Memories Series

Bellflower

ink and coloured pencil on paper
12 x 16 inches

This is my first piece of work for some time. Hopefully there'll be many more pieces to come.The colour hasn't photographed too well. Below is a scan of the middle section and I would say that the actual appearance is somewhere between the two:

Memories Series

Geranium - Finished Painring

oil on canvas, 16 x12 ins

Memories Series - New Painting

Geranium - Work in Progress

oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

At last I've started a new painting. This one was planned several months ago but I've been unable to paint it until now. Geranium is the sixth painting in my Memories series and like the others is based around old family photos.

I used Windsor & Newton Artisan water mixable oils and started with an underpainting using a very dilute mixture of burnt umber and ultramarine (almost like watercolour in consistency and application). I considered leaving the old photo as black and white rather than my usual sepia colour but then changed my mind and painted over the "black and white" (again a mixture of ultramarine and burnt umber with the addition of varying degrees of white). The "sepia" was still the same mixture of burnt umber and ultamarine but with a much greater proportion of burnt umber. I'm not sure if opting for a sepia photo was the best choice as I quite like the very restricted black and white appearance of the underpainting.

I'm still working on this and will add the finished painting soon.

Memories Series - Buttercups
oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches

Life's been pretty difficult lately which is why I've only just managed to finish the new painting. Actually, I should say I'm not positive it's finished, I may just do a little more work on it yet but this is basically it:

Buttercups - Underpainting

oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches

Buttercups Gold and Gay - the sound of innocent times....

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Beside The Seaside

oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

I found in this painting that I had to keep adjusting my colour as I was going along as the whole effect was looking far too faded and I wanted to make sure there was a contrast between the old photos and the beach setting. In order to achieve this I ended up choosing a much warmer and brighter colour scheme than I first intended, but I think it works a lot better than the colour scheme I'd originally selected. I think the change of colour is most obvious in the seaweed in the top right of the painting, I decided to provide a balance to the orange in the shells and this also helps the photographs to stand out much more.

Memories Series - Seaside Underpainting

Beside The Seaside

Underpainting

oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches

As with the other paintings in this series, this still life is based around family photos from the 1950s. The underpainting was completed using a mixture of very diluted oil paint and almost looks like a watercolour painting. I'll add more colour (although still quite muted) and thicker paint in the next layer.

Memories Series - Daisy Chain

Daisy Chain
16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

Another in the Memories Series, this one is based on an old photo of myself as a child. I wanted to make the daisies stand out against the photo so tried to keep the tones in the photograph quite subdued and avoid strong contrasts. I had fun making the daisy chain, but must admit it used to seem much easier with smaller fingers! I have quite a few more paintings planned for this series and have been busy sorting through lots of old photographs for ideas. More to come .......

Memories Series - New Painting

Anemone
12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

One of the things I'm interested in suggesting in this series is the way our memory creates links between the past and the present. Just like certain smells can instantly transport you back to the past, objects have the same power to evoke another time and place.

Detail of Finished work

Finished Painting

Almost Finished

Untitled

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

I just have to work on bits of detail but other than that the painting is finished.

Detail

More Progress

A little more progess today. I've done more work on the photos, finished all the envelopes and paper in the background and have started to work on the dried flowers - the colour of these may change a little as I continue working.

An Update

Today's Progress

New Still Life Painting

Possibly A New Series

Hydrangeas are still included in this new still life painting but are no longer the main focus. I liked the idea of combining the faded flowers with old photographs and letters in order to create a feeling of nostalgia. I'm intending to paint the majority of the still life in sepia tones and only add a touch more colour in the hydrangeas. I'm not happy with the blue area underneath the bottom right photograph as the colour is too strong, so I will be toning that area down. I can see this painting becoming the first in a new series, there seem to be many possibilities for some interesting compositions using this subject.

Hydrangea Series - mostly leaves

Hydrangea IX

oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches

As I've worked through this series I've found myself drawn more and more to the twisted, dried up leaves so decided to devote at least one of the series to a study of the leaves (although a couple of flower bracts crept in). As the series has progressed I've moved increasingly towards a subdued palette and this one is possibly the most muted of all the paintings.