This was painted in august 2010, in photoshop. I always think of cats being black and white in colour,because I suppose of the family cat in the previous post! On reflection I suppose the white, disinterested, female cat should not have been against a white wall. I am pleased with the distant,'blue' house.
from the website...
Two cats are seen in this illustration, of a romantic meeting between
the two. The white female cat is on the wall looking down at the other
in a superior manner. The black and white cat is looking for some
attention.
Painted in 2010.
This was painted ,in oils, during mid summer 2010, at a size of 7'x10' on board. It was based on a old B/W picture that I took around the early 1990s. I then made a B/W 8'x10' print in the bathroom from the negative, and its from this that I took the information to do the picture, and used other photographs, in colour, for the colour information. The cat was the family cat and she was called 'cuddles', because she was more aloof and proud, rather than wanting to be a popular cat. She is sitting by the fish pond in the garden.
Collection of past Christmas card artwork
Revised 2016
2008 santa christmas pudding ride
2008 santa chimney alt design
2006 xmas pud
2005 father christmas down chimney
2002 stylised tree with presents
2000 sylized metal tree
Candle design of unknown date
1997 computer bell/ satellite 3D design
1990s santa express
Here are vintage christmas cards from the past. The B/W train drawing is hand drawn on paper with marker pen and 'Letratone' for the shaded sections, and then photocopied. It was done before I had a computer. The 2005 and 2008 cards are both painted in photoshop,and mostly printed out to give to people though there were occasions when it was emailed instead.
The 1997and 2000 card designs were originally done in a 3D programe, possibly a cut down version of Lightwave 3D in the late 1990s. The original files have been lost so these ones are scanned in from printouts done at the time. The 2002 design and the candle design were done in Photoshop. The candle design was also lost and is a scan from a print.
from the website...
This christmas card illustration was painted in 2008. It illustrates
Father Christmas delivering presents during the night, over a winter
landscape with a snow covered village featured. Rather than do a
painting with Santa claus in a conventional sleigh, pulled by reindeer, I
thought that I would twist the concept and have those elements replaced
by large, round christmas puddings.
This is an oil painting that measures 16"x16". It was painted in early november 2010, from a photograph taken a few weeks previously. The photo was heavily cropped to get this composition as a starting point. The original picture was taken at Throop, a countryside area on the outskirts of bournemouth,UK. I hope to produce more paintings of this pretty area in the future.
from the website...
This oil painting of a cow and calf are shown depicted sitting in a
field at Throop, which is an outer part of the suburbs of Bournemouth,
UK. It is based on a photograph taken on a slightly frosty morning. I
don't usually paint in a square format but happened to have seen the
blank canvas at a good price at a shop, and purchased it to use at a
later date. The square format adds to an unusual composition. The
painting of the cow was quite successful and surprisingly not to taxing
to do. It is painted in oils on a 16" x 16" canvas.
Children playing in snow
Painted in photoshop and completed yesterday (30 nov). This image was quite easy to do and just 'fell out of the pen'. It is A4 sized as well. I think the simple layout and colour pallette have work out quite well. I wish it could always be this quick/successful!
from the website...
This is a companion piece to this one with children on a snow sleigh.
This digital illustration features two children building a snow man was
painted straight afterward the snow sleigh painting. It is created in
photoshop and done to A4 size. Winter sun is bright and fresh so it was
important to make this appealing in the illustration. The childrens
outdoor clothes are colurful, in particular the girls. The horizon is
slightly bent in to a curve, on purpose to make it slighty softer,
rather than have straight, strict lines. The snowmans arms are likewise
positioned almost pointing upwards, as if its happy. Painted in 2010.
This is so far the oldest image of mine that has been posted here. It was painted in 1992/93 and it is,unusually for this blog, painted in gouache. It was based on a B/W 35mm photograph I took back in 1990. At that time I was also developing my own B/W prints, in the bathroom! The colour reference was gained from reference and my own memory.
These were old electric locomotives at the time. Built at doncaster,UK in 1960, they were withdrawn and mostly scrapped in c1990, this one pictured, scrapped in 1991.
from the website...
