Simon's Blog: painting

Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Same person, different points of view

Over the past couple of days I have been driving myself mad by looking at other artists work with the iPad and I think these two images explain, in part, why that is. They are based on the same person but with quite differing results and I think it is clear which was made on the iPad using brushes. (just in case it is not it is the one on the left)

Now I like the brushes painting but it doesn't have accuracy of the drawing made on paper using graphite which is what I am striving for. Of course in a great part this comparison is fatuous for a whole lot of reasons but I think it does show that when I use Brushes I still have a steep learning curve to negotiate. However, on the other hand perhaps this is really the wrong way to go and I should forget other artists work and just develop my own style and embrace that. Who knows how I will resolve this question?

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from SIMON's posterous

Sunday, 1 January 2012

Pushing the envelope

The last painting I made felt like I was hitting my head against a wall. Much as I tried I just couldn't take it any further. Well a good night's sleep helps provide a bit of prospective and so I have produced this. I feel it is a marked improvement on the last painting however with one or two flaws, not least of which was the choice of the colour of the underpainting which meant that no matter what I did the final result was not quite the colour I had intended. Of course this could have been overcome if I had not decided to produce the painting as if I was in the real world i.e. all on one layer, rather than putting the underpainting on a separate layer and then painting over it on a different layer. All valuable lessons for the future.

Perhaps the most important lesson, however, was to get the original drawing, upon which this is painted, as accurate as possible. For me this is really quite hard given the way I work in the real world but it was worth the frustration it created whilst trying to achieve this.

Overall a good start to the new year...lets hope that it bodes well for future endeavours. Happy New year.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from SIMON's posterous

Friday, 30 December 2011

Hitting the Talent Wall

Another day another attempt to get better at something - so here is my latest attempt at a Brushes painting and I have come to realise that there is a talent wall and I have just hit it. I have also realised that the talent wall can be moved further and further back the more you practice and so this is mine at the moment. I hope that I will be able to move it further away as I go on but for now this is as good as I can make things.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from SIMON's posterous

Thursday, 29 December 2011

Battling with exhaustion

Hyperbole of cause but this is the hardest I have worked on a painting in one session. I have been researching other Brushes painters on line and frankly I am a raw beginner compared to some. But I suppose we all have to start somewhere so here is my first stab at a serious Brushes painting. This took me the best part of 3 hours to complete there are still many things wrong with this which I might try to correct but I am now feeling drained. I think a period reflection is in hand but the first thoughts are that this better than I feared.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from SIMON's posterous

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Messing about with oils

This is a bit of an experiment and in truth the title is a bit misleading, but it was made using oils, in this case oil pastels. This was the first attempt for a much larger drawing/painting I am going to do on Monday. As with all experiments some things work other don't but it is an interesting first attempt.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from SIMON's posterous

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

Watercolour

So ends the first day of the great watercolour experiment. I have watched the YouTube videos and experimented. To date I think the best that can be said is that I am showing progress however there is much to learn before you can start to think about your own style. Another thought... the images I have published have been watercolours digitally manipulated for effect...are these true watercolour paintings or not? I have no idea but I like the result.