End Of The Line

 I actually finished this a few days ago but delayed posting until after the Christmas period. The earlier Star Wars painting "Binary Sunset" gave me the idea for some more widescreen landscape paintings but this time directed towards my gallery work. I have settled on doing a series of widescreen American landscapes as it is an ideal format for getting across the vast spaces that can be found across the country. They will also incorporate the theme of a single light source within a nocturne setting, something that I have been pursuing in my Orientalist work - one aspect of my work informs the other. I can also see that I could develop a metaphorical sub-theme of a more profound nature in this series which at the moment is tentatively titled "American Vista".... I do however want to avoid pretentiousness so I am holding back at the moment as to what it is and will give it some more thought as to how to describe it.

Although this is set in a Utah/Desert South West landscape this location does not exist and is a mix of real and imagined elements assembled from disparate reference and imagination.

Oil on canvas 39" x 16".

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

Ganges Sunrise sold

 "Ganges Sunrise" sold pretty much as soon as it was available yesterday on Every Day Original.

Oil on fine cotton 12" x 16".

Chesley Nomination

 A friend has told me that my painting "The Singing Tree"has been nominated for a Chesley Award in the Unpublished category by the American Science Fiction Artists organisation (ASFA). It was news to me as I hadn't applied for it (it is many years ago since I did that) so a big thank you to whoever did this!

Oil on fine cotton 12" x 16"...... and still unsold....

 https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMAbd69LEF2Gn_6vUpMTl3Bxv7XEUkrwCfpfV7i8mYOepGoNT7z-R8mfdv6CMDthA?key=NEFpVWw0aWJwMXlFbjVITFZZdGxfT0FaWXRwb0xB

 

End of the Line - stage 9

 As we approach Christmas my work rate slows down as I meet up with friends and get more social for a while... that's my excuse for not getting a lot done each day....

Anyway I''m getting nearer the finish as I paint my way towards the illuminated shack, probably the last progress post before the finish.

End of the Line - stage 8

 Now working on foreground trying to transition to the background so that is has a sense of space and distance and working towards the lit area in front of the shack. Originally I was going to have the mesas as silhouettes but that was too plain and boring so I decided to have some residual warm sunlight hitting them from behind us where the sun has set.

End Of The Line - stage 7

 Started work on the landscape but stopped here as I want to have a think about the tones I am working with - so a fresh look over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee...

New colours used: Permanent Sap Green and Pale Violet.

End of the Line - stage 6

 Still trying to get the sky right, currently trying to find some reference for these kind of clouds... I think I need to break up the cloud over the moon....

End of the Line - stage 5

 

Working on the sky now, hopefully get the rest of the clouds in tomorrow... changed my mind about the colours of the mesas; I am going to give them a slight reddish tinge as if they are picking up the last light from the setting sun, I think it will be more interesting colour-wise now.

Colours used: Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Orange, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

End of the Line - stage 4

 Now the desaturated blue wash is on the tonal underpainting is finished. Bring on the opaque color....

End of The Line - stage 3

 Finished off the initial tonal underpainting ready for the desaturated blue glaze to go over most of the painting tomorrow and then the opaque colour starts to go on...

End of the Line - stage 2

 Due to the larger area to cover I still haven't finished the initial tonal underpainting yet, hopefully I can finish it tomorrow morning... probably better if the underlying tone is dry before I paint on top anyway!

End of the Line - stage 1

I am now getting on with some paintings away from Imaginative Realism/Fantasy and directed to my Fine Art gallery work. The earlier Star Wars painting "Binary Sunset" gave me the idea for some widescreen American landscapes as I think the format will really suit them. They will probably be added to my "The Big Sky" series unless I choose a specific series title for them later on. I am also continuing the theme of a single light source within a nocturne that I have been working with for some time particularly the Orientalist and The Sleeping City pictures - one aspect of my work informs the other.

Although it is set in a Utah/Desert South West landscape this place does not exist and has been assembled from disparate reference and the imagination to get across a certain feeling/mood...

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

Oil on canvas 39" x 16".

