Plein air painting 130

Plein air painting 130 Debenhams roof

As the Debenhams building, featured on a number of previous posts is so large, it offers other views to be captured. This 'wide' painting, the first done in this format, shows the roof of the single storey café area from a building over-looking it in East Street.
Painted in oils on a Monday morning (20/05/24). The mounting board its done on is sized at 14 x 7.5".

Plein air painting 126

Following on from the previous post the subject is again Woodmill, situated in outer Southampton along the banks of the River Itchen. Having never painted it for many years I now found myself painting it again only a few days later on the 7th May 2024, as part of a Southampton Art Society paint out.
Done in oils on mounting board cut to 12 x 9.5".

Plein air painting 125

Painted during an Urban Sketchers meet up on a Saturday 4th May 2024, Wood Mill is depicted situated along the River Itchen, on the outskirts of Southampton. The mill dates from 1825 (replacing an earlier one) and was in use until 1954, and then becoming a leisure location for water sport since the 1960's. Its a very popular place to be painted and photographed. However this was the first time for me working on this subject matter. 
Painted on cardboard in oils, sized at 12 x 9.5".

Plein air painting 58

Painted a few days after the previous post showing the gas holders at Northam, Southampton, this view features another view of the site. These are disused connecting/ pumping pipes situated near to the later holder from 1935. They can be seen clearly by standing in the car park at St Mary's stadium. I have learned to paint cars in quite early as typically they get driven off part through a painting.

Plein air painting 57

Within the area of Northam, a suburb of Southampton UK are two old gas holders. One was built in 1935 and the other, shown here in this painting, was built in 1909. It has a pretty decorative lattice structure and holds the actual collapsible tank, build in three sections which varies in size depending on how much gas is stored in it. A full tank would mean the top of the tank would fill the volume of the structure. The gas holders are seen in many old photographs of the area mainly as they were amongst the largest buildings in the area.
They have not been in used for ten years and were listed as an important part of the area's industrial heritage. However, at the time this painting was done, demolition had begun so it seems that the gas holders had been removed from the registry and will be replaced by flats.

The main road running left to right is Northam road. Britannia road starts at the traffic light junction and runs in to the distance where the Itchen bridge can be seen right in the distance.

Painted in oils on mounting board, sized at 12" x 9.5" during one early Sunday morning during August 2022.

Plein air painting 24

This unusual building is a concrete plant owned by Cemex UK, supplying ready mix concreate. It is along Belvidere Road, Northam, in Southampton. The road runs parallel to the River Itchen and the plant receives its product via ship which docks behind the plant. The painting is done from life during one afternoon and is done in oils on a piece of 12" x 9.5" mounting board, during July 2021.

Working on closeup 70

Working on closeup 70

 A small snippet of a railway based oil painting...

Fantasy big railroad locomotive departing city - digital illustration

Fantasy big railroad locomotive departing city - digital illustration

Finished artwork of a giganitic steam locomotive at a big city fantasy illustration

The subject of this scifi/ fantasy scene is a extremely large steam locomotive about to depart a city comprising of some very tall skyscrapers. Some employees of the railroad are having a meeting before departure. The landscape has a retro/ 1940s vibe in terms of the design of the buildings, car and locomotive sitting on the monorail railroad track. The main engineer is dressed in a classic uniform for the job.

Auto Sketchbook pro was used for the creation of this digital illustration. Initially it was started using a Samsung tablet to rough out the idea up to a certain stage. It would be nice to continue using the tablet but it has technical limitations as digital work is processor and ram intensive. It is exported to a windows desktop computer, still running the same program but with the power that is now available. One of the first jobs is to resize the whole image to something that can be printed up to a large scale, the initial image being too small for anything other than screen viewing. Then the whole painting is redrawn/ painted to the final required details/ colour for final output.

The illustration was completed during early December 2019, and can be seen in detail by following this link.

closeup working progress 09

closeup working progress 09

 A small snippet of an industrial fantasy scene...

Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen - WIP stages oil painting

Southampton Northam summer evening across the Itchen - WIP stages oil painting

WIP of southampton River Itchen landscape oil painting

This landscape painting features a view in Northam, an area of the east part of the city of Southampton, during a summers evening. It is mainly an industrial area that has been marine based for a number of centuries. The river flowing through the scene is the River Itchen, which goes on to and runs through Winchester, another city a few miles away also based in Hampshire. It is late summer and the tidal river is at low tide revealing the mudflats covers with abandoned boats. In the distance can be seen a small scrap carrying ship, a dry stack for boats, and in the extreme distance is the suburb of Bitterne, with houses going up the hilly landscape.

The painting is created in oils, and the support is primed mounting board, with an image size of 20” x 28”. It was completed during June 2018, and can be seen here.

Nightmare Victorian Flesh Creature Horror - digital painting

Nightmare Victorian Flesh Creature Horror- digital painting

Nightmare Victorian Flesh Creature Horror - digital painting

This nightmarish scene with a giant creature of some sort on a trolley was created in January 2018. The setting is an underground industrial setting, set in a possible Victorian/ early 20^th century time frame. Additionally a 'steam punk' visual flavour was added.. The men cleaning up help to add a sense of scale. It was painted in 'Auto Sketchbook Pro', with final work being carried out in Photoshop.

The illustration can be seen clearly in this link.

