New life drawing / painting group

I managed to find a new drop-in untutored life drawing/painting group. Its really good to do a class untutored as I can work in whatever media I want and try to develop some of the techniques and ideas I got from Leith School of Art. It's a 3 hour class with an hour of quick sketches followed by a longer pose for the remainder of the time (about an hour and a half after breaks).




Here's what I got done for the longer pose

Model with red chair and reflection

Soft pastel on Sennelier pastel card

8x12inches

Eyemouth- plein air

Here's a great spot I found a couple of weeks ago down at Eyemouth- about 45mins from Edinburgh. I had a day off and the sun was shining so I decided to head down the coast for some plein air painting.

Cliffs at Eyemouth (sketch)

Oil on board
8x10 inches

Here's where I got to after about an hour and a half- though by this stage the light was really starting to change as it was hitting the cliffs. Since this was the main focus of the painting, I decided to call it a day. It's just a sketch, but something I could use for a studio painting.

Ryan

Richard

Richard

Pastel on Sennelier pastel card

12x15 inches

Another portrait using pastels and the sennelier card that is great for building up layers of pastel

Ryan

Bond with a blonde

Bond with a blonde

Mixed media on board

15 x15 inches

Continuing the stlye I experimented with 'Reserved for you', this one is based on a certain gentleman spy!
Had fun with the texture and collage elements in this- managed to get the Aston Martin in too!

Was aiming to keep the colour harmoniuos and make an interesting composition. The texture uses acrylic mediums (texture paste and glass bead gel) and collage.

Ryan

Reserved for you

Reserved for you

Mixed media

15x15 inches

Last term at Leith School of Art we used a good variety of media and worked hard at loosening up style and application. I've been inspired to try to develop my style a little away from purely representational work. This has been inspired from Henry Moore's drawings and sculptures and a Scottish artist I like called Jonathan Hood.

I'm hoping to use the semi-abstract and mixed media approach to my Landscape painting as I'd become a bit frustrated with the genre.

New studio- new work!

Haven't posted in a while as I've been settling into my new place and finally getting organised!

I went to the National Gallery of Scotland and did some sketching of their bronze and marble sculptures. One really caught my eye called Arritino- here's my sketch

I really liked the pose and the way the figure was looking up into the light. I got home and worked this study up in charcoal and conte crayon

This is quite small at 8x8 inches- think I might work up a bigger study or jump straight into an oil painting

Ryan

Welcome

Welcome

Linocut print

4x7 inches

My second attempt at linocut printing. Getting a bit more confident at this as it was quite challenging to get some of the detailled bits. Did an edition of 25 which was tough work without a press- as each one has to be hand printed using the back of a spoon to burnish the image!

On another note I got my portrait painting from Julie Mardell- I'm really pleased with it she's done a great job. The portrait swap was great fun- I'll definitely do another one. Anyway here is the painting!

Ryan - by Julie Mardell

8x12inches

Oil on canvas

2010!! Happy New Year

Cast shadows

Soft pastel on Sennelier pastel card

8x10 inches

The first post of 2010! Another portrait that excited me due to the strong light and cast shadows.

This was the first time I used the Sennelier pastel card. Its more expensive than the Murano paper I normally use with pastels. The card has a grain on it that resembles sandpaper (but is easier on the fingers) and is really good for adding layers of pastel. I managed to build up a fairly thick pastel layer without feeling the tooth of the paper was clogged up- this sometimes happens with the Murano paper.

Ryan

Jools

Jools

Acrylic on canvas

16x16 inches

A portrait I've just finished of a fellow artist that I've done as part of a portrait exchange. Its such a good idea! Jools is working on her portrait of me so will be great to see. She's a fabulous portrait artist so I'll be in good hands.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Heading for home

Heading for Home
Pastel on paper
8x12 inches

A local scene that I've worked up in the studio from a plein air sketch. Added the surfers from a reference photo taken on the same day.

This was a nice day- bit windy as I recall!!

