Rainbow Warrior - 13

completed most of the work on the hand holding the pens...just the little bits protruding from the bottom of the hand...i'll look at those when I add the sweater in. I've spent time on the Seagull this afternoon...subtle shades means his true shape won't be seen at it's best until the background is added.

I'm not sure how much work i'll be able to do over this Easter Weekend...I'm off to church tonight and then taking my daughter out tomorrow, we were to have visited Eyam which is in the North of the County to visit the plague museum...Annie is studying the history of the plague at school. However, recent snow fall has left roads in that area impassable...snow drifts of up to 20 ft have been measured! We will probably not go...I do have to visit our local Ikea store though to buy frames for my Minipix...

Yesterday i had an email from the Arkwright Society who are hosting my exhibition which opens a week today. They have asked me if I would be interested in extending my exhibition for a further two days...at no extra cost! So I gratefully accepted!

Rainbow Warrior - 12

Work continues on this hand...looking at it now, the pens all seem to be wonky...I'll need to give them my attention tomorrow.Incidentally...I paint the tops of the pens to denote the colour of ink that each pen carries.

Rainbow Warrior - 11

I've tried to emphasise the shadows and deepen the colours today. I only worked for a few hours this afternoon...this morning I went out to a knitting and craft group at church which I've now been going to for a few months. I love creating and my knitting is a perfect hobby to help me relax and concentrate on something totally different from my artwork.The colour reproduction in the flash of my camera isn't totally accurate, but you get the idea...this is the back of a sweater....great fun!

Rainbow Warrior - 10

 I spent the day working on the hand you see below...at this stage I'd applied scarlet  and was in the process of blue dots to establish the shadowed areas.

Below you can see the hand having had scarlet, blue and now yellow ochre being applied. Tomorrow I shall deepen the contrasts.

 

Rainbow Warrior - 9

Work on the hand here is coming along well...I'm happy with the shadows and shades...still a way to go until it's complete though. I know the position of the hand looks a little awkward, but eventually you'll see that I'm actually holding the object out and upwards to the point where my eyes are focused. My other hand will be holding ....well, I'll leave that till I get there!...and leave you wondering :)

Rainbow Warrior - 8

I've moved onto the hand holding my 'Boscastle' seagull today...hands are difficult...the potential for them to look like a bunch of sausages is something all artists have fallen into. I've so far added a basic layer of Scarlet dots to define the areas of shadow...next will come blue and then yellow.....

Rainbow Warrior - 7

Having finished work on the rainbow scarf today, I will be moving onto the  hands tomorrow...I look forward to that!

Rainbow Warrior - 6

I'm enjoying this picture...I've approached certain aspects of my work quite differently this year. For a start, I've only committed to this piece after considering quite a few others...even to the point of fairly advanced sketches (if they're any good, they'll be there to draw on another time!)...I also wanted something that would express the changes I've experienced in my life.

Another significant change for my work process  this time is that  I'm not timing  how long it takes. In the past I tried to complete 5 - 6 hours work a day recording a running total of hours and minutes...this time I'm concentrating on the quality of my work...the concept of my work and my enjoyment of the process as opposed to feeling guilty if I've not completed a certain amount of time in a day.

 Calculating the price of a work by linking it to the amount of time needed to produce it has clearly not worked in the past, and that is also another reason for change. I'm not against any clock...I do not have a deadline...something like this picture is more than likely never to be bought..and certainly not having a return that matches the hundreds of hours that will go into creating it. So I'm just going to enjoy the process...do my best and share it with you! I will also be working on it during my exhibition so that visitors can see what I do.

Rainbow Warrior - 5

Thank you for some lovely encouraging comments about this so far! It's actually a very flattering image...despite it being taken from photos taken last week, i do look a little older in the flesh! I shall rationalise that effect by explaining that recent events in my life have left me feeling ( at least in some respects) like a young man! So you know really this is a representation of how I feel as opposed to how i look...(phew!..got out of that one...d'ya think anyone noticed?)

