The D's B's

Work began on the dog commission earlier in the week by drawing them out on to the canvas which took ages as they have to be perfectly accurate and one of the reasons commissions take longer to do. After going through hundreds of photos I'd taken of them over two sessions with the customer she narrowed the choice down to a couple which she felt captured the spirit of the dog's characters. They were sat on grass in the chosen photos but that wasn't going to be included in the painting so I ended up sifting through all the photos again where they were sat on concrete to find eight suitable replacement feet. I drew them on, stood back from the canvas and thought they all looked too small so I redrew them.

The cat has only attempted chair possession once (see last post) and seems quite content in the polystyrene box so I can sit down to work as this stage is still quite crucial in it's accuracy. Cows are not this much hassle!

In this next stage I've blocked in the basic colours in acrylic and again this took ages as it has to be correct and will form the basis for the final oil painting. The rough shadow area is also mapped out. I decided to increase the density of the shadow area as when I stood back to look at what I'd done it became very obvious that certain areas were very apparent! The d's b's...the very undercarriage so to speak were playing too important a part and would have to be..muted!

I have been somewhat delayed in the process of getting on with this with various interruptions, one of which was having to take my mum's cat to the vet. She has fostered what might be described as a "challenging" cat - the sort that were it a child you'd always be in the headmaster's office at the school counting the days between expulsion and/or an Asbo. I shouldn't be surprised if he spent his time hanging round street corners, drinking White Lightning and scoring Bob Martin tabs (if they still exist). The first and last vet visit was to repair the latest gang warfare wounds and as I imagine it was like a scene from A&E on a Friday night when they treat the violent offenders. So now they won't examine him without putting him in the cat crush and sedating him so the process of the vet visit is a lengthy one or at least waiting to collect him is and so I was away from the studio. However, after falling over when emerging from the cat carrier and falling out of the back door in a woozy attempt at escape he is, I have heard on the mend and I would have resumed the painting today if I hadn't had another interruption where I'd been invited back to my old college to be photographed for next years prospectus but I digress...

Young Pretender and the possession of the studio chair

Last weekend I went up to Scotland, which for me was cow heaven as they were everywhere. I painted a black Highland Cow whilst I was up there and unusually for me also included the nose ring. It was a coloured piece and as I felt the ring was similar in colour to the horns it would contrast well with the black body. It's currently drying and after it's had a coat of varnish I'll put it on the blog. So, this week I resumed work on "Young Pretender" and as I've been asked about it a couple of times this week I thought I'd put it on the blog.

This was what I'd achieved after the Art in the Pen weekend. You can see that the face still has not had it's coat of oil paint and that the acrylic underpainting is still visible.

Here I've started to work down the face in oil and at that stage I'd still not painted the eyes because I need to sit down to do that and the cat had taken up permanent residence on the studio chair. It was just easier to let him have possession and I continued with other parts of the painting.

The battle for the chair continued with the cat only relinquishing possession during small windows of opportunity for the necessary and if he gets boy cat cystitis then he only has himself to blame!

By this stage I had duped the cat into thinking that a polystyrene box filled with bubblewrap and topped with one of his blankets was somewhere he should definitely not be so naturally he seized immediate possession and vacated the chair meaning I could at last sit down and complete an eye. This requires a steadier hand and so I prefer to use a mahl stick...which in reality is a brush handle but it does the job..and it was cheap!

This was the last bit of the painting and I generally paint the nose last in all of my work because it's usually the part of the cow that's closest to the viewer. I always paint the nose in one session and as the cat was still claiming territory rights on the box and maintaining his occupation I could paint the detail in relative comfort! The actual bull I was basing this image on was frothing at the mouth which didn't look attractive so I painted it without that - fortunately I've painted quite a few cow lips now..not a phrase I ever thought I'd be laying claim to..so I could go for the non frothy look!

This is the completed piece at 30" x 30" although it still needs to dry and have it's varnish on which brings out the detail. This image probably looks a bit more magenta than he does in reality. I think he does have quite a soft face and whilst he is still a juvenile will have to contend himself with being a "Young Pretender"

In the original pencil study for "Young Pretender" I've included the show bridle and nose ring which I chose not to paint in the final piece. He also had a white patch visible on his left ear which I felt would have been distracting so I left it out.

So that's it..cows are temporarily put to one side as I begin the commission piece of two Jack Russells which have been in the planning stage for some weeks now as different photos have been taken and the owner has finally chosen a shortlist of possibles.

"Art in the Pen" weekend

Managed to get absolutely everything into the Focus (surprisingly) on Friday morning ready for a journey up to Skipton to the Auction Mart where Art in the Pen was being held for the weekend. The heady whiff of cow crap in the air was the first greeting and although I'm used to it by now it did seem that it would be stretching the imagination to turn the venue into "One of the north's finest contemporary art fairs" as promised by the lottery/arts council funded literature! However, the pens were soon transformed into arty pods although I did think the plastic plants that someone brought to decorate their area was a little over the top.

Three hours later and with grateful assistance from Wendy who is now a dab hand with the cable tie my hessian draped pen was ready for business and "Elton" the studio calf was in place.

The preview evening (of which there are no photos because I left my camera in the Travel lodge) went well although I have to say it was quite a surreal experience to have a live string quartet (God bless the arts council!) playing away outside one of the pens whilst we sipped chilled fizz. Some of the other exhibitors dressed for the occasion and offered delicate nibbles and canapes although I did see lemonade and a dish of crisps on one stand!

Next day began in earnest and I started the painting live weekend reckoning that even if I didn't sell anything then at least I'd have got two days work in! The venue was busy for the whole two days so there were plenty of people to talk to and they seemed quite interested about the whole process. The most intelligent questions came from a young man aged about ten who didn't ask the usual "how long does it take etc".

I was actually quite glad to have taken "Elton" as I could see the fists of the under fives hammering away at him and was grateful that it was providing sufficient distraction whilst the parents could view the artwork!

This was "Young Pretender" a young Hereford bull from The Royal Show last year and I've been wanting to paint him for a while. By the end of the first day I'd managed a full days painting and this was as far as I'd got. You can see the acrylic underpainting and where I've added the oil top coat from the left of the painting.

By the Sunday I'd talked to some great people and managed to secure some sales! It was worth chatting to some of the other exhibitors and swap info and find out what a small world it is when you have friends and colleagues in common. Interesting also to talk to some independent galleries keen to do business so definitely a weekend worth doing!

By the end of Sunday this was how far I'd progressed with "Young Pretender" who is on 30" x 30" canvas. He's back in the studio now waiting for the best bit to begin - the work on the face and the character to appear.

It's a start...

First post on the promised blog! The paintings are all wrapped and waiting to go to "Art in the Pen" at Skipton Auction Mart tomorrow ready for the preview evening. They are the first of the new images I've been working on and are a mix of cows and sheep - the pigs and donkeys will just have to wait a bit longer. There's also some rare original pencil studies available. I will be taking "Young Pretender" which is a young Hereford Bull I've just started on a 30" x 30" canvas and I'll be painting that during the weekend.

"The Dowager"

"The Duchess"