Once again I’ve managed to be both pleased and disappointed. Perhaps its the fact that the painting is over and its not quite achieved the potential I was hoping for. With a painting that takes a bit longer than normal you need to keep your ideas fresh, the vision on track and the momentum going so that a painting is finished.

I think I did lose track of this one. Forgot some of the ideas and composition concepts I was hoping to employ. Its very bright and busy and it might appeal to someone who has been to Morocco.

 

Searching for a new subject to inspire and create from is always a challenge and the Moroccan trip has been a rich seam to tap. On the pictures I’ve used and the resources I have to hand are characters frozen in time. In some of the paintings I’ve recently produced I’ve included some characters, such as the sleeping boy in the fabric seller and the dock manager in Dry Dock. (I’m sure he owns the Range Rover on the other side of the painting).

It seems animals are safer to add – cats, dogs, horses or seagulls but people are tricky. Too much  detail and they can become cartoons or caricatures. As usual I’ve been looking at how other artists attempt people.

Edward Seago is a master of the simple wash.

Geoffrey Wynne often creates coloured silhouettes

David Howell develops delightful characters (so French)

I’ve been looking through my Moroccan photos and pulling out some characters wearing traditional dress. The three girls had ventured onto a sea wall and were chatting together. The rear view of the donkey cart driver, a man striding across a square, a couple shopping in the Medina and three musicians walking to their next victims. All to be included in another painting, one day.