Art Renewal Center

 I have just been accepted as an ARC Associate Living Master. I have chosen to promote my landscape work to reflect one of my dual paths that I follow as an artist - from 2000 to 2015 I worked exclusively as a Fine Art landscape painter selling in UK galleries. A chance meeting in 2014 led me to reengage with my connections to the Fantasy/Imaginative Realism genre and for most of the time since then that is where my developmental path has led me but I have always wanted to get ahead back in the Fine Art Landscape field so this association with the Art Renewal Center seemed a good opportunity to do just that.

Here is the link:

https://www.artrenewal.org/artists/mark-harrison/8637

Ganges Sunrise

 

This was originally going to use the same colours and mood as my previous painting "Binary Sunset" but once I had gave it the the first colour pass I liked how the colours were working so I changed my mind and made it warmer and mistier. It is based on a memory of getting up before dawn and going down to the ghats by the Ganges at Varanasi (Benares) and watching the sunrise from a boat on the river, one of those memories that will never disappear...

A tip:  the lightest part of any of my paintings is using the white of the canvas being seen through transparent glazes or in the this case the white of the canvas itself. The sky around the sun was painted in glazes so that one colour shines through the colour above it.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

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

Ganges Sunrise - stage 4

 I have gave it another glaze of Lemon Yellow on the sky but I think it needs one more tomorrow... roughly painted in the water ready for tomorrow when I finish the water before the mist goes in and finally the boat to be painted in.

Ganges Sunrise - stage 3

 First I gave the sky a glaze of weak Lemon Yellow (which I need to do tomorrow as well) and then worked on the riverbank buildings etc. Once I have got the water in I can then start knocking it all back into the morning mist.

New colours used: Manganese Violet and Lemon Yellow.

Ganges Sunrise - stage 2

 First colour pass on the sky and strengthened the underpainting. I have already decided to paint it differently to how I envisaged and now will be lighter and mistier than originally conceived. This is the advantage of working on your own ideas, you can change things as you go along - when I was an illustrator once I had cleared the rough to go to artwork I had to stick to it as the art director etc would be expecting it that way and were rarely happy with unannounced changes!

Colours used: Dioxazine Purple, Manganese Violet, Permanent Orange, Burnt Sienna and Warm White.

Ganges Sunrise - stage 1

 Initial tonal underpainting for "Ganges Sunrise" which is destined for my slot next month on Every Day Original. I am basing the colours and the sun on my previous painting "Binary Sunset" as I liked them quite a lot. It is also based on a memory of getting up before dawn to go down to the river Ganges at Varanasi to see the sunrise - one of those moments that you never forget.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Binary Sunset

 As the previous Star Wars painting was quite well received (and sold) I decided to do another one this time a moody landscape of the planet Tatooine with the binary suns low near the horizon at sunset. In my mind I saw it quite moody and dark with oranges and pinks in the sky which somehow to me seemed to fit in with a lot of Star Wars visuals I have seen previously. I also chose a widescreen format that I used to work with quite a lot ten or so years ago which I felt would suit the filmic look that I wanted and tied in with the production stills and matte paintings by Ralph McQuarrie and Michael Pangrazio. 

The transition from my Orientalist landscapes of mosques and minarets to this one is actually quite logical as the main building is just another variation on that theme but this time Science Fiction instead. I don't particularly want to do many Science Fiction/Star Wars paintings but depending on how this one is received I do have an idea for another Star Wars landscape this time of the planet Naboo which I fancy painting like an Albert Bierstadt...

This painting has already sold to the same collectors that bought my previous Star Wars piece who had been watching it's progress on this blog after seeing the initial sketch which piqued their interest.

Oil on canvas 39" x 16".

A step-by-step progress through this painting can be seen in previous posts on this blog.

Binary Sunset - stage 10

 The last progress post before the finish.... I am now working on the last area of the painting, the buildings. I'm having to take it slowly as it's tricky working out the colours. Still looking quite like how I saw it in my mind's eye at the onset although I had originally planned it to be darker but I think I've got it about right...

