Ponte Vecchio w.i.p

Well I've made it back to my studio, my left hand still very much out of action. Being right handed, I figured I could easily crack on with some work, but the whole process has been hard. Trying to remove tops from tubes of paint one handed, sharpening pencils ( I need to get another pencil sharpener ), just holding reference pictures in my left hand tires it.

But I have made a start, I'm finding it hard to get straight lines without my left hand to steady me, I guess it will come with practise! 

Happy New Year!

Well here we are 2012! It's been a strange start to the year for me, I started the year in hospital.

Call it miss adventure, or bad middle aged dancing, I fell early New Years Day at a party at my brother's house. My wrist was the casulty of my fall, and at first inspection obviously badly broken. Everyone's first response to my news has been the same, too much champagne? "Yes", was it you drawing arm? "No thank God!"  An operation on New Years day to bolt my shattered wrist back together seems to have been a success, and now a week on, I'm feeling the need to get back into the studio.

Here's one I made a start on last year, again it's based on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. I was drawn to many things, compositionally the curves of the arches in the building and the bridge. The next consideration you can't see yet, is the way the sun lights the facade of the bridge, bathing it in sunlight. Finally are the shadows that are cast against the glowing walls, in lovely violets.

This is a small study to pair up with a study I did of the same bridge last year, its size roughly A4, and I plan to use gouache, in vibrant coloured blocks, then work over details in pastel pencil.

Due to popular demand, we're back!

Another chance to buy a unique Xmas gift! So excited that we're back. To be honest it wasn't planned, but the Market House asked us if we would like to do a few more days, after the success of the first one, we had to say yes!

Finally got my heron

For well over a year I've been pursuing this heron in Richmond Park. As soon as my camera came out he'd be off, however when I didn't have my camera on me he'd know and hang around just to tease me!

Finally he gave me a break a few months back! 

This is an A3 pastel painting based on these photos. I first painted a gouache base with some highlights, then worked over this in pastel. 

Sorting out all my work for my next KAOS Exhibition. We're in the Kingston Market Place again. This time we've decided to make all work £100 and under, with the thought that people's minds are on Xmas now. We can offer truely unique gifts by local artists and crafts people, you certainly won't get anything similar on the high street!

A little break from the swan

I'm taking a break from my swan. Things that had to be done got in the way, and I've temporarily lost momentum, so I thought a new project to get things going again, then I will return to the swan with a fresh eye.
This is obviously a heron, I finally got my shot in Richmond Park, I've been trying to take a decent photo of a heron for months. I'm doing this roughly A3 mostly in gouache, which I will work into with pastel for his wispy parts in his plummage.

Ripples and reflections, swan wip

Progress is slow on this, I've had a few other things to get done. I'm still refining the green. I need to get on with the foreground so I can finish the background. I always struggle to get on in the Winter, the shorter daylight hours reduce the time I can work especially using pastels which I find require good daylight.