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I seem to be getting into the habit of posting paintings a week after I have finished them. I blame it on the hectic working week I have had, which has meant I have been getting home every evening exhausted and tired of looking at computer screens!
The Hare portrait and boxing hares I produced a year ago have captured a lot of attention, and I am told they are very popular with buyers in the art market. So here is my third attempt at a Hare. Hares are extremely hard to spot in the wild, due to the fact they crouch down in dips in the ground which they dig out, called 'forms'. They will suddenly bolt out at the last minute if they feel threatened, scaring the life out of you as you probably thought it was a lump of dirt!
I have captured the wary look in this hare. He could bolt at any minute, the wild eye fixed on you. The fur of a hare is layered with grey, black, blue and brown hair, so to capture this layered look I flicked all these colours one at a time onto the paper. With the grass, I layered green and yellow ochre then scraped out blades of grass with my fingertips (a messy method I know!) This was far more effective than painting blades of grass individually.
I will probably keep revisiting Hares as a subject. They are beautiful creatures and there are endless ways to represent them.
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would be painting a Scarlet Macaw. Well, here is the finished result, and I have to say I am very pleased with this one. I have painted Macaws before. I began this blog with a pair of Green-wing Macaws, a watercolour I was very proud of. They are such a wonderful subject to paint, with rich red feathers and endless texture. I thought the Scarlet Macaw would be a perfect subject, with its gorgeous rainbow coloured feathers and long tail.
These watercolours do take a while to create, mainly because I have to wait for each section of colour to dry before moving onto the next. If I didn't do this all the colours would run together in a muddy mess. Dropping water or white ink onto slightly damp colour creates the highlighted feather effect, which is important with a subject like this. It would be far too dark and flat otherwise.
This painting will be entered into the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year competition this week. The 'World Birds' category is the best place for it. I will also be entering my little egret into the 'British Birds' category. I'll know in April whether I have once again made it onto the shortlist.
These five characters were actually painted last weekend, but a few finishing touches meant I could not get it photographed until now.
I have always wanted to have a go at painting Indian Runner Ducks. They are extremely comical with their strange upright posture, coupled with the way they all seem to run along together in a big line! The city farms of London always have them waddling around. I reckon it's mainly to entertain the children who visit!
I did not want to have just white ducks in this picture, as I think it is more interesting to have a mixture of patterns and colour. I enjoyed painting the 'pied' duck the most. Allowing the black and blue paint to run into each other and spread over the page, produced a very natural looking feathered pattern. Neither did I want to complicate the image with a background. Instead I wet the paper and flicked some ink over the floor beneath their feet, and once again let the black, green and brown run into each other.
I think what I enjoy the most about this picture is the movement. They are all moving along with purpose, and each individual seems to have it's own personality.
I have noticed that the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year competition is looming once more. It is time to pick some more entries before the deadline. However, this weekend I may try and get a last minute watercolour done. I fancy tackling a Scarlet Macaw....
The start of 2010 has certainly been a snowy one! Here in London we only saw about 2 inches, but that was enough to disrupt transport, which meant I had to spend an extra day at home this week. I spent this day painting some Pekin Ducks. I took some lovely photos of these ducks when I was in Wiltshire recently, and they were certainly very photogenic.I tried including a vaguely abstract background, however I am not sure it has had a positive result. The ground underneath their feet is textured and successful, but I feel the orange behind them is too scruffy and distracting. The idea was to have a background that compliments the blue feathers, which is striking, but I think I need a lot more practice. I am pleased with the ducks. They seem relaxed, enjoying the warm sunlight that is shining on their bodies.I am going to paint some more ducks, but next time they will be Indian Runners. These strange fowl are so full of character and movement that they will be a lot of fun to recreate in watercolour.
Well here is my last painting of the year. Despite a two week break over Christmas, I was able to dive back into painting and complete this image in 4 hours.
The red squirrel is such an adorable animal, and has so much more appeal than the grey. I wanted to do that red fur justice, and so used a mixture of orange, red-pinks and browns to give the rich hue seen on the paper. The tail is very dense, and so a dark shadow and layers of 'splattered' red and white inks helped give the fluffy texture.
The only problem I see with the image is the ears. I may have overdone the tufts a little. I think the image could have also benefited from a seasonal touch, by adding a sprinkling of snow and some pine cones to the branch. That will be something to bear in mind for a future painting.
So, aims for next year? I would like my paintings to gain more notoriety. I will enter more competitions which will hopefully help achieve this. I will also look into including more backgrounds. Nothing detailed, just expressive colours and brush-strokes so as not to distract from the main image. Lastly, I will aim to improve my photography, so I can collect a valuable library of reference material. See you in 2010....
It is always difficult at this time of year to find the time to sit down and concentrate on painting. I actually began this painting last weekend, but Christmas shopping and the shorter hours of daylight got in the way of completing it. Luckily, working in a school means I had a 'half day' on Friday, and I was able to race home and put paintbrush to paper.
I have attempted Badgers before, without success. Being nocturnal, it is very hard to collect good reference of them. Their lovely black and white faces are surprisingly difficult to get right. When I initially completed this image, I had got the white central stripe too thin, and as a result the eyes were too close together. Luckily, my artist parents were on hand to point out this mistake, and with a clever use of black watercolour and white acrylic, I was able to reapply the eyes and widen the stripe.
What I like most about this image is the fur. I layered flicks of black, brown, dark blue and white watercolour/ink. The result was a dense and textural covering.
When I eventually get the time to sit down with my paints again after Christmas, I will probably attempt another beautiful mammal, the Red Squirrel.
Veering away from the festive theme this week, I have instead enjoyed returning to the subject of British Mammals. The first fox I painted was at university, when I was illustrating the story of Chicken Licken. Foxes certainly seem to have a crafty reputation, which is highlighted in that children's book. They are however one of our most handsome residents. Living in London means I see them sneaking about most evenings, and they often stop to take a brief glance at you before disappearing, much like the dog fox in this painting is doing.
What I love about painting foxes is the great contrast between their rich orange and black fur. While painting this image I just let the black ink run into the wet orange. I also made sure his striking eyes where bright and full of curiosity, with a crisp white highlight.
This painting will most likely end up in the Haddon Gallery in Devon. Paul and Fiona Haddon have just signed me up to exhibit in their reputable gallery, which is really exciting for me. Hopefully they will also produce some prints of my work, which of course will help spread the word about my art.
I seem to be getting into the habit of posting paintings a week after I have finished them. I blame it on the hectic working week I have had, which has meant I have been getting home every evening exhausted and tired of looking at computer screens!
