International Artist magazine

 My painting "The Safe House" has now been published as a Finalist in the Landscapes Challenge in the current June/July issue of International Artist magazine. Although I don't have a hard copy yet the editor kindly sent me a pdf so that I can post it on social media etc. The painting is destined for my solo show next year at the Abend Gallery, Denver CO. Oil on canvas 39" x 16".

Mina Al Dhahab

 This one changed in a couple of ways from how I intended it to go. Firstly it was originally going to be Atkinson Grimshaw in the desert but I changed my mind about the sky and it became hot and dusty like an approaching sandstorm and once that decision had been made I went with it and it became a limited palette dusty, dramatic painting instead of a nocturne. Secondly once it was finished and the gold came through in the water I decided to change the title to a rough Arabic equivalent of "Port Of Gold". It's based around a yellow/violet complementary pulling in some violets and oranges.

I have painted this for my upcoming slot next month on Every Day Original.. unless somebody buys it first and I have to paint another...

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

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

Mina Al Simoom - stage 4

 Painted a few tweaks in the sky and background and then painted in the buildings. I am trying to introduce some colour variations as I don't want it to be a virtual monochrome so working around the basic yellow/violet complementary and trying to bring in reds and violets. On to the water and boat tomorrow....

Mina Al Simoom - stage 3

 Made some decisions about the colours this morning and have gone for dusty yellows, browns and oranges - I will introduce some violets into the foreground as the complementary and for some variety of colour (and I suspect some dusty greens too). Difficult to get a decent pic of this, the original is softer and warmer than it appears here. I painted the first pass on the sky and background today as well as blocking in some more colour on the buildings in readiness for tomorrow's painting session when it will be dry.

Colours used so far: Dioxazine Purple, Manganese Violet, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Naples Yellow, Yellow Lake Deep, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon and Warm White.

Mina Al Simoom - stage 2

 After finishing the tonal underpainting this morning I gave it a thin transparent wash of Transparent Gold Ochre but then left it like that for today as I need to have a good think about the colours I will be using. So hopefully I will make the correct decisions over breakfast coffee tomorrow morning as I seek a hot, dusty and dramatic atmosphere....

Mina Al Simoom - stage 1

 

Roughly translates as "Port of The Dusty Wind"....

Just trying something out for my next Every Day Original slot coming up in June... sort of Atkinson Grimshaw in the Sahara...probably a limited palette of dusty colours to try and get across a hot dusty afternoon/night atmosphere. Hoping to make it very moody and atmospheric.

I "drew" it up this morning and then put in the tonal underpainting for the sky as well as blocking in the boat this afternoon but didn't have enough time to get it all in today as I didn't want to rush it. By getting the sky in first I will be able to finish the rest of the underpainting tomorrow and have time to put in the first colour pass on the sky as it will be dry from today's session. I used my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple  thinned with Liquin and applied with a brush and rag.

Oil on fine cotton 16" x 12".

Homeward Bound

 This is another for my solo show at the Abend Gallery, Denver CO next year. I was going to paint this awhile ago but decided to try and improve how I painted waves and water first so the recent smaller paintings were kind of trial runs before I took on this one. This is a return to my "Point Of Light" series with a lonely trawler returning to port after a long while at sea off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. I have tried to use the format to emphasise the loneliness of the trawler on the open sea set against the approaching coastline with a faint hint of orange on the horizon just around from the far headland - the home it's heading for. I hadn't planned it as a nocturne but once I had left that bright space in the sky in the tonal underpainting I decided to go with it which is just as well as the painting would have looked a bit drab without the beautiful moon in the sky.

Oil on canvas 39" x 16".

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

 

Homeward Bound - stage 6

 I thought I might get in all the sea today but it covers a large area so I left it here. The challenge is keeping the tones right, it has to be kind of dark as it is nighttime but visually that will be boring so I need to try and keep a variety of tones within the nocturne setting with some moonlight hitting the waves directly below without it looking cheesy...

Homeward Bound - stage 5

 Started work on the sea trying not to make it too dark so relying on the reflected moonlight to give it lighter tones and highlights. Glad I did those earlier seascape paintings as they stood me in good stead for painting this.

New colours used: Cobalt Teal, Naples Yellow-Reddish Extra, Unbleached Titanium Dioxide and Warm Light Yellow.

Homeward Bound - stage 4

 I decided to keep the moon as the whole picture would look a bit flat with little variety in tone and colour so once that decision was made I proceeded to finish the sky and paint in the Pacific Northwest coastline. Glad I made that decision and glad that I originally left that area free of paint. On to the sea....

New colour used: Lead Tin Yellow Lemon.

Homeward Bound - stage 3

 First colour pass on the sky and I remain undecided about having a moon there or not.... hopefully fresh eyes and my breakfast coffee will come up with the right decision tomorrow.

Colours used: Prussian Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Permanent Orange, Zinc White and Warm White.