Nightmare Victorian Flesh Creature Horror WIP stages

Nightmare Victorian Flesh Creature Horror WIP stages

 

'Nightmare Victorian Flesh Creature Horror' wip art stages

This scif/ horror image was completed in January 2018. It is drawn and painted digitally in 'auto sketchbook pro', firstly using the program as an app on an android tablet, and then moving the project on to a W10 computer running the same program. At the final stage the artwork is imported in to Photoshop for final colour grading and other details. 
The final digital illustration an be seen here.

Working on closeup 38

Working on closeup 38

A small snippet of an industrial based oil painting...

WIP painting with work men looking at hole.

 

Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance - oil painting

Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance - oil painting

Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance - oil painting

In this industrial scene can be seen maintenance work taking place at the Freightliner railway depot at Millbrook, Southampton, in the county of Hampshire. The closest locomotive has had part of the body shell removed so as to expose the 12 cylinder diesel engine, where men are working on the power unit. In the distance can be seen an other main line freight engine and an elderly shunting locomotive. The locomotives shown are a class 66, class 70 and a class 08. The two figures dressed in orange overalls were added to provide scale and interest to the scene.
The painting was done during August 2017 and is painted in oils on mounting board, measuring 20” x 28”.
This painting can be seen in detail here.

Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance WIP stages

'Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance' WIP stages

Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance -

WIP stages

The panel above shows work in four stages of a painting called 'Southampton Freightliner Train Maintenance'. This is a small maintenance depot on the outskirts of Southampton (Millbrook) and features 3 typical locomotives to be found at the location.
The first panel shows the initial drawing, done in brown acrylic paint on a brown wash base of painting, to act as a ground for the painting to be built upon. The second panel shows dark colours applied, which act as under-painting for the final layers added later. At this stage acrylic paints art used. The painting is deliberately darker than intended and lacks detail. In the third layer can be seen the final oil layer start to be applied, all with the correct tonal and detail qualities. Finally the fourth panel displays the final, finished painting, which is sized at 28 x 20" and is painted in oils on a mounting board surface.
The final painting can also be examined in detail here.
.

Southampton Artist & Artwork revised site may 2017

Southampton Artist & Artwork revised site may 2017

 During April I decided that some of my sites needed updating in that they were not compliant for displaying on mobiles devices such as phones and tablets, although they displayed fine on a conventional computer. This site was the first to be dealt with, being only a small one, and was built in 'Weebly'. It looks overall like the one it replaces and uses many of the same elements, but now is easier to view on whatever it is seen on. Some newer paintings were also added at the same time. The other sites will take longer to do as they have far more work to display.
The site is to be found here.

SteamPunk Mechanical Robin Factory - digital painting

SteamPunk Mechanical Robin Factory - digital painting

SteamPunk Mechanical Robin Factory - digital painting

A large steampunk themed giant robin in in the last stages of construction in a Victorian type of factory. Two of the designers are consulting the blue prints while the machine itself is being filled with hot, pressurised steam, off a wagon that has been pulled in by two carthorses. One designer has a special magnifying eye piece, the other some communication apparatus attached to his ear. In the distance can be seen other parts of the factory with tall chimneys.

The painting was done using 'Auto Sketchbook Pro' software during January 2017 for the initial drawing and painting. Final grading took place within Photoshop. By following this link the illustration can be seen in greater detail.

Southampton Bursledon Brickworks open day ART WIP

Southampton Bursledon Brickworks open day ART WIP

Bursledon Brickworks open day painting WIP stages

This panel shows an oil painting in stages, done in 2011. It features a scene at the Bursledon Brickworks, just outside of Southampton, in Hampshire, during an open day. A number of privately owned steam traction engines would be invited for display at the open weekend to join ones held by the brickworks on its premises, a heritage industrial museum.

In the first panel can be seen the basic line drawing done in brown acrylic paint on top of a brown 'base' wash. The second panel show further development with a wash using diluted oil paint to fill in basic tones and base colours. The final panel shows the finished art using oil paint straight out of the tube (undiluted). There would have been approx a weeks drying time between stage two and three.

The painting is done on a stretched canvas measuring 20” x 16”.

The finished painting can be seen here.

 #Southampton #Bursledon #steam #brickworks #painting

Two Yachts Receiving Maintenance In A Yard - acrylic painting

Two Yachts Receiving Maintenance In A Yard - acrylic painting

Two Yachts Receiving Maintenance In A Yard - acrylic painting 16" x 12"

This painting completed during early November 2016, features two yachts resting on poles and cradles in a boat yard during a hot summers afternoon. One of the boats is receiving attention to its hull with filler applied. Littered around the scene are pieces of wood used for props and a number of flat wooden pallets for fork lift trucks placed in piles. The boat yard is at Northam, on the east side of Southampton, and on the banks of the river Itchen.
This painting is done in acrylics on stretched paper, the image size being 16" x 12".

http://martin-davey.pixels.com/featured/two-yachts-receiving-maintenance-in-a-yard-martin-davey.html 

#boats #art #Southampton #yacht #industry

Ducks on dockside

Ducks on dockside 

This painting shows a number of Mallard ducks standing on a dockside. The location is Christchurch, a pretty town in Dorset with two rivers flowing through it. Shown is a section of the quay that looks like a heavy industrial area from the small section shown, but is in reality just a small part of the boatyard on the quay, which is very popular with the tourists. The artwork is painted in acrylics on stretched paper sized at 16” x 12”, during July 2016.

Three Mallard ducks on quayside -acrylic painting