Long Time No Blog

Bit of a gap with the blogging....various reasons....but today I was out in Port Seton, sketching with Damian Callan.  Damian was running a session with a model  (Michael) based at the harbour, and the weather was pretty good.  I was working in various media.  Here's a charcoal sketch.

Sitting on the Boat

It turned out very dark, with the harbour wall as a backdrop, but it was fairly atmospheric.  Got a kind of old-fashioned look.

I tried some colour - using pastel direct on to the page with this one (no drawing).

Sitting on the Capstain

It was so colourful in full sun - almost oppressively hot - but then the east wind got up and we were cold by the end of the day. In the afternoon we did longer sketches.

Another capstain pose

This one was a quick sketch using pen and ink, then adding pastel.  And here's another direct pastel picture - the last pose of the day. 

With the creels

But even after everyone left, I carried on and did another couple of sketches.  No models - real fishermen this time.

Repairing the Nets

This one, again, I did with pen and ink, followed up with pastel.
Anyway, a good day's sketching and I may go and do more if the weather keeps up!

Continuing on

As this is my last day in the studio for a while, I thought I would continue in the same vein.  I had done a few little thumbnails using coloured pencils in preparation......

 I went back to the acrylic picture I had done of the Applecross Fishing Hut, reinstated the bright roof and darkened the sky.  So now it looks like this.

But my main purpose in coming into the studio today was to do some oil painting.  So I thought I would a little study of the fishing hut on a small piece of board.

I think the landscape composition works much better, and I quite like the colour in this version.  Also interesting to note how different it looks with the top of the hut just pointing up through the horizon (as in the graphite thumbnail sketch).  I think it increases the sense of isolation which is really what I wanted to achieve.  However, I have not abandoned the square composition, but I did decide to have a go at toning the sea down.

I also added a little shadow on the LHS of the hut and more interest to the horizon.  It's in a much more cheerful mood, and I do like the splashes of colour on the LHS of the picture.

I also worked on the Lochcarron Waterfront picture using the same palette of crimson, ultramarine, prussian blue and a hint of pale yellow.  I started with a small canvas and was very sparing with my use of the yellow.  I think this was my favourite pic of the day.

Anyway I graduated on to a larger canvas, but did not finish this next version - was getting a bit tired by this time.  I had run out of yellow too, and so it does not quite have the same colour balance.

Interestingly, I just cropped this picture wrongly by mistake and ended up with this next image.

I think this is actually quite a good composition - better than the actual picture.  A bit more abstract, I suppose.  There is an enigmatic feel to it which the picture does not have.  Peter says I should cut the picture up, but it's on board so I am reluctant.  Maybe it will be my next picture idea....

Staying with the motif

Went into the studio yesterday...wasn't sure what to do...decided to focus on two images - the Lochcarron waterfront and the Applecross fishing hut.  I wanted to try these in colour again - studies in acrylic in preparation for doing a version in oils.  I started with the Lochcarron one, using only carmine and ultramarine on watercolour paper.

Lochcarron Waterfront 3 (emerging)

Then I added some white acrylic and water.

Lochcarron Waterfront 3 (emerging)

Then I tried to darken it a bit more, and used a thin stick for different marks.

Lochcarron Waterfront 3 (emerging)

Then I added more marks (thinking about the houses, trees and boats) and a little more blue.

Lochcarron Waterfront 3 (emerging)

I wasn't sure about the palette, but was worried about going too far, so I set this to one side and embarked on the fishing hut. I wanted to try it in a landscape composition - I think this might work well - and I used a piece of Japanese paper that I had primed with various colours of gouache, and I also added lemon yellow to the acrylics.  It's always interesting with gouache underneath because it starts to mix with the acrylic in a random manner.  So after some initial work it looked like this.

Applecross Fishing Hut (another version emerging)

I was trying hard to get some good texture for the corrugated iron hut.  Actually, looking at this again, I quite like the roof and the sea - it gives an impression of light which I think I may have lost by drawing back into it.  I decided to darken the sea down a bit, lighten the sky and add some black ink - not sure if this was wise.  But, hey-ho, it's done now!  Here's how it ended up...

Applecross Fishing Hut (another version emerging)

I think the palette works OK on this (the contrast of the blue and orange).  But I'm still going to try some colour sketches over the weekend before I come back into the studio on Monday.

Revisiting Lochcarron....

In the studio agian, and I thought I would try to re-do this picture of the view looking west along the front at Lochcarron.

Lochcarron waterfront 1

I needed to re-do it as I was not happy about the technical quality of the picture - i.e. it looked a bit scrappy.  So I started with charcoal.

Lochcarron waterfront 2 (emerging)

The hills look a bit like Beinn Alligin at this stage - not at all appropriate.  So I continued with rubbings out, oilbar and more charcoal.

Lochcarron waterfront 2 (emerging)

At this stage, I added ink and white acrylic.  I needed to darken down the middle hill and add some shoreline marks, as well as more work on the sea and the sky.  It ended up like this.

Lochcarron waterfront 2

I stopped at this stage to take stock.  Is it better than the original or not?  I think so, but it still looks a bit messy.  I'm continuing to work on it.

Wester Ross Again

Up in Lochcarron again, so not able to get into the studio.  Out gathering sketches instead.  Beautiful weather (until today), but the cold north wind meant it was a bit too cold to sit sketching for long.
Over in Applecross, we went south to the Coral Beaches - it's such a lovely walk, and the colours were just beautiful.  Lovely turquoise sea turning to ultramarine.  I love those long views out to Skye over the islands and found a spot out of the wind where I did this pastel sketch.

