skateboarding happy lion listening to ipod

Vector illustration of Skateboarding lion listening to ipod

This vector based illustration is of a cool and happy young lion enjoying his skateboard. He is listening to his white ipod. It is based on an earlier artwork of the same subject, but created in 3D (lightwave). This new one was created using illustrator, and has a far more graphic look, using blocks of colour controlled in shape by bezier curves. Using this technique makes it easier to produce different versions of the lion on a skateboard.

skateboarding happy lion

skateboarding happy lion

Vector illustration of Bee

Vector illustration of Be

Happy cartoon bee with yellow flower
This vector illustration of a cartoon happy bee, hovering near a yellow flower was created in illustrator, during December 2012. One version is a close up of the same artwork.

Happy cartoon bee with yellow flower

Happy cartoon bee with yellow flower close up

Cartoon Lion Father Christmas delivering presents

Cartoon Lion Father Christmas delivering presents

This digital illustration is painted in Photoshop to A4 size. It was painted in October 2012 and is for the Christmas season. The illustration depicts a Lion, dressed as Santa delivering presents. He is pictured creeping silently out of a boy cub's bedroom, leaving behind presents. The Lion cub is fast asleep and is busy dreaming about Christmas. A Christmas stocking is on the end of the bed, and the room is decorated with Christmas lights. The perspective in the image is deliberately distorted and does not matter for this cartoonish image. The main light source is from the open door in the bedroom. The lighting is not designed to be realistic but cheated so that the viewer can see the Lion cub and presents clearly.

cartoon lion father christmas

 

Alien Ice Cream (vector version)

Alien Ice Cream (vector version)

This illustration is based on an earlier digitally painted image of mine, which featured two child aliens eating ice creams, standing on an alien planet. That illustration was painted in photoshop using pixels, but this image is created in illustrator, and is a vector based image. This image uses only one of the aliens and is quite close to the original one in design, though the artwork is far more graphic and stylized in look.

alien ice cream vector version

fat cow running

fat cow running

This oil painting shows a large, hairy cow running through a field. The cow was taken from a photograph shot during the summer of 2012. It was originally seen on a road but I changed the background for a countryside view instead. The painting is roughly painted in oils on to canvas board measuring 12” x 10”, and was painted in Sept 2012.

fat cow running oil painting

dinosaur fun playing Volleyball on a beach vacation

dinosaur fun playing volleyball on a beach vacation

This digital illustration was painted using photoshop during October 2012 to A4 size. It illustrates a group of cartoon dinosaurs on vacation, at a beach, playing volleyball in the water. The dinosaurs are probably quite young and on is a female, dressed in a bikini. I wanted the image to be fun and the bright, colourful location works well with the colourful dinosaurs themselves, and their swimwear. The dinosaur on the left is loosely based on a Tyrannosaurus rex, the middle one a Triceratops and the long necked one with sun glasses a Diplodocids.

dinosaur fun playing volleyball on a beach vacation

Three New Forest horses on grass

Three New Forest horses on grass

The painting is really done as a small quick exercise. Three horses are shown eating grass by a roadside in this oil painting, painted during late summer 2012. They are taken from a number of photographs of horses captured in the New Forest. A composition was then created in photoshop, joining up the three horses to make one pleasing picture. I enjoyed painting the three horses, in particular the shine on their coats. The brightness of the grass helps to show the form of the brown horses well. Painted on a canvas board sized at 12” x 10”. 

Three new forest Horses Oil Painting

 

Happy Halloween Witch with graveyard friends

Happy Halloween Witch with graveyard friends

This digital illustration was completed during early October ready for Halloween, in 2012. A young, attractive witch takes centre stage in the scene, riding a broomstick complete with a black cat. She is casting a spell with a magic wand, from which is emanating a bright light producing sweets and candy. The illustration is filled with various icons associated with the Halloween festival. A friendly ghost is situated at each end of the composition, each one of a different design. Pumpkins with cut out faces are on one side of the painting and a vampire like bat and haunted house on the other. A small Goblin is almost hidden away, its presence marked by a set of glowing eyes. The image is aimed at children and hopefully conveys the fun and mysteriousness of the Halloween festival. Despite the dark subject and the fact it is set at night in a graveyard the image is designed to be bright, colourful and exciting. Painted in Photoshop to an A4 size.

