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 A friend has told me that my painting "The Singing Tree"has been nominated for a Chesley Award in the Unpublished category by the American Science Fiction Artists organisation (ASFA).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.