South Applecross View

Also decided to try some woodland sketches.  I've been meaning to do sketches in the woodland around Achnashellach for a while, so I finally got out there.  The trees which remain there are a bit mixed - some look very spindly - but there are some lovely old pines.  The bark was just beautiful and I decided to have a go at drawing this in pastel too.

Pine Bark Detail

The other details I was trying to capture were the moss, bleached grass and dead bracken - the forest floor.  Quite tricky to catch the essence of this, I found.  Actually, I realise that I don't draw details much, and I think I should be trying things like this more often.  I'm sure Jacqueline (Watt) told us that Matisse suggested that we needed to draw and understand the visible before we could really get into the realm of the invisible.
Anyway, again it was cold, so the other sketches I did were in pencil.  The first was a view east up Strathcarron with some spindly trees in the foreground.  A desire to sketch these trees was my main purpose in visiting this spot.

Looking Up the Strath

And then I did a view of some other pine trees, overlooking the loch.

Looking out of the Forest

Actually, I would have liked to use a larger sheet of paper for this sketch to include the loch and the ridge behind, and some sky.  But I only had my A4 sketchbook.  Looking at it now, maybe it has potential in terms of composition.  There was something about the interrelationship of the trees that appealed to me, and maybe I recognised some abstract values in this.  I'll need to think about this a bit more.

We're coming to the end of this visit now.  About to head back to Musselburgh and it will be a while before we can get up again, sadly.  Maybe I'll manage to grab a couple more sketches before we leave!
And then I have to prepare for Art'sComplex Open Studios on Sunday.....

Colourful Day

Back in the studio again today, despite being a holiday Monday.  Very quiet in Art'sComplex - only saw one other person.  I decided to bring out the oils today as I haven't used them for a while.  I thought maybe I was getting a bit bogged down with my corrugated iron sheds.  However, after painting myself in, I took a new square canvas and thought I would try a version of the shed by the sea in oils.

I was thinking about 'abstract values', and gave the composition a little more consideration than usual.  I drew out shapes on the basis of a diagonal composition, with the angle of the hill echoing the angle of the shed roof, and the angle of the beach, etc.  Before I knew it, the picture looked like this.

Rusty Shed, Applecross

I had just set to with my favourite palette of ultramarine, prussian blue, allizarin and cadmium yellow plus white, and realised that this had a sort of Fauvist, or even Colourist, look about it.  I had also been very loose with the brushstrokes - I was trying to do my stormy sea again - but I didn't really mean to paint it in a one-off approach: I had intended to layer it a little (but avoid over-working it).  Well, I thought this looked lovely and cheerful (where did that come from?) and I was really enjoying painting in this style.  So after a little careful tidying, I stopped.

Now I had the palette full of colour...where next?  I had loads of half finished pictures, and returned to these ones.

Far Away Trees

This was a little picture that I thought I had finished.  I added quite a lot of colour into the hills and to the foreground, and loosened up the brushstrokes.  I think it looks a lot better now. 

Then I had a go at another little picture.

Another Skye View

I realise that I have totally changed the mood of this picture, but I think the colour has added a lot more interest, particularly to the Skye hills.  It was a bit boring before.  But maybe it's not a great picture.

I also had a go at rescuing this next picture.  I was analysing its abstract values and trying to improve them.   I haven't finished it yet, and I have to say that I'm not quite sure where it's going.   But at least it's beginning to look more interesting...

Fuar Toll, Strathcarron

Anyway, after all my recent struggles, I felt very happy to immerse myself in the sumptuousness of the oil colour.  And I think taking more of an impasto approach suits my natural style a little better.  But I'll see how I feel about these efforts in a week's time....

Studio Saturday

Missed out on the studio yesterday, so I did a catch-up today.  I found this picture waiting for me (I had quite forgotten about it).

Arrina Study 1

 I did this on Monday, based on a sketch which I did in the little village of Arrina on Applecross.  Reviewing it today, I decided that the palette was a bit wild, the brushwork was not very interesting, and the track was a bit too straight.  But apart from that, I thought the composition was quite interesting, so worth trying again.  I went back to the thumbnail I did on Monday.

Arrina Thumbnail

Then I took a sheet of A2 paper and made a start.

Arrina Study 2 Emerging

At this point I had used ony charcoal and conte stick, along with some oil crayon and oilbar.  I thought I would add some ink (blue, red and brown).  I really wanted to get some flowing inky marks into the picture.  So soon it looked like this.

Arrina Study 2 Emerging

I was quite liking this, but wasn't altogether satisfied.  I couldn't quite decide what was dissatisfying me.  Looking at it now, it may be something to do with the juxtaposition of the cottages - perhaps the angles are not quite right.  Or maybe the colour is not working (or maybe both...sigh).  Anyway, I decided that the sky was looking altogether far too cheerful, and that I would darken it down.  So I used navy blue oil crayon and ink and it ended up looking like this.

Arrina Study 2

I think I like the mood of the picture better with the darker sky, but it is curious how darkening it down has changed the picture so much.  Maybe I'm feeling a little gloomy these days, so only a dark sky will satisfy me?
Anyway.  I had time to do a little Studio tidying.  Open Studios on Sunday 22nd April. I hope I get some visitors....