Rainbow Warrior - 4

I've laid down basic layers of colour for the chin and neck area. The ears are taking shape...the one in shade requires lots more work. Today I had a couple of events to attend, tomorrow is clear for a full day's work. I'm currently surprising myself....I have an exhibition in a couple of weeks and I am usually rather tense...anxious and full of panic when getting ready. This time I have no nerves...I'm relaxed and looking forward to the experience. I am a very different man to the one that last hung his artwork in public....

Rainbow Warrior - 3

 It's been so long since I've committed myself to such an ambitious project that I had got to the point where I doubted that i'd have enough remembered skill to achieve my proposed vision. So today i knew that the end of the day would either have me reaching for a fresh piece of paper , or ( as is the case! thankfully) i'd be able to sit back satisfied with my progression.

The eyes developed well and the addition of the yellow ochre made all the difference bringing the picture to life. Above is a photo showing the scale of the work and below is a close up detail of today's work.

Rainbow Warrior - 2

I've begun work by putting down a basic layer of red dots to define the main areas of shade.

 

I then proceed to add blue over the red dots....yellow ochre will be next. this is the stage where mistakes are made and any fault with the way the eyes look to me will mean a restart!

 

Rainbow Warrior - 1

 I've now begun work on my next large scale project. Now, observant readers will remember that way back in November I began a large scale piece featuring me amongst a bewilering amount of railway viaducts. Well I still have it and intend to return to it again someday. But this piece needs to be made, it's an important piece for me to do.Plus, I need to have a large piece as something I can demonstrate whilst I run my exhibtition in April!

As usual, for a self portrait, i'm working from reference photos...for acuracy, I've made a tracing which i've transfered to the page...I will begin dot work tomorrow when I can work in full daylight.

 

The photo above might give you a few clues as to the general theme here..I'm holding my trusty seagull called 'Boscastle'...he's featured in two pieces, once in 2006 and more recently in 2009. He was washed into the sea during an almighty storm which hit a village a couple of miles north of the holiday home we were staying in....I found the seagull bobbing in the sea a few days later. Slightly battered, he'd survived the storm...which is what I did on return from the holiday, I was made redundant from the Residential Social Worker I'd had for 6 years. It was during the 'stormy' period that followed that brought me to the decision to take my artwork full time. My current situation is also due a 'stormy ' period, so Boscastle is symbolic of the fact that I feel stronger than ever in my conviction that my vocation as an artist continues. Having found my faith in Jesus renewed, I want to offer him my talent and abilities as a sacrifice of my worship...I'm also holding the tools of my trade...my pens which you can see in my left hand (the hand I work with as it happens!) I'm wearing a jumper of my own design and hand...the back ground will contain a massive rainbow which will traverse across the page behind ( and to all intents) go through my head. The rainbow that to me symbolises the promise of God's lasting care and love for us and a seal on my heart that he's looking after me and my creativity in all I do. 

Misty forest -Development and finshed. Last of the Minipix!

 I'm sorry i've not been posting for a couple of days...I've had a rather annoying cold which has now thankfully gone! Almost back to normal i am. So here for your interest is the start to finish development of my final Minipic of the current series. I shall be concentrating on the start of a new large scale piece and preparations for a forthcoming exhibition.

 

Misty Forest - (2013)

10 x 7 cm.

Dandelion Misty Train - finished

Dandelion Misty Train (2013)

10x7 cm.

Misty Dandelion Train.

 Here's the development on another minipic...i admit that now i'm up and running again ...the production line moving...I'm chomping at the bit to get on with a larger piece. i've be waiting for the right inspiration to arrive and have toyed with s few concepts over the past few weeks which have seemed interesting. But i've finally found something that expresses what I'm feeling at the moment.

It remains on the sketch starting blocks ready to run, but whilst i'm in the swing, i'll produce this and possibly a few more minpics. I have an exhibition next month and need lots of new pieces to sell as originals. i'm on target ( there is no 'target'...but I like to think there is!) to have quite a good line up of affordable pieces to sell.

Anyway....here is the development of my current piece. I love steam trains in the mist (as you ought to know by now dear reader!!) And this is no exception....so I hope you enjoy the three photos of the same pic....i'm aiming to finish this tomorrow...so remember to check back for  the final result!

 

 

Smokey Train 2 - finished

Smokey Train2 (2013)

10 x 7 cm