Tree Stump Children (part 2)

I started off by painting in a few bits of brighter sunlit patches. After all, it is no good having a really dense wood or you'd not be able to run about in it.

Sunlight in.

 Next I want lots of background vegetation and muck!

Background vegetation and muck there.

Now you can see a few splodges above on the legs. Those were a mistake but it doesn't matter as I will paint over those. Anyway, what sort of kid won't get plastered in muck when larking in the woods anyway.

Next for the tree stump, some background tree trunks, branches and some twigs & sticks.

There's the tree stump & more background.

 

Next I want to add in some of the clothes. Now I expect a well tutored artist would probably put the skin in now as the clothes go on top of that, however, I don't have much time left to get the colours right for skin but I do think that I can get a few garments sorted out. Particularly our lad in who is in there behind the girls anyway.

Shoes & socks on. One lad nearly dressed.

Next (tomorrow) I think it will be time to give those kids a bit of colour to their skin.

Atom Smasher: Pink Particle (photo update)

The sun came out and I got a better photo. I still ended up changing the colour balance to get it to better match my painting.

"Atom Smasher: Pink Particle"

It is now on my own web site here.

Tree Stump Children (part 1)

Remember when you were young and anything was a toy or a stage?

You are charging about the woods, shouting, running, chasing. A warm sunny day, jumpers tied around middles. A glade, a tree stump. One child jumps on. If you are on there I want to be on there too. Another child and another. Arms around shoulders to hang on. Hooray!

Tree Stump Children - in pencil on canvas.

There is a lot further to go with this painting (currently just a pencil drawing). The tree stump is important so, in my naive way, I have drawn it larger than perspective would have it. The children are all important to the picture too so they are adapted to the aspect of the tree stump but more gently.

Next I hope to start putting in the background. I will probably go directly to paint with that part.

Atom Smasher: Pink Particle

I admit it. I do like a bit of science now & then. I do not always understand it but I get the basics enough to gaze in awe at some of the things being attempted.

I know that for most people, even some scientists, it takes a lot to explain some of the cutting edge stuff. Sometimes big machines are used to find what science is looking for. Sometime they find something new.

We would all sometimes like things to be explained in words of no syllables; just by emotion would be interesting but I think we may wait some time before that happens.

Now ponder finding something unexpected.

Atom Smasher: Pink Particle

Imagine looking into the hadron collider only to find something that goes some way to explaining a whole section of something. Now you, like myself, may be viewing that section from the outside but accepting that things are sometimes just "different" might make it fit with the way things are. And if you don't, never mind. I like the combination of words "atom smasher" and "pink particles". Interesting subjects & ideas to mull over and imagine.

Above we have multiple layers of acrylic laid down on the previous layer straight away, no time to dry but without enough force to allow each layer to blend (much). Various colours are then flicked into the layers so that the head of the flick gives the newly applied colour while the tail results in a blend of the assorted layers under this.

You should see a better photograph on my own web site soon (once I have enough day light to get a decent representation of the colours).

End of Hope and Glory (part 2 continued)

The very thick gel will probably take a fair few days to be ready.

As you can see, a lot of the thin areas of gel have now gone very clear. I may move on to the next stage before the process is complete but not just yet. I will let you know when things have moved on more.

End of Hope and Glory (part 2)

Today after doing the school walk I had to dry off a bit. I won't be getting the best light to paint in...

I am not sure that you can see the lashing rain from here but I think you will agree that the light is poor.

Take a closer look out there...

See the low cloud and the rain on my window!

As luck would have it, staying in during a howling gale while avoiding lashing rain is not so bad. I do have a light to help me out so lets see where we are starting from today:

The keen viewer will note that I have a pot of something and some things for moving stuff about on the canvas. I am going to use a couple of different heavy gloss gels. The thicker one will be to make a higher profile surface on my picture than the other gel.

You will recall that my subject is to do with how we (and perhaps YOU) in the UK are getting close to 1000% in debt (verses GDP). So, instead of lettering a big UK I am going to do a K and U, one on each half. For the slower reader, a K is commonly used txt (and in other circles) for 1000 and U is txt "speak" for YOU.

Obviously we have the UK back to front so that you have something to think about.

Now you probably start to get the idea. The gel will set and will be something near to "clear" I hope. Once set, the gel will be ready for my next layer.

Now, for the bottom half I want to add the title of the painting but I want to do it in such a way as to give the owner of the painting the opportunity to express something, a sentiment. The title of the painting is "End of Hope and Glory" which I will place in the bottom half of the 2 halves.

We will have "End of" on the left and "Hope & Glory" on the right. If you feel good about things you may consider that you should split the 2 halves so you get "K End of" as in, something like "we are putting an end to this silly 1000% debt". In the other half you will have "u Hope & Glory" because this is what you anticpate and want.

You might feel bad about our prospects and stick with "End of Hope & Glory".

Now at this point it looks a bit messy but don't worry about that. I will now leave the gel to do what it does and set to a more clear and harder form.

As you can see from this shot, the profile of the gel lettering is not insignificant. This should allow me to do some interesting stuff where the next layer will only line up with the original from a given point of view.

See how I get on with things tomorrow.

Collage painting "Hidden Symbols:Merkel's Opposites" (take 2).

I have made and improved version of the video for my collage painting "Hidden Symbols:Merkel's Opposites which you can seeon my web site HERE or on YouTube here.

The image continues around the box canvas so you really need to see more than just the face on view.

This collage is my entry to the Saatchi January 2012 "face off".