Under The El - Finished

Finally finished it after a few days away from the studio, one for delivering "I Pescatori" to the Royal Academy of Arts as my entry for the Summer Exhibition and the other day spent in the Sussex countryside painting en plein air although this time using chalk pastels. Very near the end I decided to take out all the figures but one as I find deserted streets more interesting than populated ones. I am primarily interested in setting a mood and atmosphere, they are not just a painting of a scene or location that I see before me.

Pratique des Arts - Feature on my work

Issue no.103

A flurry of hits on my website from France announces the publication of Issue no.103 that has an article about me and my work. It seems to refer to me as an illustrator which since 2005 is incorrect and refers to my interest in the island of Bali in Indonesia which these days too is mainly incorrect although I would be more than happy to return! It mentions my interest in light particularly at dusk in landscapes and cityscapes so at least that is true! I will post the pages when my copy of the magazine arrives.

Under The El - Third Day

I am now doing the underpainting for the buildings and building up the transparent darks using a rag for the underside area.

Under The El - First day

The "El" is short for" Elevated " and is the nickname for the rapid transit system operated by the CTA in Chicago. I was there for a convention in 1991 where luckily I took a few photo's of the El. It was hot and humid (completely the opposite of what I was expecting) but I have decided to change the mood and lighting and make it look more like "The Windy City" of it's reputation and have set it on a very rainy day instead - Cityscapes always seem to suit rainy or snowy weather. I am going to keep it mostly monochrome with just a few flashes of pure colour for the traffic signals and car lights, the early stages being painted in transparent layers, the opaque highlights coming later. 

Petrol Station, Luang Prabang - Finished

Well it has come out fairly near how I remember it. I have tried to get across that atmosphere of a late afternoon in the Tropics just after a shower as the sun begins to set - hot and humid!

Petrol Station, Luang Prabang - Second day

I have roughly painted in some colour to give me an idea about where I am going with this. I know the feeling I want and this stage will help me visualise how I can achieve it. The petrol station is light and dark blue and red and it has become apparent already that it is going to be tricky getting that powdery blue paintwork across in a predominantly yellow and green environment as I want the painting to be in a fairly high key with very little cool colour.

Petrol Station, Luang Prabang - First day

Contrary to my usual practice of working in pairs I have decided to postpone the companion painting to "The Lost Garden" and get on with a very different picture instead. Fired up by the trial pictures for the RA Summer Exhibition I wanted to try a larger scale painting that dispensed with the usual charcoal under-drawing, this time I would roughly paint it in with Prussian Blue heavily thinned down with turps on an acrylic imprimatura of light pink/orange. I came across this wonderful petrol station on the banks of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang, Laos in 2002 and have wanted to paint it ever since. The sun was starting to set on a hot late afternoon with puddles of water from an earlier shower reflecting the dusty light with everything bathed in an inviting haze - I had only just arrived from the flight and was instantly knocked out by the funky petrol station strangely situated by the river framed by the setting sun. I hope to get this all across as the painting progresses! This is destined for the June exhibition at The Medici Gallery and as the exhibition title is "People and Places" I feel that this and maybe another one of somewhere I have been in exotic climes could fit in very well.