Thursday 7 July 2011

A further pause for thought

Some of you may remember an earlier post of mine that featured this statue of the Thinking Soldier from a slightly different angle. I did a fairly detailed pencil sketch on Bockingford 140lb watercolour paper but I didn't have a lot of time so I decided to take a reference photo and finish it later. When I got home I used my set of Caran D'Ache gouache cakes and a 1/4" flat synthetic brush to add colour, using the photo for reference.

Huntingdon Market Square, gouache on paper, 5" x 7"

17 comments:

  1. Beautiful colours, Michael. Love those shadows. I wish people would stop talking about gouache - I really do not need another medium!

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  2. Hi Anita and thank you for your lovely comments. I prefer real watercolour but gouache (sorry to mention it again) was right for this subject and it's far more forgiving - - I need all the help I can get sometimes :)

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  3. I do remember this scene. Love the colours! I'm not going to ask about watercolour again...

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  4. Thank you Judy. In my previous post I was sitting just off to the right of this view. The weather is very changeable here at the moment but it had stopped raining long enough to give some lovely colours and shadows. Not quite pure watercolour, but closer ;)

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  5. I like the bright light and strong, colourful shadows of this one and your treatment of the windows. This looks like a peaceful place to sit and think. Are you planning a larger painting?

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  6. Good morning Lisa and thank you. I try to avoid windows so I'm glad I did ok with that. Yes, I must do a larger painting soon and perhaps this is a good one to do :o)

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  7. Buongiorno Maria and thank you very much for your comments and compliments!

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  8. I remember the first statue.. I like this one, he isn't detailed - but boy does he have great feeling! Bravo, Michael. xx

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  9. Thank you very much, Pat. Yes, this one was just an impression of the place so I didn't put in any detail for the statue. Both yourself and Lisa have got me thinking now that I should do a bigger painting of this scene. I will need to go back and do a more detailed study of the memorial which will undoubtedly mean consuming more coffee and cheesecake ;)

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  10. Michael, you are one amazing artist. I love this, what a difficult angel and you have done it wonderfully. Your work reminds me of David Curtis difficult compositions. I am a big fan of his. Well done Michael.

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  11. Your sketches are always so inspiring and beautiful. I would love to sit alone with your sketchbook and browse over it with a cup of tea!

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  12. Joan - wow and thank you! If I could paint half as well as David Curtis, (I'm also a fan) I'd be a very happy man. My absolute favourite artist is Trevor Chamberlain :)

    Sandra - wow too and thank you! You'd need to look through quite a few sketchbooks (and need a few cuppas too) - I do tend to jump between them a lot and for every good one there's a few that are not so good. I'll put the kettle on :)

    Thank you both for such lovely encouraging comments - you've really made my weekend and would not have got even this far without your encouragement :O)

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  13. Doing buildings by themselves is quite a challenge and you have done so much more here. Nice use of color, and I also like your window panes simply because each one is slightly different. We get lectures in art class at least once a month to never do each window exactly the same, otherwise it becomes repetitive and boring. This painting certainly is not that.
    Jean

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  14. Thank you very much, Jean. It's funny because I kept thinking 'smaller brush, smaller brush' for the windows but I resisted the temptation to fiddle and just used the side of the brush to put in the panes - a sort of loose, Ron Ranson type technique, only on a smaller scale :)

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  15. Hello, Michael, I am astonished that I have not discovered you before now, as I lived in Bury for six years before moving to Norfolk. I was slapped with memories by this lovely painting.
    I am, also,an avid fan of Trevor Chamberlain. Unfortunately, having known him for years and watched him paint, his magic has not rubbed off on me!
    Keep zapping me with those memories!

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  16. Hello Sharon and thank you. I'm pleased that it rekindled some memories of the place. Thank you for following too: my blog has now come of age with 21 folllowers!
    I've only been blogging recently but I've been an observer for a year or so and have come across your work before so it was lovely to find you again and I will be following you too this time! Your oils and watercolours are absolutely superb.
    Bury is very pretty, still in the fine county of Huntingdonshire, but Norfolk, you lucky thing, I love it. Undecided where to go next move, Dorset or North Norfolk, decisions, decisions. But we need to find work there first :)

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