Rooftops, Paris

Rooftops, Paris

Oil on board 12x15 inches

Had a bit of fun with this one. I was a bit disappointed in Paris earlier this year (not the city itself!)- I was really excited about seeing all the artists at Monmatre, but when I got there it seemed that everyone was knocking out stock postcard image paintings of the Eiffel Tower. They all looked identical and destined for the tourists.

I wanted to paint the tower but make it different. The weather was poor so painted this from sketches and photo references with pallette knife

Ryan

Flower study #1

Flower study #1

Soft Pastel on paper
8x12 inches

My second foray into pastel painting. I love the direct approach of pastel painting, allows images to be created quickly which is great for keeping that fresh spontaneous look.

Ryan

Sail Boats at Bass Rock, North Berwick

Sail Boats at Bass Rock, North Berwick.

Oil on board
15x12 inches

I love the Bass Rock as a subject. Its colour constantly changes with the light along the coast. On this day there were nice clear skies giving the sea a brilliant blue. The Bass Rock took on these same colours and with the haze coming off the sea, it had wonderful soft edges.

I added the sail boats from a previous sketch to add a bit more foreground interest and to help provide a sense of scale.

Ryan

First post of the 2007!

First post of the 2007!

It's a New Year so I'm starting a new sketch book. I try to carry one around as much as I can, capturing scenes figures that catch my eye. I though I'd start the year by posting some of the sketches I did last year that haven't made it to the gallery yet, though a couple shown here have been used for other studio paintings.

All are drawn with Staedler pigment liners of various thickness. I try to not only get a fairly accurate sketch down, but also try to indicate tones and textures and sometime add written notes to remind of colours time of day, weather etc. This information is very useful in allowing me to work up ideas into paintings and are often more insightful than photographic reference notes because they are my take of the scene as it was when I experienced it. These (particularly the figures) are all captured very quickly plein air, as conditions and people don't sit totally still for long unless you pay them!

At last the days will be getting longer and means I can get more sunlight and painting done fantastic.

I have also enrolled in a series of Life Drawing/Painting workshops and night classes so I can brush up on my figurative work

Ryan