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)

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. 

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.

Large Landscapes

 I have recently been asked  how big can I make a painting.

In the last ten years or so I have been engaged to complete two large Triptych Landscapes.

The first was "Earth Abides".

A commission for the Copthorne Resort Hotel in Masterton. Shown here in its place in 'The Grill' Restaurant.

The second led from that one.
Some years later I was asked to do another large landscape - 'similar to "Earth Abides", but better'.

And so I painted "North Hills Triptych".

Both of these large paintings are the same size.  Four feet high and nearly twelve feet across.
(1200mm x  3500mm)

I have also been engaged to paint other large works, but more on that in another post.

New Zealand Art Show 2012

Next weekend, August 3rd 4th and 5th the NZ Art show is on at The TSB Bank Arena. Queens Wharf, Wellington.

This is now the biggest Art show in New Zealand with 3000 art works on display from over 400 artists, selected from over 1200 artist submissions.

I am fortunate to have five paintings in the show, all that I submitted.

Two large landscapes (or 'skyscapes')

"Crimson Cloud"(48in x 48in"

"Big Sky South" (48in x 48in)

Both of these paintings were set from the same location, namely Lake Wairarapa at Lake Reserve looking toward the Aorangi Mountains.

A spot where the mountains and the lake reflections perfectly set of the soaring sky.

The next painting is "Moon With Balloon".

A smaller painting looking toward the Tararua Ranges at early evening.
 I am a little disappointmented by the photo of this painting , not showing the subtle apricot, primrose and duck egg green colours of the twilight sky.

The fourth  painting is "Perfect Summer- Two Deckchairs"

The last from the series  'Perfect Summer'.

Finally one of my 'Island' paintings, "Island II"

MAJOR NEW PAINTING

I have completed a large new painting called "Life Dance".

It measures 40inches by 50inches.

I am disappointed by the limitations a photograph has in showing the true nature of my work, and none more so than this one.
Using crimson and ultramarine blue, with orange and raw sienna, I have made a real effort to paint a sky with warm beauty and depth.

And in the swirling fabric of the figure I have used all the red pigments available.

Every so often I find I need to 'let my imagination run' and create something beyond the mundane.
Some of those close to me have said that this painting is the most exciting and interesting I have painted since "Ascendency".
(Now proudly owned by a discerning collector in Boston, USA )

All I know is I continue to explore the theme of individual consciousness in as many diverse and beautiful visualizations as possible.

While these two paintings parallel the subject of  a beautiful woman in a visual field of space and light, they are not dissimilar to "EarthMover".
Again a single figure in a visual field of space and light.

  
Three paintings where I have 'let my imagination run'.

More entries coming soon