The Star of Night

 I came across the title while searching through a Dictionary of Symbols about the Moon and thought that would be a nice title. This is the fifth of a series of Tonalist paintings of the Brighton/Hove seafront near to where I live, this location being at the junction of Grand Avenue and the seafront. All these paintings will hopefully mean something to anybody that has taken a walk along the Brighton/Hove seafront at night although the main focus of the paintings is the light, colour and mood with the location actually being secondary. 

It's nice to be working on square format again after a number of years of the more normal rectangular format and when the art materials shop opens after the lockdown I will be looking to stock up with some more.

Oil on canvas 23 1/2" x 23 1/2".

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting including the colours I used in previous posts on this blog.

The Star of Night - stage 4

 

Pretty much finished the sky now and have gave the rest of the painting another layer of tone to get it nearer to how I want the lighting to work. To the basic Burnt Sienna/Winsor Violet mix I added some Prussian Blue, more Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Violet which was still a relatively transparent mix that I used for the bottom third of the picture.

The Star of Night - stage 3

 Due to the larger area to cover than recent paintings the sky is taking longer to paint. I have now brought in slightly green/blues into the clouds by mixing more Lemon Yellow into them, the warm underpainting is only meant to show through slightly to give the colour more variety and depth.

The Star of Night - stage 2

 First colour pass on the sky, intending on keeping it in subdued blues. Colours used were: Prussian Blue, Phthalocyanine Turquoise, Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Orange, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

The Star of Night - stage 1

 

Searching through a Dictionary of Symbols about the Moon for a title to yet another moonlight painting I came across the phrase "the star of night" which will do just fine for this picture.

This is the fifth of a series of Tonalist paintings of the Brighton/Hove seafront very near to where I live, this location being at the bottom of Grand Avenue in Hove as it meets the seafront. I have got back from the pub past midnight on many occasions over the years when I have decided as I get to the front door to go in to turn around and head for the seafront instead particularly if it's a mild night. It really is a treat to walk by the railings along the promenade and hear the lovely sound of the surf moving the shingle, the smell of the sea and of course the Moon hanging high above the sea illuminating the clouds. OK I'm a bit drunk... but it is quite magical.

So this is part memory/part imagination of the seafront under a moonlit sky. This is the tonal underpainting stage when it was first "drawn" up with a small bristle brush using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and then the tone put on with a rag using the same paint mix. I have also decided to work on a larger canvas than previous ones as it might promote more interest from a gallery - there is a decent-looking one just a couple of minutes from where I live... if I decide to approach them. 

It is also nice to get back working on a square format which I used to work exclusively on for many years previously.

Sheltering Sky

 After a few relatively fiddly paintings it was nice to get back to my Tonalist Brighton/Hove seafront paintings. Although they are of a specific location I am trying to make the focus the mood and light and not the location itself. I have been doing this by using strong foreground shapes (because I always like a strong design) but tonally merging them with the background so that the eye goes to the sun first and then on to the, in this case, shelter. The location is actually at the very end of the Hove/Portslade promenade where it meets the beginning of Shoreham Harbour (where Fatboy Slim etc lives).

I will do one more before I go on to another fiddly painting again (a commission) so that when I have five (I like odd numbers) I will approach a couple of local galleries... through gritted teeth though, I don't like dealing with galleries but in this case it might be worth my while.

Oil on linen 20" x 16".

There is a short step-by-step progress through this painting including what colours I used in previous posts on this blog.

San Moise Reflections sold

 An older small Venice painting "San Moise Reflections" has just sold through Asgard Arts. 

Oil on board 12" x 12".

Sheltering Sky - stage 3

 

The sky is pretty much finished and have painted another layer of the Burnt Sienna/Winsor Violet mix over the rest of the picture. I don't want the shelter to be prominent so I will need to tonally merge it against the background cloud a bit, the whole focus of the picture is meant to be the sun not the shelter.

The Lost City sold

 I am pleased to report that the buyer who bought "The Endless City" on Every Day Original has just bought it's sister painting "The Lost City". I always seem to do well when I paint Orientalist paintings (OK there are few still unsold) and I'm glad that I chose that theme for my Every Day Original slot. I guess that I should paint some more but first I want to get a couple more Tonalist paintings under my belt as well as paint a commission so I guess we're talking about later next month before I do another one.

