peterorrock

Getting ahead of myself

2011-11-30T05:53:00.000-08:00

This time of year is when I start thinking I ought to be getting a portrait underway. So that I have something to submit to the big open portrait exhibitions looming in March next year. Of course, Christmas then takes over as a priority, followed my my sons birthday, my birthday, then skiing..... and before you know it....March deadlines are apon me and I have to paint in a panic. Not this year! Here is one I prepared earlier.

A small portrait

2011-08-22T05:27:00.001-07:00

A small portrait.

A nice change

2011-03-24T00:22:00.000-07:00

We had a young male model posing for our class on Monday. Most models tend to be female, if not they are usually middle aged males.

Quick portrait

2011-03-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick painting that worked from start to finish. Acrylic on board.

Final Chance

2011-03-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, the picture is at the framers. When I get it back it will be my last chance to make any final corrections.

Final lap?

2011-03-04T06:34:00.000-08:00

Finally managed to get back to the painting after a long break. Starting to run out of ideas as to what more needs to be done.

Keep your hair on

2011-01-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

Work on the face.
Knock back the background.
More work on the face and dress. Her right eye is knocked back because it is about to be repainted on a different position.
Face, hair, hands and dress worked on.

A heads up

2011-01-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Started working in some general shapes on the head but have refined some features more than I should at this stage.

Next installment

2011-01-13T13:05:00.000-08:00

Only small changes.

Start of the Sarah Portrait

2011-01-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Open Portrait Exhibitions are looming on the horizon. It is time to start a new portrait. Sarah kindly agreed to sit for this portrait some time ago. So I have reference photos, a colour study and now a canvas built to size. The first photo shows just how rough the initial mapping in is.
The figure is refined a little still trying not to commit myself too much at this point.
A blocking in of dark areas.

The last images show lots of work on the background. Two days work to get to this point.

Dean Proir Life Drawing Group

2010-08-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

We are having our first exhibition as a group this week at: Birdwood House, Totnes, Devon.
Sunday August 29 - Saturday September 4 2010 10a.m. - 4 p.m.

Difficult to photograph the work once it is glazed!

Working on still life

2010-07-18T13:53:00.001-07:00

Concentrating on still life at the moment. Also keeping back the better life drawings and paintings in preparation for a joint group exhibition in Totnes at the end of August.

Dribbs and drabbs

2010-03-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Work on the portrait has proceeded but in small chunks of time. I would estimate this has added up to an additional day and a halfs' work.

Day 7

2010-02-03T13:24:00.001-08:00

Rebuilding underway.

Day 6

2010-02-03T00:50:00.000-08:00

Having put the portrait away for a while, looking at it with fresh eyes, it is time to be a bit radical.
Looks drastic but it will get better.

Day 5

2010-01-20T07:45:00.000-08:00

Slow progress.

Day 4

2010-01-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, there was a day in between but I had a model in that day, so there was no chance to work on the painting. The first photo is of the painting as is was left last time when I could not photograph it for lack of light, the second shows the progress achieved today. Spot the difference.

Day 3

2010-01-17T09:46:00.001-08:00

As things get more detailed the changes become less obvious. I have managed to do more but lost the light to photograph by.

day 2 on the portrait

2010-01-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

Adding more colour and moving things around before committing myself more to the details. Going through a looking scary stage but that will pass.

A new year a new portrait

2010-01-15T11:22:00.001-08:00

Not exactly a "new" portrait as I have had the colour study, photos and canvas, ready to go, for a while now. I finally had time to get started. As usual I start with a deliberately rough charcoal sketch made using a bamboo stick to give me a loose guide.

Started adding a little colour.
Mapping in a few rough details.

Back to charcoal so I could rough in some features and move things around using charcoal and putty rubber.
A final layer of paint and it's time to call it a day.

Small still life

2009-10-12T14:08:00.001-07:00

A small still life 4 x 6 acrylic on board.

Eggplant

2009-10-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

6 x 9 inches acrylic on board. The actual painting has a more red/orange colour cast to it, the camera has compensated.

The advantage of being a painter

2009-09-22T00:37:00.000-07:00

It's the only example I can think of where you can have your cake and eat it!

A few new works

2009-06-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Still experimenting with lighting arrangements this week.

Something new

2009-06-17T14:06:00.000-07:00

Inspired by still lives seen on other blogs and having seen a railway sleeper in our local gallery. I trotted off to our nearest reclamation centre and bought half a railway sleeper and some large slates. I wanted dramatic lighting, the set up took some doing. I am still trying to work out how to get damatic lighting at the same time as decent light to paint by. Here is an early still life from the set up. I am happy with this for a first attempt but hope to improve.

pastel pic

2009-06-12T04:08:00.000-07:00

A pastel drawing on primed paper 22 x 18 inches.

