Hi All, Ive been nominated by Amy Donahue and Kay Lipman to participate in the 3 in 5 Art Challenge, whereby I post three paintings everyday for the next five days. Each day Im also to nominate another artist to participate in the challenge. I will post a mixture of old and new paintings with the aim to illustrate my progression. A big thank you to Amy and Kay and be sure to check out their art and if youre on Instagram be sure to follow Amy. So without further ado here is Day Three. Day Three - Still Life (Floral) While I love painting landscapes, I also enjoy the challenge of a still life subject and in particular flowers. I used to think that a painting of a bunch of flowers was quite naff until a) I saw examples of them done well; and b) I tried it myself. Then I became hooked. Painting flowers is hard and I still have so much to learn. The first image (like the examples to follow) is of a bunch of roses from our garden. This was one of my first attempts and was painted about a year year ago. When I look back its a bit too heavy handed for what I was trying to achieve but a reasonable attempt nonetheless. Garden Roses, Oil on linen on panel, 9 x 12. The second image was painted later, in August, 2014. Between the first image and this one I worked on a number of floral paintings, trying to work out problems I needed to overcome. In this painting I feel like I had a better grasp of composition and design elements. This painting shows exactly what I want you, the view, to see. Its pretty much how I saw it in my head, which was a big leap forward for me from the previous example. Untitled, Oil on panel, 8 x 10. The third image is my most recent floral motif, painted November, 2014, and again shows roses from our garden. Here though I wanted to move away from the controlled still life back ground I had previously used and paint the flowers within an actual environment. This is them sitting on the windowsill of my studio, in the later afternoon. I painted this with thoughts of my wife and I, hence the name. You & I, oil on panel, 30cm x 19cm. Today I would like to nominate my good friend and painting partner-in-crime, Michael Tomkins. Michael is a concept artist working in digital media and plein air painter. We have been on many painting trips together and is always a trusted voice when were in the field and I need to bounce ideas around. Be sure to follow him on Instagram if youre on there. Cheers, D
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 10:35:11 +0000