Yama Jinja - stage 3

I have finished the sky and have got the shrine ready for finishing tomorrow when I also paint in the pine trees. This is actually a variation of my current theme of having a light on in the temple etc with this one being the sun itself with the sunlight's warmth bleeding out to the structure of the shrine.

Extra colours: Permanent Sap Green, Cadmium Yellow Light and Warm White. 

Yama Jinja - stage 2

 Slightly changed my mind over the colours  over my breakfast coffee this morning and went for more blue/purples instead of an overall warm sky. As I painted the clouds I realised that I needed to break up the main shapes with more smaller clouds as well as deciding to keep the sun between the uprights of the shrine with the warm colour bleeding into the temple structure and the top of the rocks which in a way mimics the woodblock style of the Japanese Shin Hanga movement.

Colours used so far: Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Orange, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

Yama Jinja - stage 1

 I fancied doing some clouds after a few recent cloudless glowing skies and thought it would be nice to return to something Japanese too. I must also add that this one does not have it's origins in a Midjourney piece as recent paintings have been. I originally saw it in blues and greys but decided over my breakfast coffee to go with warm colours again with possibly the sun seen through the shrine's supporting posts. Then again I might change my mind over tomorrow's breakfast coffee...

This is the initial tonal underpainting using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brush.

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

Shivaratri

 Another painting with it's origins in a Midjourney piece this time of a Hindu Shiva temple somewhere in India (or indeed nowhere in India as this is a Fantasy painting). On certain nights of the year called Shivaratri devotees stay up all night in the temple (or home) so this gave me the excuse to have some lights on in the temple as dawn rises in the sky. There is something very Old School about the look of this painting, maybe it's the airbrushed-looking sky that to me reminds me of Chris Foss and the look of those book covers from that period (I don't use an airbrush btw it's just oil paint with brushes...

I follow no religion but have always been interested in how humans left to their own devices in different areas of the world have come up with all the weird and wonderful creation myths, religions, clothes, symbols and buildings etc that to them are so important often unfortunately with no tolerance to what other people have come up with at the same time. To me they are all interesting as Anthropology I guess...

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

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

Midjourney

Shivaratri - stage 4

 Sky just about finished as well as background with second pass on the temple ready for putting in the lights and generally finishing tomorrow. I have also put down a colour base on the water ready for tomorrow so there is a fair chance it might be finished tomorrow unless there are a few tweaks to make when the paint is dry.

Additional colours used: Alizarin Crimson and pale Violet.

Shivaratri - stage 3

 

I decided to simplify the title as it translates into Shiva's Night which makes sense as it is a Shiva temple.

Nothing is actually finished yet, maybe one more pass of colour on the sky should do it, maybe not. I am finding it difficult to get a decent photo of it so far, it has more orange in it than it appears here, indeed all the colours are inaccurate the more I look at it.

New colours used: Brilliant Pink and Kings Blue Light.

Maha Shivaratri - stage 2

 A second pass on the tonal underpainting and first colour pass on the sky. Colours used: Burnt Sienna, Winsor Violet, Permanent Orange, Yellow Lake Deep, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

I must add that I follow no religion but have always found the different religions interesting in terms of their buildings and rituals etc. I have appropriated the night of Maha Shivratri as a setting for the lighting idea that is central to the painting's feel and atmosphere and followers of my work will have noticed that I have used many Islamic buildings in my work too as well as Indian, Balinese, Cambodian and more recently Japanese.

Maha Shivaratri - stage 1

 Another painting with it's origins in Midjourney, this one is a Hindu Shiva temple in India when devotees stay up through the night at home or as here in the temple for this particular festival called Maha Shivaratri. I am setting it at this time of the years as an excuse to have some lights on in the building which will be set against an orange dawn sky.

This one took a while to get going as although I had lots of inspiration from a number of Midjourney pieces I just couldn't visualise what I was trying to do with any of them  before today when finally the mists cleared and I could see what I wanted in my mind's eye.

This is the preliminary pass of the tonal underpainting which I will strengthen tomorrow with another pass of my usual Burnt Sienna/ Winsor Violet mix applied with a rag and brush.

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

Midjourney

 

Stamboul Dusk sold

 Pleased to report that my latest painting "Stamboul Dusk" has just sold to a collector in the UK who already has a number of my Constantinople/Istanbul paintings already. Another painting that has it's roots in a Midjourney piece which was redrawn and redesigned but kept the look and feel of the original MJ image.

