Red Jug collage work in progress

This is another collage piece, showing work in progress.  I have tried with this painting to use colours which are uncharacteristic of my work, but I don't know how long the jug will stay red as it's just not a colour I feel comfortable with.

When I start with a collage, but no composition in mind, I choose papers which I like, which show good contrast in tone, and work well together colour wise.

I marked in the composition with charcoal pencil, after studying the collage, and looking for something to speak to me.  In this piece I saw the window, the table and the shelf.

This is as far as I have got.  I had a busy day, so not much time to work on it.

No.2 Harbour Top finished?

I worked on this painting again whilst stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall Courtyard gallery.  I think it's finished now, but I need to live with it for a while before I'm sure.

No.2 Harbour Top, mixed media, 8 x 8 inch

I seem to be working in a series of these harbour scenes.  I'm enjoying it, so I'll just carry on for the time being.

Whie blossom in blue vase

This is another work in progress post, as I am remembering to take the photos at the moment.  I'm finding it quite helpful looking at the photos, it gives another view of the work.

The piece started as one of my abstract 'beginnings'.  The picture above isn't the actual collage I started with but it is very similar.

white blossom in blue vase, mixed media 12 x 10 inch

I missed taking a photograph of the blocking in part of this painting as it seemed to go quite quickly.  It's one of the paintings I was working on whilst stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall on Saturday.

This one is quite interesting because I haven't radically changed anything.  Often I will change colours or shapes, but this seemed to work from the first.

I have added some charcoal lines at this stage, done on Sunday morning.  I like the graphic quality of charcoal.

Although there doesn't seem to be very much change from one to the other, there are subtle shifts on colour, tone and some edges are softened and lost whilst others are sharpened.  

The painting is propped up in the studio where I can see it as I come in.  I have already changed the chair back (the yellow rectangle with the orange & blue square in the middle, on the left of the vase).  I felt the angle of the top of the chair back needed to be higher on the left to balance the golden bowl on the right.  I think I am also going to lighten the yellow of the chair.  I think I also need to add a little dark mark in the top right-hand corner to balance the two other dark areas.

I really like this painting, and hope it works out, but the one thing that painting every day has taught me is that you can't be precious about a painting - if it doesn't work then it has to go.

No. 2 Harbour Street

Following on from yesterday, this is the work I've done today on the small 8 x 8 inch canvas, which now has the title of No.2 Harbour Top.  I worked on three pieces today while I was stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall Courtyard gallery.  Working on several pieces gives space enough between each painting session for reflection, so you come back to a painting in progress with a fresh eye.

In the picture above you can still see quite a lot of the dressmakers tissue lines showing through.  I have roughly blocked in the colours with acrylic paint.

At this stage I am defining the shapes: large and small, looking at light and dark, warm and cool colours.   It is still nowhere near finished.

I am beginning to move towards the finish, sharpening up the edges, working firstly in positive and then in negative, juggling to try and get the effect I want.  It still has a long way to go.  I can see that the second and third houses from the left need to be a little duller to give some recession.  The boats need some shading and the whole picture needs the little finicky touches that make it finished.

I have left this at Burton Agnes so that I don't mess it up.  I will see it with fresh eyes on Monday when I go, and hopefully will be able to get it finished.  this is the most difficult part of a painting as it's so easy to go past the point where you should have stopped.

Although this blog is about painting every day, for me it isn't about 'a painting a day'  I know that I need to work on several paintings at any one time.  I think I have six 'in process' at the moment, from one that just has some gesso and molding paste on, to this one which is almost but not quite finished.

If I feel stuck, or just 'not on the mood', I make some 'beginnings' .  This may be gesso, crumpled tissue, prepping experimental boards with a very wide variety of textural materials, or perhaps just acrylic inks splattered onto thick paper or a canvas.  Usually after an hour of this sort of playing about I feel eager to get started on yesterday's 'beginning'.

More on work in progress

After the last post I thought I would try the work in progress idea with a smaller canvas.  The one below is only 8 x 8 inch.  I painted the canvas warm AZO yellow, then covered it with crumpled dressmakers tissue.  I did this as an experiment to see how it affected the look of the canvas at this stage, and I was surprised by how much the yellow showed through.

Harbour work in progress, side of canvas

The above picture shows clearly how the yellow is shining through.  I really like this affect and will experiment with it more.  I think it has great potential for using complementary colours under the tissue so that the painting will zing!

Harbour work in progress, composition

The front of the canvas shows the composition roughed in with a charcoal pencil.  You can clearly see the printing on the dressmakers tissue and I will be keeping some of it to incorporate it into the final piece.

Unfortunately I didn't get any further yesterday, and today I am back at Burton Agnes Hall.  I am taking it with me but don't know how much I will get done.

Work in progress

I was stewarding all day at Burton Agnes Hall Courtyard gallery yesterday, and although I worked on three different pieces of work whilst there, I forgot to take any photographs, so that will have to wait until Saturday or Sunday.

I thought it might be interesting to take some 'work in progress' photos as my work changes radically throughout it's progress.  I think it will be difficult to remember to take the photos, but I will do my best.  I remember I did post about using a video camera to record a paintings progress some time ago, but I haven't done anything about it as yet.

The pieces of work below are three different pieces, showing the different ways I might start a painting.  I now tend to work from chaos, gradually pulling the painting together, and hoping not to go past the point when I should stop.  This way of working is largely due to Neil Helyard, my tutor on Tuesday's.  He has always said that you can't start worrying about the details until the painting is nearly finished - "adding the jewels" is what he calls it.  I owe Neil a lot, as I would never have reached this stage without his help.

Canvas with dressmakers tissue, fluid acrylics & acrylic inks

The first one above, is a canvas which I hope will evolve into a harbour scene, there has been no forward planning other than blue at the bottom for water.  I love harbours, combining boats and buildings seems to work for me.  I used dressmakers tissue, crumpled up and then glued to the canvas with PVA.  When dry I added acrylic inks and some fluid acrylics.  I may go directly in and paint, or I may use a charcoal or white conte pencil to rough in the composition.

I use the dressmakers tissue to provide texture,  it's slightly stronger than normal white tissue.  I also like the serendipity of odd words and arrows peeking through the paint.

Harbour scene, collage, acrylic paint

The next 'beginning'  Harbour scene above is slightly different. In this piece I have planned the composition before I began.  I applied white tissue to the top area, then added a few pieces at the bottom, together with other collage papers.  There is a band of dressmakers tissue across the centre area, where the harbour wall and road will be. I have added some collage for the boats, and for the houses.  I then added a little acrylic paint to set the colour scheme.

No.2 Harbour Top. Acrylic mixed media

The last piece is different again.  I did apply dressmakers tissue, but also added gesso and some light molding paste in places.  When dry I blocked in the main areas, which look very crude at the moment.  I try to work from positive to negative and back again, altering and refining until I am happy with the result.

I should mention that I like to have several paintings on the go at once in the hope that I don't overwork any; when stuck I move onto the next painting rather than keep painting on one and ruin it.  I also like to work in series, the subject being whatever 'floats my boat' at the time.  Boats and harbours and also Venice canals seem to be my 'thing' at the moment.

Finally, I try to keep in mind that if it doesn't work, then I can just gesso over it and/or cover it with tissue and start again, everything under this layer will have been a learning experience, adding to my skills and knowledge.