SO CLOSE! But still a lot of fine details to go! This was a particularly fun session to have rounded the painting off with, involving music and stuffing my face with mini eggs. Black and white shows the detail well so I will save the full colour for the finished piece.
For anyone looking to paint at a large scale be prepared for a lot of clambering around.
Look out for the next post which will show the final, finished piece!
Until the bespoke made canvas was left at my door almost too big for me to hold up, it had not occurred to me the scale of the project I had just undertaken. As I write this I am in the final stages of finishing this piece, but just over 5 weeks ago I couldn’t have imagined having filled a canvas measuring 80×80″ inches squared.
I was commissioned to create a peacock painting for an office space. Immediately I knew I was never going to waver on if I would take this project on or not. The symbolism behind peacocks played a large part for the company and its meaning was something that resonated with myself very clearly and personally. The imagery of a peacock in my eyes is one of the most spectacular natural wonders, a peacock feather alone fascinates me. The colours have always been my favourite palette and the elegance is just very ‘me’…
I have documented the progress from the first session onwards and hopefully the scale is shown with justice to the actual size.
This piece is oil paints (a million tubes worth…) on canvas (2 metre sq)
It started a bit like this…
Close up to show the detailing in the feathers.
Aside from waking most days with a very sore right shoulder, this piece has needed the use of a step ladder, which is apparently hilarious when you misjudge a step and land with a full palette on your lap…. It is safe to say this piece was a world away from sitting at an easel painting dreamy scenes of dainty birds, but hopefully this shows in the end result, the raw hard work that has gone into it over the last 5 weeks.
Keep an eye out for the next post showing the home stretch and final sessions, followed by the finished piece.
I love the way that a palette can never really be tidy. As an artist that does not have paint thrown everywhere, but has different liquids, brushes and materials all compartmentalised and all surfaces clean of paint, the one element that stays the same with all artists is that there is no neat way to maintain a palette of paints.
The way I lay out my palette has become habitual rather than symptomatic of the colour palette or any functional order. I line the paints as a spectrum, originally because I thought it looked pretty.
Take away the colour (greyscale photography) and I can see that different mounds have been more exhausted and spread around than others, I can see how little tone has to do with my arrangement and it makes me wonder what elements of my work might change if I were to pre-think my colour palettes and order the paints accordingly…
Contemplating the palette gives a lot more away about the artist, and maybe about why their work in the way that it is, and questions how such a small change in the process can be a catalyst for a whole new body of work.
Most of my updates and process and progression photos of my paintings and much more is more frequent over at my Facebook/Instagram/Twitter
I have a lot of new work on the go! A series of elegant and detailed wildlife work with areas of serene calm. Here are a few examples of the backgrounds of these paintings (looking for a more dreamy and opulent style)
I LOVE charcoal! It creates such a beautiful contrast between soft blending and sharp marks. I used to use charcoal in all of my mixed media pieces, which is why I decided to revisit this material.
I have finished my first of a set of sketches of large scale charcoal studies. The charcoal can be so complimentative to create the tonal qualities and pick up on the minuscule detailing of the feathers. The geometric shapes just seemed to fit… I really like this idea to bring something new to the sketches and almost a bit of compositional framing and imbalance, which I love. I am excited to create the next two, I have them all set up and ready to go! I am still deciding on the subject. Koi carps are a favourite of mine at the moment and could work beautifully…
Any ideas??
‘Action expresses priorities.’
-Gandhi
On a busy week, I can clock up around 70 hours painting. Especially recently, with so many commissions as well as ideas I just can’t for the life of me hold off, I have to timetable my work and stick to it, and it pays off every time.
I do this because I love painting, I am passionate about making good quality work. I am also business savvy and love organisation, lists and generally being busy. Proudly, one thing I never, ever am is bored.
A friend of mine sent me an article, there was a long passage written by Richard Dawkins called, ‘To live at all is miracle enough’ (which I urge you to google) which puts into perspective greatly just how miraculous the universe is, how even just existing right now through such slim circumstance is such an underrated and unappreciated idea in itself.
A bit of perspective never hurt anyone, those chats where you get lost in conversations of space going back too far beyond measure and anything we can know about are the best ones (usually after some wine…) so in order to gain that awe inspired feeling, head over to the National Geographic website and look at the daily discoveries and anything and everything about the planet.
After all this, its so sad to think that a human that has evolved so far from beginning as a tiny cell billions of years ago, to adapting and perfecting to the point of having an body of absolute perfection where you are capable of doing anything a human might need to and more… can then find themselves bored!? What people choose to act on is what they are, what people talk about is what they want you to think they are. If you are reading this you are lucky enough to have a laptop or smart phone with internet access. You are holding something of unmeasurable potential. You can learn anything you want to learn (My mum printed off instructions on how to moonwalk… I can now moonwalk!) and not only can you learn anything in the whole world, but you probably also have the health, strength and capability to get up and act on these things.
I could go further, I could go on for hours talking your ear off about this subject. I could lecture/rant/muse/research it beyond annoyance. But the short version would be… GO DO SOMETHING GOOD.
