Finished Spirit

Well, here it is.After a total of 135 hours 25 minutes it is finished.I hope you've enjoyed seeing the development of it over the past month or so.

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Here's a chance to see Oskur's side of the story...as you can see, i've only got to complete this side of the field and my signature to finish this picture.I'm hoping that I'll be able to bring you the final article tomorrow sometime!!

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For some reason, the snow apears to have melted!So today has seen me laying down progressively thinner lines of soil..soon there will be no need to define the lines as I reach the horizon..I'm quite pleased with certain aspects of this picture..one thing I speak of time and time again is my love of contrasting textures...there are plenty here! Have you ever walked over a ploughed field?..I have..even in stout boots it's quite tricky!

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I've added in the details of the Maid's underskirt and Julie's skirt..before I finish the figures, i've decided to make a start on the field behind them. I settled on it being a ploughed field..(just right for a fertile imagination to take root)..as I was working out how to execute the look, it seemed to be turning out as if there was remenants of a snow shower ...I'll persue this effect as any snow means fewer dots!

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So..I move into the last week of work on this piece..it's hard to believe that i'm only in the fifth week on this. It actually feels like longer.when you work so intensely and closely on something, be it a drawing, painting,embroidery..a brick wall...it becomes part of you..part of your daily experience.For me, coming to the end of a picture is a time to celebrate, but also tinged with a sense of loss...and even though it happens every time..i'm never prepared for it!

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So far I've spent 106 hours on this picture..my feeling is that it will soon move into the final phase. I've added trees along the horizon giving it a rather English feel despite the Scottish church.looking back over the previous posts and my sketches in preparation for this [iece. I could not have envisaged what I now see before me. I generally work with blocks and areas, tones and larger items. But the little details are what I don't plan..and they get put in as the opportunity arrises.I like the little gravestones to the left of the church. I don't think my photo is so clear as it was heading for dusk just now when i took it.Th eflash has bleached the centre of the picture a little. Never mind...you get the general idea.

Now is the time I begin to think about what comes next....I'll let the ideas bubble away in the back ground.

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Having virtually finishe the sky..I need to attend to the clouds that i've decided to have close to the horizon. Firstly penciling in their shape is easy..I then dot around the edges, then soften their appearance...the underside is blended into the area below and the top of the clouds are softened to give a light fluffy appearance.

A light layer of dots is used over the entire cloud grading to almost nothing before the edge.

Having completed the cloud, I erase the pencil underdrawing leaving a crisp and well defined cloud.

I then move onto the clouds further over the other side of the figure.The same process is repeated.

Here you can see the finished clouds. Now, I have no intention of leaving the horizon bare, let alone white. so I like and want to introduce a line of trees...I now need to decide if they will be fairly regimented or give the appearance of an aged hedgerow with Oaks placed randomly with other trees like Ash. Once this is done..Julie and the Maid will have my full attention!...the're next!

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The planet behind the clouds?...Mars of course!

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I've spent most of the time this weekend refining what I've already done with the planets. the largest one (Large only by it's proximity...in actual fact it is classified as a minor planet and is 2274 km in diameter) is supposed to be Pluto and as such needs some craters and details..I've refined the uppermost cloud but still need to work on the lower clouds. The planet directly behind Pluto is Neptune and then in the distance is Mercury..The planet to the upper left is Venus which appears faily smooth..mainly because it has an atmosphere made up of clouds of sulphuric acid obscuring the rocky lifeless surface.

Here you can see me working on the sky towards the horizon. Jonice mentioned in a comment that my composition is like a 'Salad'..I lioke that analogy..constantly adding ingredients which complement and combine. I have a few other ingredients yet to throw in ..

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Here you can see how the background is coming out..I originally decided on just the one Raven in the picture..but like I said before, things sometimes suggest themselves. If you visit Julies blog and see her recent paintings you'll see that black birds are part of the most recent works. I therefore include them here too because I think those paintings are fantastic. The planets in the background are I suppose a bit of a science fiction illustrators clichet..but they'll make more sense when the rest of the picture is complete.

