Dry Dock

Having been bored by my recent painting I have turned to looking at other artists and noting how they add life and movement to their pictures.

Some keep plenty of white and contrast with dark shadows, other introduce splashes, flicks and drips, some  keep the focus very tight, others go impressionistic or even contemporary.  There are many more ways I’m sure.

So I’ve painted a before and after. Using the very busy scene of  the Dry Dock in Essaouria, I’ve changed the sky, added paint spray, changed the walls and added seagulls.

Before

Morocco

Dry dock, Essaouria

After adding more interest to the painting

Essaouria, Morocco

Dry dock 2, with movement

 

Towards the Souk

Another painting of Essouria for the collection. I’m getting a little predictable and this one is very boring.

OK there is a passing resemblance to the photo but the sketch i did standing up in the shade from this spot has far more character.  This is sooo safe and boring. Now to experiment….

Watercolour

Walking towards the Medina in Essaouria

Essaourian fabric seller

I’ve just returned from a spell in hospital and was looking for a picture to get me back to painting. The paintings I’ve been working on from Morocco have been working well and I have really enjoyed the colours, subjects and light from the trip. I’m working from photos of the trip taken my myself and Janet (Brambles) and some of them are really glorious.

This time I’m working from a photo on the Medina at Essaouria, taken by Janet. The colours of the fabric, the position of the arch and the movement of the people all attract me. I’m still confused over BUMFROPP and how to apply these to the painting but there are a couple of clear uses on the painting.

I looked at and drew various compositions but in the end drew most of the picture with the expectation of cropping when I get to frame it. How would you crop?

Essaouria, Morocco

Fabric Seller

It’s certainly different, and I think has an atmosphere. I enjoyed painting the fabric and people but still not sure if the painting works as a whole.

Seagulls of Essaouria

As I gave my recent painting of Essaouria to a friend I wanted to return to the scene and paint it again. I found looking through my photos of the trip a more misty version with the tide at a higher point. I felt I had not worked on the city’s coastline properly and this photo was showing more of the sea’s edge  but it also included a rougher sea and the gulls.

I’ve used larger paper this time and this offers me more scope on close ups and wider skys and seas. As I mentioned in my previous post I’m looking at composition and this subject is confusing me.  I’ve created an acronym which I can remember, however, I sometimes forget all the meanings.

BUMFROPP. Its a good word to remember. Balance, Unity, Movement, Focus, Rhythm, O(contrast Or tone), Pattern and Proportion.

Now to apply this to my painting – well I can’t… or I should say I can and I can’t.  I end up post-rationalising and forcing the composition to fit the points. Did I start out with Bumfropp? Sort of, but not completely. I already knew the scene as it had worked before. There was very little drawing as I did most of detail at the painting stage. So it emerged quite quickly with only the initial washes and gulls taking time. I hope you like it.

Morocco

Seagulls of Essaouria

 

 

 

Essaouria Medina

I was looking to cheer myself up from the cold January weather and toothache, so I went through my photos of Morocco. I found a picture of an archway in the Essaouria Medina. It has lovely warm colours, depth, and interest in the traders on each side. The shops are busy and I wasn’t sure how detailed I should go.

I’m focusing on composition at the moment and I find this really difficult. I made several sketches and looked at options using the computer screen and decided on a portrait shape with the focus on the archway.

I’ve kept the colours soft with the main shadow under the arch. There is more detail for those who look a little more deeply as I wanted rewards for the viewer and not give everything away immediately.

For those who went to Morocco I hope it captures the essence of the place.

Essouria Morocco Medina

Essaourian Archway

I’ve noticed this picture was not looking very warm so I’ve taken the photo again to match the painting

arch2

I think there is quite a difference!

Watercolour project

Hanging on a quiet wall at my Mothers house is a rather dour Victorian watercolour of a river and winter trees. It’s largely been overlooked but I was peering at it the other day when I realised the skill in the painting is outstanding. I’ve borrowed it for a short while in order to make a study of it.

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The Ouse at Sunset

Normally I post a story of my work but this time the story will unravel as I work through the project, learning as I go.

Janet will appreciate the fresh and stretched piece of watercolour paper. Langton 140Lb not. 420x297mm

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Stretched watercolour paper

So, it’s already not quite gone to plan. The old tape I’ve used to stretch the paper has not completely stuck around the edges and the paper is ‘not’ where it should be extra smooth. These items may cause the paper to buckle and restrict the detail on the painting. I’ve a feeling the original artist used poorer quality paper so his skill is extraordinary.

Next is to draw out the line work.

I am now realising that I’m opening up myself to actually having to complete this project and show every mistake – but here goes…

Well, the drawing didn’t take long. The trees will be added later so I needed to get the sky and some of the ground and water painted in. look hard and you will see some line work.

