Winter Hedgerow - stages 2 & 3

Stage 3

Stage 2 was rubbing with a rag a thin glaze of Permanent Sap Green mixed with Liquin and Lukas Number 5 Medium over all the painting and then taking out some highlights with a small bristle brush dipped in clean turpentine. As I had used Lukas Number 5 I was hoping that it would then dry for the afternoon's session, it did.
Stage 3 was basically working in transparent colour (Permanent Sap Green, Alizarin Crimson and Permanent Orange) to emphasise shadows and start to give things some more form. It's meant to be subtle and low key and I'm not sure yet if it's working but even if it's a failure I will have learnt something without spending too much time on it. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.

Stage 2

Winter Hedgerow - stage 1

I am just painting this before going on to "Dawn of the Hamadryad" as the idea just popped up and felt duty bound to try it. It might not work out but it will be useful for "Dawn...." so hopefully I won't be wasting my time. I want this to be more of a pattern with one tone pretty much across the whole picture although I have included a fairly dynamic compositional use of the tree trunk etc so it should be lively...and subdued...at the same time...
Stage 1 is the tonal underpainting pushing around a paint mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet with a battered synthetic brush and then erasing with a small bristle brush dipped in clean turpentine.
I rarely throw a brush away, old knackered brushes are great for mark-making and textures.

Dryad

This is the second study painting for the upcoming larger piece "Dawn of the Hamadryad". This one was to see how I was going to integrate the figure into the tree as well as working up this new way of painting trunks and branches etc that resulted from a trial painting at the beginning of the year called "Elies Dendro".
This one was very useful as I can see now how I can improve the way the figure will integrate into the tree, chiefly by having more branches in front of her and making the branches flow through the figure's positioning of arms etc - I have left "Dryad" as it is, imperfect but showing me what I have to do in the next one. Actually the next painting will probably be another exploration of this new way of painting trunks and branches etc painted more as a pattern...then I will start "Dawn of the Hamadryad".
I am trying for more of a Victorian-era painting look like a Waterhouse and less classic "Fantasy" as such - yes a tall order, to dare to mention Waterhouse in talking about my own work is tantamount to blasphemy!
12" x 16" oil on linen.
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Dryad - stages 6 & 7

Stage 6

In Stage 6 I tried to get the tree pretty much finished bar the area to the right behind the figure.
In Stage 7 I have made a start on the figure and seeing how I am going to integrate it into the tree. This is why I'm doing this as a study, once I have worked it out on this painting then I can apply it to "Dawn of the Hamadryad".

Stage 7

Dryad - stage 5

Sorted out the sky background today and then carried on painting the tree. The sky was too cold and had too much pink in it so I warmed it all up a bit by putting in some oranges. Hopefully will finish the tree tomorrow so I can make a start on the figure.

Dryad - stages 2 - 4

Stage 2

I unaccountably forgot to post the update on this yesterday so here is how far I have got with "Dryad" at the end of today. Yesterday I put in the tonal underpainting letting the small bristle brush free to roam around and create the forms and detail using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin.
This morning, Stage 3, I put in some basic washes of colour with a rag using these colours, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light, Magenta and Permanent Sap Green thinned with Lukas Number 5 Medium and Liquin in the hope that it would be dry for this afternoon's session.
It was indeed dry for this afternoon's session so Stage 4 was working into and emphasising the shapes from the underpainting on the tree using a mix of Permanent Sap Green and Alizarin Crimson. I also made a start on the background colours by adding some Permanent Orange to the Magenta.

Stage 3

Stage 4

Dryad - stage 1

This is the early rough-in for the second and final study for the upcoming painting "Dawn of the Hamadryad". This second one called "Dryad" is to work out how I'm going to integrate the figure into the tree. I would prefer to work this out on a small painting and then hopefully use what I have learned for the final larger picture. 
This stage was put in with a rag apart from a small brush to put in the lines of the figure using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin. 

