Working on closeup 97

A small snippet of a painting featuring a young woman...

Graham Chapman (Lucie Ash Invisible Portraits exhibition)

During my stay at the Southampton City Art Gallery in spring 2022, I was invited to provide a small painting to be included as part of a larger artwork for the Lucie Ash Invisible Portraits exhibition. 

This larger artwork was to contain a large amount of small portraits done by artists and non arts, as a part of a celebration of the LGBTIQ+ community. The artwork, split over two panels consisted of 646 separate pieces of artwork, done in a variety of styles. My contribution was one that featured Graham Chapman, a member of Monty Python who had died in the early 1980's. 

It is painted in oils on a supplied, cut to size canvas (8.6cm x 7.7cm), which I sanded down and re-primed to make as smooth as possible as the weave was crude at that scale. As reference I used a screen capture showing Chapman in one of his many Monty Python characters, the army general who would typically interrupt a sketch and cancel it for the next one in the programmes running order. 

The exhibition ran from September 2022 through to January 2023.

Fred Vincent portrait - oil painting

Fred Vincent portrait

Created in May 2023 this portrait painting was based on a photo taken the previous year. The painting measures 20” x 16” using oils on mounting board. This is the second painting of the subject, with the earlier one (subject holding book) done in late 2022 through to early 2023. The earlier painting was bigger at 33” x 23” in size. The one above can be seen on this link while the earlier one is at the bottom of the post.
The sitter describes himself and his work...
“Fred Vincent was born about half a century ago in Marseilles but has noble ascendance: De Villiers, De Flotte and Grimaldi are amongst the prestigious names from his ancestors. His family is also linked to Marcel Pagnol well known for ''Manon des Sources". Qualified as a mfl teacher in Southampton University, he has spent 10 years in the city of the Titanic where he hold thriving cultural events mixing all sorts of artists: Giaco, Adrian Boswell, Francis Martin, Barry Davis, Martin Davey, Julien Masson, Jonathan Fashole Luke,  Arnie Cottrell, Leo Bridle, Stephen Boyce and Sally Bibb at Peter Rhodes Bookshop and The Art House. He then went back to France for Brexit reasons but kept returning to England to pursue the artistic flame. He nowadays writes colourful poems in http://welovewords.com/collections/anglais and perform them in the Théâtre la Cité in Marseilles. “

Nephew oil portrait

This portrait featuring one of my nephews, was painted using a photograph taken back in the early 2000's.
Painted in January 2022, in oils on mounting board, sized at 16" x 12".

It can be seen in greater detail on this link .

Artist David McDiarmid portrait

Painted in spring 2022 this portrait features an artist working on his sculpture. His name is David McDiarmid and is based in Southampton, UK. The piece shown is "Lucifer", with gold leaf being applied to the face.Painted on mounting board sized at 33" x 23" approx in oils.

The artwork can be seen in greater detail on this link.
#sculpture #painting #lucifer #figure #oilpainting

Head painting exercise - Princess Elizabeth

Pictured is a portrait sketch of a young Queen Elizabeth II, as a princess. it is based on an old B/W photo presumably taken in the very late 1940s. The painting used a limited 3 colour plus white palette, and painted in oils on a piece of cardboard sized at 12" x 9.5". Uploaded on the 18 September 2022, one day before the funeral of her majesty. 

Head painting exercise - politicians

Two famous leaders of opposing political leaders in the UK, are shown in this entry. Leading the Conservatives (and was the PM) is Boris Johnson. His opposite number leading the Labour party is Sir Keir Starmer. Each of these two paintings are done on cardboard (from a supermarket) sized at 12" x 9.5", primed ready to accept oil paint. A limited set of colours has been used to create these sketches, painted during mid summer 2022.

Painting faces exercise Zorn palette 'On the Buses'

These three portraits feature some of the regular cast from the hit comedy TV series 'On the Buses' that ran from 1969 to 1973. From left to right the actors are Reg Varney as Stan Butler , Bob Grant as Jack Harper and Stephen Lewis as Inspector Cyril 'Blakey' Blake.

Painted in oils onto cardboard from a supermarket, each one sized at 12" x 9.5". The colour palette is the limited 'Zorn' one, designed by the Victorian artist, Anders Zorn. The colours are yellow ochre, ivory black, Cadmium red  and titanium white.

Summer 2021.

Lockdown artist Martin Davey self portrait - WIP stages

3 stages of the self portrait WIP

During 2020 I decided to paint my own self portrait. It is in oils on mounting board, sized at 33” x 23”, or A1. This was my first tackle subject wise at such a project bus as I did not have any other subject it seemed like a good idea. Also the picture could be a good item for an upcoming exhibition.

The picture above shows three stages of the artwork in creation. In the first panel can be seen the initial drawing, done in dark brown acrylic paint. This is done on a wash or 'ground' of lighter brown paint. White acrylic paint has been added to indicate areas of a lighter tone. Once this is done then work can begin on the proper oil painting, as seen in the second panel. Here diluted oil paint has been used to paint over the acrylic layer so as to give an indication of colour and tonal qualities. Not much detail is paid to detail at this time and this layer acts as an underpainting. It will be in turn painted over with heavier brushwork but so of this layer will still show through the paint to the final image. In the last panel can be seen the final painting. Here the paint has been applied thickly and detail painted in. The colours are also more carefully mixed to get to the correct desired opaque colour. There was one other stage done on this layer and that is a glazing paint layer. It is where a small quantity of paint is diluted in a heavy transparent oil, thicker than normal paint oil and painted on top of the normal, previously painted layer. It is similar to coloured stain glass in a way and adds a little extra to the colour, like a layered colour where the light goes through the transparent layer, hits the opaque surface and bounces back through the top layer giving a richer experience to the viewer. Sadly this effect cannot really be captured by a camera so just three stages are shown here..

