This is a 2 minute gesture drawing. I started with just scribbles working from the centre out searching for the main shapes. This is one of my better self portrait sketches as I enjoyed the fun of it. I didn’t have time to get too intense while concentrating.
This pastel painting was started with a watercolour undercoat in strong complimentary colours. I love the various shadows you see in sand dunes at different times of the day.
I have just finished this studio painting. This was inspired from sketches I did in Pittenweem on a really sunny and windy day. I chose this compostition from the previous oil studies I posted.
I set up this still life in the studio. I used a box on its side with a window cut out to allow the light to filter through on that side. This gave an interesting play of light on my subject. The paper I worked on was a pale yellow Sennelier pastel card. This has a nice rough texture to grab the pastel. The middle picture shows the still life in progress.
I did these three tonal studies after a visit to Pittenweem. I referred to my sketch book to capture the feeling of the place. It was after a storm hence the large waves. I used black and white oil paint and two other tones mixed from the black and white. I have to decide which ones to work on for a larger painting. I can’t decide.
Our central heating packed in on Saturday. This morning was very cold and frosty. While it was being fixed I took the opportunity of showing my appreciation for our woodburning stove by sketching it. What you don’t see in this drawing is that I have the kettle heating on top of the stove to make a cuppa. Our cat Xena is snoring in the other chair on the right. On my feet I am wearing my new cosy slippers.
The first image is my study of the Wave. I started the painting using a discarded piece of cardboard. I prepared it with a layer of gesso, this enables the pastel to adhere to the surface. My idea was to be less precious about the painting. I enjoyed it so much that the painting started to work out. I then went in search of more archival quality support and progressed onto the much larger second painting.
I had to get on and complete my still life as we are having friends for dinner. This is a photo of my set up.
This is my sketch photographed from my large sketch pad. I plan to set up a similar still life in the studio and do a colour version. As you will see from the other photo, the colours are quite dramatic.
I am still thinking of Summer despite the zero degrees last night, it is warm in the studio. I stumbled across this lovely display of wild flowers just outside Balmullo, Fife. They have been in my mind since then and it is good to get my feeling of the scene on paper.
I enjoy doing paintings of people concentrating on their craft. Chefs are great subjects for this. The Chef was cooking at a market stall in Dundee city centre. This was one very large paella pan!