Ruth Rouge - stage 4

This is what I have been able to do in the couple of hours I had this morning before leaving the studio, back on Monday. I have worked some more on the figure tentatively applying colours to see how the shadows and highlights are going to work - at the moment I am unsure and will take advantage of the days away from the studio to think about it.

Ruth Rouge - stages 1 to 3

Stage 1

This painting started out as an experimental landscape trying out some textural ideas using combs and paint shapers but when I got to a certain point I just didn't see it going anywhere as I was unable to control the effects in the way I wanted. I began to take the paint off the board with a kitchen towel and liked the textures it was producing so I decided to run the paint over the whole board and then move it around with a kitchen roll which produced some interesting shapes and textures that would be ideal to use as a background for a portrait...hence "Ruth Rouge"which is linked by colour to an older painting "Naomi Rouge". The model is the beautiful Ruth Netania of whom I had a good set of reference photos taken a few years ago to choose from.
In Stage 2 I painted in the outline of the figure in dark paint and then gave the background a glaze of transparent Alizarin Crimson ready for today's painting session.
In Stage 3 I roughed in some underpainting on the figure and gave the background another glaze of Alizarin Crimson. I am trying to hold back painting in too much light areas in the figure and save some nice juicy highlights for the end. I also don't want many sharp edges, the planned colour scheme is warm shadows cold highlights.

Stage 2

 

 

 

Stage 3

 

IX acceptance

I am pleased to report that I have made the final selection for the Main Show at next year's IX in Reading PA. Not sure what I will be taking as I didn't sell any of what I thought was a pretty strong selection of paintings this year! Still, plenty of time to think of something!....?

Cypress Hill

Working title was "Autumn Leaves" but I changed it to Cypress Hill as it is literally that, a hill with cypress trees on it - absolutely no connection with the band of the same name but I like to title paintings that are the same or very near to something well-known but without the expected visual connection. 
This is another in a short series of experimental paintings where I am trying out some techniques in this case using paint shapers, to try to achieve textures that approximate to in this case fallen leaves on the ground. The next painting will be about the random complexity of branches found in natural locations like a hedgerow.
Oil on board 12" x 20".
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Cypress Hill - stage 5

Didn't manage to get a lot done on this visit to the studio, not helped by failing winter light. I have managed to work on the fallen leaves in the foreground and will finish the painting when I return to the studio on Thursday. 
I already am thinking about the next painting in this series...

Cypress Hill - stage 4

This is as far as I could get today before the light failed (I like to paint in natural daylight). After looking at it between leaving and coming back to the studio I realised that the tree was too small so I first enlarged it before moving on to the sky - I want quite a large tonal contrast between the hill and the sky so I made the edge of the hill pretty dark to make the sky look lighter.

Cypress Hill - stages 1 - 3

Stage 1

Literally Cypress Hill, a hill with cypress trees on it - I like to title a painting sometimes with a well-known phrase etc that has associations that I then ignore and don't illustrate in any way. It somehow gives the painting title an extra resonance.
This is another of my current series of simple but more experimental paintings in terms of look and technique. With this one I am trying out using some paint shapers that I use to take away the paint from the picture surface, this gives some interesting textures and shapes although these only work with transparent paints as far as I can tell. 
Stages 1 and 2 show the initial layer of transparent paint that has been roughly applied with an old bristle brush, the colours being a mix of Transparent Maroon, Burnt Umber and Alizarin Crimson thinned with Liquin and turpentine. I then used some plastic paint shapers to remove little flicks of paint to imitate the look of fallen leaves.
Stage 3 shows the final complete underpainting with the tree roughly painted in and some tone in the sky.

Stage 2

Stage 3