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Category Archives: Folklore
The Emperor Begins
Following shooting photos of Amy for the figure sitting on the ground I sketched the drawing onto the canvas using a simple one foot grid as a guide. I like this composition very much for a couple of curious reasons: … Continue reading
Posted in Emperor, Folklore, Green men, Making work, Sources, Tarot-related paintings
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Emperor
At last I can get started on the Emperor – the canvas has been ready to go for a few days, but there has been too much excitement around the New Romantic Figure exhibit. This morning a photographer from the … Continue reading
Posted in Emperor, Folklore, Green men, Making work, Paintings, Tarot-related paintings
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Frame up
What a treat it was to see the paintings in these frames for the first time! Although they were still only painted with primer this morning I could see that they will lift the paintings into an altogether different plane. … Continue reading
Posted in Arthurian, Green men, Making work, Paintings, Queen of Cups, Tarot-related paintings, The Star
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Grail Fresco
      I’ve used Bembo’s illustrations for the Tales of Lancelot to produce a fresco along the wall behind the Queen, referring to the work of Botticelli, his great contemporary, for the feel of the faded paint of fresco paintings. (I love the Botticelli frescos … Continue reading
Bonifacio Bembo
I’ve been mulling over how to approach the mural that I wanted to put onto the wall on the upper right side of the painting, but after a lot of thought I’ve decided that the composition works best if the … Continue reading
The View in the Black Mirror
I’d heard from Mike Adams that old masters used a black mirror to check out the value balance of their work, but although I’ve painted with a mirror behind me for years to help check on composition and cut down … Continue reading
Posted in Green men, Making work
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Green Man
The Green Man is finished following a morning of detailing ivy and adding Pre-Raphaelite Rosetti’s purple to the shadows and hair. I added some highlights to the veins of the ivy leaves, then lightened up the shadows of the ivy on the shirt with … Continue reading
Posted in Green men, Making work, Pre-raphaelite
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Man Goes Green
The green man finally got some of his proper colour, making him look quite different. A layer of Olive green over the background has made it drop back considerably with a vaguely leafy feel, while the ivy emerging from his … Continue reading
Posted in Green men, Making work, Pre-raphaelite
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Ivy
Although ivy is the bane of my gardening life, for this little study for the allegory of the green man it’s the perfect plant. It’s impossible to destroy, totally invasive and undeniably full of indestructible life. It’s energy and tenacity is … Continue reading
Posted in Green men, Making work, Other people's work, The Star
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Chin Skin and Weird Beard
I’ve continued with the flesh in the same way that I was working yesterday, building glazes and finding subtle transitions of colour and value. I’ve re-established the hair using Van Dyke Brown, a warm brown pigment made from a black … Continue reading
Posted in Green men, Making work, Pre-raphaelite
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