The self portrait can be viewed in greater detail on this link.

Lockdown artist Martin Davey self portrait - oil painting

Completed self portrait of Martin Davey

Painted in late spring 2020 this self portrait was done during the period the world was gripped by Covid-19. At the time of painting the subject was recovering from the effects himself having caught it at Easter that year. Also the world was in lock down so he gave up shaving and his hair grew as there were no barbers open!. It was due to be cut earlier in March, just as the lock down took effect. The subject is shown against a painting of St Pauls cathedral, London, on the easel. That work was done earlier in the year and can be seen on this link. He is holding a wooden kidney shaped palette.

This artwork is painted in oils on a prepared mounting board sized at 23” x 33” approx.

It can be seen in greater detail on this link.

 

 

Working on closeup 77

A small snippet of a figurative painting...

Lady with curly red hair in beach setting - WIP stages

Lady with curly red hair in beach setting - WIP stages

WIP stages of the figure in progress.

Painted during Autumn 2019 this oil painting, sized at 33” x 23”, features a woman with a deep interest in spirituality and other mysterious aspects of life. She was painted against a made up sea background to reflect her Aquarius astrological star sign, the original photo being taken in a car park! The first panel shows a drawing, done in brown acrylic paint on a lighter brown wash. Suggestions of tones and highlights have been added, again in acrylic. In the middle panel a rough underpainting has been applied in oils, which provides a base to the final intended colours. These under-painted layers are thinly applied, using an artists paint thinner or similar medium. In the final panel we see the completed painting with thicker paint applied. All of the colours and details are correctly done to the intended values of colour and tone. On top of this completed painted layer when dry is a 'glaze' layer, which is a further coat of paint applied thinly within a thickish transparent medium. This is used to highlight certain elements in the painting and empathise the colour. The under layer of paint partly shows through the glaze layer adding depth to the colour as seen by the human eye, and not really a camera lens however. The face and hair were tackled in such a way while the sky and sand were left as is. This portrait oil painting can be seen in greater detail here.

Lady with curly red hair in beach setting - oil painting

Lady with curly red hair in beach setting - oil painting

Finished oil painting of Julie Diaz

A woman called Julie Diaz kindly posed for this oil painting. It is based on a photograph taken at a car park on a sunny day. A made up 'seaside' background was introduced, based on her astrological sign (Aquarius), which was a better background than the car park too! It is sized at 33” x 23” and is on primed acid free mounting board. A glaze was used on the figure, but not the background, to add depth and richness to the colours. Julie is mixed race and enjoys wearing red, black and gold. She has many interests mainly based in the areas of spiritualism. Painted in September 2019, the finished artwork can be seen in detail on this link.

Working on closeup 68

Working on closeup 68

 A small snippet of a female figure oil painting...

Greek lady on stool portrait - WIP stages

Greek lady on stool portrait - WIP stages

Stages of painting the seated woman in oils

This lady of Greek origin was kind enough to pose for a photograph. She sat on a stool and basic studio lighting was applied with her against a white sheet. This background was replaced with a blue mottled effect, during the painting process. The picture shows 4 stages of the production of the image, which was created during August 2019. In the first panel is the drawing of the figure drawn with brown acrylic paint on a yellow ochre colour wash base. Moving on to the second one we can see that white/ lighter tones have been indicated on the figure, again using acrylic paint. The third panel shows that colour has now been blocked in using diluted oil paint, which will act as a guide for the upper layers. These are the finished layers using thicker paint,with the right colours and values. Also the details are refined at this last stage as shown in the final panel where the finished artwork is shown, complete with some colour glazes on top. The finished portrait can be seen in greater detail by following this link.

Greek lady on stool portrait - oil painting

Greek lady on stool portrait - oil painting

Completed figurative painting of seated greek lady.

A local woman, whose origins are from Greece, posed for this painting, sitting on a stool. It is done in oils on some acid free mounting board, itself measuring 33” x 23”. It was painted during August 2019. The artwork can be seen in greater detail on this link.

Working on closeup 66

Working on closeup 66

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

Woman Ceramicist at work in her studio - WIP stages

Woman Ceramicist at work in her studio - WIP stages

Stages of portait of Ceramicist oil painting

This portrait was produced during May 2019 and features a ceramicist busy at work in her studio working on a stylised bust in clay.

Above can be seen four stages of the process to paint the portrait. The fist panel shows the drawing, scaled up from a posed photograph, which is done with brown acrylic paint on a yellow ochre wash (ground). Moving on, the second panel shows basic areas of colour thinly applied in oils to act as a base under-painting. This will be painted over with thicker paint with truer colours, as shown in the third panel. Detail is also added as the painting is created with more 'finished' strokes. The final panel shows the oil painting (sized at 33x 23.5”) now finished.

It can be seen in detail on this link.

Working on closeup 64

Working on closeup 64

A small snippet of a still life/ portrait subject...

Woman Ceramicist at work in her studio - oil painting

Woman Ceramicist at work in her studio - oil painting

The completed painting of a Ceramicist at work.

A Southampton ceramicist known as Leo Deville is depicted in this painting, produced in May 2019. She is shown working at her studio, surrounded by the tools she often uses during her creating process. As well as many brushes and old jam jars peppering the scene, an animal vertebrae (off a donkey) can be seen. Leo is pictured busy working on one of her stylized clay busts.

The ceramicist says “I create ceramic stylized faces, figures, sculptures and jewellery that can include coloured wires, textiles, beads & paint.” She also paints in acrylics and oils. Her website can be found at https://www.leodeville.co.uk/ .

This oil painting is sized at 33x 23.5”, and is painted on treated acid free mounting board.

The portrait can be viewed in greater detail hereXXX.