A PAINTER’S PROGRESS
A painter should never be afraid to take risks with their work. A painter should not take the safe path over the path that is dangerous.
And so for the first time I am using a bird that cannot be found in a British garden.
Where this will take my art I have no idea, but I am sure it will lead to new adventures.
Bird in a tree 22. At the end of Day 1
Once it becomes obvious that you are fiddling around with your painting for no apparent gain then it is time to admit that you are not the master of your craft and the painting is finished. It is this lack of mastery that keeps me going along with the sad realisation that my second ambition to be a concert pianist will have to be sacrificed.
Anyway, the painting is now finished.
Bird in a tree 21. At the end of Day 4.
An exaggerated titling for a weeks absence, but a painters life should never be dull. I’m afraid the global doom and gloom dragged my mood down and left me with no enthusiasm for painting.
If only I could park my emotions at the studio door then months and even years of accumulated time would not have been lost.
No time for tears, I have made my dramatic return, painting has resumed.
Bird in a tree 21. At the end of Day 3.
Never thought I would be so concerned about the expression on a birds face. Getting it right is as elusive as the Mona Lisa’s smile.
Anyway, not a full day but the painting has progressed.
Bird in a tree 21. At the end of Day 2.
My painting has entered an interesting phase (at least as far as I am concerned!).
It has got to the point where I am much more aware of what I am trying to do. What little narrative exists does not change much from painting to painting.
What interests me is fine tuning the abstract elements within the picture. That is the colour of the background, leaves and bird.
I am working as if I was painting abstract pictures and to labour the point I have used the same photo of the bird I used in ‘Bird in a tree 20’.
Anyway, a promising start.
Bird in a tree 21. At the end of Day 1.
This greenfinch was looking distinctly green (ill). The beak naturally gives the finch a grumpy appearance, sometimes this sentiment works in a picture, but on this occasion it didn’t. Anyway, both the finch and myself are happier on Day 4. The picture is now finished.
Bird in a tree 20. At the end of Day 4.
Here’s a quality worth considering. How do you evoke this emotion? I think it evolves from your art, it is too elusive to be manufactured. Some painters actively aim towards it, some steer clear, and some discover it by accident.
I have always been drawn to it but my art has often missed the mark.
I think it has appeared in my best work in the ‘Bird series’ and I get a sense of it in this painting. Rather a pretentious statement to make but I think it is a worthy pursuit.
Bird in a tree 20. At the end of Day 3.
Its sometimes the case that a painting at the end of Day 1 does little to inspire. My paintings seem to creep forward through small colour adjustments. Its like playing a very slow game of chess that you know you can win but the playing of the game is hardly exciting.
Anyway, this painting has nudged forward and will require the same slow and concentrated attention in order to complete it. Much better to focus on this though rather than anything else that is currently happening.
Bird in a tree 20. At the end of Day 2.
This is an evolving series and I am still trying a few things out stylistically. The two most recent paintings, Bird in a tree 18 & 19 pushed the image too far away from a naturalistic style for me. Somewhere around Bird in a tree 15 - 17 is where I want to be, at least for now.
This painting, Bird in a tree 20 is the way forward, I think. Very pleased with Day 1 progress, so much better than the previous painting at this stage.
Bird in a tree 20. At the end of Day 1.
Have you ever finished a painting session, took a quick break, come back and realized that your painting is actually finished!. It normally comes after a frantic spell of activity when you don’t give a damn, but you are going to get this painting working.
Well, I had to do a double take after a short afternoon of painting. I don’t think its quite finished yet but its not far off. The best thing to do is leave it and take a look tomorrow
(Tomorrow came, and after a whole days painting the picture is now finished).
Bird in a tree 19. At the end of day 4.
What a difference a day makes! Oh how I wish all my paintings started at Day 3, because Day 1 & 2 are sometimes painful to view.
I think I was still being punished on Day 2 for such an inept start on Day 1. This picture has finally turned a corner and is looking much more promising.
