This little painting for Book 5 in the River Friend Series (REED: ON THE EDGE) is going along quite nicely. Lots of fiddly bits, which you come to expect with my work, but great fun. It is just so annoying that I take so long to paint something!
Here is the latest progress picture:
Just started the illustrations for the next River Friend book: “REED: ON THE EDGE”, number five in the series. There are lots of nice things to say about reeds, both from a commercial and a leisure point of view. If you think a reed is dull, then this little book will enlighten you and broaden your mind. Not sure how long it will take to do all the drawings and paintings, but it should be out in the next couple of months. I will post when it is available.
Here are a few progress pictures of Figure 1: The Almighty Reed and Reedlings (Artist Code 2012) in the book. Note the first picture (pencil sketch on Aquarelle Arches 140lb water colour paper 14″ x 10″) is enhanced otherwise you would be unable to see it! So apologies for the uneven/thick lines.
This little painting, which received a Highly Commended award in the latest Patchings Festival (online) exhibition (The Artist, and Leisure Painter) has now gone to its new home. The buyers visited the studio and we had tea and cakes on the patio (all socially distanced of course!). A lovely farewell to a little water colour painting which, on and off, took four years to complete. PICTURE PROFILE
And a little blog of history about the painting.
It is now official that I received a “highly commended” award for my little water colour painting entitled “Three New Blades”, and I think it is eligible for the Peoples’ Choice Awards. The big downside is that wannabe voters have to login or register to make a vote, and I would not ask folk to do that. So instead, please see the screenshot below the main picture, which shows my painting bottom right. I do not need votes for best this or that, it is just wonderful to be included in part of the virtual exhibition. If you are able to virtually visit, then please do; it is a wonderful exhibition and so many different types and subject of paintings to see.
View Painters Online Patchings festival
A few more hours work on the large barn owl water colour (14″ x 20″). I decided to add some ivy and a few ash leaves to break up the never-ending wood of the large trunk. I now have to turn to some Bearded Tits (Reedlings) for Book 5 in the River Friend Series.
Here are a few progress pictures of the barn owls. This is the second post on progress: you can view my resource photographs and preliminary drawings HERE.
In 2015 I had the good fortune to visit a friend who had two licensed barn owls, which he keeps in a large aviary. He was very kind and let me sit in the aviary with the owls for a few hours so that I could study their movements, make sketches and take lots (600) photographs.
In May 2015 I attended an exhibition at Hinchingbrooke Country Park, under the umbrella of Creative Coverage (provide publicity for Artists and Crafts People), and one visitor to the exhibition on the day that I attended as Artist in Residence, commissioned me to (secretly) paint a barn owl for her husband’s birthday. After I had produced the preliminary sketch for approval (which she liked very much), she felt that her husband ought to see it. It wasn’t that he disliked the sketch, he decided that his dear wife should not pay that much for his present, so very reluctantly she decided not to go ahead with the commission.
As I had already done the preliminary drawing I carried on with it and produced a working pencil sketch on Aquarelle Arches 140lb water colour paper size 14″ x 20″. I was then fortunate enough to receive a run of commissions, so this painting was relegated to my “Paintings to Do” list, which permanently has about 25 picture ideas on it!
Yesterday (27th June 2020), after playing tennis, I was looking through some old stuff and found the sketch, so decided to paint it. Here are a couple of resource photographs I used for the composition, the original fine pencil sketch and a few painting-progress pictures from yesterday. I hope you enjoy them.
I have now reached 71 hours on this artwork (and still counting!). The background is now complete, except for a few highlights. It is now going to bed again because Book 5 in the River Friend Series beckons. Book 4 has been submitted for publication, but Ingram Spark have said that it is taking longer to set the proofs at the moment (which is quite understandable), so I shall just have to be patient. Hopefully it will be published and for sale on Amazon in a couple of weeks’ time.
