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This painting was an exercise  in painting an old master  work and was painted for a project which had a change in direction so now it lives on a wall in my home . The frame was a gift from a friend  the original painting is square so I had to add a section at the top to suit the repaired frame.  I found it quite difficult to reproduce an exact replica so decided  to  do my own version hence the colour changes below is the listing that you can find on the web

This youthful masterpiece by Luini was acquired for the Pinacoteca from the Giuseppe Bianchi collection in 1826. Neither its provenance nor its earlier collecting history are known, although it is widely thought to have come from the Certosa di Pavia where Luini was working in or around the first decade of the 16th century. The panel reveals the intensity of the links that this artist from Varese maintained with the Lombard Late Gothic tradition which is responsible, for example, for his meticulous depiction of plants and flowers in the background. At the same time, however, we see Luini subscribing to the style of Leonardo da Vinci, not only in the Virgin’s facial features but also in the pose of the Christ Child, whom several scholars have likened to Leonardo’s study of a Madonna and Child with a Cat.
Jesus is clutching a columbine whose colour alludes both to the blood of Christ and to the grief of his mother.

 

 

 

 

Hi.    my last post on this site was April 2018 I am not that computer savvy so found writing and editing difficult but I did not unsubscribe ,lazyness I suppose. Life was busy I had a new camper to explore the world and my art became secondary to wonder lust. I did maintain my friendships with artist friends but  did not produce much art . I still took part in an exhibition with my friend Bryan as we had been exhibiting together for a few years, so I half heartedly took part after a ten week trip in Ireland . I managed to put together some work but Bryan had worked his socks off and his work has come on leaps and bounds , mine has stagnated. I like to encourage  other artists especially younger ones and use the term from the Nike Ad .”Just Do It”   I did not follow my own advice I am writing this blog due to two things – cancer and covid19 . I was diagnosed  with prostrate cancer at the same time as the covid virus  was starting its journey around the world. I was  lucky  and it was spotted in a routine check up at my doctors surgery. The NHS is fantastic  at sorting you out if you are in need. I had an operation to remove my prostrate on March 27th when lockdown had started.  The hospital was deserted except for our courageous doctors, nurses and ancillary staff . Today 3rd April I was again at the hospital to have a catheter removed and various checks after the operation. I am a chatty sort of guy so ended up chatting to all and sundry . While there I did a digital sketch on my tablet of one of the chaps being seen at the same time . We all had to stay 2 mt apart and our  chauffeur’s were not able to be with us.

I had forgotten how much I loved to sketch. My normal practice for sketching people  is to give the drawing to the person. In this case I could not but I showed him and he was quite pleased. The drawing is about the isolation and our situation as he had a scarf and gloves on all the time  So stay safe where ever you have to go.

 

 

Every one you talk to tells you you must have a web site these days if you want to be seen in the art World. For me they seem to get more complicated as they are always updating which changes how things work. So those of you who are friends on facebook etc will be inundated with posts as I try to work out how to build a site on WordPress. I am not that computer savvy so there are lots of frustrations. All I really want is for the paintings I do to see the light of day. Exhibiting can be expensive and you may not have your work selected. The common trend is to pay a fee in the hope of getting your work into a gallery. Yes, the selectors see your work digitally and if you get preselected you are asked to bring the work in to be viewed but if you are unsuccessful it’s a lot of effort for no real reward and you pay for the experience. There are local galleries that will show your works in small open shows and this can be useful or you can put an exhibition on in groups to keep the cost reasonable.

So, why a website? I think it’s the discpline of collating your work in one place so you can see your progress and when people ask to see the work you’ve done they expect to be able to go to a website. Most people use their website for commercial reasons whereas my main focus is to have my work seen and hopefully, appreciated. I’m interested in the process of my art in a considered way. I hope to get feedback, whether positive or negative, because my aim is to keep improving my skills to a point where I’m confident enough to explore more simplified form. So, at present I’m a realist in approach , but I’m now starting to see the advantage of pure line and the benefits of carrying out a series of works in a sequence. The subject can change but the method stays the same . I am currently working towards an exhibition in May and I have discoverd that restricting myself to a set number of works and a process/ method has revealed what I am looking at can be achieved in various ways which may not need to be so realistic. For the moment however I will stick to the task in hand , I have five more peices to start and complete before the 21st May its also the reason for the web site to be up and running properly by then.

With all this social isolation I am sitting at home and looking at past adventures. This portrait is from a series of portraits created at Beach Creative CIC in Herne Bay.  I set up some workshops with the aim of encouraging   people to try portrait  painting . It took some time to convince George to sit as he is the one normally taking  the pictures . My initial intention was to do a single portrait but it was  so obvious George  wasn’t  happy sitting for us, at the first  chance he would turn the tables on us. I changed the format on this portrait to capture the two sides of George.

I hope you don’t mind George  I am looking at things from a different perspective  at the moment and trying to reignite my enthusiasm for painting as I like many have time on my hands  and now excuses for not returning to painting are non existant.  I also have a possible project arranged with Mandy T at Beach Creative to try some portait drawing Workshops when things get back to normal  watch this space.

 

Well today I am looking into returning to a method I used some time ago. I like to create tonal drawings of people, usually grandchildren or friends, this it is an exercise in proportion and form. I  initially use the drawing to  understand the structure and shapes contained the face and body. Its is interesting to allow the shapes and proportions to start to create a likeness. I will often use a grid to ensure proportions are correct I find by doing this in the studio where I have time to consider what and how to make marks informs  my sketching style when I am out and about with a sketch book and I always have a sketch book in my pocket.

One considered drawing and three sketches of different time duration.