Southampton Docks from Weston shore winter sunset

Southampton Docks from Weston shore winter sunset

Southampton Docks from Weston shore winter sunset

This oil painting was created in the summer of 2012. It is painted on canvas sized at 20”x 16”. The setting is the docks at the port of Southampton (UK), as seen from Weston Shore. The paintings shows a large “Wallenius Wilhelmsen” car transportation ship docked beside a large grain silo, a landmark on the entrance to the port. The oil painting is based on a crude photograph taken with a mobile phone during the early part of January 2012, during the last moments of daylight on a sunny, winters day. There were a number of people walking along the stony beach at Weston Shore. The tide was out and I placed a figure in the scene to help give the setting a sense of scale. The scene is quite bleak, cold and largely in silhouette and a large part of the composition is given over to the dramatic sky. It was painted in oils because of the requirement of painting this large area smoothly.

three horses in field oil painting

three horses in field

Three horses are shown in a field in this oil painting, painted during late summer 2012. Two of the horses are black, the other brown. They are taken from a photograph of horses in the New Forest. I then placed them in to a composition using a photograph of a field from another location. I enjoyed painting the three horses, in particular the shine on their coats, as I had only ever painted one other horse previously. The brightness of the grass helps to show the form of the dark horses well. Painted on a canvas sized at 20” x 16”.

Cunard Queen Mary at Weston shore, Southampton acrylic painting

Cunard Queen Mary at Weston shore, Southampton

cunard queen mary at southampton

This acrylic painting shows the Cunard ship, Queen Mary, at Southampton docks during an evening in spring, 2012. The ship, the largest of the 'three Queens', is seen from the view point along Weston shore. Weston Shore is a shingle beach on the outskirts of Southampton city, on Southampton water leading in to the Solent. All ships entering and leaving this port can be seen here. The painting is based on a number of photographs taken one evening, and recomposed in photoshop. The image is then scaled up and transferred to a canvas measuring 20" x 16". The sun is getting low in the sky so the ship is becoming a silhouette, the waves now having bright, sparkly crests as they catch the low sun. The two children swimming in the Solent, with their mother watching, help to give scale to the shingle beach and the layout of the painting. Painted in 2012.

OPEN ART EXHIBITION AT KING JOHN'S HOUSE, ROMSEY

OPEN ART EXHIBITION AT KING JOHN'S HOUSE, ROMSEY

Martin Davey with painting at king johns open art exhibition 2012 of 'burlesdon brickworks traction engines.'

Martin Davey with painting at king johns open art exhibition 2012 of 'boat wreck with birds.'

As part of the Hampshire open artists events during summer 2012, a small exhibition was held at King John's House, in the town of Romsey, Hampshire. It ran from 21 August to 1st September, and I had four paintings on display, within the open art exhibition. The two photographs were taken on the opening night.

3 Acrylic Paintings

old boat on river mudflats1

This painting of an old, abandoned boat was painted in acrylics on a canvas board measuring 12" x 10". It took only a few hours to do and is based on part of a photograph taken of boats on the River Itchen, Southampton, where many old wrecks can be seen.
Painted in 2012.

three mallard ducks in pond

This is an acrylic painting of three Mallard ducks swimming together,on pond water. It is painted on a board measuring 9" x12".

Southampton Hillier Gardens

This is a painting of one of the landscaped gardens at Hillier Gardens, near to Romsey and Southampton, in the UK. The garden was set up in 1953 by Sir Harold Hillier and now covers 180 acres. The collection covers a diverse collection of hardy trees and shrubs from around the world. This acrylic painting illustrates the main lake in the center of the gardens, during summer. The large amount of trees makes the landscape seem quite dark, but the bright reflection in the water helps to balance out the tones within the painting.
Painted in 2012 on a 16" x 20" canvas.

Southampton River Hamble acrylic painting

Southampton River Hamble

River Hamble, Southampton

This painting is of the River Hamble, near to the Solent and Southampton, in the UK. It is based on a view photographed during the spring of 2012, and features a view of the marina, near the town of warsash, packed full of boats. There are a number of marinas down the river. The land is very flat and when the tide goes out the mud flats are revealed, showing a covering of moss and algae, with pockets of water isolated from the river. The River Hamble contains many old shipwrecks of  archaeological importance. I was drawn to this scene for my painting by this strong, green landscape, that only appears for part of the day and the way that puddles of water remain   creating their own small rivers through the landscape.
This painting is created in acrylic on a canvas measuring 20" x 16".

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED for fine art artwork

Today I launched a new website. It is called martindaveyfineart.co.uk. I still have my main site, martindaveyillustration.co.uk, which contains all of my artwork. This new site is designed to concentrate only on my oil and acrylic paintings, and no digital paintings, illustrations or animation, in the belief it may attract more viewers to this type of artwork.

It took about 6 days to build, trial and error, but I did learn more about HTML doing it and CSS as well, which became very helpfull near the end, when IE and firefox browsers were displaying the pages slightly different to each other, though not now.

This is a screen shot of the home page as launched.

Please visit it if you can!