This
is quite an old painting, one of my oldest pieces on this
site. It measures 15" x 10" and is painted on paper with acrylics. The
artwork shows a class 85 electric locomotive at Euston (London) station
in the early 1990s. These railway locomotives disappeared shortly
afterwards from the network. It is based on a B/W photo that I took on a
35mm SLR camera and then printed my self (chemically) on to paper using
an enlarger. Painting on paper allows one to paint finer details, in a
small area than on canvas, due to the absence of the canvas weave. The
driver in his cab helps to add interest and anticipation to the
composition. I also felt that the 'straight on' composition adds a
factual, no nonsense feeling to the artwork.
Painted early 1990s.
This was painted in oils during september 2010. It is based on a photograph taken about 5 years earlier at at steam fare. The engine is a Wallis & Steevens Road Roller, built in 1925.7844, Old Ken",and "HO 6442", are other details connected with it, possibly the registration number.
I think it turned out very well as a painting, and the brass and copper fittings worked nicely with the shiny green paint. The painting is 20"x16".
from the website...
This is an oil painting of a vintage steam roller. It is a 'Wallis &
Steevens Road Roller' built in 1925 and named 'Old Ken'. It is seen
here at a countryside steam fair traction engine rally, wearing two
'england' flags. It is painted in oils to a size of 20" x 16" on a
canvas. Its fun to paint the shiny brass and copper fittings and put the
highlights on the wheels. The two men driving the steam roller help to
give it scale. Painting ellipses is always difficult, but is is a
requirement to get these right when painting a subject like this.
This was painted in photoshop very late 2009. It was the christmas card for that year. As you can see I have had fun with the 'Dickensian' traditional christmas, and it is always nice to research clothes of the period. Very few were printed out and sent. Instead it was mostly sent via an email attachment.
from the website...
This was painted in photoshop to A5 size during 2011. I like to portray
dinosaurs in more contemporary settings than pre 65million years ago. The
combination of a victorian themed christmas adds more humour in to the
strange mix. I did some basic research in to the clothes of the era and
the rest is typical of what one finds on a commercial christmas card.
Painted in photoshop in late oct,2010. More scifi!. I suppose in the back of my mind I am thinking about HG Wells war of the worlds, but it would not correct, to the descriptions in the story. Only the victorian man would be correct. The alien is cheeky, because he is smiling!
from the website...
I
do like comedy mixed with horror/ scifi, and this digital illustration
took its Inspiration from HG Wells, 'War of the Worlds' novel. It is
quite a cliched filled image but still fun. I posed myself for the man
by taking a photograph and transferring it to photoshop, where the
actual image was drawn and painted. The alien I have always thought of
is more cheeky than nasty, but it is a fine line I guess! There is a
slight tilt on the horizon to add drama. The illustration is painted to
A4 size, in 2010.
Oil painting collection 02 Bournemouth Sea front
people on Bournemouth beach
Bournemouth Air festival
Boy standing in sea
These 3 oil paintings were painted august-sept 2010 and are of roughly the same location.
The Air festival has now become a regular event at bournemouth and this image features the "Breitling wing walkers",one of the numerous events, though the women walking are on the other side of the plane and cannot be seen here! The location is 'overcliff drive, overlooking the beach.
The beach scene shows crowds on the beach. In reality there are often even more people on the beach than pictured here. The arches of the pier are in the background.
The solo boy in the water is my nephew!
from the website...
people on Bournemouth beach
This was painted in oils on a 16"x 20" canvas, during 2010. It depicts
the beach at Bournemouth, in Dorset, UK, during the summer. The building
in the background is part of the pier at Bournemouth and the beach
itself if often crowded during the summer. It offers several miles of
clean, golden sand. The painting is based on a number of photographs
that I took, and then rearranged in photoshop to create one
good,balanced composition. This is then scaled up and printed out, and
transferred to the canvas by hand drawing. Then the drawing is redrawn
using a fine brush and brown acrylic paint. On top of this the final oil
paint layers are applied over a few weeks. My favorite areas while
working on the oil painting was the deckchair on the right and the woman
with a black top on the left.
