Bush Clown

I did this painting from a black and white picture. I imagined the colors that I wanted and I thought it would be best with a color scheme of green, red and blue. The picture virtually painted itself. Once again I feel a bit more work on the hands but I was excited to publish it on the net and will work on them some more at leisure.

Concentration

Hi, this is another portrait of Aurelio that I have painted. This time from a photo instead of from life. I've been reading a book on Rembrandt and looking at his portraits. I wanted to capture some of the light and dark that Rembrandt used but it didn't work to well on this picture. I need more dramatic lighting in real life to be able to try and attemt this. Over all I a am pleased with this picture. There might need a bit of improvement on the hands yet. What do you think?

Dragon Delight

Hi, this latest painting is from my imagination, which is a tough thing to do when you are used to having references. It was an exercise. I must say I started off dreading doing this and had a bit of a think. Then I did a little sketch to see if it might work out on paper.

I chose a dragon to paint, as I love them. I am an avid sci fi fantasy reader. I enjoy all the stories with dragons and magic and a hero. I thought the dragon looked ferocious and so I drew some scared little fairies that the dragon had perchanced across. I stood there thinking what does scared look like and I thought big startled eyes and a wide open mouth, perhaps racing off screaming.

Critique night at pastel society

I took this painting along to a critique night at the pastel society. What an interesting night. Robert Wade was the artist critiquing. He was a wealth of knowledge and constructive in his opinion. As a result I have tried to tone the background down a bit so it is not fighting with the whole picture. He loves broad strokes and was fond of commenting on them in different pictures. I have utilised lots of lines in this picture which was confliciting to the judges opinion. The main thing is I enjoyed painting this picture, which inthe end is all that matters.

One of my favourite pieces for the night was a painting of a venetian mask with masses of feathers surrounding the mask. The detail in the body of the mask was magnificent with gorgeous contrasting loose feathers enveloping it.

Millgrove Saw Mill

Hi, I feel like I may be channelling Van Gough without the anguished mental state at present. I am really enjoying the looseness and freedom of this scribbly style of painting.

This picture is as titled Millgrove Saw mill. I have previously drawn a small black and white of the mill. We were driving up the road to Warburton where you pass this saw mill. We often enjoy going for drives as a family, especially with the hills and Yarra Valley just on our door step. Actually I don't think the kids think it is that much of a terrific idea, but we enjoy it. I was captivated by the rusticness of the saw mill with all the bits of timber in piles everywhere. I especially liked the pipe that dissects through the picture like a roof top.

I won a third prize at the Ringwood art Society judged competition for my "Aboriginal Children" the other week. So that was excting news. I have paintings going into the Mt. Waverley competition in a week and The Bay side exhibition in Brighton. I am hoping for some sales, which would be nice. I am keeping my fingers crossed for my friends as well. Good luck everyone, lots of red dots please!

Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo, an aboriginal musical instrument that only a amle may play. The sound resonates through the air in a distinct melodic way.

I had lots of fun with this aboriginal man. Once again the source of reference has to be credited to Lyndal Alston.

A game of cricket!

Okay, my previous blog of the work in progress just got stuck. I may go back to it at a later date. This picture of aboriginal children holding a cricket bat is my latest work. They are so animated and full of personality. Once again I have to credit the source of the reference to a friend Lyndal Alston. She is a fabulous photographer and was able to capture so much liveliness.

I really enjoyed the colors in this picture and I had a lot of fun with the animation of the central figure.