Church Lane, Christchurch UK acrylic painting

Church Lane, Christchurch

This is painted in Acrylics on a 16″ × 20″ canvas. It depicts a street situated in the Dorset town of Christchurch,UK. The street has lots of character and a contemporary view is seen here with the houses adorned with satellite dishes and the tarmac with road markings. I was drawn to the buildings and the rich colours of the bricks, and the signs of weathering and repair over the years (100s). The figure of a tourist is there to help with interest and scale. Painted in 2012.

swans & boats at riverside park, Southampton acrylic painting

Swans and boats at riverside park, southampton, UK

This is painted in Acrylics on a 16" x 20" canvas. The subject is Riverside Park, on the outskirts of Southampton, Hampshire,UK. Plenty of swans can be seen on the featured river, known as the River Itchen. The water still has a large salt content at this stage and many sea birds can be seen as well as fresh water varieties. The area is popular with canoeists and yachtsmen using the water, and families and friends walking through the park or fishing from the banks of the River Itchen.
The painting is based on a number of poor quality mobile phone images, taken during a summer evening. A complete composition is built up in photoshop and then redrawn on the canvas.Painted in 2012.
http://www.martindaveyillustration.co.uk 
 

Boats at Weston Shore, Southampton, UK oil painting

Boats at Weston Shore, Southampton, UK

This painting depicts the area of Weston Shore, Southampton. The large river (estuary) is the river solent and sees large commercial ships and passenger liners heading toward Southampton, seen in the background. Netley abbey is close by.
The painting is created in oils, with an initial acrylic base layer. It is based on a number of photographs taken on a cold but sunny autumn afternoon. Painted in 2012 on a canvas 16" x 20".

Bursledon windmill, Southampton, UK, oil painting

Bursledon windmill, Southampton, UK

This is a windmill at Bursledon, Southampton. It is the only working windmill in the county of Hampshire, UK, and is currently undergoing maintenance. It is hoped that the restoration will be complete in 2014,when the mill celebrates its 200th anniversary. Visitors are able to see flour being produced at Bursledon windwill, and view the other vintage farm buildings on the site, as well as the nature reserve.This was painted in the winter of 2012 in oils on a canvas measuring16" x 20". The image is quite timeless in a way, with nothing from the 20th century in the scene.

Exhibition at Bursledon Brickworks,Southampton,UK

Exhibition at Bursledon Brickworks,Southampton,UK, April 2012

On Sunday 15 April I exhibited work at the Bursledon Brickworks industrial heritage museum in Hampshire,UK, during their 'spring steam up', the second of which I have attended. Over 60 artists and crafts people attended and the event seemed well attended by the public. As well as showing four paintings (1,2,3), one of which is not on this blog curently, I did a small painting on site which draws attention. The painting was of 2 cows in a field, painted in Acrylics and is shown further down in the post.
In the two following photographs I can be seen at my stand, showing four oil paintings (one hidden from this angle, and display boards with colour printouts of other pieces of work. I prefer this location, rather than being beside a wall as more work can be displayed and I am not so easy to miss! It also give space for people to view me from behind while working.

interior of Bursledon Brickworks showing the art and craft fair

Two cows in Field

The painting that was produced during the day at Bursledon Brickworks was of 2 cows in a field, painted in Acrylics on a canvas board measuring 10" x 12". It drew a lot of interest from other artists and the public. The use of acrylics is rare for me as I usually use oil paint , but is a good medium to use at times like this because it dries quickly ( in seconds) so a painting can be built up speedily in front of the public, providing some entertainment, rather than literally watch paint dry.

Southampton Bursledon Brickworks small railway engine

This is another demonstration painting produced in Acrylics during 2011 at an autumn crafts fair again at Bursledon Brickworks. The painting is 10" x 12" and is of one of the steam engine rides held at the museum.

from the website... 
This painting of two cows standing in a field was done in acrylics on a canvas board measuring 12" x 10".
It is a smaller painting than the more usual sizes I work to, but this was done as a demonstration painting in public at Bursledon brickworks art show, so a quick drying, small scale project was needed. I did prepare the drawing and canvas the day before however. The artwork is based on a photograph that had three cows within it, but it looked too confusing.

Titanic paintings at Southampton art Gallery on display

Retracing the Unsinkable. Titanic painting exhibition at Southampton Art Gallery.

titanic wreck: save our souls. this is a composite of the three stages of the painting.

         titanic at sea: full speed ahead. this is a composite of the three stages of the painting.


The paintings that I submitted to the gallery are discussed in an earlier post. Here I am showing them hanging at the gallery themselves.

The exhibitions formal title is Retracing the Unsinkable Southampton City Art Gallery's Biennial Open Exhibition 2012. It runs from the 17th March – 29th April 2012

The blog page showing the two Titanic paintings in full is here.

One of the paintings on the wall with some of the other works.

Martin Davey with titanic wreck: save our souls

Martin Davey with titanic at sea: full speed ahead