Bournemouth Air festival
Bournemouth has been having an air show in late august for a couple of
years. This painting is taken from a series photographs taken during the
second festival year. Using photoshop I created a composite picture to
use as the basis for this painting. The location is on overcliff drive,
that looks out over the beaches at Bournemouth down below. I used
another photo of the planes and positioned them in this location and
jiggled the spectators around to get a nice composition. The distinctive
biplanes are used in the Breitling Wingwalkers display, where a woman,
on each top part of the plane wing, stands and poses while the planes
perform acrobatic displays. The painting is done in oils on a smaller
than usual canvas, measuring 12" x 16"
This was painted in photoshop and completed in oct 2010. It is a follow on I suppose from the animal underground commute illustration done a few years ago. Some of the animals are the same,in particular the crab and snake, but there are a few additions that were noty in the previous one. Doing all the packs on the shelves does take time, even using cloning,etc tools in digital painting.
from website...
This image is painted in photoshop at a size of 29cm x 21cm. It is a
follow on from the animal underground commute painting done the year
before, by picturing animals doing a very human mundane activity, and
features a collection of animals enjoying their weekly supermarket shop.
The animal customers featured are elephants (and daughter), Lion, Cow,
Bull, crab (carrying stuff on his shell as on the tube journey picture),
Lioness and son, Pig, Snake, Bear, Crocodile, Zebra, Rhinoceros,
Hippopotamus, Tiger, Giraffe, and Monkey. Horses are again featured
serving the customers at the checkout as in the supermarket horse
illustration, else where on this site.
Producing all the packs can be a bit tedious, even using photoshop,
but it is important for the setting. Also for the setting it is
important to have boards with prices around, so time was spent creating
graphics that look like numbers but are not recognizable as numerals.
Painted in Photoshop in 2009.
I think this is the only political work I have done . It is aimed at the British banks, and was originally done in response to the RBS scandal of 2008 when sir fred goodwin (fred the shred) took the bank in to meltdown, partly causing the recession in the UK, but Goodwin still walked away with a £700.000 per year pension package. The RBS logo was originally on the arse of the pig, where the it is now replaced with a 'British banks' label. The banks have still not been punished and do what they want. They recieved lots of taxpayer help to prevent them from going under, despite their actions causing lots of other business to go under instead. Bank bonuses are now on the level they were before the recession.
The fat pig image naturally suits the banking image, stuck up its victorian, unrelated to society, arse.
from website...
Painted in Photoshop in 2009, this was a fun image to paint. I have
never painted shit and dribble before. I think this is the only
political work I have done. It is aimed at the British banks, and was
originally done in response to the RBS scandal of 2008 when sir fred
goodwin (fred the shred) took the bank in to meltdown, partly causing
the recession in the UK, but Goodwin still walked away with a £700.000
per year pension package. The RBS logo is on the pigs arse. The banks
have still not been punished and do what they want. They recieved lots
of taxpayer help to prevent them from going under, despite their actions
causing lots of other business to go under instead. Bank bonuses are
now on the level they were before the recession. The fat pig image
naturally suits the banking image, stuck up its victorian, distanced to
society, arse. Even by 2011 the banks still have it their way, dragging
society, and the world to deeper levels of unrest and financial
depression.
Oil painting collection 01-pictures of Christchurch UK
swans at christchurch harbour
river avon christchurch
christchurch priory
These are the first oil paintings placed here on this site. They were all painted during summer 2010, and based on photographs. The locations are all in the historic and pretty town of Christchurch, Dorset in the UK. The painting of the swans at Christchurch Quay was based on a photograph originally taken during a winter, a few years ago.
Christchurch priory is 12" x16", river avon is 16"x20" and swans at christchurch harbour is 12"x16" in size, on canvas.
from website...
swans at christchurch harbour
This is based on a photograph I took in 2003 during the winter months.
