A Sacred Space

 This is another tree painting with it's roots in a Midjourney piece (pun intended). I liked the pooling of light at the bottom of the tree and somehow triggered a memory of when I came across the remains of a Wiccan (?) ceremony in the ancient yew forest of Kingley Vale some years ago. The people that know about these things will notice that I have mixed together two seasons as corn dollies are associated with the end of the harvest season whereas I have set them in an Autumnal/Winter scenario.... artistic license in operation.... 

I am kind of thinking that I could have left out the artefacts and might have been a better painting but I liked the idea of the painting having more of a context to it rather than just being a straight landscape painting.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Midjourney

 

Kingley Vale

The Gathering - stage 1

 While "A Sacred Space" is drying before I can scan and post it I am getting on with another tree painting with it's roots in a Midjourney piece (pun intended). I have changed the main tree completely but otherwise using an adapted version of the Midjourney piece as per the lighting etc but missing out the lights at the top. Maybe it's a gathering of faery folk?... natural phenomena? Aliens?

This is the tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a rag and flat brush.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12"

Midjourney

 

A Sacred Space - stage 5

 Kind of finished off the background but won't know until the foreground is properly in. The painting is based on a red/orange - green/blue colour complementary... it's just a question of getting the right blue I want. The painting looks a bit better than it does in this photograph so I think it's basically on track....

A Sacred Space - stage 4

 Getting all the basic background in today, planning on getting it to look right tomorrow when the paint is dry. I'm not panicking yet...

A Sacred Space - stage 3

 

First colour pass on the background, Early days yet, the colours should work but need another day on the background to knock it into shape. Basically following the colours of the Midjourney piece.

Colours used: Dioxazine Purple, Indanthrene Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Permanent Sap Green, Cobalt Teal, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Yellow Lake Deep, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Zinc White.

A Sacred Space - stage 2

 Didn't get a lot done today apart from a second pass of the warm underpainting colour mix on the foreground. I like the transition from the warm foreground areas to the cool background in the original Midjourney piece and am going to try and replicate this in the painting. As far as I can see the rest of the painting will be done with a cool blue/green mix so that the foreground warm areas pop. Will have a long hard look at it over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee....

The Singing Tree

 Carrying on with the tree theme this is another painting with it's origins in Midjourney (shown at end of post) the title immediately arriving before I started painting it so I guess the painting wanted to be called this. As usual the Midjourney piece triggered the idea of some steps leading to a kind of platform at the base of the central tree and as the painting wanted to be called The Singing Tree it seemed obvious to have a small figure there with the pose maybe suggesting someone was singing... to the tree? Anyway the painting is as much about lighting as anything else and after initially thinking of having a Maxfield Parrish look to it I decided to go for a misty morning light instead. With all these tree pictures I want them to look like a painting as opposed to the more photographic look that I tend towards.

Oil on fine cotton 12" x 16".

There is a short step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Midjourney

 

A Sacred Space - stage 1

 While I wait for "The Singing Tree" to dry I thought that I would get on with another one in this tree series, This one also comes out of a combination of a Midjourney piece, my imagination and memories of seeing the remains of a Wiccan (?) ceremony in Kingley Vale some years ago. The Midjourney piece (shown at the bottom of this post) triggered the idea by the way the light has pooled into one area below the tree and immediately put in my mind what I saw at Kingley Vale that morning.

For this tonal underpainting I thought that I would try a number of colours instead of the usual monochrome. The colours I used were: Burnt Sienna, Dioxazine Purple, Permanent Orange, Yellow Lake Deep, Manganese Blue Hue, Phthalocyanine Green, Lemon Yellow and Zinc White.

Oil on Fine cotton 16" x 12".

Midjourney

 

The Singing Tree - stage 2

 Starting to work into the central tree and the foreground tree at left. Decided not to go for a Maxfield Parrish feel as I was contemplating and went for a misty morning in the forest look instead. Still using the colours I started with yesterday.

The Singing Tree - stage 1

 Well I seem to be carrying on with this tree theme so here's another one. I'm still not particularly happy with the first two so I'm having another go. As before this is from a Midjourney piece that is the trigger for the painting, the title arrived immediately so I'm staying with it as obviously the painting wants to be called this. There will be a small figure at the top of the steps. 

I tried something different with the tonal underpainting on this one and used a background blue colour in the top half and then used a warmer mix for the rest of the tree and foreground etc.

Colours used: Prussian Blue, Transparent Red Oxide, Dioxazine Purple and Permanent Orange.

Oil on fine cotton 12" x 16".

Midjourney

Daphne

 I was originally intending to start a figurative painting of Hecate Greek goddess of The Underworld but seem to have been sidetracked into one of my periods of trying things out (seems to happen about once a year particularly after I have been to IX) so as ever I'm willing to see where this goes. The current theme seems to be trees so I will follow the trail and see where it leads, hopefully what I learn will inform the Hecate painting when I get to start it. 

