2016 Woodmancote Studio

News! 17 May 2017 Some photos in this room susbstituted with newer ones where paintings have been modified.

In this year I did rather little drawing and painting directly from life. I focused on improving my oil painting skills, of faces in particular. I also began preparing painting materials using traditional Atelier methods rather than relying on commercially available products. I am indebted to Tad Spurgeon for providing the information and inspiration for this on his web site HERE. Tad has also published a readable and informative book for those interested in this subject, available on the web site. The book deals with both practical and theoretical aspects of painting in most media, including philosophical underpinnings and recent research, and is easily the most complete book on the subject that I know. I find this book beyond excellent. Unfortunately, what with preparing materials, testing their perfomance, experimenting and evaluating the results, I have had time to complete fewer artworks than in some prior years.

The small oil portraits are on 30cm by 40cm canvases, they were developed from drawings and sketches, occasionally with supporting photographs, some of which were quite old. These are mostly models I drew a lot so the faces are very familiar to me. There are also a few quick sketches from life, including the charcoal and bichrome wash sketched that I tend to do when I want to freshen up my drawing. Many of these pictures will get some more work.