Sunderland Air Show

Another shoot that I've been meaning to use was taken at Sunderland Air Show last summer. I've only chosen to paint two of the images. In the first I've tried to convey the movement of the Vulcan as it flies in from the coast and swoops round over the beach. It's a stunning sight as the force of the massive plane can be felt by everyone on the ground.

In the second image a figure in the foreground stoops to photograph one the planes from the Red Arrow display team. A contrast can be seen between the impressive mechnics of the machine and the everyday houses and buildings of the seafront. Most of the colour focus is on the red of the plane but some abstraction has been introduced in the sky. I'd like to continue adjusting the colour palette in the next few works.

#16 Vulcan Approach, Sunderland Air Show

 

#17 Red Arrow, Sunderland Air Show

New York City Street Scenes

In recent weeks I've dedicated some time to using the New York City street images I captured last summer. Consisting of five works, this set was probably more challenging than previous work due to the highly complex nature of the architecture. Combining the realism of the orignal imagery with the abstract qualities of the paint was quite complicated and I think most succesful in the Apple Store image. It is here I've revived one of my old favourite techniques of splattering the paint on the surface, injecting an energy or dynamism.

 

#12 Times Square Studios, New York City

 

#13 West 34th Street, New York City

 

 

#14 United Nations Flags at Rockefeller Center, New York City

 

#15 Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, New York City

 

#15 Times Square Sidewalk, New York City

Edinburgh Work

After a recent visit to Edinburgh I created these two works depicting Castlehill and Edinburgh Castle. In particular I think the Castlehill image to be successful for the atmosphere and sense of place. Being a wintry and rainy day, the cobbles reflected the light and contrasted with the towering silhouette of the spire.

 

#10 Castlehill, Edinburgh

 

#11 Edinburgh Castle

Praise from The Great North Museum: Hancock!

Had some great feedback today from The Great North Museum today, along with some really positive comments about the work:

Post by Great North Museum: Hancock.

Numbering Artwork

I've decided to number the artwork I'm creating so as to give a sense of the chronology of it all. If you can immediately see that two paintings were painted consecutively it should be simpler to compare or read the entire set. Also it means that anyone new to seeing the work can know there must be others to see!

With that in mind, here is the latest one:

 

#8 Monument from Grainger Street, Newcastle.

Traditional vs Digital Media

When I painted the 20 Zone image of the Tyne Bridge I was primarily focused on achieving detail through painting, creating photorealistic effects.

Working with photography to create the images that I would paint, I visited a number of cities in different countries with my wide angle lens. The photographs were great images and in painting from them I found I actually wanted to get the best from each medium: detail from photographs, abstract elements from paint.

That's when I remembered a process I'd started to try years ago. Combining the painting and the photograph in layers using both traditional and digital media. I'm enjoying making the images, they are a great way to get the effect I've been after. The question is, if you paint a picture, then scan it, use Photoshop to add some extra detail, then print to a canvas and paint further, what do you actually have? It IS a painting: it's got paint on it. Most of what people see is paint. But the word painting is not really enough. I suppose mixed media might cover it. Maybe 'Mixed media with acrylic/oil on canvas'. It's a bit of mouthful though, not very snappy!

Either way, for now I'll continue experimenting with it. Here are a couple of the latest mixed media artworks I've created.

 

 

 Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle.

 

Central Station, Newcastle.

New Work for 2014

Recently I've been experimenting with combining a variety of different media. Using photographs taken around my local city of Newcastle, I first create an abstracted version in acrylic paint on paper. Developing the image before taking it to a canvas, the next stage is to layer the painting with various elements from the original picture.

Being a new process, I'm still working on the finer aspects. As painterly scenes of urban landscape I think these work well.