As Requested

2009-05-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

As requested I am uploading not only new drawings from this week, but some works that are propped against the wall waiting for me to decide what to do with them. Above is a work in acrylic on board one foot high by two wide.
Above oil on canvas 17 X 30 inches.
A small work in loose bright colours acrylic on board. The model was in dressing up mode adopting Sin city characteristics. Great colours reflections, wig and fun to paint. Acrylic on board 10 x 8 inches.
A sketch from uni. acrylic on board 13.5 x 12.
Acrylic on board 8.5 x 13 model on metallic fabrics.
12 x 17 Acrylic on board.
Above and below new works. Pastel on primed paper 18 X 22 inches.
Pastel on primed paper 22 x 18 inches ( paper size, image has been cropped).

Good news

2009-05-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks has been a bit of a mixture. Life drawing at the university has finished for this academic year. I hope to get more painting done with the extra day. However I have a few disrupted weeks coming up. Relatives staying and long trip up to Cambridge.
I sold one of my older paintings for over a thousand pounds!

Same old same old

2009-05-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing stands out this week. Maybe that is just my mood.

Painting at Uni

2009-05-02T11:52:00.001-07:00

Spent Friday at a life class at the local uni. Managed lots of painting. I think these are the pick of the bunch. The two below have now been posted on ebay, the one above has been put aside for galleries or exhibitions.

No luck

2009-04-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

No luck getting the paintings that started this blog into the open exhibitions they were submitted for. Ho humm. Back to painting still lives and figures for ebay. To get enough money together to go for another exhibition. Examples of work I have posted or will post shortly on ebay.

For Annie

2009-03-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

As discussed here is a painting sitting on my wall at the moment. Sorry about the camera distortion. Size 18.5 x 24 inches, acrylic on board framed in black.

Time is up

2009-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

I take the paintings up to London tomorrow. I am submitting them to two separate large open portrait exhibitions. Had a useful session last friday discussing the paintings with Kasia Andrews and Kevin, see Kevin's blog:
http://disabledkevinthinks.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-portraits-by-kasia-and-peter-are.html
Looking at the painting under different light was an initial shock but on reflection I have not made many changes. A minor adjustment to Kevins brow. Most of my time has been taken up making frames for the paintings

Also got feedback on this painting Friday and have made some minor adjustments taking into account comments from people who know the model.

progress what progress?

2009-03-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

There is progress honest. The upper half of the background on the female portrait has changed. Kevins wheelchair didn't have handles or red tape.

Tough times

2009-03-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

Things are beginning to get a little more difficult. Having spent so long on these images you start to doubt yourself. One reason is that having studied these faces so long they lose their identity. Like repeating a word over and over twenty times, it becomes a sound and the meaning goes. I was reassured yesterday, showing the female painting to someone, they recognised the person even though I didn't know they knew each other (a good litmus test). The problem on the Kevin painting is the way the paving changes direction in the photo. When it is painted in, it looks as if the painter has got their perspective wrong. I am still making very slow but steady progress. I think?

Spot the difference

2009-03-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

Not much appears to have changed, but, there are changes.

Work over the last few days

2009-03-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

The changes from one photo to another, are becoming more difficult to discern, as work is more on the details now.

Chair

2009-02-28T10:21:00.000-08:00

Getting the basics of the chair in.
Fleshing out the chair a little more.
Putting in the basic structure of the head

The other painting

2009-02-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

This is the other painting I am working on at the same time as Kevins. Having two paintings on the go at the same time seems to be working, I can work on one whilst the other is drying or take a break from one when progress slows.

Back to work

2009-02-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Had a great holiday skiing over half term. Now it is time to get back to the painting.
Added some more texture to the trees.
Time to begin on the wheelchair.

I have to start somewhere

2009-02-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at blogging, so please forgive all the inevitable mistakes. Things will be rectified in time.
My first project to post here is the beginnings of a painting in progress. This will be a portrait of kevin. I have painted a colour study outside in a biting wind and taken photos. I have now made a canvas up to size and am about to start drawing. I use a cane with charcoal on the end to that I can get the basics of the drawing in from a distance.
Having put in the basics with charcoal I begin to start blocking in the main shapes.
Adding a little more detail to the background.
Eventually people are beginning to take shape.