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Have you ever thought about those stupid 'Why?' questions..you know, the ones that go "Why no matter what colour bubble bath you put in your bath are the bubbles always white?"..or the 'Where?' questions like "On Noah's ark, where did he put the Wood Peckers?"...or even.."on Noah's ark..how many rabbits were there after 40 days and nights?"...these things go through you mind when you spend all day dotting!

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There doesn't appear to be much added in terms of ink today..I've been working behind the scenes as it were on elements for the background which i want to get right...I have a desire to put a flying Raven in the picture..originally I was going to have one sitting on top of a grave stone..



It was a funny start to the day today..I had to get the kids ready for school..etc..then as i was making the packed lunches, I looked out of the kitchen window and saw a beautiful sunrise..I ran upstairs with my camera to get a picture before it disappeared off into the clouds. There are things in life that come and go, they sometimes present themselves to us for only a fleeting moment..it is up to us to judge weather to reach out and take the opportunity or not..but often when we don't..we are left with regret.
I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity to see this..the gap in the clouds was so small..the event had passed only a minute later.

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I've spent the whole working day on what you see here..around 5 hours so far.I've managed to create the effect of the seams up the front of the bodice and I think the buttons look OK.(Imagine doing those up each morning?..I guess that's why one has a maid?!) I'm also being a little more fastidious because it's Julie.

I had an idea which is a little daft. Why don't I advertise my services to produce high quality portraits where the customer can have themselves in any situation/costume/era etc...? If you were able to have a custom made portrait...what would you chose?

Here's a view from a couple of days ago..firstly you'll get an idea of the scale of the picture, and secondly , you can see my little sketch book in which i'm working on how the background will look. I usually get plenty of time to play around with ideas for the back ground ...I've now spent just under 50 hours on the actual picture and won't start work on the scenery for another day or so! It is however important to know what i'm going to do when the time comes.

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I've finished Julie's hair and moved down to work on the bodice..I want the material to have a slight sheen, so I'm putting creases around the buttons to give some interest and to give the effect of tightness...there's a corset under there somewhere too!The sleeve's I've not fully decided on..I currently favour a semi transparent material in black with black flowers/butterflies or both in tiny repeated patterns.she will also wear elbow length gloves in black.

The church is complete..there will be a misty haze on the ground..you might also manage to make out the scribbles indicating where some of the clouds will be. There's been a lot of sickness in my family this week..coughs and colds mainly. So far i've escaped!

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Slow going on this today..it's incredibly focusing to one's concentration to be working on a portrait i really want to get right! I have carefully added each and every dot making sure that it's in it's right place, taking frequent breaks to step away from the work and focus on something distant. I'm fairly pleased with the likeness I've achieved here.

whilst working on Julie's portrait, I've decided to have a second area upon which to work..I like the discipline of presenting architectural work. The church shown here is Dunbar Parish church in Scotland where I holidayed last summer.

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Sorry for the delay in posting today..creating the sketches which would be correct was a long and drawn out process. Here you see my 'Maid' who appears to be in the process of being spanked by non other than my good friend and colleague Julie Schuler.Julie appears ( with her permission) as a strict Victorian ma'rm.In the back ground you can also make out a church which similar to 'the game' will be being struck by lightning from the boiling clouds above. The sky will hide more secrets as the riddle like quality of this picture develops.

Some of you may have been expecting a rather 'cute' rendition of Oskur playing with this wooden figure..but as with many of my recent works..a rather darker aspect is emerging. I am trying to push the 'envelope' which defines my work..be a little bolder..a little more outspoken.The meaning?..well for once, i will refrain from any revelations..in fact a quote I have recently discovered will suffice:

"Everyone wants to understand art.Why not try to understand the song of a bird?Why does one love the night,flowers,everything around one, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting..people have to understand...People who try to explain paintings are barking up the wrong tree."

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The photograph is a little wonky because I couldn't get far enough over the picture...and i wanted to get it in daylight and it was getting dark.I'm just putting in the fur to the right of Oskur's arm..the more i looked at the composition as a whole,the more it felt as if he should be moving to the left. tomorrow I'll begin placing the other elements into the picture..I'm very excited by what is to come.