Recent life studies and sketches

Recent life studies and sketches

Study of my right hand

Staedler pigment liners on paper

9x12 inches

Sometimes poor TV focusses you on doing something more interesting!- Did this waiting for football to come on in about 30mins. Better fun than the game (my team lost obviously!)

Maria sleeping pose

Soft pastel on paper

23x11 inches

Another one from the night classes I'm doing. Model was very slender (yes her leg was this bony!)

Fiona seated

Charcoal on paper

23x17 inches

One from another life drawing group I've been going to organised by the National Gallery of Scotland, led by the artist Damien Callan. This has been a great series of life classes, with a suberb artist and teacher. Having the class in the National gallery is amazing as for the first 1/2 hour we go up into the gallery and are looking at the Titian's, Ruben's, van Dyke's, Rembrandt's, Velasquez's, Degas.....
Damien talks at these master paintings giving us pointers, then we go back and try it out- superb! Highly recomended if your around Edinburgh.

Tonight I went to see an exhibition Damien is having here and was really taken by the loose expressive style. You get a real sense of movement and animation in his work that coupled with vibrant colour make for a striking image- please visit the link below:

http://www.chameleon-arts.com/exhibition.html

Fiona with headscarf

Charcoal, sanguin & white chalk on sepia paper
12x15 inches

Another quick sketch (20mins) from the Damien Callan class

Have been doing loads of life drawing for the last 8 weeks which has been great, need to get back to painting though!

Ryan

Bass Rock sunset with heavy cloud

Bass Rock sunset with heavy cloud

Oil on canvas

20x16 inches

Another Bass Rock painting, this time working up from my pastel ideas into oil. This was painted entirely with a pallette knife (except a couple of moments of finger painting- still the artists best tool for softening edges!)

I love the textured affect that can be acheived with the knife, it prevents you from being too detailed. Also I love paintings that from a distance are based on realism but as you go closer the image breaks up and can be quite abstract.

Ryan

Bass Rock at sunset (study#2)

Bass Rock at sunset (study#2)

Soft Pastel on sepia Murano paper

18x14 inches

Here's another study of the Rock, this time a bit more close-up and with a different colour strategy. I've toned down the sunset a tad and introduced some of the warmth into the colours on the rock. The water and the rock itself are also darkened helping to create more depth to the painting.

Also thought I'd publish a photo of the Bass Rock for those not so familiar with the subject

Ryan

Bass Rock sunset 1

Bass Rock sunset

Soft Pastel on red Murano pastel paper

18x14 inches

Trying out some ideas for a large new oil painting of the Bass Rock I'm about to start. The small photo here on the blog doesn't do much justice to the actual colours of this painting, which is a shame. I'll definitely get a better shot for the gallery image!

Coastal rock, North Berwick

Coastal rock, North Berwick

Oil on canvas

12x12 inches

The area around North Berwick and the East Lothian coastline are a constant source of inspiration for me. This rock sits just off the shores of North Berwick close to the Bass Rock which I paint more often. I decided it was time to try to paint the neighbouring rock for a change!

Sketches from Life Class

Sketches from Life Class

Male rear pose (20 mins)

Soft Pastel on pink rice paper
25x20 inches

I've started a new life class so thought I would share some of the work so far. These sketches might work their way into oils at some point, probably after I've completed the 10 week term and choose my favourites.

Male profile pose (20 mins)
Soft Pastel on pink rice paper

25x20 inches

Apologies to anyone shocked by the nudity- I did warn you this was a life class! The human body is surprisingly difficult a subject that has fascinated artist for centuries. Getting proportions, values, movement and a level of realism keeps you on your toes. As an artist it's one of the ultimate challenges to sketch from life- a 3D environment and make it believable in 2D, also the pressure of working quickly with a tutor and fellow artists make it pretty exciting.

Male front pose (25 mins)
Charcoal on paper

25x20 inches

Female reclining pose (30 mins)
Soft Pastel on pink rice paper

25x20 inches

In some of the previous life classes I've done I tried to be pretty precise and accurate, this time I'm deliberately trying to keep a loose feel to the sketches- hence the wacky bright pink paper!

As the class goes on I'll share more

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

Profile study #1

Profile study #1
Oil on board
16x19 inches

Just finished this portrait, I had started this earlier in the year and was waiting for some the underpainting to dry. Finally got around to completing this one.

Off to start something new now!

Fruit bowl with pomegranites

Fruit bowl with pomegranites
8x12inches
Pastel on paper

This is my first piece of work for a couple of weeks due to a hand injury. Having been unable to paint for a while, I kept myself going by reading some art tuition books. I was inspired to have another go at pastels- I have not been overly impressed with my efforts so far, but was pleasantly surprised with this small study.

I'll have to try some more pastels in the near future!