Simple line work

Simple line work

The first painting must be the oranges and yellows of the sunset. I can then place the base washes upto and around this strip of colour.

clouds

clouds3

The ground base colour now goes in…

garden2

The artist I’m following has managed to get the clouds in with very soft edges. I’m not really sure of the technique so I’ve been trying a few out on the paper.

clouds4

Now for the base line of clouds and trees in the distance and a little bit more experimenting.

clouds5Adding the tree line has provided more depth and balances the sky. Next is a little tinkering around the  center of the painting and and adding edges to the water. Its starting to look more like a landscape. Scary trees tomorrow.

clouds6

I’ve now been working on the trees for a couple of session and they are hard. I can’t get the quality this artist has achieved. Every limb, branch and twig has been painted with such individuality and depth – its almost photographic. My work is very sketchy. It also takes so long and I can’t spend so much time at the desk. I have to really concentrate to get this done but I’ve developed a nasty toothache and this is not helping.

trees

Well, with so many branches, twigs etc where do I finish? Also the original is so much darker should I take the picture to the limits? I find the original too dark so I’ve chosen a lighter side of dusk. I’ve learnt a lot and its shown me that I’ve still a long way to go. But the picture works and I now need to use my own composition and storytelling.

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The Ouse

Sailing in the Solent

When I was a teenager I used to race dinghies in the Solent with my brother. Always edged with fear and cold it was not a pastime I felt drawn to but it did have its moments. I do remember open spaces, wonderful colours, coastal sights and a sense of awe over the elements.  I’ve been watching a series of excellent Art Tutor videos with Rob Dudley as the artist and tutor. His ‘sparkling water’ reminded me of the  Solent and days on the water and I felt drawn to trying the lesson out.

I’ve added a dingy and crew of a ‘Fireball, which is the class of boat we used to race. I was the one at the front, on the trapeze.

Of course the first attempt with these lesson never goes quite right as you can’t help comparing the perfection of Robs work with my clumsy attempts. However, I’ve learnt new techniques and used a new colour – Windsor Blue (green shade) for the sky, which I love. Also Indigo has been added to my palette.

I’ve  a question about the clouds – do they work? They aren’t as subtle as the tutors and I need many more trials but it would be good for a second opinion.

Fireball sailing

Racing in the Solent

 

Tower Poppies

A request for a painting by a work colleague has resulted in a strange painting. She sent me some atmospheric photos of the tower and the poppies at night. I’ve never painted night time before and these very emotive pictures were always going to be a challenge. I didn’t want to lose the strong contrasts and the distance on the battlements and felt there wouldn’t be too much detail required – I as wrong. However, it was a study mainly of colours and contrast and this meant more time painting than normal.

The question I had was – paint in light washes or get the mop out and use almost pure pigment.  In the end the pure number of washes to achieve the density meant I went for saturation. Photo quality is bad but this picture does give a feel for the outcome.

London

Poppies at the Tower

Not quite my cup-of-tea, reminds me of a Daliesque hades.

Porto Barcos

Laid up at home with a sore throat I’ve been working on a picture from a photo I took on my recent trip to Porto. Taken on the south bank looking across the Douro to the steep side of the city, I liked the composition. The boats are dark in the foreground and the river flows to the left hand with a bridge in the distance adding a little bit of mystery. The impressive north bank rising up high, with a mass of buildings, roofs and windows, were details I felt I wanted to attempt painting.

Portugal

Barcos on the Douro

The first washes were laid on the drawing after placing a few key highlights with masking fluid. Soft, wet on wet basic colour washes, producing a guide for the whole picture, especially the sky and water.

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Base washes

Then adding the second level washes that provide more detail but not much contrast

Sky and water washes

Sky and water washes

I wasn’t sure about sure about the detail on the headland – how far do I go? But once started then I must continue. However, as I progressed I gained new insight, found new ways of tackling the buildings so probably I would do them differently again. (another painting project).

Portugal

Porto Barcos

Finished? Not really but as much as I want to do for now. Likes? the river going into the distance, the buildings on the right hand side , the shadows in the town, parts of the water. Dislikes? Muddy reflections, foreground out of scale, too many windows badly done, poor masts. Still to do? Change foreground, more depth to the water on bottom right, rigging on the boats.

A day in Porto

The company took us to Porto for a break, to thank us for the year’s work and for team-building. Travel there and back took a day and I spent 24 hours in the city. Its a great city, very scenic, picturesque port and dramatic bridges. I managed to sneak out in the evening, whilst the youngster danced in the nightclub, to a local Milonga and had a great evening dancing with some lovely local dancers. It would be great to return in April for their Int Tango festival.

In the morning only three of us made it to breakfast by 8:30 and I was soon off to the port to sketch. It was cool and there was a fresh breeze on the bridge but the sky was cloudless and a chance to get warm later on, on the other river bank. (which I did later with a coffee and sandwich) I found the view I wanted to draw and luckily there was a concrete block to sit on and it wasn’t too busy. I felt confident I could draw the scene but there were heck of a lot of windows and roofs. I did ignore some nasty concrete bunkers and concentrated on the more historic buildings and included a couple of vegetation features.

The painting went well, until I was interrupted by a cyclist who asked me to take photo for him. It took about 90 minutes to draw and paint and is in a loose style but with lots of detail.

Oporto

Porto Bridge and Port

There is some odd scaling going on in the picture. The buildings get larger as you go up the hill, which is true but a bit off putting and made me rethink several times. I missed a boat on the river which I regret but cold and tiredness forced me to move on.