Homeward Bound - stage 2

 I have finished the basic tonal underpainting before it gets a desaturated blue wash prior to the colour going on. I'm glad I didn't rush it yesterday as that foreground needed quite a lot of thought  as I painted it in. In my mind I have always seen this in a slightly murky late afternoon light with everything in desaturated blues apart from a couple of tiny orange lights on the boat as the complementary. I wasn't planning on having that brighter spot in the sky at right but it kind of painted itself into the picture so I have kept it for the moment.

Homeward Bound - stage 1

 Back to my gallery work now as I need 15 of these paintings for a solo show in a Denver gallery next year... I was going to paint this awhile ago but decided to try and improve my painting of water before I started so some recent paintings have been partially exercises in doing just that. Whether I have improved enough for this painting we will find out soon enough...

As it is a relatively large painting (for me) I worked out that it would be difficult to get the whole tonal underpainting done in one day so I opted to make a start on the sky first once I had worked out where things are going. As this is a return to my "Point Of Light" series there will be a lonely trawler returning home from a while at sea in the failing light of evening/late afternoon. Everything will be painted in desaturated blues as a counterpoint to the tiny orange lights on the boat. Although it has a maritime theme it is really about you/me going home at the end of a hard day knowing some creature comforts are waiting for you, just a while longer in the gathering gloom....

This partial tonal underpainting uses my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and mainly applied with a rag.

Oil on canvas 39" x 16".

Keller's Tomb

 An homage to an homage... I've always been a big fan of Ferdinand Keller a contemporary of Arnold Bocklin who painted the famous "Isle of The Dead" series. One of Keller's paintings is "The Tomb of Bocklin" which was an homage to Bocklin and I in turn am painting an imagination of Keller's Tomb which I have attempted to paint in Keller's style. I have composed it with his trademark dark cypress trees massed together to form dark dramatic shapes against the rocky mountains. The Wisteria is a nod to Keller's painting of Bocklin's tomb. To my mind this has an element of being two paintings in one with a Ferdinand Keller landscape in the foreground set against a landscape reminiscent of the Hudson River School... but I guess I'm too close to it and other people won't see it in this way... I guess I couldn't stop it eventually coming out like a Mark Harrison landscape painting which I guess is no bad thing...

Oil on linen 22" x 16".

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

Keller's Tomb - stage 6

 Made inroads into painting the tomb and rocks etc feeling my way along trying to get the colours near to Ferdinand Keller which turns out to be using Naples Yellow and various greens.

New colour used: Bright Green Lake

Keller's Tomb - stage 5

 OK I have painted in the trees which are the main connection to Ferdinand Keller's paintings in the way that he blocks them all together. Might need to darken areas in the background but will paint in the rocks and foreground tomorrow and see what needs to be tweaked then.

Keller's Tomb - stage 4

 Although I am trying to paint this a bit like Ferdinand Keller it is of course coming out like a Mark Harrison which I guess is OK, the foreground will be a chance to put my plan into action but I bet it still comes out like a Mark Harrison....

This is the first colour pass on the sky and background which I'm hoping is in fact pretty much finished so that I can make a start on the trees tomorrow. The background at right has come out like a Hudson River School painting but I guess that is no bad thing in the end.

Colours used: Ultramarine Blue, Ultramarine Violet, Dioxazine Purple, Permanent Sap Green, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Orange, Naples Yellow, Lead Tin Yellow Lemon, Unbleached Titanium, Warm Light Yellow and Warm White. All Michael Harding paints.

Keller's Tomb - stage 3

 After giving the tonal underpainting a second pass of the Burnt Sienna/Dioxazine Purple mix I decided to do things a bit differently and waited for it to dry over the day and then I gave it a wash of Transparent Yellow Oxide. I am looking to emulate the colours of his paintings and am hoping this will be a good start particularly for the shrine and rocks....

Keller's Tomb - stage 2

 After considerable thought over breakfast coffee and afterwards I honed the composition down to this which I hope will have something of a Ferdinand Keller painting about it when it's finished. I decided to extend the massed dark area which I think is how he did it and sorted out the foreground better. So the initial tonal underpainting is finished....

Keller's Tomb - stage 1

 An homage to an homage.... I've always been a big fan of Ferdinand Keller a contemporary and friend of Arnold Bocklin who painted the famous "Isle Of The Dead" series. A favourite Keller painting is "The Tomb Of Bocklin" and my painting is an imagination of Ferdinand Keller's tomb in a typical Keller landscape of dark cypress trees which he usually massed together to form dark dramatic shapes in a high contrast landscape. To this end I have started to draw it up but felt that I had to stop today after massing some dark shapes for the trees as I decide on the rest of the landscape over tomorrow morning's breakfast coffee. At the moment I can't quite visualise how I want it to go so best to stop now and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning.

This is the beginning of the drawing up and tonal underpainting stage using my usual mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin.

Oil on linen 22" x 16'.