One man show in Bury St.Edmunds

As stated in my previous blog, my one man show is up and running. It is at the Edmund Gallery in Bury St. Edmunds and runs till Thursday.

I have a variety of work on display, both portraits and landscapes in all mediums from oils to acrylics , gouache to charcoal, pencil , watercolour and pastel.

Cambridge Drawing Society Exhibition

This last week, I have been wearing one of my other hats, namely that of Treasurer of the Cambridge Drawing Society.
Throughout the country, the Exhibition season is underway with artists rushing to finish and deliver paintings, and organizers trying to cope with all that involves.
Tuesday was the handing in day for the Cambridge Drawing Society. Wearing my “official” badge, and sitting behind the desk, I was able to observe the scene from a very different perspective. Amidst the sea of wrapping paper and bubble wrap, there were those who nervously handed over their works and fled as quickly as possible. There were those who saw it as a social occasion and wanted to chat with friends and officials, blissfully unawares of the queues building up behind. There were those who had followed all the instructions, filled in correctly the forms and labels, and there were those who had done none of it. There was the sound of snipping scissors and shouts for string and pens all adding to the general atmosphere and tension of “Sending in Day.”
Wednesday was the Selection Day, crunch time for all. It is the second year I have in my official capacity been witness to the procedure where all the paintings are brought before the Selection Committee for their decision. It is wholly democratic, with one man one vote, and everyone, whether they be President, Treasurer or Candidate must abide by the judgement, no matter how wrong or unjust we think it might be . Not for the faint hearted the inevitable rejection artists have to endure!

The Selection Committee at work.
Following over 3 hours of judging , the selected works are laid out ready for hanging. It is a time to see everything that has been accepted and to begin to get the feel of how the exhibition will look.

Time also for a brief lunch break!

In the afternoon, screens are erected and the process of hanging begins. This is an art in itself, balancing subject matter , colours and trying to ensure that every painting is seen to its best advantage, an almost impossible task with over 300 works on display. And there are , of course, good spots and bad spots within any exhibition area, so somebody is bound to be upset by where their work is hung!
The Private View looms. Activity becomes even more frantic as labels and catalogues are organized and food and wine “magically” appear.
The Private View took place yesterday evening and was very well attended.

Tania Verdejo, Andy Mc Kenzie and Karen Stamper.

Gavin Clark

Rachel Haynes and her pastel paintings.

Lynne Woodhams, a newly elected member.

Mrs. Gavin Clark.
Founded in 1882, the Cambridge Drawing Society is one of the oldest art societies in the country. Former members have included Cecil Beaton, Ronald Searle and Gwen Raverat. Despite its name, the Society encompasses all forms of artwork, from oils to acrylics, watercolour,gouache, pastel, linocut, etching , wood engraving and sculpture.
In this exhibition, I am showing two works.
The first is an oil portrait of Tony Langford, Managing Director of John Smedley Ltd. ( 2003-2009.)

The second, is a charcoal sketch of “Granny Mc Leod” a 94 year old Scottish lady of great character.

The Cambridge Drawing Society Annual Exhibition at the Guildhall runs from 25th April -2nd May and is open daily 10- 5.30

Painting a landscape in acrylics - part 1

This is a painting of the small village of Alcaufar, one of the places we visit in Menorca on Inspiration Holidays.

Initially, I do some quick compositional sketches in either pencil or charcoal. I am looking at the main masses, at the rhythms and lines running through the painting and how this all relates to the picture frame. I check for the Golden section (or Rule of Thirds) and patterns of light and shade. I find it invaluable to do all this preliminary work, to think about what I am painting and why, rather just sitting down and hoping for the best! On the Holiday, I encourage students to get into this way of working.
Moving on to the painting, I quickly establish the main masses of the composition. I do not do any preliminary drawing with pencil or charcoal, but go straight in with the brush. I am working in acrylics, but at this stage the paint is very fluid, almost like a watercolour.

acrylic/oil portrait painting 3

Out of the chaos, order gradually emerges. Details of clothing, the table and objects on it, and the window gradually appear. I am still working in acrylics and the process so far has taken around two hours.

Acrylic/oil portrait painting 2

Here, I am still working in acrylics. I now begin to feel my way into the composition. The figures are roughly drawn in, as is the basic perspective of the background setting. I establish a cool green underpainting for future warm flesh tones.

Using acrylics as an underpainting for oils

The previous oil portrait was done in a traditional manner. This time I am using acrylics as the underpainting. The reason? It dries extremely rapidly so layer upon layer can be built up quickly prior to adding the oils on top. It is spontaneous and can be great fun, as can be seen from the somewhat colourful and apparently chaotic illustration on the right. But the colours I am using are chosen very deliberately to pick up those in the subject.

The finished portrait painting in oils

Over a number of sessions, the details in the head and hands was built up. This involved various techniques- glazing, scumbling and the use of body colour. At times stiff pigment was used, at others the paint was diluted with medium. I favour a stand oil, dammar varnish and turpentine mixture. The background was added during this process as well as details of the chair and clothing.
The background was painted over the edges of the hair . When this was dry, the hair was dragged back over it and a sable rigger used to establish some of the finer wisps.

Charcoal sketch to portrait painting in oils

Having decided on the finished preparatory sketch, I now prepared to do the oil painting. I chose to work on a fine linen canvas which I had stretched before applying two coats of size and two coats of oil primer. I then stained the canvas with a transparent wash of raw umber. This gives me a very useful mid tone on which to build my lights and darks.
I drew the figure in with a brush and fluid paint ( lots of turpentine) before moving on to the blocking in stage. All this time, I am checking angles, proportions, rhythms through the figure, and ,of course, position on the canvas. There is nothing worse than painting a fine head only to discover it's in the wrong place!
The accompanying illustrations show the painting in various stages of development. The head is well under way, the hands are just rapidly sketched in , and there are still large areas of the original staining. In my next blog I will show how the portrait was developed further.

How to create a charcoal portrait 3

Thanks Simon for your comments. These are usually fairly quick exploratory sketches, not worrying too much about either likeness or expression - they are mainly about pose and composition. If I did however, chance to get the "perfect expression", I would hope to recognise it and be able to replicate it in the final painting. The client and I both agreed that sketch 2 was not the "correct" one; the sitter is a very lively 92 year old who despite her physical frailty is mentally very alert, enjoys talking to people and is very aware of what is going on in the world. We both felt that sketch 3 expressed this better.