Both 16" x 12" Oil on linen.

The Endless City

 

Sheltering Sky - stages 1 & 2

 This is another in my series of Tonalist paintings of the Brighton and Hove seafront where I live, although the subject really is the mood of the painting, the location is secondary. I quite liked the warmer colours in the last one in this series so I have resolved to do another one, a sunset, a subject I tend to avoid as they can be so corny.

The first stage is the tonal underpainting for which I used a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and applied with a small bristle brush and a rag.

The second stage is the first colour pass on the sky. The colours I used were: Ultramarine Violet. Manganese Blue Hue, Permanent Orange, Yellow Lake Deep, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

Oil on linen 20" x 16".

The Endless City sold

 

"The Endless City" has just sold on Every Day Original after about ten minutes being advertised, I wish I could sell all of them as quick as that!

Oil on linen 16" x 12".

The Lost City

 

I have painted this as an alternative to "The Endless City" for my Every Day Original slot coming up on 13th November. Continuing with the Orientalist city idea this one is of a forgotten city that is gradually being overwhelmed by desert sand dunes. I rarely do sunsets as I find them a bit corny but I thought that it would suit this one and have kept the colours relatively high key and saturated  to suit the Fantasy content. 

I have to make my mind up today as to which one I am going to put up on EDO.

Oil on linen 16" x 12".

There is a step-by-step progress including the colours I used in previous posts on this blog.

The Lost City - stage 4

 Roughed in some colour on the landscape and will have a look at it tomorrow morning and assess how to finish it. I think I need to get the background in next and then work forward from that. That breakfast coffee time will determine it....

The Lost City - stage 3

 The sky is pretty much finished now so I will be moving on to the landscape tomorrow. I haven't quite got it fixed in my mind as to what I want to do with the landscape at the moment but no doubt all that will be resolved over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee!

The Lost City - stage 2

I darkened the land and buildings with another coat of the Burnt Sienna/Winsor Violet mix and then made the first colour pass on the sky using the following colours: Ultramarine Violet, Manganese Blue Hue, Permanent Orange, Lemon Yellow, Yellow Lake Deep and Zinc White.

Musée D'Orsay sold

 An older painting of Paris has just sold through Asgard Arts. The painting was the result of a visit to Paris in the winter of 2005 when I was still experimenting with oils. I was interested in broken colour and the effects of colour mixing in the eye/brain that was utilised by The Impressionists and Pointillism so it was very apt to try these things out on a painting of Paris!

Oil on board 181/2" x 18 1/2".

The Lost City - stage 1

 I am painting this as an alternative one to put up on the Every Day Original page on the 13th of this month. It's another Islamic-style city like "The Endless City" but this one has been deserted as it is engulfed by waves of sand. Planning on keeping the colours warm, probably based on oranges and violets although the final decision will be made over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee...

This is the first tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and applied with a small bristle brush and a rag. I will run another coat over the land before I start the first colour pass on the sky tomorrow.

The Tower Of Babel

 My painting from earlier in the year "The Tower Of Babel" has been selected as a Semi-Finalist in the Landscape category of the 15th Art Renewal Center International Salon. I think that this is the first time that I have had a painting accepted for a category outside of Imaginative Realism and seeing as I want to be known in the USA Fine Art field as a landscape painter this is most welcome. Also as a Semi-Finalist my painting will get a bit more exposure within the catalogue itself, a mighty tome with many artists' work within. I have been accepted for the past five years but this is the first time as a Semi-Finalist....

Time To Go Home

 This is the second time I've used this title but what the hell... after painting a few fiddly pictures recently I fancied getting back to my Tonalist series of the Brighton/Hove seafront very near to where I live. Instead of a nocturne I thought that it would be a nice change to paint a daylight one albeit with plenty of clouds. I quite like this warmer palette after so many colder moonlit pictures so I think I will do a few more for this series and for the next painting I am starting aimed at selling on Every Day Original.

Oil on linen 20" x 16",

Details of what colours I used can be found in previous posts on this blog.