Another blue period...

I have been painting some works based on my plien air paintings from Derrynane in Kerry.  I will post them here before my trip to Nice next week.  It seems so long since I was there in March, and our Paris/Giverny trip last month!  Back to the paintings though, rather than my gallivanting, they have turned out rather blue.  It's not surprising as they are three seascapes, with mostly sea on the canvas.

 

 

 

The three images are a little bright, but the photography was done under less than ideal conditions.  However if I didn't take them this morning, I wouldn't have any images to upload to this post, and it's unlikely I'll get time before I go.

 

I think the three of them need a little more work, particularly the foreground on the third image, though where the green in the photo came from, I don't know!  If it photographs that green, it definitely needs another look on the canvas, although it doesn't look too bad in the first image.  I must take the next photos with my fuji camera rather than the Nikon, it may be that the polarising lens is altering the colours, and the bright sunlight wasn't helping.

 

As for the blue, looking back at my images from my Plein air trip... the Kerry ocean was very blue in the sunshine. 

 

 

A work in progress.. Clontarf

These first two images are photos of the sea-front in Clontarf. They are in effect part of my referrences. The first painted image can be seen to follow the first photograph quite closely. (this is because the photo was framed to follow my main plan for the work) The second image is of the Cordyline foliage in beds along the front, and the third image is of other beds with palms, which suffered badly last winter.

The next three images are of the work in progress. I started by blocking in the old power station, and the foliage, along with a lamp-post. The background has been built up with layers of thick oil paint, and the white rings have been painted over the red of the chimneys. I added spirals into the foliage of the tree on the left. After ruminating for a while, mainly when the paint was curing, I decided the foliage needed to be less heavy. I made it much more stylised, allowing the sky to come through. I continued the same effect in the lower foliage, and brought the low sea-front wall into the painting. The third image has more work done both in the foreground, and on the lampost.

I don't think I am nearly finished yet, but the newer layers need to dry. While this happens I will study the work further and re-work it my imagination.

Further work on my two fish paintings

Well, I reworked the water in this one a little. I think I may leave it now.

The second work has been reworked extensively, without the silver foil though. I am quite happy with this one as it is, and I have even signed off on it. Always a sign that I know I have done enough.

I am going off to lough Sheelin tomorrow, hopefully I'll catch another trout to use for further pieces along the lines of this one. That's my excuse anyway. ;)

May is around the corner...

The end of another month.  It has flown by again.  I have been quite busy in the studio overall and work has progressed well.  I will be away for half of May between my trip to Spain and my upcoming ten day fishing break. This will mean I won't get much chance to complete any more paintings as I'll need to look after other aspects of business before after and between trips. Consequently I probably won't post here much next month either.  You will know why though....

In the meantime I'll leave you with another painting,  oil on canvas, 19 by  22 cm.

Sea-Bass.

another Tunisian coast seascape study, step by step

Blocked in

reworking the sea

into the shallow water

and next I work the rocks

some general highlights

more highlights to give the movement in the water and wave lines added

final highlights and details

about 12 inches square, acrylic on canvas. I am building up a collection of these small works, soon I will start on a large scale piece on the subject.

two small seascapes

Here are two quick studies, acrylic on canvas, about 10 inches square. They are both based on the mediterranean coast again. They are just basic square works, but divided in half, blue and green. This has been varied by splitting the top square again, the lower one in half again above and graduated colour below. In the first painting, the movement in the water and the cloud in the sky have broken up the stripes, thus disguising the geometric form of the painting. In the second, less worked piece the cloud does not break the top strip to a great extent leaving it stronger looking even though it is less pronounced than in the first painting. The gradual and radial colour change of the sea help do the same.






SOLD

These are two small experimental paintings which will help when I come to do a larger painting based on the same principle.

SOLD Seascape 2,

North African seascape No.2

I have been working on another North African/mediterranean seascape painting. Here is a step by step work up study;acrylic on canvas, 16 inches square.
Step one:Blocked in colour with a few marks indicating water movement.

step two: further work on the main sea areas. There is added movement in the water and more tonal values in the sea.
Followed by step three: detailing and moving light on the rocks, light movement in the foreground water, created mainly with the use of semi-transparent layers and brush marks.

The criss-crossing curves and arcs create a simplified rippling effect on the seabed while still showing as water surface without needing to delineate the visuals by adding a shoreline




This will be an interesting excercise in a more finished painting.

A small paper study.

This is a 'small work on paper'. It is a view from Tunisia, 16 X 12 inches, acrylic on paper, and has gone to Belgrade, Serbia, for an International Exhibition of small works. The horizon looks crooked in the photo, but the paper was still wet and crinkled when the photo was taken. You will also notice it has a bit of 'fish-eye' lens to it also, but it gives a good over view of the painting.

I am still organizing for my new studio, but I hope to have it soon.