Id best go do something good then..
Katy x
I have been focusing a lot more on my wildlife work lately! Trying out a few new subjects and styles whilst undertaking a huge commission of a painting that is 2 meters by 2 meters…
My first ever original painting was of two birds in flight, one of my main and most popular subjects to date. (The second was a stag which has also been one of my most popular..) Therefore painting birds is something I have continued to do, only taking on new breeds and styles and ways of representing them. This, or finding new ways to represent my favourite breeds. As my work has progressed throughout the year I can see by looking along my own timeline of birds in particular and the way I have worked with them, just how much my painting technique has changed.
I decided to do a new take on an old classic of mine. My first ever OIL painting was of an owl. This was such an incredibly popular piece, one of the most mentioned at my first ever solo exhibition, and I still receive emails about it to this day. This is why I took everything I had taught myself this past year and put it into a new representation of an owl. This piece has a lot of depth and detail in the wingspan. A very popular piece which sold before it was even fully finished.
King Fishers were then my second OIL painting that I created last year, also an incredibly popular piece! Displayed next to my recent ‘Eye of the Tiger’ piece (available to buy framed – contact me at katyjadedobson@mail.com for details) Soon to be displayed at The Little Red Gallery in Lincoln. This is not the clearest image of the King Fishers which close up boasts minute detailing in the feathers and colours of the birds.
A snipped of this large flamingo piece shows a section of the half finished work, something I am excited to finish and will look fantastic framed. My flamingo pieces have been very popular over seas, I have shipped around 3 flamingo pieces internationally now. This piece is rather large and quite a bold and minimalistic take on a flock of such colourful and exotic a breed. (Details on request at katyjadedobson@mail.com)
However…. Most excitingly….
Is a commission I have finally started working on. A HUGE 2 meter squared canvas, the subject being a peacock, a subject that I couldn’t wait to start! Especially at this scale. The piece has been commissioned to decorate an office space, the detail will be bold and strong to match the richness of the colours. The symbolism of the peacock and their natural opulence and representation of divine rebirth is a beautiful foundation to work from in itself. To be working at such a large scale is definitely a pinnacle in my career so far.
The progress of this piece is being filmed and recorded all the way through to hopefully create great video and documentation of working on such a large piece.
One of my favourite artists and the biggest influence on my work are the ethereal and textured works of french artist Odilon Redon. (1800’s) I just LOVE his work!
I love the colours, the textures, the abstraction!! I love how calm these pieces seem to be although heavy with other worldly qualities that aught to make the pieces seem more abstract than they look. It is these ’embellishments’ and loose playfulness that I love to experiment with my own work.
These are the main 3 pieces that have inspired me hugely that I thought I would share.
‘Flower Clouds’
‘Ophelia’
‘La Naissance de Venus’
If you know of any similar artists or have any thoughts on Redon’s work feel free to drop a comment below and let me know what you think!
I am so happy that spring is on its way in! I have moved to an area where birds are always cheeping, there are flowers and trees everywhere! And my living space is always sun soaked. No better time to be a painter!
I am currently looking at venues to exhibit in during the summer 2014 so keep an eye out for updates!!
I didn’t realise how lucky I had it, to have thrown myself in at the deep end and learn to paint with oils as quickly as I did. It was a medium I wanted as my friend and I threw it around until I made it work. I was going to shoehorn my work to intertwine with oils and do whatever it took. Luckily the shoe fit.
It wasn’t until I went back to materials I had previously used before I taught myself how to paint properly, that I realised it is not how the material works for you but how you work the material.
Watercolour painting is oil painting flipped on its head. This is my own interpretation. Where oils are malleable, subject to complete change in consistency and shape of the mark you just made, watercolours are not. With oils you could alter that one mark up to 3 or 4 days later. With watercolours you cannot. You have a matter of seconds to decide if the mark you just made was ‘correct’ before the water has dried and the colour is set.
With watercolours, you are surrendering a portion of your work to a beautiful fluid fate-like skittishness. Water cannot be fully controlled, and paints in such a low viscosity consistency will fall subject to breaching. Colours might run further than you planned, but this adds such a fluid and kinetic overtone, giving paintings a lot of life and energy.
Oil paints are purposeful. Every mark is intended, it looks the way it does because the artist made it that way. If the artist wanted to create the effect of fluidity and looseness, this can be done intentionally. Oils are true, to the point, and bold even in the softest ways. This is ultimately my medium of choice and a labour of love to understand. But to have learnt this, I thought I would take on the medium of water-colour and work on a portrait, something I have never done with this medium.
And this is what it looked like… Watercolours are hard work to an oil painter, you have to be on your toes. But the effects are beautiful, and the end result doesn’t look like any work I have done before, for that reason watercolours are a medium I will be working on more often. Even if my true love is oils.
Katy x
For any information on commissioning oil or watercolour pieces or for the availability and sale of my work, you are welcomed to contact me at katyjadedobson@mail.com
KATY JADE DOBSON 