All posts tagged: painter

Working from home with a baby/toddler – Adapting.

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As a little human moves from infant, to baby to toddler, the way you parent changes and adapts alongside. Fitting in work alongside this is quite the juggle and means your work life is also under the same pressure to adapt. Only the adaptable survive according to Darwin, and at times I didn’t think my career could survive. It wasn’t until I let go of structure (something that would always be a challenge for me) and expectations, and more importantly, my previous style of working. I have been self employed and working from home since my early twenties. Before this I worked in bars/restaurants/office/warehouse/shop fronts and back. This level of freedom was something I had aimed for, worked for and achieved with many sacrifices along the way and I appreciated every second of it, and enjoyed each day of feeling free. So when a baby came along this freedom was gone. In Reuben’s case he did not want to sleep. He has been a curious, energised and spirited soul right from being an infant, one …

Micheal Zavros / Inspiration

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Just a quick internet search can tell you that there is no end to the amount of talented artists in the world. Instagram in particular has been great for unearthing these exquisitely talented humans who happen to document their creations and I love to ‘follow’ them. There is an infinite amount of inspiration that you can gain from looking at and enjoying the work of others, without copying/plagiarising. (A post about this topic in particular to be uploaded soon..) Taking inspiration isn’t about stealing, or at least shouldn’t be! It is noting the feeling you get when you see a particular piece of art and translating that into your own work in your own way. A painting might have an electric energy with movement that leaps out at you. Another might have solemn or moody overtones that gave you a sense of atmosphere when you looked at it. It is more often than not the ‘vibe’ of the painting that you most likely enjoyed. Inspiration should be transferring that feeling/vibe/energy in your own way, to …

Inspirations and Influences for Paintings – Working on my new collection.

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I have been working on a new collection lately,  with an idea in mind that I wanted to be incredibly specific with… Without giving too much away,  I wanted to write about some of my influences in terms of colour and composition for my latest collection that I am currently working on with an insight into my favourite artists and images that have always inspired me. (Almost like a mood board of certain traits and aspects for this upcoming series of oil paintings.) Starting with colour and my favourite artist Odilon Redon – I learnt of Redon whilst working on a project at college where I imitated some of his works in oil pastels, his abstract tendencies and backgrounds specifically have been one of the most consistant inspirations for my work and hugely in mind when painting recently. I studied his cleverly positioned colour and admired how they looked so spontaneous. It wasn’t until learning this practice in oil paints and in my own style that I found that using a lot of colour all at once in …

Artist Materials – Hog bristle brushes for oil paintings

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When I began painting, buying the paints initially was a costly job for me. I had to supply myself with the basic primary colours to set off my collection that I was to build up as I went along, mixing my own colours until I could afford to buy more. Brushes however were not important at all, I would apply the paint with my fingers if I needed to. (And still regularly do…) Although I sometimes buy more expensive brushes for purpose marks, I tend to buy value packs so I am always stocked up on brushes of all sizes and styles. I do this because brushes don’t last me long at all, especially expensive ones. Being eager to use them (since I paint every day, its the equivalent of getting a new computer mouse at the office for me) they often become raggedy and unusable after around 3 weeks. I might often find myself working slightly more gentle in order to preserve them, but sometimes by subjects are void of a certain boldness I enjoy in …

Wildlife Art – Recent Oil Paintings – Birds

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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 …

Progress Pictures – Stag Oil Painting

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Recently I have been working further on my wildlife pieces. After the great reaction to my ‘Galloping Horses’ piece I wanted to work more on an atmospheric element whilst integrating factors of the idea of ‘The Golden Ratio’ and detail and space in close proximity. I recorded my progress, as usual, with this particular stag piece of the 3 sessions I have done so far. This piece has taken into consideration my recently learned word ‘phosphenes’ (the sensation of a ring of light and colour as a result of pressure on the eyeball) to bring about an abstract colour palette with glints of light as embellished detailing, also depicting beams of light on a forest floor. It is always useful to look back over the progression process of a piece, it shows how far it has come along, as well as what has been added in terms of atmosphere and general aura, over just likeness and realistic correctness. As for the subject, stags have been close to my heart since finding my footing as an artist. Stags have …

‘Phosphenes’

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A word that finally makes sense of the ‘abstract embellishment’ I aim to create in my paintings – ‘Phosphenes’ phos·phene   (fŏs′fēn′) n. A sensation of light caused by excitation of the retina by mechanical or electrical means rather than by light, as when the eyeballs are pressed through closed lids. [French phosphène : Greek phōs, light; see phos- + Greek phainein, to cause to appear, to show; see bhā-1 in Indo-European roots.] The sensation when you rub your eyes and see colours and lights actually has a name. I remember doing this as a child and seeing a kalaidoscoptic range that didn’t actually exist, there was no presence of light, it is in fact a bit of a phenomena. On learning this word it made sense of my colourful detailing that I throw into my paintings, which before was described as abstraction. I felt there was more of an elegant and rich description for the marks I aim to make in my work . It was less about creating abstraction and more about ’embellishing;’ a word I use a lot when describing my work. I …

The Garden of Eden – Adam & Eve – A set of two oil paintings

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For my birthday I once received a box of chocolates; They were Thornton’s Eden Collection and were one of the most decadent concepts I had ever known.   The label read ‘Divinely Sinful’ with a golden fig leaf and the packaging was more than enticing. The chocolates inside read names like Passion, Seduction, Desire, Lust, Original Sin, Temptation and Obsession. I knew at some point, when I had become enough of a seasoned artist, that I would be able to portray a Garden of Eden concept painting with justice. I decided to finally take this project on the other day in order to decorate my new bedroom with a piece just for myself (something I have never done before) as a personal colossal challenge. I do not meet challenges on a small scale. The piece is made of two canvases, both 40×50″ inches, each holding the figure of Adam and Eve individually. I took on this project not because I regard myself as a seasoned enough artist to now start it, but because I am learning new things …

Artist’s Space

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A lot of things you overlook and make do, until you then have it and you realise the importance. I realised that the space to be able to step back and look at your paintings/artwork from a slight distance is of colossal importance to the work. Moving is hard! I wanted to keep my art materials out until the very last minute so that I could alternate between packing and working.. But it never works this way. In the end I had to pack my things up and reside myself to time to adjust. I think I must have developed a nervous twitch, or painting withdrawal symptoms. There are countless benefits to the new area I can work in, but the most bountiful points are the light and the space to step back. Composition and arrangement within my paintings has been something of an ongoing thought recently, following a painting that just did not sit quite right with me. I love to mix intricate detailing with large brush strokes, texture and expanses of blended calm. But how …