Sunday 26 August 2012

"BUTTERFLY" on display

My good friend Andrea has convinced me to have "Butterfly' on display (and for sale} in her retail business.

The shop is called "CHICK PEA" and sells luxury ladies accessories, namely bags, shoes, hats and designer jewellery, and is located at 220 Jackson Street in Petone, an area for boutique shopping near Wellington.







On display behind the counter, in the shop.


Monday 13 August 2012

Lots of Small Landscapes

I am currently working on small landscapes for the 'Big WaiArt Sale in September.

My aim is to create a number of small landscapes as diverse as possible while still remaining true to my inherent artistic style. In other words, keeping the Romantic Realist theme clear in a diverse range of imagery.

The first is simply called  "Cloud"  (24 inches x 24 inches)

 

Moon Over Palliser Bay  (24in x 24 in)


Dawn at Riversdale Beach Study  (30 in x 15 in)


To the North Diptych


To the West Diptych  (2 x (18 in x 14 in) )


Summer Cloud  (24 in x 24 in)



In a View Diptych  (2 x (24 in x 24 in) )

This last painting is personally special to me as it is the view including where I live.
(Indicated by the arrow)


Sunday 5 August 2012

Large Landscape Commission

I was reminded to include a commission I did recently called simply "Waitomo"





The painting is 60 inches square (approx 1500mm) and is framed in polished, welded, industrial aluminium.
It was painted to occupy the rebuilt foyer of Waitomo House, a major office and retail building in Hamilton.
The refurbishment and installation is due to be completed later this year. 

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Large Paintings

As mentioned, I have been engaged to paint many large paintings.

Some years ago a client came to me with an unusual request.
He wanted an Old Masters Collection, copied, as close to the originals as possible, because of course the originals were not available to buy.

I told him he could easily purchase copies from China, and cheaper than I could produce them.
I had only ever done small studies of selected Old Masters for my own edification and education, but when he challenged me as to whether I could do the job, I at once said 'of course'.
 In his words he wanted a 'real artist' to paint them.

So I began a most interesting time in my career. A Master Class in Practical Art Education. I was determined to recreate exactly, in scale and technique, the selection of paintings that he wanted.
The canvases were custom made to the precise sizes of the originals, and I studied in very close detail the brush techniques used.

There are some wonderful scholarly websites that have very close, detailed photographs of most of the paintings I was to copy.


In this photo there are nine paintings of the twelve I painted.

4  by Caravaggio (the client's favourite)
2 by Michelangelo
1 by Del La Tour
1 by Salviati
1 by an unknown Medieval Master, the work called 'Triumph of Death'. (Hanging on clamps at the back).
This was the only one I struggled to find adequate reference material for.
The few images I could find, showed that the painting was badly deteriorating, with small sections missing.
The client asked me to fill in what was missing and paint it like it had once been.
 
The largest was the one on the right 'St Matthew and an Angel' by Caravaggio which measured 2.6 metres high by 1.7 metres wide.

Directly in front is 'Adoration of the Magi' by Michelangelo measuring almost 2 metres square.