Nimbus
A very quick painting of an angle of Kinsale that I’ve been designing from for the last two weeks now. I’ve tried to bring a tension between the two figures in the foreground, theses figures were added as I felt that the weather was about to break and start raining, it reminded me of a relationships if that be romantic or not, when one person’s holding back from saying something and can’t hold their thoughts any longer.
Irish Cloud.
This painting that was just completed a week ago, was somewhat of a departure from the way I’ve painted in the past; more broken strokes, mixing on the canvas and generally a loose approach. I wanted to express an airy feeling to the picture plane, a feeling of expanse and freedom. There’s a lot of strokes that I’ve left, strokes that I’d certainly play with, soften, blur or generally just push about in other paintings. I’ve also expanded my palette, adding Naples yellow, Chrome yellow and Cobalt blue.
Cloud offers a great tool for design, elegant curved shapes and lines that bring the eye where you would want it to go. Beautifully subtle hues that one can play with for depth.
Some of these strokes broach expressionism, but I’ve held back before the picture entered that realm entirely.
Working solely from nature there’s times when a model cancels or the weather’s too inclement to venture outside, at these moments I like to delve into my imaginations and just try to have fun in the act of picture making without any references.
Many segments of time over the years I’ve found myself in bars and cafes doodling in sketch books, designs for pictures that could never exist if one was working solely from life. Impossible angles and hues.
If I’m waiting for someone out, I usually ask for a bit blank of paper and pencil from the cafe or bars’ staff, I start to draw and see what tumbles out on my mind.
When I was younger, sketching from my imagination was a big part of my life though going through art school I found that I did this less and less, as I was so focused on learning how to capture what I saw.
A lot of what follows are small sketches though there’s a couple bigger more realised pictures.
Evening Thoughts
I’d imagine that this picture comes from many walks, I find it helpful to milk ideas in this way. These strolls would generally take place in the early evenings when the light was fading. As I have penchant for over-coats…the figure comes quite naturally.
Be Happy
A picture that’s included in the last post (Miscellaneous 3), I was looking a lot of George Inness…an artist who’s been a big influence on me for a couple of years now – I discuss his work. http://kitfrenchartist.com/thoughts-on-painting-mist-fog-and-atmospheric-effects/
The Conversation
Imagined beach seen, city in the distance. People meeting for an unknown reason.
Viewer
Another from my idea walks, a figure pondering existence.
Gathering
Just experimenting placing figures, and trying to make them work together. This picture has something of a ceremonial feeling. I may make a bigger version of this in the coming weeks.
Introspection
Quick sketch of a figure looking down, and pose that I find that I hold rather often.
The Launch
Quick sketch, half what I saw half what occurred to me backing in the studio.
Awaiting the Light
Though not done solely from my head, more of picture that went that way. View from one of the local beaches here in Kinsale. Glowing clouds sparked an Idea.
These pictures obviously aren’t naturalistic though they are inspired by nature, as everything is. I found painting them rather soothing as I tend to over think things, with these there was a freedom that I could exude rather like a comedian riffing or and actor improvising. The colour selection is rather simple, trying to express the ideas with less.
“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Yet more pictures from the past, again they’re not chronological.
Some artists may be quite apprehensive about showing passed paintings, but my thoughts are that these are as true as anything, slices of my mind. My technique may have improved in terms of capturing what I see, ( as much as that is possible ) but what I felt at the time hopefully comes through even if there’s some choices that I my not take now, weather for taste or technical reasons. One of my teachers Charles H Cecil used to say “Progress doesn’t exist there’s only change” he was talking about human culture generally though I don’t completely agree, it’s not not true. Recently I’ve thought that some of my ideas from the past, that for the last couple of years I had written off as naive flutterings of youth, have come back to me as something, not sure what something yet but certainly ideas that have some form/kind of merit.
Looking through the many portfolios leaning against various walls in the studio, I realised how many sketches I’ve done over the years. Many in charcoal though there’s a few pencils. Here’s a selection.
Just looking through the passed 5-6 years of work that are stacked around my small studio. Lots of starts, ideas I didn’t pursue, but here’s the first selection of the pictures that came to something of a fruition. like the name of this post suggests, there’s no real theme here, just evidence of time spent.
Fred and Daniela.
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lovely young couple. After asking them both to pose for charcoal sketches and spending some time with each of them separately, I had an idea for a larger picture; this also got me thinking about relationships and couples in painting.
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