Contemporary Paintings

Contemporary art - AccordingWikipedia,  is art produced at the present period in time.

 In fact Contemporary art continues from, postmodern art, which is itself a successor to  modern art, it does not define subject matter,  many post and post modern artist have painted biblical pictures. the only qualification by some art Galleries  is that it was painted in the life time of the artist, and some Galleries and dealers specify that it was painted in the last ten years. So in reality any painting  done in the last 10 years is contemporary art.

 Some Galleries and some say anything since post modern is contemporary art.

This is confusing  to the lay person and also to artist  like me, because unlike pop art  or pointillism and impressionism  or any of the periods through the history of art it is meaningless. 

 

My view is contemporary art  should represent what the world

is like in this present period, such as progress in all fields of life i.e. electric trains not steam that belongs to nostalgia.

It should contain  anything from the latter part of the 20th Century to the present day. be it everyday mundane to exciting

 

  My Contemporary Paintings

 

Title Fruit in a Plastic Bag,  there are thousands of still life paintings of fruit on plates dishes etc so what makes this contemporary  This is contemporary because the bag is plastic

 

 

Title Orange in tissue paper this qualifies for the same reason

 

Title Old people who meet every Sunday to sunbake Contemporary? Yes Only in the last four or five decades would  you have seen this also in these types of bathers 

 

 

Title Weary Tramp in shopping centre
 

   

CLASS DEMONSTRATIONS

 

 

After an absence of many months due to moving  into a new home which took far longer than we imagine, we have now settled and I am ready to resume my web page.

This picture is one of the first watercolours I have painted in my new studio.

A simple flower study of  clematis and a flower I don't the  name of in a concrete flower box I took them into the studio set them on a table  and put a soft light on it.

It looked rather plain in this setting  which I new it would because I often like to create my own background and had decided to that would be the case here.

 

     

My intention was to make more of red bricks on the left and make them appear  to be another wall. and the table top would become tiles, plus I would create more flowers in the box.

Think of this as an exercise in creative imagination an attribute most artist strive for.

Some can do it better than others and if you have it, or acquire by practise it will always stand  help you when your subject needs a bit of help.

 

Composition for this painting

 

The composition I have in mind requires the concrete flower box should be facing the viewer instead of the angle I took with the photograph which was taken  to suit a fellow artist.

The Brick wall on the left leads the viewer to the flowers in the box this is reinforced with the tiles on the floor.

The flowers get smaller  as they move towards the left creating a eye path to the tiles to start the journey all over again.

The value of the shadow on the right is two shades darker than the left to keep the viewers eye  in the picture.

 

 

Only each viewer can decide if this works for them, if it does then you have a good painting

This Months out door picture

 

 Hadley woods
My favourite Play haunt when a boy
 

The Catalan method for Still life's.

The Catalan Association of watercolour painters  is one of the oldest associations in Europe 1865, and this is part of the methods they use to teach students  watercolour.

I don't agree with all the content of the instruction But this particular segment I have found very good for rapid development of composition and design skills.

I include this in my classes frequently  to reinforce the act of creating instead of merely copying a photograph which neglects design because it is already done for you by the photograph.

Various items are placed on a table, which has a single light source.

The students will choose what items the want to include in their watercolour.

They will decide their own arrangement IE composition and colour, the important values are which describe form are taken from the cast shadows produced from the light source.

 

The photograph above left shows the table  with random items you can choose any or all of them, also you can change their size or colour, embellish them for instance add more flowers more fruit provided they are of the same variety.

 



DEMONSTRATION

For this demonstration I have chosen the  flower vases and two Orangees and a apple.

I make a light outline drawing on the watercolour paper.

...............................

I lay in the first washes wet in wet so they mingle and merge

......................

.

When the first wash is dry I add local colour to all the shapes., not even attempting to describe detail at this stage.

.................................



On my foundational washes I start to add value and detail with Derwent colour pencils.

............................

