Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn - oil painting

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn - oil painting

Landscape painting of a westerly view of the Cemetery.

Southampton's 'old' cemetery is approximately 27 acres in size and was opened during the 1840s in the town of Southampton, on the southern coast of the UK. Now in the 21^st century it sees very little use due to a lack of space. Some parts have been reclaimed by nature which adds an additional level of beauty and interest with views of headstones covered in ivy and bramble. This painting show a view over the cemetery looking west, with Hill Lane running parallel behind the viewer. It is painted on canvas sized at 30” x 20”, and completed during December 2019 over a couple on months due to other projects. This graveyard oil painting can be seen in better detail by following this link.

A young Dinosaur fan!

A young Dinosaur fan!

An elementary student from Omaha recreated a scene based on one of my Dinosaur illustrations, which in turn is based on a famous Manet painting. The student is named Avry Hermandson and is a pupil at the Nelson Mandela Elementary School. The class project was to recreate a scene from a famous painting and Avry whose fanatical about dinosaurs, found my illustration online. As well as dinosaur friends, a fruit picnic and drawings of trees can be found in his mock up!

Original illustration link.

My illustration, and the photo of Avry by his teacher.

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn -WIP stages

Southampton old cemetery looking west early autumn -WIP stages

Stages of creating this westerly viw of the graveyard at Southampton

Completed in December 2019 this landscape painting depicts a westerly view of Southampton city's 'old' cemetery, situated near to the common. It is painted in oils on a canvas measuring 30” x 20”. The image above shows four stages in the development of the painting. In the first panel can be seen the drawing of the scene in brown acrylic paint on a wash of lighter brown paint. Brighter areas of the scene have been indicated with areas painted in white, such as the sky. Moving on to the second panel it can be seen that colour oil paint has been applied thinly to the painting, basically blocking in the darker tones in the landscape. This is the underpainting, and acts as a guide to the next layer, which is in the third panel. Here the paint is applied more thickly and with the correct hues and values Also elements are painted in detail, but some of the underpainting remains and shows through on purpose. After the paint has all been applied it is left to dry., after which a 'glaze' is added on top. The glaze is like a hint of coloured paint held in a transparent medium, a bit like coloured stained glass, which gives the colours an extra dimension. The final panel shows the completed painting which can be seen on this link.

Working on closeup 72

 Working on closeup 72

A small snippet of a famous building in London oil painting...

Terrier Tank railway locomotive at Havant Station - WIP stages

Terrier Tank railway locomotive at Havant Station - WIP stages

Stages of painting the railway locomotive at rest

This railway themed painting was produced during November 2019, and is based on a poor quality photograph taken during 1957 at Havant station, UK. The photo above shows work in progress over four panels. In the first can be seen the initial drawing done in brown acrylic paint on top of a brown wash. As the painting referred to an old blurry and contrasty photograph, a lot of research had to be done to actually see what the everything actually looked like in terms of detail, as it was hidden in the shadows or difficult to make out. Not just the locomotive but the buildings and cars. Also the original picture had two men crewing the locomotive, but these were reposed by a friend and redrawn in to the scene. Once the scene was nailed down the first application of thinned oil paint is made in the form of underpainting, which gives a indication of areas of colour using darker tones/ hues. In the third panel thicker paint has been applied over the underpainting which is more in keeping with the final intended tone/ colour. The final panel shows the completed oil painting which also had an addition layer of 'glaze' or transparent paint applied to enhance colour/ contrast within the scene. This railway scene can be looked at in detail by following this link.

Terrier Tank railway locomotive at Havant Station - oil painting

Terrier Tank railway locomotive at Havant Station - oil painting

Painting of a 'Terrier' locomotive taking on water at Havant.

This railway themed oil painting shows a small tank locomotive (called because of the water tanks mounted each side of the boiler) at a station. The engine is being topped up in the station bay in the English town of Havant, on the south coast. The locomotive crew consisting of the driver and fireman are to be seen preforming checks before departing for another service, and refilling the water tanks. Based on an old blurry and contrasty photograph taken in 1957, some research was made in to the engine (a 'Terrier numbered 32661) and the surroundings, including the cars. In addition the figures were reposed and then redrawn, but based on the ones in the picture. The locomotive itself is a LBSCR/ SR class A 0-6-0T, commonly known as a 'Terrier'. These small but very popular locomotives were built during the 1870s, and have a very elegant design. Many were still in service in to the 1960s, and a number can be found still running on preserved railways.

Painted using oils in November 2019, on mounting board sized at 33” x 23” approx. The artwork can be seen in greater detail on this link.

Working on closeup 71

Working on closeup 71

 A small snippet of a local graveyard themed painting...