Duke of Wellington Tudor pub Southampton

Duke of Wellington Tudor pub Southampton

This acrylic painting depicts a famous Tudor public house within the historic City of Southampton, UK. This old building was built upon Norman cellars during 1220. It became a pub in 1494.
In 1815 the pub was renamed, from the Shipwrights Arms, to the Duke of Wellington, after the victory of the Battle of Waterloo in that year. The pub can be seen at 36 Bugle St, SO14 2AH .
I feel that acrylic painting techniques work well with man made subjects, because of the technical aspects of painting straight lines, perspective, and the mechanical processes that can be achieved with the quick drying nature of the paint. Painting scenes like this in oil paint can be done, but it requires a lot more time and possibly not so effective. In this case the entire composition is one made up of the challenges of perspective, and capturing a subject that is mechanically based.
The day is a sunny one and the bold, blue sky helps to emphasise the clean and large areas of white, separated by dark wood beams, that typifies buildings of the Tudor period. The collection of people enjoying a drink at the bar help to give the painting life and scale, and show the true use that the Duke of Wellington pub offers the public. A seagull is seen perched on the roof, enjoying the sun.
Painted on a canvas measuring 16" x 20",during 2012.
The finished painting can be seen clearly here.

Duke of Wellington Tudor pub Southampton

Southampton Northam River Itchen old jetty with sea birds

Southampton Northam River Itchen old jetty with sea birds

This oil painting is a view of the River Itchen, in the county of Hampshire UK. Here it is seen in the area of Northam, in the City of Southampton heading towards the port. Local business can be seen in the background, including a scrap metal merchant. The metal is piled up in several mounts on the berth, awaiting collection by ship, usually about once a week. In the foreground is an old jetty, now reduced to 'wooden bones'. However the local seagulls use it to enjoy the view and sunshine on this summer evening. A swan in circling around the base of the jetty.
The painting is done on a canvas measuring 16" x 20". A bright red acrylic paint base was initially applied to the canvas, followed by a drawing in brown acrylic. A colour wash was then applied, again in thinned acrylic paint. Finally the painting itself is done in oil paint, straight from the tube. Painted in 2012.

Southampton Northam River Itchen old jetty with sea birds

 

The Luncheon on the Grass with dinosaurs

The Luncheon on the Grass with dinosaurs

This digital illustration is based on the famous painting by Édouard Manet, titled Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (The Luncheon on the Grass). In my version though I have taken a comical slant and replaced the original figures with cartoon dinosaurs instead.
A larger version of the artwork can be seen here.
A time lapse movie was also created showing the painting being painted in built up in photoshop. It lasts for under 2 mins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQqNpwPlUWc

The Luncheon on the Grass with dinosaurs digital painting

This is the original painting for comparison.

Girl in a balloon greeting a happy sun

Girl in a balloon greeting a happy sun

This illustration, of a girl in a balloon greeting a happy sun, was created in early 2013. The artwork shows a stylised illustration of a happy girl with a woolly hat piloting a pink balloon from the basket mounted underneath. She is waving at a happy, smiling sun that is emitting rays of light.

The blue sky helps to make the pinks and yellows bounce out of the painting. It was created in a vector based drawing programme, and output at A3 size. 

Girl in a balloon greeting a happy sun

 

christchurch hengistbury head beach with boats

christchurch hengistbury head beach with boats

This oil painting shows a beach scene at Hengistbury Head, near to Christchurch, Dorset,UK. It is a very hot day in the middle of July and a number of boats can be seen resting on the beach. Hengistbury Head is a wildlife preserve and contains a sliver of land only about 50ft across and sea on either side. Two rows of colourful beach huts run along it, one row facing in to the harbour of Christchurch, the other out to sea. The area is a popular destination for tourists in the area. In the painting the artist wanted to capture the activity in the area and the pretty, colourful beach huts looking towards Christchurch harbour.

The painting is on a canvas sized at 16” x 20” and painted late 2012.

christchurch hengistbury head beach with boats

brown horse by stables

Brown Horse by Stables

This oil painting was painted in December 2012. It features a brown horse eating grass in a field with a collection of stables nearby. It is based on a photograph taken in the previous spring and took about 5 hours to paint, in one sitting, on a bright red ground which can be made out on the edges. For small paintings like this I tend to pick simple subjects which makes the painting easier to do and also creates a clear image for the viewer.
The horse painting is painted on a canvas board sized at 8" x 10".

brown horse by stables oil painting

little magic fairy forest connected on to the internet

little magic fairy forest connected on to the internet

This digital illustration was created during November 2012, and shows a fairy with her small insect friends in a forest. The magic forest has just become wifi connected to the internet, show the residents are now using the latest computer technology to find out about the evil witch on the other side of the forest.
The painting was created at A4 size using photoshop, on a dark brown ground that can just be picked out. The fun part of the painting was thinking about and painting the light coming from the ipad and such devices, and how they react with their users faces.

little magic fairy forest connected on to the internet