Bird in a tree 19. At the end of day 3.
It’s official. Yesterday was a bad painting day.
I realised all too late that I had lost the strong blue tone to the background. Once I lost this I had no key to work to. So the first job today was simply a blocking in exercise. This immediately grounded the painting and from this I was able to re-establish the tone and space in the picture.
How many times do you have to learn the same lesson!
Well the painting is advancing nicely and my sense of well-being is temporarily restored.
Bird in a tree 19. At the end of day 2.
Inventing snappy titles is just as pleasurable as painting. This will also work well with Googles ‘Search Engine Optimisation’, a concern that I would never have had until this year!
I was going to mark this down as my first ‘bad painting day’ of the bird series.
Now it’s appearing as a nice Chinese Screen, all it needs are a few mountains.
Despite appearances I can see the promise of a decent painting. I am too tired to rescue it today, I will send out the life boat tomorrow.
Bird in a tree 19. At the end of day 1.
This painting has a mixture of stylistic treatments. At first I wasn’t sure if it was all going to hang together. In fact, now I think it is one of the strengths of the picture. They are not so much fighting each other as creating a tension and interest within the picture. It is something I will explore more.
Also, the bird has a slight comic element due to its corpulent figure. I like it, and it is saved from being a cartoon through the fairly realistic way in which it is painted.
Anyway, very pleased with the end result, the painting is now finished.
Bird in a tree 18. At the end of day 4, finished.
The way I measure my progress in terms of ‘days’ is uniquely personal. Lets just say they do not equate to 24hrs of painting!
However modest, I will always accept a couple of hours of progress over a wasted days painting. Better a full day’s successful painting, but that requires a bigger effort. Shamefully short painting session today, but the painting has improved.
Yesterdays painting was making me dizzy. That insistence in the composition on a circular motion was a bit too forced and had to be tempered. It now has a better balance, although it is still amusingly apparent.
Bird in a tree 18. At the end of day 3.
On many occasions I have seen artists sat motionless staring at their paintings. This is the excuse for today. Not that I was sat doing nothing. It’s just one of those paintings that is very reluctant to appear.
This bird is a circular ball of feathers. I have avoided painting these as they appear purely comical. However, somehow, I think I have managed to avoid this.
I have a feeling that most of the elements in the painting are there. They just need stating better.
This painting is going to have a more spare look to it and the emphasis is on the decorative.
Bird in a tree 18. At the end of day 2.
Variegated leaves against a strong pink background, surely too much?
Maybe, but the early signs are promising. The 2-tone leaves are going to make things doubly difficult, but if done well I think the effect will be dazzling. I am really taking on this decorative theme now.
I want the strong pink to remain and therefore everything will be adjusted against this to make the painting ‘work’.
Bird in a tree 18. At the end of day 1.
For some reason my painting from Day 3 was reminding me of gaudy Jamaican tourist art. This was not a good quality. I think I had set myself a hard task using such an intense flat blue sky.
The modelling of the bird was also crude. At first I liked the bold handling but then it started nagging at me that something wasn’t quite right.
Looking at today and yesterdays paintings it proves my instincts were right, at least I have more certainty over the direction I want to take these paintings in. Not that it makes things any easier!
The picture is finished.
Bird in a tree 17. At the end of day 4. Finished
My Chartres blue nocturne cannot decide whether its under a deep blazing Mediterranean sun or slipping into twighlight. Its precisely the colour tone I was aiming for, but its still a curious effect. Maybe I am being too literal, thinking birds do not come out at night?
I am trying to get some consistency with the colour temperature of these photos. Comparing day 3 to day 2 you would think I have had a repaint of the whole picture but this is not the case. Day 3 is more accurate but maybe too dark and blue! I think I am going to have to write down the exact adjustments I do in Photoshop to give me more accuracy.
Bird in a tree 17. At the end of day 3.
Time to assess and take a break to see what is working and which direction to take this picture in. Its in a good state offering plenty of possibilities.
Bird in a tree 17. At the end of day 2.