Binary Sunset - stage 9

 I finished most of the foreground  so tomorrow should be able to finish it off and make a start on the buildings. It's taking longer as it's a larger picture and have to keep stopping to work out how to paint the next area coming up... it's a fantasy so there is no reference as such...

Binary Sunset - stage 8

 Decided to work on the rocks below the building first. When I'm happy with that area I can apply the colours and lighting to the rest of the foreground. I want it on the dark side but not too dark so I'm going quite carefully. I also need to make sure that there is some variety of colour in the rocks and don't want them to be too monochromatic....

Binary Sunset - stage 7

 More of the same really, have pretty much finished the background and now about to start work on the foreground rocks and landscape. Kind of looking how I intended....

Binary Sunset - stage

 Painted out the light area on the main cloud as it seemed to distract from the binary suns which are the lightest part of the painting. Started work on the background landscape but didn't get a lot done as I lost the morning going to an appointment out of town. This is actually starting to look like how I saw it in my imagination...

Binary Sunset - stage 5

 Strengthened the colour in the sky and made a cautious start on the distant landscape as I need to keep it not too light and not too dark.... breakfast coffee tomorrow will be needed to see where I'm going.

New colours used: Manganese Violet, Prussian Blue, Brilliant Pink, Yellow Lake Deep, Cadmium Yellow Pale and Lead Tin Lemon Yellow.

Isle Of Tears and Souk Al Medina sold

Isle Of Tears

 Two more paintings from my online show on IX Arts called "The Farthest Shore" have sold to a buyer in New Orleans as a present for his wife, "Isle Of Tears" and "Souk Al Medina". That makes four out of the eleven I had painted to exhibit at IX this year have now sold. 

"Isle Of Tears"  oil on linen 22" x 16"

"Souk Al Medina"  oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Souk Al Medina

Binary Sunset - stage 4

 First I painted an early rough colour pass on the sky and then strengthened the underpainting on the landscape. The sky will be warmer when it's finished. I am toying with the idea of it being mostly middle tones and darks but paintings can have a mind of their own and it might go the way that it wants to.... tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee will be a good time to make some decisions...

Colours used: Ultramarine Blue, Kings Blue Light, Pale Violet, Dioxazine Purple, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Zinc White and Warm White.

Castle Dracul sold

 "Castle Dracul" which is part of my online exhibition called "The Farthest Shore" on the IX Gallery which started on November 1st has just sold to a buyer in Arizona. This was originally a painting in my "Snow" series and also returns to an occasional series called "Vampires Of Venice" although in this case Nosferatu is in Transylvania... I wanted it to look very cold with the only warm colour in the turret window where all sorts of nasty things are probably going on.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Binary Sunset - stage 3

 Finished off the basic tonal underpainting and now to decide on colours.... over breakfast coffee tomorrow....

Binary Sunset - stage 2

 Halfway through the tonal underpainting as I decided to stop here as there was too large an area to paint in one day and I didn't want to hurry and make some mistakes which I will regret later. I decided to move the suns further to the right as it was compositionally better.

Binary Sunset - stage 1

Just a working title for the moment.... as the previous Star Wars painting was quite well received I thought I would paint another one this time a moody landscape of Tatooine with the binary suns low near the horizon at sunset. This is quite a logical progression from my recent Orientalist landscapes and am hoping that it works out well as I already have an interested buyer who has first refusal when it's finished. If other people are interested I might paint another although I don't want to be known just as a Star Wars artist. I have chosen a widescreen format to reflect the matte paintings by Industrial Light & Magic and the production art of Ralph Mcquarrie. I am used to working in this format as I did lot of widescreen paintings about ten years ago.

This is just the "drawing up" stage using a mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and applied with a brush before I paint the tonal underpainting using the same paint mix tomorrow.

Oil on linen 39" x 16".

Bestine Bazaar

 This painting came out of some photos some friends had taken in the new Star Wars area of Walt Disney World which showed the architecture of the planet Tatooine with Islamic lanterns adorning them which reminded me of my own Orientalist-inspired paintings. This made sense as the original Star Wars buildings are based on North Africa an area where I have already painted quite a few admittedly fictional locations. The obvious next step was to combine  these two elements in a painting as well as providing variety of subject matter for the paintings going to IX this year, although of course I was in the end unable to attend for medical reasons. The organisers of the show have offered me a solo online show for all this work on their online gallery "IX Gallery" next month.

