Siren's Dawn - stage 12

Put in some work into the figure and rock she is lying on in the couple of hours that I had this afternoon on returning to my studio. I have slimmed her hips down a little bit and am hoping that I have enough done on her to be able to pretty much finish her tomorrow, indeed it is still touch and go as to being finished in time to take to Illuxcon.

Siren's Dawn - stage 11

I realised late yesterday that the sky still didn't make sense so I resolved this morning to break up the clouds at top into smaller shapes and knock them back a bit so that they don't occupy the same distance from the viewer as the small darker clouds at left.
This is all I can get done this morning as I now have to be away from the studio until Saturday.

Siren's Dawn - stage 10

Kind of finished the sky barring a few tweaks later on perhaps and then I made a start on the sea as well as blocking in the land and mermaid.
It's touch and go as whether I finish this to take to Illuxcon but I will carry on and try to get it finished in the limited time I have available, if I find I am rushing it too much then I will leave it as I don't want to compromise quality and handicap a potential sale later on.

Siren's Dawn - stage 9

Whilst away from the studio I realised that the sky was not getting across how I wanted it to look and consequently decided to make more use of the panoramic format by running the horizontal clouds right across the width of the canvas. I then resolved to separate the sky into three sections that each occupy a part of the sky that recede into the distance. I am now trying to have the nearer, darker clouds at the left in front of the lighter horizontal ones with the other clouds at top right and centre that are catching the dawn light separated also from the horizontal ones (haven't done these yet). The sky is also too saturated and too cool so I will have to put a few glazes over later.
I doubt if I will have this finished in time for sending to Illuxcon and don't want to f*** it up by trying to hurry it!

Siren's Dawn - stage 8

Again, not really a stage, just the progress this morning made on refining the sky before leaving the studio back on Monday. The difference between stage 7 and 8 is quite subtle as I have just been changing some shapes and directions of clouds-the sky must hang together as a real sky, the nearer clouds darker against the further ones.

Siren's Dawn - stage 7

I changed my mind about the sky after making a start on putting in the sunrise light onto the clouds when I realised it was heading towards a (to me) corny sunrise/sunset painting, something I try and avoid. So instead of the pink clouds spreading across the sky at right I am just going to have the light hitting the clouds in the centre of the sky with the rest of the clouds in shadow. I left it at this point as the light in the studio was getting bad and it was a good point to stop and look at getting the cloud shapes right in tomorrow morning's session.

Siren's Dawn - stage 6

I had enough time this afternoon on returning to my studio to paint in the beginnings of the clouds, making sure to use transparent colours as I discovered recently that this gives the best approximation to how clouds look in the sky. All you need to do is paint them in transparent layers until you feel that you have the right balance of opacity to transparency. Consequently I used a mix of Zinc White, Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Violet and Permanent Orange, all Michael Harding colours.

Siren's Dawn - stage 5

Not really a stage as such, just the result of an hour and a half's work this morning before I am away from the studio back on Wednesday.
I have just smoothed out the gradations in the sky and put a little bit of work into the clouds near the horizon.
Hoping to have some fun painting the clouds when I get back to the studio!

Siren's Dawn - stages 3 & 4

Stage 3

I first put in some more undercolour into the sky after strengthening the lines on the figure and then blocked in some more tonal undercolour into the foreground, resolving the shape of the rock that the figure is lying on in the process. I mixed Liquin and Lukas Number 5 Medium into the sky colours hoping that they would dry quicker but alas they were still tacky in the afternoon.

In the afternoon session I still carried on making a start on the sky which I had to curtail as I needed the top of the painting dry before I could properly continue. I am trying to not make the sky too dark as I want it to look quite delicate and soft in the morning light.
I forgot to mention in the post for Stage 1 that I gave the Winsor & Newton canvas two extra coats of oil primer, sanding between coats to fill in the weave a bit to try and get the surface nearer to linen, my preferred working base.

Stage 4

A Sidestreet In Madurai sold

"A Sidestreet In Madurai" was sold last week direct to a buyer in the USA who has now bought at least four paintings over the past twelve months.
This was painted in 2013 after a visit to South India in which I wanted to get across the scruffy charm of a street that really could be anywhere in India with it's typical mix of worn colourfully painted surfaces, interesting street furniture and poor drainage!
A step-by-step process article about this painting featured in Artists & Illustrators magazine the following year.
Oil on board 36" x 18".

Siren's Dawn - stage 2

I just had time this morning to put down some undercolour before leaving the studio for a few days, back on Friday.
With a rag I washed in the beginnings of the sky using mixes of Lemon Yellow, Manganese Blue, Kings Blue Light, Indian Yellow, Permanent Orange and Brilliant Pink, all Michael Harding colours.
Although the foreground will be in cool blues I have washed in a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet over this area as red/browns sit very nicely under blues and violets.

Siren's Dawn - stage 1

At long last I am getting on with another painting after nearly a month of tweaking earlier paintings and sorting out things on my new computer. I am hoping to have this ready to take to Illuxcon but it will be a close thing and probably will be shown unframed if I do take it along.
This painting is really all about the sky and lighting to set the mood and at this first stage it is impossible to see what I envisage. I am hoping to wash in some tone on the foreground as well as the background colours in the sky tomorrow morning, at this point it will hopefully become more apparent as to how it is going to look.
The mermaid/siren has suddenly seen the distant ship on the horizon in the early morning light as she combs her hair. I saw her in my mind viewed from below so that she is silhouetted against the sky. The model was the lovely Naomi Wood.
This stage has been "drawn" up with a thin bristle brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and turpentine.

Lack of activity...

Apologies for the current lack of posts, I am still only occasionally in my studio and have been prioritising my time on sorting out my computer. I am planning a mermaid painting as possibly the last painting to take to Illuxcon in October and am hoping to make a start on it next week!