Illuxcon 2015

I am pleased to say that I have been accepted in the Main Show for Illuxcon 8 to be held in Allentown, Pa October 21 -25 2015! It will be a great chance to meet up with friends old and new as  well as to hopefully build on the contacts and connections I made in September this year......and looking forward to all those diner breakfasts and pumpkin ales.......

Saharan Sunset - stage 5

Painted in the lettering and pretty much finished the motel so started on the background in addition to painting another glaze of pink/blue over the sky. I'm still thinking of keeping the Boulevard deserted....

Saharan Sunset - stage 4

I realised that the lamp post at left was too high so painted some out which I think will make it a better composition with the main palm tree being the only object now breaking the top picture edge. I then put down the first glaze of pink/orange over the sky before starting to resolve the motel and the short palm tree at left foreground. Not getting a lot of painting done in this dismal weather, I don't trust or like the light you get from so-called "daylight" bulbs!

Saharan Sunset - stage 3

Put down some base colours into the foreground and gave the sky another coat of pink/orange ready for the first glaze tomorrow. Thinking of having Sunset Boulevard empty of cars and people....maybe a more surreal feel to the picture?

Saharan Sunset - stage 2

Made a start on the sky including a decision to put in the sun as I want the maximum contrast tonally in the picture, from some near-blacks in the foreground to the virtual white of the sun. Managed to get two coats down of an Alizarin Crimson/Dioxazine Purple mix over the bottom of the painting through the use of Lukas Number 5 Medium that allowed the first coat to dry so quickly.

Saharan Sunset - stage 1

"Saharan" as in the motel on Sunset Boulevard LA that is! This is another of my high contrast, high saturation pictures this time based on an analgous colour set of orange to violet (at least that is the plan at the moment). I am using an interesting method of obtaining reference material which I will write more on at a later time. I first "drew" it in with a mix of Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and then washed in a tonal underpainting with a rag and brush using a mix of Permanent Orange and Permanent Rose for the sky and Burnt Sienna and Dioxazine Purple thinned with Liquin and turpentine for everything else.

Drive Thru

Continuing with me trying out a higher contrast, higher saturation look this is a painting of the well-known Rock and Roll MacDonalds at 600 N. Clark in Chicago and references a photo I took there many years ago. It is based around a pink/orange - green/blue near complementary colour axis trying to keep each colour area distinct for a stronger design. 
My recent Orientalist paintings such as "The Arrival Of The Concubines" and "Approaching The Citadel" which use a high contrast, high saturation look that has been well received have informed my current approach to my other work such as this picture. I like how I could continue to paint for different markets, each one connected and informed by the other; one, the more fantasy influenced Imaginative Realist the other more for the "fine art" market in the UK and USA.
20" x 16" oil on linen. There is a step-by-step progress through this painting in previous posts on this blog.