Dawntree

This is really a preparatory study for an upcoming painting called "Dawn of the Hamadryad" as I needed to see how I could go about painting the tree branches etc. I might do one more preparatory painting as I need to see how I'm going to incorporate the figure into the tree.
There was no under drawing as such on this and went straight to painting in the trunk etc in a spontaneous and hopefully organic way trying to mimic Nature. I then added some washes of transparent colour before working into the shapes created in the first stage. Once the colour started to go in the painting started to look very "Fantasy" which is fine but I want the final painting "Dawn of the Hamadryad" to look more like a Victorian-era picture such as Waterhouse etc - OK I accept that it will never be as good as those guys but I'm going to have a go!
This study has actually proved pretty popular in Instagram as I have posted the progress so that's encouraging. I might show this at IX in October, we'll see.
12" x 16" oil on linen.
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog as well as on Instagram, I can be found on Instagram as "paintingsbymarkharrison".

Dawntree - stage 3

I have gone along with one way of trying out what I'm looking for with this and should finish it tomorrow morning. I will then do another of these trying out another way of getting to what I'm looking for. It's difficult to describe here but hopefully the next one will illustrate what it is!
This one is looking very "Fantasy" I guess because of the colours, the final painting "Dawn of the Hamadryad" will actually be less Fantasy than this, I'm trying to get it to look more like a painting from the Victorian era like a Waterhouse etc...

Dawntree - stage 2

Renaming this so that it ties in better with the painting that it is a study for, "Dawn of the Hamadryad". Although slightly unwilling to add colour to stage 1 as I quite liked it as it was I nevertheless ran some washes of transparent colours over it as I need to try out the look for it that I have in my head. I used thin washes of Ultramarine Blue, Indian Yellow, Magenta and Permanent Sap Green all mixed with plenty of Liquin. I stopped at this point this afternoon as I need to consider where I go from here. I think I need to bring in some red into the tree (Using Alizarin Crimson for this) and keep the green more subtle as I go up the trunk - I will make the final decision over coffee tomorrow morning! 
After the washes I started working into the tree with a mix of Permanent Sap Green and Alizarin Crimson.

Snaketree - stage 1

I will be doing a couple of smaller tree paintings trying things out for an upcoming figurative painting called "Dawn of the Hamadryad". I learnt a few things from an earlier smaller painting from the beginning of the year called "Elies Dendro" and am taking these further. I quite like the monochrome stage as it is now and may do one of these again just in that form but for this one I will be taking it further even though I might spoil it because I have a certain look I'm trying to attain and it has to be in relatively full colour.
This stage was painted in without any drawing underneath as I wanted it to be spontaneous and organic like Nature. I used a 1/2" synthetic brush pushing around a paint mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet mixed with plenty of Liquin. Some paint was then removed with a small bristle brush dipped in clean turpentine.

New Friends

The last in this series of spaceships and clouds paintings for the moment as I want to try out some other things next. This has a spacecraft from another world floating hidden in the clouds above a typical landscape of town and fields as the streetlights are coming on. The usual scenario of us living our little lives while above us hangs in the sky something that will change everything when our civilisations finally meet...although they might decide to stay clear of us like we would from a large dangerous wild animal and decide on a watching brief instead as we go about destroying ourselves and the planet we live on. 
Originally based on a red/orange - green/blue colour complementary I put more orange into it as I went along than intended and it became more of a tonal painting.
Another smaller painting possibly heading for IX in October.
Oil on linen 16" x 12".
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Art Renewal Center

A Secret Garden

Very pleased to see that I got three paintings accepted as Finalists in the 14th International ARC Salon Competition this year, "A Secret Garden", "Midnight Queen" and "The Dark Citadel". Sometimes getting accepted is down to judging which is the best category to enter for each painting, looks like this year I got it right! 
"The Dark Citadel" was actually commissioned by IX in the USA as an IX 2019 Commission to be exhibited later this year in October at IX in Reading PA.
I have just noticed that all three paintings are moonlit...

Midnight Queen

The Dark Citadel

New Friends - stage 3

Incredibly hard to get a decent photo of this painting for some reason. Anyway, I've been working on the clouds a bit more today as well as making a start on the landscape at bottom left. The spacecraft will be worked out when I get to it. It's all going to be on the dark side apart from the strip of sky at the top.

