Somethings new, somethings old, somethings blue

My first attempt at acrylics, done quite recently. Figure I'd do something simple. The gulls were resting on a small island that appeared in Finch pond when water levels dropped. I finally got around to signing the thing and photographing it properly.

Work In Progress: My second attempt(s) at acrylics. Part one of a trilogy. Egyptian geese landing in Finch pond. I finally got around to slapping on the blue background this morning. Needs some severe touching up. A painting is completed when I get fed up with it, which doesn't take much.

Painted some years back when I was teaching myself how to paint. A watercolour on cartridge paper, hence the extreme cockling. I composed three (well known) images found on t'internet but also made up a lot; mainly the background, dust and shadows. This will always  remain in my possession.

Again, painted some years ago as I grappled with watercolours and tried to figure out this art malarkey. I still use them, a nice cheap set by Reeves. They do the business. On cartridge paper (as I was practising) hence the cockling. Once again, always to remain in my possession.

  • What an extremely talented Angus!  Love them all & this comment ...

    Unknown said:

    A painting is completed when I get fed up with it, which doesn't take much.

    Made me laugh!

  • Wow Angus, what talent you have, those are superb. Self taught! You have to get yourself out there.

  • Beautiful pictures Angus, it must give you so much satisfaction to sit and paint like that.

  • Morning, folks. Glad you liked the paintings.

    Sometimes I feel like a fraud as I can't draw. Well, I can, but it would take me so long I'd either die of frustrated boredom or wear out the paper by repeated erasing of mistakes.

    To get round this I turned to the techniques used by artists of the past, but using modern tech. To wit, a home made light box or an office projector mounted on a monitor arm (via one of my Heath Robinson contraptions) to point downwards.

    Thereafter, my style is best described as either paint by numbers or pushing paint around a piece of paper i.e. fill in the bits between the traced lines. Colours are approximate, as is the final image as I fiddle with it. I believe the polite terminology is 'artistic license'.

    As I paint on our dining room table, my biggest problems are

    1. Remembering NOT to rinse my paint brush out in my mug of tea

    and

    2. My cats, one or both of whom demand in my lap and then swish their tails around. More than one of my paintings have fine cat hairs embedded in them.

    I eschewed pans for watercolours. I went straight for tubes so I can slap on the paint to get vibrant colours. I also paint with a number 1 brush, even on A2 size paintings, which does people's head in. Though I do use a 1/2" flat to fill in block backgrounds. Switching to acrylics, I find I am treating them like watercolours.

    Otherwise, as a maverick engineering type it is a case of attention to detail and devising unusual compositions.

    Here is the completed part one of the Egyptian geese trilogy. I whacked on the background with a number 2 brush! and 1/2" flat. I'm lazy now, so tend not to bother with backgrounds.  The memsahib reckons it's good as it doesn't clutter the painting. I find acrylics are better for block backgrounds. Unlike watercolours, they don't lift.

    I'd be stuffed, were it not for digital cameras. I'm in utter awe of people who can draw/paint by eye i.e. not having to resort to modern tech like me. Also, I can't do impressionistic or loose style. It's detailed nose to paper, pushing a number 1 or 0 brush around.

  • Wotcha folks,

    I finally got fed up with this trilogy. I calling the last two done.

    Begun sometime near the start of this year, work stopped due to the day job getting in the way. A brief revival took place near Easter, when I was co-artist in residence for a day at Heelas, where I messed the paintings up. Going over the mistakes, I half lost interest and then painting ground to a halt due to mind and body shutting down in the high heat of summer.

    I finally decided to finish them over the past week or so, slapping on the paint and having done with.

    I am warming to acrylics as I work out tips and methods for dealing with them. Still a long, long way to go before I feel really comfortable with them, and even longer before I master them.

    Posting all three in the trilogy, we start with painting number 1, Airbrakes on.

    Painting number 2, Flaring out.

    Painting number 3, Splash down.  This one caused me the most grief. The photo I worked from was somewhat fuzzy.

    This is the original photo I took (one early Saturday morning, on my ancient Canon 350) as the basis of the last painting in the trilogy.

    Cropping out the birds

    I'm not expert enough to really work in the detail, and exercised considerable artistic license. The level of detail for the first two paintings wasn't a whole lot better. Still, it proved a good exercise in switching to acrylics.

  • I think that's pretty impressive, Angus. I particularly like the second one with the reflections looking very realistic. You've got plenty of talent to my untutored eye so keep up the good work.

    Unknown said:
    A brief revival took place near Easter, when I was co-artist in residence for a day at Heelas,

    It's been a good number of years since it was called that and absorbed into John Lewis.

  • Very nice Angus, it does not matter how you get to the end result, you are still painting, keep up the good work.

  • Wow, very nice paintings Angus.

  • Excellent stuff.

    I think I prefer 1 and 2 to Splashdown, but I certainly commend you for trying to get the splashing water. I think it must be difficult to achieve a good degree of realism in that.

  • Nice work Angus,  they're all good  but if I could only pick one it would be painting #2