Work up in the B-bar

My B-bar project is completed. The works are now hanging on the walls of the B-bar.

B bar works

These paintings do not look much like the people who posed but still make nice images.

Small dance paintings

Here are a couple of dance related paintings.

Very slow work

Ok it may appear as if I have not been up to much but the rest of life and other works have taken priority. Here's what I do have to show for the last few weeks on my B-bar project. The first is a hopefully completed painting the other two are pastel drawings.

B-bar Painting work in progress

A painting I am working up from one of the photos from last Saturday. Tha painting is approximately two foot by four feet in size, acrylic on board. Still has some way to go.

Progress?

Its been a busy week. Two days with models booked and two life classes. Hence not much progress on the dance projects front. Tried working on dark coloured paper in pastels. In the flesh these are not bad but photograph badly. Still here are the photos.

The first two are from the Bbar project. The last is from posed dancers at the Latin Lounge. The next planned steps are to try being more assertive at Bbar and see if I can get some better images. I make my own pastels, so I will be making up reds, purples and oranges. On the Latin Lounge front I will do some paintings from the images I have. Jubilee, models and dancing permitting.

Dance projects "the beginning"

Since my last posting I sold my painting in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition. I have started two new projects. Early days in both cases.

First Bbar related work. This is an attempt to capture images at The Bbar during their Saturday salsa night. First time I took paints and camera. The dim light proved a problem in both cases. I will try to sort out camera settings to see if I can improve the image references for my paintings and try pastel drawings from the photos. Here are baby step paintings.

I think the second and last image have potential.

Second project. Salsa dance. Working with dancers that I know I am trying to capture images of dance.

These first paintings are experiments rather than proper paintings. They were done as a test before going onto a more formal costume pose. I need to be more dramatic with my lighting. Will keep posting.

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters

The painting in my posting titled, "Getting ahead of myself", has been accepted for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition in The Mall Gallery London. The exhibition runs from the 3rd to the 18th of May.

Light work

I have spent today trying out one of my Christmas/Birthday presents. I am now the proud owner of two flexible clip-on daylight lamps and a portable stand. Painting still lives in the winter can be frustrating because there are so few daylight hours and painting under normal artificial light distorts colours badly. Now I can set up a light on my subject and one on my painting. I can take a bit more time.