Hay bales

Hay bales
Oil on board
15x12 inches

This was a recent work completed en plein air, again using a combination of brushes and painting knifes. I love the texture contrasts that you can acheive this way. The brushes allow a degree of control and you cannot help but paint loosely and expressively with the painting knife.

I used deliberate colour contrasts in this one, starting with a cobalt violet under-painting, establishing the tonal contrasts and sketching out the composition. Yellow is obviously the complementary colour to purple/violet and I have deliberately left some the underpainting show through in spaces to enhance the yellows in the field. The blue/violet sky also deliberately complements the orange highlights in the field.

I almost never got to do this one as the farmer turned up as I was about to set up. He was not too happy having a stranger in his field, but when I explained what I was up to he got pretty excited about it. I promised him first shout at purchasing it, but by the time I finished it he was long gone and I could not find him.

Ryan

Sail Boat at Cockenzie

Sail Boat at Cockenzie
Oil on Canvas
15x15 inches

Another scene from the East Lothian coast. This boat was sailing in the Firth of Forth with the Cockenzie power station in the background. Although power stations aren't traditionally beautiful buildings, this dominates the coastal views from Leith to North Berwick and depending on the quality of light has its own unique beauty with its strong vertical chimneys- its a subject whose beauty is an artists job to convey!!
This was painted from a pen and ink sketch. I exclusively used the pallette knife and paint texture to emphasise the abstract attraction of the scene.

Ryan

Contemplation

Contemplation

Oil on canvas
8x8inches

This is a new work in a series of small figurative works. This was based on a sketch I made of this old guy sitting on a wall. The scene just had a great composition and needed little from me to enhance the mood of the scene. I have no idea what the man was thinking of when I sketched him, but I was excited about the idea that he was contemplating his life. Compositionally I added the 'rose-tinted' sky to increase to the feel I was after.

Cheers

Ryan

Cromarty Boats

Cromarty Boats

Here is another painting from my trip up North. This one was in a lovely little town called Cromarty near Inverness. These boats were out of the water I guess for repair but they had a real run down rustic appearance that had lots of character. That was the inspiration for the piece. Again this was painted entirely en plein air in one sitting of approximately 2-3 hours. Thankfully the weather was more than kind for this one with beautiful sunshine. I sketched the boats in and really went for using mostly painting knife to try to capture the rough rustic feel of the piece. Hope you enjoy- only the final version I'm afraid as I had no camera on this day!




















Cromarty boats
Oil on panel
15x12 inches

Cheers
Ryan

Buachaille Etive Mor

Buachaille Etive Mor

I managed to get outdoors to work on perhaps my favourite mountain here in Scotland- Buachaille Etive Mor- which means 'the great herdsman of the Etive' (mountain range).

This ominous rock guards the enrance to Glencoe and is absolutely awe inspiring- I just had to paint it!A short walk got me to this spot where I set up with my painting box and got cracking

At this stage I've blocked in the main shapes with a neutral gray thinned in turps

I've now got most of the main colour blocked in- working fast as you can see the dark clouds coming up Glencoe

There was a beautiful dance of sunlight catching the grass at the bottom of the mountain and some of the crags on the left so was keen to get this quicklyAbout 2 hours in and its just starting to rain a little. I actually managed to finish a bit more than shown here berfore rain got too heavy, but I didn't want to get camera out!!

Well here is the finished version. I decided that I didn't want to work on this in the studio and risk losing the freshness and atmosphere I captured in the field. What you see here then is the result start to finish outdoors in just over two hours- phew!

Buachaille Etive Mor

Oil on panel 15x12 inches

C&C always welcome

Ryan

Portobello Promenade

Portobello promenade

Acrylic on canvas

15x15inches

Hi Welcome to the Ryan Evans Painting Blog!

Well this is my first post in the brave new world of blogging- please bear with me as I don't have a clue about how this all works yet!

As an artist I'm mostly self-taught though I try to attend night classes and workshops whenever possible- there's always something new to learn.

Coming from Scotland I have no shortage in beautiful scenery around to inspire me. My main passion in art is landscape, but to constantly keep me improving and sharpen my skills, I tackle other subjects- still life, portraits and figurative works. I paint mostly oils, but dabble with other mediums such as pen & ink, pencil, pastel and acrylic.

Over the coming weeks I plan to add to the blog with new paintings, drawing and projects. This will allow those interested in my work to follow me on my journey as I hope to progress as an artist. I'll try to give an insight into the work and techniques behind the paintings as well as some information about what inspired me about the scene in the first place. I also hope that in the near future I will be able provide access for anyone interested to purchase or commission work- This is something I'm looking into at present.

Anyway enough blethering from me- I thought the best thing me me to do is post a picture to get started. This was the first painting!

Cheers

Ryan