I have been trying some things in Midjourney which has set me off on this current trail. The Midjourney piece that was behind Daphne (which is at the bottom of this post) came out of the jumble of shapes on the left looking like a fleeing figure which in turn led to the idea of having a figure of Daphne the Greek goddess being turned into a tree by Apollo. I decided to just go for it at the tonal underpainting stage and see what I could come up with using the basic shape of the tree in the Midjourney piece as a starter. As ever I am not totally over the Moon as to how it has come out but maybe I'm just too close to it. I already have the idea for the next tree painting...

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

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

Midjourney

Daphne - stage 3

 This actually is the stage it was a couple of days ago and is now nearly finished although as always struggling with the figure...

Daphne - stage 2

 I'm kind of seeing where the painting wants to go and is already looking different to my original intention. That's fine as long as it looks OK at the end! I will have a look at it with fresh eyes over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee and see where to go next.

Colours used: Prussian Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Pale Violet, Cobalt Teal, Permanent Orange, Cadmium Yellow Light, Yellow Lake Deep, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Zinc White.

Daphne - stage 1

 Initial tonal underpainting for "Daphne", a painting that wasn't in my plans but it seems it wanted to be painted so here goes. Head not sorted yet, basically winging it from an initial Midjourney piece shown at the bottom of this post.

My next painting was meant to be a figurative picture based on reference photos I took last week of my usual model Naomi Wood of Hecate Greek goddess of The Underworld but I was trying some things out on Midjourney for it and accumulated quite a few useful images but not that applicable to the painting I'm planning. The one below suggested a fleeing figure on the left which triggered the idea for this painting as well as trying to see if I can paint a blue over some of it like in the MJ piece.

Colours used for underpainting: Transparent Oxide Red and Dioxazine Purple.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Underworld

 

Finally getting back to painting after a three week lay off....

This is kind of a study for a larger upcoming figurative painting of Hecate Greek goddess of The Underworld. While waiting to get the reference shots of my model Naomi Wood yesterday I thought I would get on with a trial of how I might do the background in the meantime. I played around with Midjourney for a while and came up with the image below which I used as a guide. It was originally tempting to leave as it as a monochrome as it was looking OK but that wasn't the point of the painting (I can always paint another monochrome one later) and wanted to try and get across the idea of an Underworld landscape underneath the sky where no direct sunshine permeated, an airless place dimly lit and mysterious. I included a Classical temple in the distance to connect with the idea of a Greek landscape. Look out for the eyes...

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12"

There is a short step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.

Midjourney

 

Underworld - stage 3

 Painted in some colour into the sky and painted in the rest of the foreground trees. I stopped here as I need to look at all this over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee to see the way forward. It was tempting to leave it all monochrome but that wasn't the purpose of this painting and is meant to be kind of a study for the upcoming "Hecate" painting. The idea behind this is having a kind of daylight sky (although it is ambiguous and could be a night sky) to separate it from the trees and landscape below as though it is another world where daylight doesn't penetrate. This may or may not work...

Colours used: Phthalocyanine Blue, Manganese Blue Hue, Phthalocyanine Green, Emerald Green, Pale Violet, Permanent Orange, Lemon Yellow, Pale Light Yellow and Zinc White.

Underworld - stage 2

 

Worked on strengthening the foreground trees today although not all finished yet. Tomorrow I paint in the other colours in the sky as this is not going to be a monochrome painting.

Colours used so far: Phthalocyanine Blue, Prussian Blue, Phthalocyanine Green and Permanent Orange.

Underworld - stage 1

 Finally getting into painting again after a three week lay off due to going to the USA for IX and then dealing with stuff like my tax accounts when I got back. 

I have noticed that the prizewinners in art competitions that have a Fantasy bias are always figurative works and never landscapes so I am moved to see if I can come up with something figurative next. To this end I have decided to paint a picture of Hecate, the Greek goddess of The Underworld and have my usual model Naomi coming over on Thursday for the photographic session for the figure of Hecate. In the meantime I have decided to get on with a small study of how I might approach the background...

This is the initial tonal underpainting which was first blocked in with a rag before I started to use brushes using a mix of Prussian Blue, Phthalocyanine Green and Permanent Orange thinned with Liquin.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

IX Gallery

 I have just uploaded 17 paintings for sale on my IX Gallery page, some of which were shown at the recent IX in Reading PA last month.

 https://ixgallery.com/artists/markharrison/

Light On The Citadel sold

 My slightly repainted "Light On The Citadel" sold immediately it was posted on Every Day Original on 28 October. So far every one that I have posted on Every Day Original has sold within minutes of being posted... so far.

This one was originally called "Storm Over The Citadel" but something bugged me about it, it was a bit flat with all the buildings the same muted colour and looked a bit boring. I was originally going to put a fire with smoke under The Citadel but decided in the end to paint in some more light hitting it instead to break up the virtual monochrome.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

IX

 I got back a week ago today from IX in Reading PA. The whole trip went pretty well including the boxes of paintings only taking two days to clear Customs and get delivered to Goggleworks. It was great to meet up with old friends and meet more new ones and the event was as ever a very friendly affair. I sold four paintings over the five days as well as a fifth one that was sold ahead and at the end of the show was shipped off to the buyer by Pat Wilshire.

I was even more surprised to find on my return home that the paintings had already been delivered that morning by FedEx so I was much relieved after expecting the usual battle with UK Customs to get them cleared.

The boxes arrive in the UK!