The painting pictures a scene at Christchurch Quay, UK, where ducks and
swans are quite happy to stroll about with the holiday tourists. The
golden winter sun is quite low down as can be seen and shows up well the
feathers and construction of the birds from the side. Hengistbury Head
can be seen in the distance, past the ongoing mooring of yachts in the
area. The photo was heavily altered in photoshop to give me a composition that I was happy to work from.
It is painted in oils on a canvas board measuring 12" x 16".
river avon christchurch
This oil painting depicts the river Avon at the town of Christchurch,
Dorset,UK. It is based on a photograph taken from one of the bridges in
Bridge Street. The multi coloured canoes and canoeists add a lot of
interest and work well with the strong blue colour of the water. The
water reflections were difficult to paint but are probably the center
point of interest and worth the time taken to do them well. The artwork
is based on a number of photographs, particularly of the canoes, as I
wanted to get a good composition using them. The photos were cut up and
rearranged to create a final 'master' composition to create the
painting with.
The painting is done in oils on a canvas board measuring 20" x 16".
christchurch priory
The town of Christchurch, Dorset, UK boasts a wonderful priory, painted
and photographed many times over the centuries. Construction first
started in 1094 AD as a norman church. It took several centuries to
construct and is a landmark for several miles in all directions. This
painting depicts a view from the well kept high street, looking at the
main gates to the entrance of the priory. The painting is in oils on a
canvas board measuring 12" x 16". The original photograph was taken in
the summer of 2010 but then heavily cropped to give the 'straight on'
composition that is seen. I wanted to get the gates archway lined up
with the main door way. The late afternoon sun helps to pick out the
details of the churches architecture, and does describe a later part of
the priory with the stone appearing to be more golden and less weather
worn ( bottom of the tower).
Painted in October 2010 in photoshop.
This is obviously inspired by 'frankenstein'. Fun to do! The lighting is completly cheated, but helps to add drama and force the creature in to a silhouette. He would really be working under some lights, rather than darkness!
from website...
Monsters in gothic horror settings have always fascinated me and this
takes its influence from old Hammer horror films. The 'Frankenstien'
like creature is about to attack its creator, who is busy doing and
experiment. Although the creature is made up of body parts, it is
obviously too large, being almost twice the height of the mad professor.
But the scale is for dramatic effect, as is the low, wide angle of the
composition. Most of the lighting comes from the open doorway, which
helps to include long, dramatic shadows through the painting.
This illustration is painted in photoshop to a size of 8" x 10". Created in 2010.
Painted in late august,2010 in photoshop. I've tended to do a lot of 'couples' artwork, and here is another. It is similar in lighting and subject to the 'bear family' image done a few weeks ago.
from website...
I have often drawn dragons and a number are here on this site as here and
here. This illustration depicts a small dragon family relaxing in their
cave home, watching TV. This was painted in 2011.
Another one of my 'pulp' horror images. Totally unoriginal but fun to do! Painted in photoshop in august 2010.
from website...
This digital illustration was painted in photoshop in 2010 at 10"x8"
size. I do like Gothic horror and Hammer films and this painting of a
ghost rising from the grave and frightening some grave workers/ robbers
illustrates this. It is quite old fashioned in a way, much like the old
book covers from decades ago I used to look at in shops. I posed for the
3 figures in the painting and took photographs, which were then used
and traced within photoshop. An image like this is drawn on the
computer, then painted in a traditional, layered way similar to
conventional painting media. The rising spirit is the main source of
light in within the image, the rest of the painting being quite dark and
illuminated by the ghost's light.
Painted during august 2010 in photoshop. I wanted to have a go at painting 'nice' bears, and I also wanted to see what happens to the elements in a picture when I paint a 'tv' glow.
from website...
bear family in front room with son playing computer game
This image was painted in photoshop to a size of 8" x 10". It is a
family of bears in their home but not in a cave, but in an every day
human environment. The mother is ironing, the older son playing a
computer game and the nipper balancing on a ball, circus fashion. I
deliberately picked a very wide, impossible angle, but I cheated on the
perspective, so that we get to see a lot of the room. I enjoyed painting
the blue hue from the TV, and having it reflect in the characters eyes.
cat romance in garden