Oil on linen 22" x 16"

Stamboul Dusk

 Another painting that has come out of a Midjourney piece this time of Istanbul/Constantinople. I have kept to the basic design but refined the shapes of the buildings and the ships to include Arab Dhows as I thought that they would be appropriate to the location. I have very much kept to the sky and lighting including the seeming conflagration behind the boats as I liked it and it also fitted with my current theme of a landscape with one area of bright light. I have also made more of the interplay between the shapes of the masts and the minarets.

This is another painting potentially heading for IX in October. Oil on linen 22" x 16".

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

Midjourney

 

Stamboul Dusk - stage 4

Pretty much finished the sky, worked on the background city, roughed in the boats and added some darker values to the water as I intend to follow the lighting and colours of the original Midjourney piece.

Colours as before with the addition of Permanent Sap Green and Cadmium Red Light.

Stambould Dusk - stage 3

 Worked on the sky and did some preliminary work on the city background.

Colours used as before with the addition of Yellow Lake Deep.

Stamboul Dusk - stage 2

 I have finished off the tonal underpainting and gave the sky the first pass of colour - I am going to follow the original Midjourney image for colour and atmosphere.

Colours used so far: Ultramarine Blue. Kings Blue Light, Winsor Violet, Burnt Sienna, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

Stamboul Dusk - stage 1

 Another painting with it's starting point in Midjourney this one is of the waters in front of Istanbul/Constantinople/ Byzantium at dusk with many ships in the harbour. I have chosen a mix of Arab Dhows and a European sailing ship as I am setting it in the time of The Ottoman Empire although the whole painting is really Fantasy as the skyline of the city is basically invented for compositional reasons to tie in with the original Midjourney image. I will also use the same lighting and colours...

This is the basic tonal underpainting which I will augment tomorrow with another glaze apart from the sky which I will start on in colour. I used my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Winsor Violet thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and brushes.

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

Midjourney

Angkor Dawn

 Another painting coming out of a Midjourney piece mixed in with memory. I was there about ten years ago when a small group of us went into Angkor Wat before dawn and walked (and stumbled) around the temple in the near dark with the whole place to ourselves, nobody else was there, amazing.... and very memorable. We then left the temple and made our way to the lake from where we watched the dawn and sunrise - along with hundreds of other tourists.

The Midjourney image provided the impetus to this one from which I recomposed it and took the lighting idea of the pink dawn clouds further with a more dramatic sky. I wanted the light just in the sky and resisted the temptation of putting those colours reflected in the water - I have just hinted at them. This makes it more have a feel of very early in the morning with the landscape hushed and mysterious. Incidentally there is no blue paint in this picture...

I will probably be taking this to IX in Reading PA in October... unless it sells earlier!

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

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

Midjourney

 

Rather Good Card Company

 Finally able to talk about the first set of greetings cards of some of my Cuckmere Valley paintings are now published by The Rather Good Card Company. The first set has just been published and features these three paintings: 

"Cuckmere Meanders to Seaford Head"

"Frog Firle"

"Full Moon, High and Over"

A second set of square shaped cards of three more Cuckmere paintings will be published next.

All these paintings date from the past ten years or so, some of them started out as plein air paintings which I finished in the studio and are of my favourite local landscape the Cuckmere Valley including the iconic Cuckmere Haven. There is a famous painting by Eric Ravilious of this place which is actually available in a card collection by the same company, the Rather Good Card Company.

I will show the cards in the second set when they are published.

Angkor Dawn - stage 4

 I was away from the studio yesterday so now back to painting again. I have painted some subtle glazes over the temple area ready for the mist to be painted in. Realised that I don't want the water and reflections too dark so I will paint that in tomorrow to about the same values as it is now.

Angkor Dawn - stage 3

 Pretty much finished the sky and then gave the rest of the painting a glaze of the Phthalocyanine Green/Magenta with a little bit of Zinc White mix, surprising how that mix produces the muted blue colour.... in fact there is no blue in the whole painting.

Angkor Dawn - stage 2

 After some thought about what colours to use I settled on blue/violets and yellow/oranges for the first colour pass on "Angkor Dawn". In my memory it was all deep blus and blacks but I don't want it in blues...

Colours used: Phthalocyanine Green, Magenta, Permanent Orange, Lemon yellow and Zinc White.