The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 7

Number 7-Day Dreaming




I won't write too much about this piece here because the whole story about how I created it from start to finish can be seen on this link HERE.


DAY DREAMING, 13” x 10” Mixed Media(watercolour, coloured pencil, wax crayons, chalk pastel, 2008)

The work was chosen as part of the Patching's Art Competition organised by The Artist's Magazine in 2008 and a nice guy bought it! It meant a lot to me as it was one of the first times I sold a painting at the Patching's Art Competition and one of the first after I decided to take my career full time.

It's of my son Josh when he was much younger and I still love the piece so badly, so how I wish I hadn't sold the original but then-The Survival factor comes into play!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Painters should focus on creating the best work they can. That is what they can control... Once the work is out there, its value is determined by people willing to spend money that they too worked hard for." -Brigitte Nowak

BIG ISSUE SERIES XVIII

This is a continuation of my series of Big Issue Sellers in London and Bath. This particular seller had one of the faces that is a dream to draw for portrait lovers. You could take one look at him and he'd take your artistic breath away! The guys that sell these Big Issue Magazines are homeless but this gives them something to gain extra cash.

This was done on a museum mount board prepared with gesso. I drew with pastels and coloured pencils.



Big Issue Seller XVIII, 8" x 10", Mixed media, 2011

My main goal was capture that mixed look of hope and uncertainty in his eyes.

Special Quote
"I had a teacher years ago(George Bridgeman)who made us draw hundreds of skulls in all positions. I felt he was overdoing it at the time but now I realize what a wonderful lesson he taught us. Whenever I draw a head, I instinctively feel the skull structure beneath."- Norman Rockwell on the Importance of Head Structure.

FLAMENCO SERIES 2 & 3, Mixed Media on Paper, 2010

My series of flamenco dancers continues. My goal is to experiment with movement, texture, mood, energy, vitality and emotion-all of which would be the highlights in this series of drawings and paintings.



FLAMENCO SERIES 2

The inspiration for this series has come from Brian's St Louis Drawing Blog. He had an interesting post on a Flamenco dancer, Beth Steinbrenner to not only model for them but also dance while modelling. Now that's a great opportunity! I asked Brian if I could produce a series of drawings and paintings from this video clip and he agreed.



FLAMENCO SERIES 3

This is a mixed media piece that I used acrylic, gouache, coloured pencils,wax crayons, charcoal dust, graphite dust, chalk pastel, oil base pencil and water on paper.

MACKY, 9" x 12", Mixed Media on Paper, 2010

Check out how this this mixed media piece of a homeless guy I met on the streets was transformed from a sketch by clicking HERE