More Printmaking Experiments
More drypoint and linocut experiments focused on trying to separate line, value and colour from form.
More Printmaking Experiments Read More »
More drypoint and linocut experiments focused on trying to separate line, value and colour from form.
More Printmaking Experiments Read More »
Portrait practice with the – ever patient – Paul Jennings.
Portrait Practice 29/08/2018 Read More »
These are the result of a second session continuing to work on the painting of Paul started on 19th July. Sadly, despite a thoroughly enjoyable (although long/mentally exhausting) session with Paul, it feels like the painting has gone backwards from the first session.
I was trying to improve the range of tones to ensure the figure felt solid, but ended up using too much Burnt Umber and Payne’s Grey, as a result of which, it’s all looking rather dull, sombre and overworked compared with the previous state.
In my defence, the light through my Easterly facing studio/garage windows changed hugely throughout the day, from overcast in the morning, to brilliant sunshine at midday, followed by deep shadow in the afternoon, so I need to figure out how to handle that.
Portrait Practice 08/08/18 Read More »
Portrait practice (work in progress) oil on board 61cm x 122cm
Portrait Practice 19/7/18 Read More »
Painting started in life drawing class and continued working on from memory at home (oil on canvas 60cm x 60cm)
Life Drawing 18/7/18 Read More »
I bought a secondhand book on paper making at the weekend, so was inspired to have a go. This is the result of my first attempt, together with my prototype mould and deckle. It’s made from recycled newspaper, hence the grey colour. Next up; I’m going to try making a plank of wood from some sawdust… 🙄
First Attempt at Making Paper Read More »
Serving suggestion: Preheat garden to 75 degrees. Place one incredibly patient portrait sitter in an uncomfortable chair and one struggling artist in direct sunlight. Grill for 4.5 hours until medium rare…
Portrait Session 12/6/18 Read More »
This is a portrait drawn using a prototype version of Tim Jenison’s Vermeer device.
Given my enthusiasm for David Hockney’s controversial book, ‘Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the lost techniques of the Old Masters’, I don’t know why it took me so long, but I recently watched the Penn and Teller documentary, ‘Tim’s Vermeer’.
It’s a fascinating (and, yet again, controversial) investigation into the theory that the Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer, might have used optics to assist him in achieving his incredible paintings.
To test his theory, US-based inventor and self-proclaimed ‘non-painter’, Tim Jenison, created a full replica of the room that Vermeer portrayed in his painting, ‘The Music Lesson’, together with its contents.
He then went on to develop an arrangement of optical equipment in which an ‘image is projected through the 4-inch lens onto a 7-inch concave mirror on the opposite wall, and then onto the 2-inch-by-4-inch mirror he’d have right in front of his face as he painted.‘
Having discussed the conclusions of this documentary with my venerable portrait sitter, Paul J, he agreed that I could test the theory on a portrait he had commissioned from me of his grandson, Leon.
My prototype was of Tim’s earlier, simplest version of his device, which required a small mirror to be placed at 45 degrees to a vertically fixed (and, ideally, reversed/flipped) image, and a horizontally placed sheet of paper (see second image below).
Lessons learned from this experiment:
In summary, it was an interesting experiment, and one that I’d like to repeat, especially to test:
In closing I would say, however, that as an artist I really enjoy the challenge of looking and analysing an object, as well as the ‘trial and error’ of trying to interpret and represent what has been seen, and I quite like seeing the imperfection of the hand and the eye in the finished drawing.
Using optics, whilst effective and accurate, is really rather boring and certainly made me feel like a human photocopy machine, so I wonder if the masters of old would have tried their hardest to keep their reliance of optics to a minimum so that they could spend more of their time using the fun stuff. Paint!!
Portrait Drawing Made Using Tim Jenison’s Vermeer Device Read More »
This week, I ‘ave mostly been playing with colour gamuts…
Studio Practice: Playing with Colour Gamuts Read More »
Portrait practice with Paul Jennings (acrylic on canvas 60cm x 50cm)
Portrait Practice 31/5/18 Read More »