New Friends - stage 2

I decided to paint in all the clouds at the same time for the first colour pass so that I can finish them off tomorrow together as it will be easier to judge values and colour. The shape of the spacecraft is changing so I have left it alone for the moment and got on with other things. This will be the last in this series for a while as I want to try out a few other things not connected with IX.
Although originally based on an orange - green/blue complementary, which it still is, I have mixed in a lot more orange than intended so that it is becoming more tonal than expected - I'll run with it.
Colours used were Prussian Blue, Naples Yellow, Permanent Orange, Warm White, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Cadmium Yellow Light.

New Friends - stage 1

Probably the last in this series of spaceships and clouds, "New Friends" has a spacecraft from another world floating hidden in the clouds above a typical landscape of small towns and farmland at dusk as the streetlights are coming on. Yes the same scenario of us living our little lives below while above us floats something in the sky that will change everything when our civilisations finally meet...although they might decide on a watching brief instead as we destroy ourselves and the planet we live on. Maybe we're too naive and dangerous to deal with directly, maybe they don't trust us let alone us trusting them which would be highly unlikely...maybe it's best if they keep their distance for both parties...
This stage was "drawn" up the usual way with a small bristle brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and then the same mix was applied with a rag for the tonal underpainting, a rag dipped in clean turpentine was used to erase highlights.

Nightwatch

So there we are living our little lives in the landscape below, above us a spacecraft from another planet quietly flies above partly hidden by cloud. There are no lights in the spacecraft, are they all dead after such a long flight? After all the ship is rusty and has been in space or other worlds before us for a long time, maybe it's running on some kind of autopilot, maybe it's a drone sent to keep an eye on us.
"Nightwatch" is another in my series of smaller paintings of spaceships and clouds that will possibly be heading for IX in October. In a way I'm not painting these as Science Fiction but more like this could be happening right now in the skies above.
It's based around a green/blue - red/orange complementary using muted mixes of Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Orange, Pale Violet, Permanent Sap Green, Burnt Sienna, Lemon Yellow, Zinc White and Warm White - all Michael Harding paints.
Oil on linen 16" 12". 
There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Nightwatch - stage 4

Pretty much finished the landscape and clouds and have now made a start on the spacecraft. I plan to keep the spaceship dark and rusting in places so this will do for today's session and I'ii hopefully finish the spaceship and indeed the painting tomorrow. The colours used in the spacecraft are mixes of Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Orange and a bit of Zinc White.
Incidentally this painting can be looked at from any side, I conceived it this way round but it can be upright or turned 180 degrees...

Nightwatch - stage 3

The first colour pass on the landscape of "Nightwatch" was roughly painted on using a mix of Ultramarine Violet, Prussian Blue, Pale Violet, Permanent Sap Green and Transparent Red Oxide (to tone down the saturation). I then erased the street lights etc with a small bristle brush tipped in clean turpentine. This gives a soft focus effect and I will try and maintain this so that when it comes to painting the spaceship I will keep that relatively sharp so that you get a good sense of distance between the ship and the landscape. I want the setting to be late dusk so that it is not too dark.

Artists & Illustrators Magazine

My latest article for Artists & Illustrators magazine has just been published in the June 2019 issue. Titled "Finding Your Style" it is based around my series of small paintings that I did a few months ago when I was trying things out before I took on the IX 2019 Commission. Whilst I was essentially just tweaking aspects of how I go about painting things, especially skies and clouds, I have written the article from the point of view of more of an amateur painter looking  to give their work an individual style as this is the main readership of the magazine. 
Ironically later on after I had finished the series of 18 paintings I realised that quite a lot of my conclusions about moving my work forward I had already reached a decade ago and had kind of forgotten when I moved the focus of my work towards Imaginative Realism - this is not mentioned in the article!
I have another article to write for the magazine in a few months time titled "Combine Shapes. Lose Edges!". This will be a step-by-step painting demo of the things I had learnt from the earlier series of small paintings specifically about the design and feel of my paintings that I was looking for.