Portrait

Another thing that's been taking up my time recently is experimenting with portraiture. Traditionally I'm a landscape painter but I'm keen to develop my portrait work and also have a desire to do some caricatures. It's a different skill, capturing a person in paint. One person I admire is Rolf Harris who has painted some wonderful portraits in his time, all in his own style yet all capturing the essence of the sitter.

Here's a portrait of a young child that I've just completed - some people from the ukulele club may know him! It's acrylic paint on art card, A3 size. I'm pleased with it. There's some things I'd change were I to do it again, but that's the joy (and pain!) of paintings I feel - no work is ever really 'finished' or 'perfect' but the artist must have the discipline to say, 'Stop, that's enough!'

George Formby Rainbow Ariel Red Hunter (2)

This is the second painting I've done of George Formby's Rainbow - Ariel Red Hunter - from his 1935 movie, 'No Limit'.

I've tackled this one differently, with a more precise brush, to show off the wonderful detailing of the motorcycle. Mechanical yet curiously organic; you can 'sense' old motorcycles - the cold of the metalwork, the smell of the oils and petrol, the tarnishing of paintwork.

I've badged this as an Ariel rather than 'Rainbow'. The Red Hunter is a most handsome motorcycle, particularly the pre-war rigids with their lack of clutter.

 

George Formby Rainbow Ariel Red Hunter (1)

George Formby's film 'No Limit' is a perennial favourite to watch in early June when the Isle of Man TT races come around. His Shuttleworth Snap always seems to get all the attention but the Rainbow he raced to victory has always fascinated me.

Studying the movie and doing a bit of research, it's quickly apparent that it was an Ariel, either 1934 or 1935 model year. But was it a Red Hunter or the lower specification OHV Standard? I like to think it was a Red Hunter, with it's sumptuous red enamelling on the tank, but the twin exhaust ports suggest a Standard, which would have had black enamelling. Without access to factory or film company records (which probably don't exist anymore) it's impossible to say, as there seems to have been much chopping and changing of specification brand new out of the factory!

In this painting, I've tried to recreate the scene where George is struggling to push his ailing Rainbow over the finish line and into the arms of the ecstatic Florrie Dibney (Florence Desmond).

I quite like the way I've used a loose brush style to capture the movement of the scene and the determination and physical strain in George's face.

Ludwig Wendell Hall & Cartwright Abbot banjo ukuleles

Apologies for not posting for a while. I've been busy with a couple of commissions, various other paintings, and Christmas preparations.

Two commissions I did were A3 paintings of two banjo ukuleles - a Ludwig Wendell Hall and a Cartwright Abbott. My previous uke paintings had been a smaller A4 size but I must say the ukes look smashing in the larger A3 size, framed with a nice mount.

Here's a couple of photos showing the painted logos. Sign writing was part of my work a long time ago so I enjoyed recreating the script on the paintings.

Hyacinth - Watercolour

I did this painting of a hyacinth in 2006. It's a watercolour on paper. If I had to choose only one medium it would be watercolour. It's such a delicate yet powerful medium. I love the translucency of the light and the vibrant energy from moving the washes.

Watercolour is a friendly medium in that anyone can quickly learn how to use it but it's also a challenging medium as it is difficult to produce really good results. So I get wonderful satisfaction from completing a good watercolour and feel a closer bond to the painting too.

I was very pleased with the hyacinth. It's such a beautiful flower and I love the way I've worked the blues and greens in the painting. It's a simple picture really, just a flower, but the final result still gives me enjoyment every time I look at it.

I Wish I Was Back On The Farm - George Formby

This is a pencil work I completed recently. It shows George Formby playing 'I Wish I Was Back On The Farm' from the 1941 movie, 'Spare A Copper'. This is one of my favourite George songs; the lyrics always make me laugh with their unlikely tales of naughty ladies, cups of tea and pigeons! (You can read the lyrics on the George Formby Society website.)

I'm very pleased with this one in the way I've caught the hands of George strumming and picking out the chords. When I look at the picture I can hear him playing the song in my mind!

As with my other George portraits, I've done it with soft graphite and charcoal sketch art pencils on  Daler Rowney 220g/m2 (135lbs) art paper, which is very nice paper to work with. Different makes and hardness of pencil produce different effects on different makes and types of paper, so it's important to get the 'tools' that you are comfortable with. You can, of course, produce good works with any mix of pencils and paper, but it's a more pleasurable experience when you're working with your favourites.

Triton

This is a painting from about three years ago of a Triton motorcycle. As with most Tritons, it's a Norton Featherbed frame with a Triumph engine, in this case a 3-cylinder Trident engine, which of course is a BSA engine really! Rather than the usual bare alloy tank, which can be somewhat brash, this one is attractive in having a classy black tank with gold pin striping.

The older motorcycles are a treat to work in paint. Modern bikes tend to be a mass of plastic but go back about thirty years and you have all the tones of the different metals and all the engineering details on display. I like painting in a loose style and it's a challenge to do that with a motorcycle whilst retaining the details that the enthusiast likes to pour over, such as the finning on the engine.

I feel I've got the balance right in this work.