Tuesday 16 October 2012

First Oil Painting Monstrosity

I don't think I've posted this here yet... good reason why really! I've been to the Illustration Master Class in Amherst twice now. The first time as a solitary Brit, the second with my chum and artist extraordinaire Mr Jonny Duddle. The IMC is a great week long course with some top notch illustrators. Initially I went with the noble intent of learning oils, only having played with them a bit at college about !!!??? years ago. However, IMC is not the place to learn a new medium. It is the place to get great feedback and all sorts of ace help from other artists, but you're better off going with with a medium you're familiar with or at least have SOME understanding of. Anyway, my ambitious plans to be socially aware and produce a contemporary Joan of Arc (the option I chose) went pear shaped when the sketch I did was too ambiguous. In the end I narrowed it down to a 'portrait' just as an experiment with oils. This was the result. My 'first' oily mess.

Looking at it again, it has its moments, somewhere, sort of... At least it was easy to get in my luggage and back to the UK as it's pretty small. I've set up my studio to do another, that I posted about a bit ago... but I've been distracted since.

Oil on board, 8" x 10". Wow, that makes me sound like a 'proper' artist!


Thursday 11 October 2012

Rosalind

A character piece for my Elizabethan story. This is Rosalind, and I've done quite a few of her! I finished this one a couple of weeks ago, but I was a bit naughty - I adapted parts of the door from 'Trilby' to use as the panelling behind. Otherwise the pose is from a rough sketch I did for something else many moons ago. She normally wears leggings below her trunk hose, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of thigh... ahem...

The gun is a wheellock which historically appropriate. I recently went to the Tower of London where there are some 16th century wheellock pistols on display.

Here's a little story concerning Elizabethan weaponry:

In 1579 a young man called Thomas Appletree was showing off to some friends in a boat on the Thames. He had a gun and was firing off shots for the fun of it. Nearby the Queen was entertaining the French ambassador on her royal barge, and one of the bullets managed to hit a crewman, injuring him. People were convinced the Queen had escaped an assassination attempt. Appletree was found and confessed to firing the gun, and was condemned to death. A gallows was erected near the scene of the 'crime'. At the execution, Appletree mounted the gallows and told the people watching that he was not a traitor, but admitted he had been careless and stupid, and believed he deserved to die for endangering the Queen. Essentially, he'd been a bit of a twit! The noose was put round his neck and at the moment of execution, a man stepped out of the crowd from the Queen with a written pardon. She had known he was just a silly young man, but he had to be taught a lesson.

What we learn from this, is Elizabeth the First had a twisted sense of humour!



Friday 5 October 2012

Leeds Steampunk Market

More 'event' goodness, although I'm not sure anyone reads blogs any more, as the migration to Facebook now includes one seventh of the world's population apparently! But none the less I shall be in Leeds tomorrow at the STEAMPUNK MARKET. Whilst not strictly speaking a Steampunker, (a penchant for drainpipe trousers, winklepickers and studded belts negates a full time commitment to all things beige and brown) I've had a bit of a thing for goggles before they became the 'must have' item for all budding post apocalyptic or colonial adventurers. And jodhpurs look damn fine on a woman I must say... but I digress...

As I say, tomorrow I shall have a stall, and will sell printy type things, booky type things and indulge in general chit chat and tea drinking.

Leftbank,
Cardigan Road,
Leeds,
West Yorkshire
LS6 1LJ

(an old red-brick church, opposite Milfords woodyard), between Harold Grove and Royal Park Road.

Saturday 6th October 2012, 12 - 7pm (although I'll be buggering off at 5.30).