208 - Old Family Photos Project

207 - Old Family Photos Project

I watched a fascinating documentary recently on the BBC about Jack Vettriano and it gave me an idea of doing a picture in a similar style using old family photos as reference. I'm not quite sure how this is going to work out or even where to start or more importantly if it will ever get completed. Anyhow this pencil sketch is the first in what will hopefully be a series of studies which will eventually inform the finished painting.

204 - W.I.P Update

This still needs some finishing touches but other than that, I think I've taken it as far as I can at my current skill level.

206 - A Farm near Leadgate in Monochrome

An attempt to paint the previous setting in monochrome using only Burnt Sienna. Brian Keeler has a great saying which he repeats in all his videos, he says "tone does all the work whilst colour takes all the credit". I'm currently reading about an artist from Yorkshire called Ashley Jackson who paints wonderfully emotive watercolours particularly of the Yorkshire moors. Mr. Jackson says that one of the easiest ways to learn about tone is to paint monochromes, so I've took his advice and had a go.

205 - A Farm near Leadgate

 A pencil sketch of a farm near Leadgate early morning. It was drawn using a photo I took as reference, I'm trying to build my confidence up to going out in the field to paint.

204 - W.I.P

I've been sitting on this painting, metaphorically speaking, for the last 2 weeks. I painted it over a couple of days and then went back to work and sort of lost momentum, so I'm posting it as a work in progress in the hope that it will motivate me to finish it off. I think it's just the fear of going back into the painting and not messing it up that has put me off. I just need to dive back in! Alas it isn't my own design, but a copy of a painting by the artist Brian Keeler. He has several tutorials on the Artist's Network and I just loved the colours in this picture and decided to give it a go, following along with his video.