere, a sunny day but where is everybody? What is casting the large shadow?

Jet - stage 1

"Jet" is the name of the small town in Oklahoma where this view is located. I am going to have a break from doing paintings for Illuxcon and go back to my ongoing series of Roadside America paintings. As usual I first "drew" it up using an old bristle brush with a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin. I then did a tonal underpainting with a rag and brush using the same paint mix thinned with Liquin and turpentine.

Carnevale

A naked woman wearing a carnival mask stands in the water of the Lagoon with a moonlit Venice in the background. This is possible incidentally as most of the Lagoon is only three feet deep although if truth be told, not actually at this spot! I wanted the picture's focus to initially be the moonlit sky and have therefore painted the figure darker to blend in tonally with the rest of the picture. Naomi Wood was again the model, wearing one of my Venetian masks that I brought back from Venice a few years ago. This is another painting that is a contender for showing at this year's Illuxcon. 23 1/2" x 19 1/2" oil on canvas. There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Carnevale - stage 6

Mostly finished now apart from the head and arms of the figure. I needed the figure to blend into the background as I wanted the immediate focus of the painting to be the moonlit Venice, otherwise the picture would be too ordinary if the figure was dominating the painting.

Carnevale - stage 5

After a couple of glazes it is now looking nearer to how I intend it. If the paint is dry (Titanium White is quite slow drying) I will finish the clouds and sky tomorrow and then I can get on with the figure after today's wash of blue was painted on.

Carnevale - stage 4

Painted the first glaze on the sky, worked on the water and darkened the figure today. Not sure when to put in the clouds, maybe tomorrow or maybe paint one more glaze first. The blue glaze is a mix of Phthalo Blue and Prussian Blue thinned with Liquin.

Carnevale - stage 3

Started to darken the sky, worked on the buildings and put down some tentative colour on the figure as I need to work out what the colours of the flesh will be in the moonlight - it looks like it will be purple/ blues (relatively neutrals) with green/yellows for the lighter parts. It will all be a lot darker before I get it to how I see it in my imagination.

Carnevale - stages 1 and 2

Something simpler than the last picture, a naked woman wearing a Carnival mask stands in the water of the Venice Lagoon...this is possible as most of the lagoon is only three feet deep....although not actually at this spot if truth were to be told - hey it's a fantasy OK? The lovely Naomi Wood is again the model. Stage 2 just shows the colour underpainting and looks unduly simple at the moment, bear with me as it will be a lot darker and moodier than it looks here.
It was first "drawn" up with an old brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Violet thinned with Liquin and then a tonal underpainting was painted with the same paint mix but thinned with turpentine and applied with a rag and brush.

Dream Of The Odalisque

A sultan's concubine whiles away a hot afternoon with a nargile (water pipe) perhaps dreaming of the unattainable such as a life away from the gilded cage of the harem. She arches back her head and luxuriously breathes out the narcotic smoke into the sultry shade of the palace........yes I know harems were not like this, it's the Western fantasy of the Orientalist painters' imagination and of course mine.
This is another painting hopefully heading for this year's Illuxcon in October.
I wanted a richly coloured painting that tries to get across the feeling of a hot afternoon where even being in the shade is barely comfortable so I based everything around reds and oranges in the interior with the erotic frisson of a bejewelled naked woman perhaps stoned out of her mind lying on a couch in the sultry air of an Eastern palace!
Once again the lovely Naomi Wood modelled for the figure although I have changed her hair colour (and face slightly) to be nearer to a middle eastern woman.
39" x 16" oil on canvas. There is a step-by-step progress through this painting on previous posts on this blog.

Dream Of The Odalisque - stage 12

The next painting is definitely going to be simpler than this one, but it is nice to do the occasional one like this. In fact the painting looks better close to than further away as in this photograph. Anyway, I have put in the underpainting for the figure and water pipe so bar some glazing and of course the smoke coming from her mouth and the pipe I should be able to finish this tomorrow.....

Dream Of The Odalisque - stage 11

Finally working on the foreground although I still feel the room needs something else in it to break up the view outside. I am using a lot of saturated colour particularly in the interior but the colours are not as rich as I want them so I will be painting some glazes soon to get the colour contrast and saturation that I originally envisaged. I am also trying to get this painting finished before I go away to Leicester for three days on Monday.

Dream Of The Odalisque - stage 10

I painted out the line that I had running through the exterior pillars as it was too distracting although I still feel that that area needs breaking up a bit somehow. I have pretty much finished the interior (apart from the pool at left lower corner and some tweaks here and there) so I will be able to proceed tomorrow to start painting the foreground figure, couch, carpet and water pipe.

Dream Of The Odalisque - stage 9

I knew that this painting would take longer to finish than usual as it is quite complex (for me) and is wholly invented apart from the figure which I haven't painted in yet. I painted in the fretted window today as well as some other fiddly details in front of it. Then I put some time into the floor as I have struggled to find the right colours for the white marble in warm shadow.

Dream Of The Odalisque - stage 8

Worked on quite a few areas today including trying to break up the blue sky landscape outside which was going to dominate the picture; I want the interior to be main focus, the outside landscape is there for contrast and to set the time of day. Hopefully the interior is seen first, then the figure smoking the water pipe in the hot shade of the palace. There will be some greenery and flowers on the newly-introduced rail connecting the arches.

Dream Of The Odalisque - stage 7

Still working on the room behind the figure at right, the left side of the room is as yet unresolved although I have now reinstated the pattern on the floor. I want the interior to be in the shade but still look hot by keeping all the colours based around reds. I will be happier with the composition when I paint in the arches outside and of course resolve what to do with the room at left.