Ryan

Morning light at Bass rock

Morning light at Bass rock

Pastel on paper

12x8 inches

I realised how long it was since I posted a landscape! I've been focussing mostly on figurative/portraiture work for the last year or so and have neglected landscapes

Better late than never! Here's one of my favourite muses, the Bass Rock. This was worked up in the studio from a plein air sketch I did a while back. I really liked the soft light that I saw that day- nice violets and peach/yellows.

Ryan

Roland

Roland

Acrylic on canvas

16x20 inches

I'm really working hard on my portraiture at the moment. Feel like I'm getting better and more confident with each one, so I'm happy to be progressing.

When it comes to portraits I'm a huge fan of Lucien Freud, Sir Henry Raeburn and John Singer Sergeant's style and I guess this stylistically guides my portraits (still a long way to reach their standards, but you've got to aim high!!)

2nd year at Leith School of Art is in full flow, so being kept busy with that.

My first Linocut print!

Life #1

Linocut print on paper

My first attempt at linocut relief printing. I enjoyed the abstract mark making opportunities of the medium. Limiting to black and white makes for a bold design, hopefully I've included enough interesting variety of marks with recognisable imgages in there to.

I really enjoyed the excitement of lifting the first print off and seeing the image for the first time- a real buzz!

Ryan

The brown hat

The brown hat

16x12 inches
Pastel on Murano paper

Bought some lovely new Sennelier soft pastels and decided to give them a whirl on some portrait practice. I liked the quizzical look the guy had and wanted to capture some of that.

Ryan

Made from girders

Made from girders!
Acrylic on canvas
8x8 inches

Another small still life. A well known Scottish soft drink- like to include some contemporary items that portray life in Scotland at this moment. Also liked the strong bold complementary colours blue and orange that make this striking!

Ryan

Peter

Peter
Oil on canvas
12x16 inches

A recent portrait, using a limited pallette.
Titanium white, ultramarine blue, burnt umber, yellow ochre and raw sienna.

Trying to keep a sense of colour harmony as I did with Becka. Really enjoyed doing this one and am pretty pleased how it turned out. I wanted to capture the emotion in his face and am calling it a success.

Ryan

Becka

Becka
Oil on canvas
16x20 inches

Here's the final painting done from life. Finished it quite a few weeks ago but work committments have made posting tricky

Ryan

Oil life sketch

Here's the first part of a three-week project we're doing at night-class.

Becka (sketch)

Oil on paper 6x10 inches

We had an interesting approach to our colour pallette. first we made a 'parent' colour Yellow Ochre and titanium white. Then we mixed this into a range of primary (yellow ochre, Alizarin crimson, Ultramarine blue and Lamp black) and secondary colours (derived from mixing our primaries 50:50).

Then we were limited to this pre-made pallette for sketching out our composition idea for a final painting. This took 25 mins so have ready made colours helped from a speed point of view!

Over the next two weeks we are painting the final image

Ryan

Leith School of Art term 2

I've been busy beavering away at my life drawing and paintings course at Leith School of Art. Term 2 is in mid-flow and again is high paced and challenging. The emphasis this term has been mark-making, and I've really been enjoying the use of different media and the new effects you can create.

Here's some recent portraiture work that illustrates how the different media are influencing the marks and approach I make to the same subject

Charcoal and chalk

Oil bar and graphite

Ryan

Happy Birthday Rabbie Burns

250 years old- and still looking pretty good!

Hears a drawing I did while digesting my haggis, neeps and tatties. It was Burn's night, celebrating the 250th birthday of Scotlands National bard. Caught up in the spirit of the year of homecoming and a' that, I raised a wee dram for Robert Burns.

Auld acquaintance

Pen and ink on paper

8x10 inches

The drawing is obviously based on the famous Alexander Nasmyth’s portrait of Robert Burns that hangs in Edinburgh's Scottish National Portrait gallery

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/1962?initial=N&artistId=3547&artistName=Alexander%20Nasmyth&submit=1

Ryan