Mick reading his Book - oil on panel - 12"x9"
It is and has been my observation that there are So many people are caught up in academia and and academic rendering of things. A brief chat with a very seasoned gallery owner this morning proved and reinforced that idea I have. The curator said that he sees over and over this kind of European style of academic schooling and art production. All focused on technique - the same techniques. I want and will my work to come from the inside out. When I painted Mick here I painted with gusto - in the moment, full of excitement energy and emotion. Rather then an academic rendering of the figure before me I want to assert my own interpretation of the event and have some Fun.
Ok, there are many things to learn about proportion, values, subtle tonal changes etc that working from a model enables and allows but I feel that will all come in its own good time and to some extent is already evident in my progression. I See more and the more I See the more I have to edit in my rendering.
All these poses you see here on this blog are made directly wet in to wet in oil and take no longer then two to three hours to compose. Working this way and on this rather small scale enables me to complete the sketch/study in the one sitting and is always a great surprise the following week when I return to collect the dry painting and start a new one.
Its all about expression! I've been attending these painting sessions at the RHA for some time now. I feel so privileged to be allowed to participate and work here with live models.This pose was set by me. I knew Mick, our model last week, enjoys reading his book. He is in fact a poet! So I suggested that a pose with his book might be nice.
Hope you like it. - Richard
