Memories Of The Lakes

I don't sketch from life nearly as much as I should but during my trip to the Lake District I managed to do a rough drawing in my A5 sketchbook of the village I was staying in. The view is the main (pretty much only) street in Hesket Newmarket which boast a lovely post office and most excellent pub owned by the local villagers. On my first night there Sir Chris Bonington was to be seen having a quiet drink, apparently he's a regular.

The sketch was done on a sunny afternoon. Suzanne and I were having a well deserved rest after scaling Carrock Fell. We got talking to some of the locals including a man designed christmas cards of Hesket Newmarket to be sold in aid of charity. He also auctioned the original artwork every year to the same ends.

Needles to say we had a brilliant, if sometimes wet time!

View from the top of Carrock Fell looking back towards Skiddaw. 

We were fortunate the sun chased us back down the hill.

Secure Computing Magazine Cover Pt.2

Apologies for my blogging absence I simply failed to put time aside for a post.

So far I have showed you how I worked on an acrylic under-painting to re-enforce the design and provide an extra layer of colour in the Secure Computing cover illustration.

Following on from that I whipped out my usual watercolours and got painting safe in the knowledge the acrylic under-painting would hold the artwork together while I was splashing about with paints. It didn't take too long to work up the correct values, most of the street scene at the bottom is in opaque gouache.

33 x 25cm

View Down The Bradford-On-Avon Shambles

 

42 x 68cm

I have just finished this watercolour so I guess this post is hot off the virtual press. There is a tiny bit of gouache on the bunting but the rest is purely watercolour. I've tried to experiment with focus in this piece. The alleyway or 'shambles' is very loose, deep in contrast but quite scratchy hopefully leading the eye towards the church which is much sharper and more detailed even though it's further away. Too me this gives an odd sensation as if the church is moving toward you, similar to those famous dolly zooms Spielberg used in Jaws. Click here to see what I mean.

Secure Computing Magazine Cover Pt.1

This commission is from a while back but I just haven't got round to posting about it (slapped wrist).

I was originally asked to work on a group portrait of all the judges for the SC Awards so I got down to that, then halfway through the editor asked me to work on the cover as well. After a struggle I completed the portraits, there weren't many decent photos available so needless to say I won't be posting that illustration. I have to exercise my quality control occasionally.

Next up was the cover. The editor wanted a night time scene of a glitzy awards ceremony being held at a posh London theatre. He suggested I could incorporate lots of bright lights and the impression of reflections on the wet pavements. I felt pretty confident because I could already see the image in my head and I knew exactly how I was going to tackle the brief.

The first image is the final pencil drawing. I wanted to get the detail and perspective bang on so drew a grid, one for the building and another for ground level. I managed to find a high quality photo of a London playhouse and a few others of the same building at night. Both things enabled me to stop worrying about the detail later on in the painting process.

The next step was to work on the values in the image. I pulled out some ultramarine acrylic and worked up all the shadows knowing that the blue would slightly show through the watercolour when finished thus giving the painting a cool glow, perfect for a night scene. Another added bonus is the acrylic effectively fixes your drawing underneath so all the hours spent on the detail won't be lost when wet. I hope to experiment more with different acrylic colour schemes as a under-painting for watercolour soon.

Next time...

I reveal the final illustration and hopefully something else I finish tomorrow.

What's On My Drawing Board?

Why this is:

Bradford-on-Avon is such a beautifully quirky place that it needs painting. This is a view looking down the Shambles to the Church of St Thomas More.

'Cracked Matador' Revisited

I wasn't pleased with the jpeg in my previous post. The colours were too desaturated for my liking so I've decided to re-post my 'Cracked Matador' painting and give you a bit more information on the process I went through in making it.

Penny's kind comment comparing me to Norman Rockwell was VERY flattering and wholly  undeserved! If I could have as much talent as Rockwell had in his little finger I would be a very happy man. However Penny must be physic because placed next to me during the whole time I painted 'Cracked Matador' was this image:

 April Fools - Girl With Shopkeeper by Norman Rockwell 1948

It's embarrassing placing my painting next to this amazing Saturday Evening Post cover but I thought it might be of interest. I used 'April Fools' mainly as a colour choices guide but I also incorporated a similar tiled floor and velvet curtain to that in Rockwell's painting. The lighting setup was also influenced by Rockwell. I loved the cold daylight from the left window which created depth in comparison to the warm top light which helped illuminate detail. I tried to suggest these two light sources just out of view in 'Cracked Matador' but still giving the same effect overall.

'Cracked Matador'

 18.5" x 23.5"

I finally finished my Bull in a China shop painting, or as I like to call it 'Cracked Matador,' yesterday. As always it looks a bit washed out when uploaded to blogger but at least you can see the detail better.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the final outcome. It closely resembles what I had in mind from the beginning which surely can only be a good thing, I just have to start coming up with better ideas and compositions now that my skills with a brush have increased.

Hope you like it!

My first ton with a Progress Shot

I suppose my 100th post should be followed by a lot of whizz-bangs and cheering but I'm afraid a simple progess shot will have to suffice.

I'm slowly getting through the detail in the china but I'll still have lots to work on once that is completed. Phewy!

What a load of... colour!

Here's a little bit of progress for you! I still have a lot to work on in watercolour before I move on to gouache.

A Small Value Study

It's certainly no Norman Rockwell charcoal value study but it's helped me to be confident in my colour values so far in the painting. The sketch was done with a standard Lyra Rembrandt charcoal pencil on tracing paper overlaying my initial line sketch featured on my previous post.

Progress photos will be making an appearance next week in the hope the watercolour will be worth showing!