Ghost Station - stage 5

 Worked more on the landscape and gas station trying to keep that nice glow in the sky, indeed I ended up going for an area where the orange on the horizon flares out around the edge of the building at right. Now trying to keep the landscape and gas station relatively desaturated compared to the sky, hopefully it works out.

Ghost Station - stage 4

 

After some dithering over the sky I went ahead today with the first colour pass on the clouds. I then immediately saw that the land and buildings must be pretty desaturated  as they must contrast the sky to make it look more beautiful against the dark foreground and landscape. At the moment it is way too colourful,

Ghost Station - stage 3

 Still working on the sky base colours before the clouds go on. I got distracted by the earlier stages when it looked like a classic sunset sky but realised it was not what I originally intended and it was a bit corny anyway. Usually I go along with any direction that suggests itself  but I need to remember what I'm looking for, something moodier and a bit different to what is usually seen around. It will need another glaze tomorrow before I start on the clouds...

Ghost Station - stage 2

 Putting more colour into the sky as glazes but took out some of the yellow near the horizon as I want the sky to have pinks and oranges in it, I'm after a certain kind of dusk/late sunset. Also built up the darks in the landscape and gas station.

Colours used:  Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Violet, Kings Blue Light, Permanent Orange, Yellow Lake Deep, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

"Ghost Station" - stage 1

 Another in my The Big Sky/Roadside America series I have gone back to a favourite subject the abandoned gas station but trying out this look I am developing of a dark foreground set against a glorious sky hopefully amplifying the way that whatever man creates it is transient compared to Nature. Sounds a bit pretentious but I will explain/express this better soon.

This is the tonal underpainting using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and applied with a brush and rag. The basic sky colour so far is a mix of Kings Blue Light, Manganese Blue Hue, Lemon Yellow and Warm White.

Oil on linen 30" x 20".

The Ramparts of Al Khafra

 The old Crusader fort of Al Khafra finally surrendered to Saladin after a long siege of many months with the defenders allowed to leave with safe passage to Jerusalem. The ramparts were restored after much damage by cannon fire and siege engines apart from an entrance being made for ships to pass through to the burgeoning city within as they were so confident that no further attacks would be made by the retreating Crusader forces. Al Khafra flourished under the Caliphate with an impressive mosque built over the site of the original church and many fine buildings and palaces lining the streets including a university and madrassah. The city became famous all over the Moslem world as a seat of learning and power drawing scholars from as far afield as Europe and India to it's libraries and palaces. It was said that all those that see the city under a full moon are blessed with a life of great fulfillment.

Well that's what somebody told me over  some beers in a Cairo hotel....

This painting will be up for sale on Every Day Original on my upcoming slot on 28 February.

I enjoy painting these Orientalist fantasies which seem to be finding a ready market as every one so far has sold within hours of posting on the EDO site. I think behind all of them is the influence of The Arabian Nights paintings by Edmund Dulac...

Oil on linen 16" x 12".

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

The Ramparts of Al Khafra - stage 3

 Worked on the background buildings today which are now pretty much finished bar a few tweaks and then I roughed in some colour on the ramparts ready for tomorrow.

Midnight Queen sold

 IX Gallery have just sold "Midnight Queen" to a buyer in Italy. I was fairly happy with this one and took it to Iluxcon a couple of times but didn't elicit much response and failed to sell. It was painted at quite a difficult time in my life when I was trying look after a couple of elderly parents in a city 150 miles away while trying to keep my business going in Brighton where I live. This was one of a number of Midnight themed paintings I did at that time, the lovely Naomi Wood was the model. I remember it was quite difficult working out the flesh colours in this moonlit lighting.

Oil on linen 20" x 16".

The Ramparts of Al Khafra - stage 2

 First pass of colour on the background plus a second pass of the underpainting colour on the rest following the colours I used on "Battersea Nocturne".

Colours used: Prussian Blue, Permanent Orange, Naples Yellow, Lemon Yellow and Warm White.

The Vampire of Ponte Foscari sold

 I forgot to mention that "The Vampire of Ponte Foscari" was sold yesterday to a collector in the UK that had contacted me about it in April last year but missed my email reply at the time. Fortunately she was going through her old emails and came across my reply. She emailed me a couple of days ago to enquire if it was still available which fortunately it was so the deal was done!

It is another in my Vampires of Venice series which originally came about from my nocturnal wanderings around Venice.

Oil on MDF 20" x 12".

The Ramparts of Al Khafra - stage 1

 I thought that I would get on with an Orientalist painting for my upcoming slot on Every Day Original on 28 February before going back to the next painting in The Big Sky series.

This one has it's roots in a much earlier painting of London called "Battersea Nocturne" in that I want to use the same colours and also to try and keep that softness too.

This is the first stage which is the initial tonal underpainting, I might do a second layer on most of it tomorrow before proceeding to colour. It is the usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brush.

Oil on linen 16" x 12".

Battersea Nocturne

 

Always There

 The ideas behind The Big Sky series are still being developed with this one moving away from abandoned buildings in relatively hostile environments to suburbia like the last one "A Perfect Day" (I love ironic titles). I am developing the theme of how Nature will still be around when we've all gone (albeit a damaged and polluted one although over the millennia it will stabilise and flourish again). The location for this one is Albuquerque (although it could be anywhere) looking at first like a comfortable suburban scene but then you notice that the house looks as if nobody has lived in it for a while with peeling paint, no cars in the drives, no lights on and weeds growing in the garden and roadway. What has happened? Where is everyone? Behind the abandoned suburban scene is a beautiful late afternoon sky that nobody sees, another theme that runs through the series - I want these paintings to have these two contrasting elements, beauty and melancholy....

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

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

Always There - stage 2

 Nearly finished the sky today and made a good start on the buildings trying to keep them relatively low in saturation to contrast with the sky. The colours in the sky are warmer and less washed out than shown here, the painting is quite difficult to photograph.

Colours used: Indanthrene Blue, Kings Blue Light, Winsor Violet, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Permanent Sap Green, Cadmium Yellow Light, Yellow Lake Deep, Lemon Yellow, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon, Neutral Grey, Zinc White and Warm White.

Always There - stage 1

 Aaaah, actually not really stage 1, I never got round to posting the earlier stages due to stuff going on.

I have moved my focus away from abandoned buildings in lonely locations to suburbia like the last one "A Perfect Day". The ideas behind The Big Sky are still being developed with this one about how Nature will still be here when we've all gone (albeit a damaged and polluted one) . So here we have a suburban house in Albequerque (although it could be anywhere really) looking at first a typical comfortable suburban scene but hopefully you will then notice that the house looks as though nobody has lived in it for a long time with peeling paint etc and no cars are in the drives and  weeds are growing in the garden and road. What has happened? Where is everybody? A common theme  in all my The Big Sky paintings. But behind the abandoned suburbia is a beautiful evening sky that nobody sees - it is important that the painting has these two elements, beauty and melancholy....

At this point nothing is actually finished yet, I have only just put in the underpainting for the clouds and the buildings are just toned back ready for the colour to go on. The amount of detail in the last painting bugs me a bit so I am hoping not to be tempted to put too much into this one and run areas of similar tone into each other.

Oil on linen 22" x 16".