This quick demonstration was completed in under the hour and would be used for a more a finished study if I am happy with the outcome. 

For this demonstration I have chosen the  flowers vase and two oranges and a apple.

It will be a quick study using mixed media  for a more considered work later.

I plan to do this in two washes  and Derwent coloured pencil.

 

 

My view of the world

My view of the world in expressed in my paintings with comments

 



 

The poor give a greater proportion of their income than the wealthy.

The rich get all the praise  even though it is only a fraction of their wealth.

Pen and Wash

I have now decided to use this blog site to post my completed art along with

commentary on why I chose it and how I went about painting it.

 

 

Children on Church gate

 

This was a demonstration pen and wash chosen for it's simplicity  to make the point that pen and wash used when painting outside is basically an information gathering for a painting done later in the studio, coupled with a photograph it will supply you with enough information to know just how you are going to  complete the work.

 

I first draw all the major shapes lightly with a pencil with no detail.

 

A fine liner describes the textures and lines  to the shapes within and on the outer edges.

 

I use the watercolour to indicate colour notes to indicate  mood.

 

 

MIXED MEDIA

 

Mixed Media

I often use coloured pencils  and pens to finish a watercolour the extra flexibility and options can add

a new look to the painting plus it makes a welcome change to pure watercolour

Which refreshes and motivates me and I can return to watercolour with new enthusiasm.

Look at the three paintings below which are finished with coloured pencils, then follow the demo of the process use for mixed media 



The details on the flowers and leaves
and tiles was done with coloured pencils

 

The texture of the pears was described
with coloured pencils

 

The glass, place mat, pear and the frame of the panel was enhanced with coloured pencils

 

Watercolour.  fine liner, plus wax pencils

A step by step showing the results that can be combined by enhancing a two wash painting with Derwent studio coloured pencils, the picture below was created in  four stages using the media mention above.  

Stage One

Drawing the layout with grey lead pencil, I believe this is along with a value sketch are the most important of the entire picture making process for watercolours if this is flawed the picture stands a good chance of failure.

 

Stage Two first wash

Mixing a purple from Alizarin crimson and Pthalo blue greyed with a tiny amount of lemon yellow, I star to establish the value under painting this will create the form  of the vegetables and suggest the spacial depth to the painting. 

 

  

I apply a wash of colours to the motif on the tiles.
 





 

 

Stage Three

 

When dry I give them all a second wash.

 





 Stage Four

Adding Detail with Fine liner and Colour pencils

 

 I add details to to the motif on the tiles

 

 

I start creating texture  while at the same time refining the colours of each vegetable I use the same techniques that I do with  my graphite pencils hatching, stipple etc.

 







 

This often means with coloured pencils that you need to apply several layers till you have a satisfactory result compere this picture to the finished picture below

 

FINISHED PICTURE

  

Mixed Media Watercolour on Charcoal.

 

 

Here are some of the artist

From a long list of artist who either work with watercolour over charcoal  or outlined their work , or did both

Carl Larson

Carl Larson outlined all the main shapes to good effect while relying on tonal or colour change within those shapes for a more descriptive message.

Jessie Wilcox  Smith



book at bedtime

I  think Jessie Wilcox Smith was the standout artist of watercolour colour over charcoal plus she did not hesitate to also varnish some of her watercolours with great effect..

other artist who did excellent work  with a similar feel was Paul Gauguin. Margaret Preston.  Mary Cassette.  

 

Using Turner Techniques for your Watercolours

Using Turner Techniques for your Watercolours

A whole new world of watercolour options are open to the watercolourists If they are prepared to giving a little time to study the old masters.

I have admired and studied the works of Turner for many years, without copying Turner as such I have included the techniques that he employed into my  own way of painting
This picture "The Sitar Player" was painted using some of Turners techniques


The Sitar Player

 

 

COME BACK MORE ON TURNER SOON

Basic Colour Mixing Acrylic

Basic colour mixing with Acrylics

I have no hesitation including acrylics in with watercolour, when the most prestigious and oldest watercolour society in the world the "Royal Watercolour Society" has recognized the acrylic medium as a watercolour medium for many years both on it's own and with watercolour in mixed media.

