Work In Progress

Making progress! Several layers of sky top go but getting there. Blocked in the trees & I’m looking forward to the details in the trees & in the painting in general.

I have started on what I think is a very interesting landscape with a waterfall in the middle distance, lots of different trees & best of all, I have added a man walking his dog & they will be seen as this painting advances!! This is a slightly larger painting because I have wanted to make the sky more of a feature. Most of my paintings have been at least two-thirds landscape with one-third sky (or less) whereas the great landscape artists of past days (including John Constable) reversed the percentages with one-third landscape & two-thirds being an interesting sky.

I have made changes to the composition of this painting because the scene had a very over-crowded & busy background & it was hard to find a focal point. This simpler composition works well I think & gives a better perspective although I may need to change the name of this painting at some stage! Getting there with finishing this painting finally! I need to add details into the waterfall itself & I need to finish the overhanging branches on the right which are a feature. Then, final detail work!

I’ve finally made some time for moving on with this interesting project. It will take some time to get the waterfall done as it is not a rushing flow so there is a lot of detail to put in but I am looking forward to spending the time necessary. I think it will be worth the effort as it is a lovely scene with over hanging branches that add a lot of interest to the vista.

A new painting from my local area that I have taken an age to get too!! So far I have done the initial “block in” which basically is about getting all the elements in place & in proportion as well as covering the white of the canvas with a mid range of the colours. I have started to add in some of the next layer in the tree on the left & in the background at the top which is the “modelling” layer where more of the details are added & the colours are refined a bit more. I am

I haven’t done a whole lot more with this painting unfortunately but I have “blocked in” the horses & I have done some base work on the grass & adjusted some colours & details on the mountains. Looking forward to getting this done as it is a good scene but a painting that has taken a long time to work through.

Sadly, progress has been slow on what should be an attractive painting! This has not been due to the subject matter at all but rather the busyness of life and, if I’m honest, a lack of discipline on my part in setting time aside to paint. It is easy to “get out of the habit” and my experience is that it takes some time to get back into the “groove” and to be reasonably confident in what I’m doing. It is easy to make excuses behind the often quoted term “artists block” but the reality is that “true creation comes

A new painting from the South Island of New Zealand & my first effort at painting animals in any detail! This painting is from a photograph taken by Brent Smith that I am using with permission. You can visit his amazing website at https://brentsmith.nz/photography/ So far I have done the initial “block in” which basically is about getting all the elements in place & in proportion as well as covering the white of the canvas with a mid range of the colours. I have started to add in some of the next layer (in the mountain) which is the “modelling”

Nearly finished. A couple of lovely poplars mid left & some sheep in front of them, some fence posts & then the shrubs etc. around the fence at the front. Awesome scene! You get some idea of the immensity of the hills & the vastness of the scene when you look at the small house in the centre right, in front of the trees!

My new painting is of a stunning scene in the beautiful Wanaka area. with Lake Wanaka centre right in the pic. I think that this is a beautiful scene of a beautiful area. I have gone back to a smaller canvas 450 x 600mm) as I think that size better suits this landscape. So far, I have done the initial “blocking in” with acrylic paints because they dry so fast. The other layers will all be in oil. Watch this space.