Wisconsin Lake Sunset: artwork with comments.

These comments were sent to me by my friend the Rev Rick Anderson on November 16, 2010 after I sent him a print of the painting.  His comments on my artwork mean a lot to me!

Notes on Wisconsin Lake Sunset, by Rev Rick Anderson, 16 Nov 2010.

Re:  Your painting of the sun reflected over the water.  I think what caught my eye first off and then later, when I studied the painting is the way that the sun’s rays seem to “skip” across the tip of the ripples in the water – and then approach “the observer” as if to invite “the observer”  (me – in this case), to actually enter the “experience” of the contrasting blues and other colours of the scene as a whole.

 (Sorry about such a long sentence, but I wanted to write exactly the impression I get from the details of the painting as they invite me into the overall or total picture – very effective).

Also, despite the predominance of light blue there is evidence of the “intrusion” of darkness in the trees and the darker areas of the blue in the sky and on the horizon that tells me that the sun’s beauty is to be truly appreciated in the few minutes before the compete scene is permanently changed by the immanent movement of the sun.  You have permanently captured the brief moment in time that is soon to be completely change by the passage of time.

Parfreys Glen Wisconsin USA, artwork of light on shallow water.

 This painting was probably my first attempt at painting a shallow creek / river. I was happy with some of the light and reflections in the water. 

My stepson Shane waded across this stream on a visit to one of the many great State Parks in Wisconsin, USA. I think that from what Shane has told me that this shallow stream is only about 6 inches /15cm deep.

Green Twister No 2 - Abstract artwork



I have liked the way my Green Twister abstract was received, and that I had some favourable comments by people who liked it.  I have modelled a second larger painting based somewhat on my original Green Twister abstract.

I showed this picture to my stepson Shane and he said that he had a feeling that the painting showed post atomic desolation of a city!

I am sure that many people will find something different in this abstract.

Self Portrait: Artwork commenced at the Portraiture Workshop

I have been working on this painting from November 7, 2010.  I am really sick of looking at myself, but as no one else in the family wanted to volunteer I had to paint a self portrait.

The Portraiture Workshop was really great, and I learnt some good tips, that will be of use in the future.  I have written in detail in one of my earlier blogs about the workshop so will not go into further details here.

Left Hand of Darkness: artwork in black and white

This artwork is my first attempt at using white paint on a dark background. 

Wisconsin Flora

This painting is my impressionistic view of some flora that grows in Wisconsin, USA.  I have just completed this artwork yesterday. 

Portraiture Workshop

I attended a portraiture workshop yesterday, organised by the Ipswich Arts Society.  The teacher / tutor was Cynthia Hargraves.  I was very impressed with all our practice portraiture drawing exercises. 

We had to draw a quick portrait sketch in three minutes of an image that was projected on a screen.  We completed ten sketches in thirty minutes.  I was happy with my ‘early’ sketches, but towards the end of the thirty minutes, my sketched were not so good.  Cynthia gave us heaps of good tips about portrait painting, and even gave us tips on matching skin tones via the computer.

Cynthia Hargraves is a professional portrait painter, and if any reader would like more information on Cynthia, you can visit her website at www.cynthiahargraves.com.

In the afternoon we painted a portrait using your own medium of choice.  I used acrylic paint, as I have been working only in acrylics for the last six months.  I painted a self portrait. I wanted to paint a portrait of my wife but she declined, so I had her take a digital picture of me on the night before the workshop. I processed it on the computer, and then laminated it, so I could peg the photo on the top of my easel. 

I started using a brand new / different brand of acrylics for this workshop.  This was a mistake as the new brand of acrylics had an entirely different feel.  This expensive brand was thicker and ‘sticky’, compared to the acrylic paints that I have been using.  I did get my self portrait about half completed.  Everyone had a digital camera, so everyone took photos of each other’s work, including my half competed work.

This is a photo of Cynthia giving us some tips on setting up digital cameras for photographing portraiture paintings, to check for skin tones. 

Guyra Gum Tree: Artwork in Black and Yellow

I visited Guyra a couple of times in the last few weeks to see my brother Bruce. After visiting I took my father around the local township to see the sights.  In Guyra, Australia there is a lookout where you are supposed to view the Mother of Ducks Lagoon.  The viewing platform was a little rundown, with a plank missing in the middle of the floor.  The view is not that great either, as the viewing platform should be some 10 feet higher.

I looked around and at the back of the viewing platform was this twisted gum tree.  I took some photos and proceeded to paint several paintings based on these photographs.