I painted with acrylics  when my family could no longer stand the smell of of turps, plus I was becoming concerned about the toxicity, that is still present in the turps even when it is odourless.

So I switched to acrylic which I used for about ten years before my transition to watercolour.

 

The main point to remember is acrylics dry a shade darker and watercolour dries lighter.

so you must adjust your mix accordingly.

 

The most noticeable area to look for the soft edges is the shadow side of the onions and to a lesser extent the left of the wicker bottle.

There are four very sharp edges can you spot them.

Class Demonstrations

CLASS DEMONSTRATIONS

 

I am back

 

After an absence of many months due to moving  into a new home which took far longer than we imagine, we have now settled and I am ready to resume my web page.

This picture is one of the first watercolours I have painted in my new studio.

A simple flower study of  clematis and a flower I don't the  name of in a concrete flower box I took them into the studio set them on a table  and put a soft light on it.

It looked rather plain in this setting  which I new it would because I often like to create my own background and had decided to that would be the case here.

 

     

My intention was to make more of red bricks on the left and make them appear  to be another wall. and the table top would become tiles, plus I would create more flowers in the box.

Think of this as an exercise in creative imagination an attribute most artist strive for.

Some can do it better than others and if you have it, or acquire by practise it will always stand  help you when your subject needs a bit of help.

 

Composition for this painting

 

 

The Brick wall on the left leads the viewer to the flowers in the box this is reinforced with the tiles on the floor.

the flowers get smaller  as they move towards the left creating a eye path to the tiles to start the journey all over again.

Only each viewer can decide wether this works for, if it does then you have a good painting 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Catalan method for Still life's.

The Catalan Association of watercolour painters  is one of the oldest associations in Europe 1865, and this is part of the methods they use to teach students  watercolour.

I don't agree with all the content of the instruction But this particular segment I have found very good for rapid development of composition and design skills.

I include this in my classes frequently  to reinforce the act of creating instead of merely copying a photograph which neglects design because it is already done for you by the photograph.

Various items are placed on a table, which has a single light source.

The students will choose what items the want to include in their watercolour.

They will decide their own arrangement IE composition and colour, the important values are which describe form are taken from the cast shadows produced from the light source.

 

The photograph above left shows the table  with random items you can choose any or all of them, also you can change their size or colour, embellish them for instance add more flowers more fruit provided they are of the same variety.



DEMONSTRATION

For this demonstration I have chosen the  flower vases and two Orangees and a apple.

I make a light outline drawing on the watercolour paper.

...............................

I lay in the first washes wet in wet so they mingle and merge

......................

.

When the first wash is dry I add local colour to all the shapes., not even attempting to describe detail at this stage.

.................................



On my foundational washes I start to add value and detail with Derwent colour pencils.

............................

This quick demonstration was completed in under the hour and would be used for a more a finished study if I am happy with the outcome. 

For this demonstration I have chosen the  flowers vase and two oranges and a apple.

It will be a quick study using mixed media  for a more considered work later.

I plan to do this in two washes  and Derwent coloured pencil.

Watercolour Passion

I read this poem in a watercolour magazine some years ago.

It was written by an artist named Marianne Alf.

The molasses like movement of marbleized hue.

Liquid Melody of Mozart in manganese blue.

Mardi gras colours melting into mouse gray.

Colours magically merging in a mercurial way.

Merely mixed on my palette, my colours are lush.

Watercolour is magic:

Merlin's wand is my brush

I think this poem sums up what most watercolour artist feel about their medium

Bringing watercolour magic alive again

Gordon's Watercolour Magic

 

The brush Flicks and Swishes.

Across the page there swims three fishes

The Mountain Temple

Gordon's Watercolour Magic