I decided to use the lighting and softness of an earlier painting "Souk Al Medina" and then transpose these onto a setting on the planet Tatooine of the capital city which I believe is not shown in the movies called Bestine. I decided to have quite a disparity in height in the figures to emphasise the fact that not all the figures are human, after all Star Wars has many types of beings and non-beings in it's concept.

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

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

Souk Al Medina

 

Refuge and The Night Owl sold

Refuge

 Very pleased to see that Abend Gallery in Denver CO have sold two paintings from my online exhibition "The Sleeping City", "Refuge" and "The Night Owl". 

"Refuge" is oil on fine cotton 16" x 12"

"The Night Owl" is oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

The Night Owl

 

Chisen Ame sold

 "Chisen Ame" sold very quickly yesterday on Every Day Original. I think every one I have posted bar one has sold immediately on going live. 

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Dori Hinoiri sold

 This painting has just sold at The Haven Gallery, Northport, Long Island USA as part of a mixed show called "The Art Of Antiquity". The contact was made when the gallery saw my work on Instagram which goes to show that it's worth putting some effort into social media promotion! The curator/owner Erica Berkovitz looked at a number of paintings and chose this one for the show. I just had enough time to frame and then ship it to the USA before the show opened.

The painting is actually one from a projected series called "Into The Sun" which I didn't have  enough time to do many as I needed to get on with work for the upcoming IX in Reading PA which actually ends today - as you know in the end I was unable to get over to it due to medical problems - all those paintings will be in an online show on the IX Gallery website next month.

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

Refuge Sold

 "Refuge" which is part of my online show at the Abend Gallery, Denver CO has sold. In a way this was the odd man out in the show as they are all American urban landscapes whereas this one is near Pulborough in the UK and is not really urban either... I wanted the freezing cold atmosphere of walking home on a Winter evening with the sound of the footsteps muffled by the snow and the prospect of warming up by the fire as symbolised by the warm light in the window.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Bestine Bazaar - stage 5

 I worked on the nearest market stall at left today as it was important to set the style of how I am going to paint them which I will now apply to the others. I'm not hurrying this one as it might be the last painting for my IX online show next month. I then might well get on with paintings for a gallery in Denver CO which looks like it is going to represent me.

Bestine Bazaar - stage 4

 Painted in some buildings on the right, knocked back the background building again and started on the nearest market stall at left. Taking it slowly, a bit of a pot boiler this one... probably the last one I will paint for my IX online show next month.

Bestine Bazaar - stage 3

 Didn't get anything done yesterday due to other things going on. Today I started to knock back the main building more into the distance and fiddled around with the back end of the street trying to give it a sense of real space. Hoping to get everything ready tomorrow for all the market stalls to start going in.

Bestine Bazaar - stage 2

 Actually stage 5 by now but I've not been able to post all the stages for various reasons.... Still haven't painted in the spaceship and engine trail yet, I've been trying to knock it into shape as I go along, deciding to work on the nearest buildings first along with the large one in the distance. Looking a bit simple at the moment I will start on the incidental detail when it comes to painting in the shops lining the road.

New colours used: Yellow Lake Deep and Ultramarine Violet.

Abend Gallery

 I have an online show at the Abend Gallery in Denver CO which started on Saturday 14 October. The show is called "The Sleeping City" and has seven of my paintings from The Sleeping City series plus two nocturne paintings that were sent to the gallery for an earlier landscape exhibition. "Refuge" has sold (not in The Sleeping City" series) and I thought two others were but seemingly not now...

Here is the link to the show:

https://abendgallery.com/the-sleeping-city-by-mark-harrison

Here are the nine paintings in the show:

All Nite

Lonely Street

Shortcut

Station Blue

Steeltown

The Night Owl

The Somnambulist

Wrong Side Of The Tracks

Refuge