Here’s my contribution for CFSL’s Japan fundraiser.

Here’s a quick painting trying to push through my old familiar ways of working, tackling a challenging subject matter for myself with an unusual process.

I did this 3 hour portrait of my girlfriend recently after moving into a new studio. Its a small space, so I had her reading in a chair right in front of me, with the canvas taped to the wall next to her (normally i would paint smaller on a pochade or french box). It gave it a really interesting perspective being right up next to the model and looking down at an angle. A proximity you wouldn’t normally get with a formally hired model. Its bigger and looser than i usually paint - about 4ft tall or so. I’ve re-enrolled at Sydney’s one and only atelier type school for 3 days a week. Really excited to go back to a structured environment after so many years freelancing on my own! Hope to be doing a lot more of these sorts of paintings in my own time over the term.

Hope you like :)

Just made a big overdue sketch update on my blog (around 100 scans). Here are some i thought you guys would enjoy. The rest can be seen here

I never put this up until now, but I had to re-shoot it for an article in International Artist so here it is.

I never got the chance to finish it as I would have liked (and I’m terrible at working on things after a break), so the central division doesnt make a lot of sense (it was going to have flagpoles or columns but i never worked it out). But it was a milestone for me in terms of paint handling and texture in oils. Masterclass was in June and our studio will all be attending this year - some for the 2nd time and others for the first. I think there are still spots, if anyone’s tossing up its well worth it.

The topic was (loosely) Joan of Arc

Really gotta stop posting life paintings for DS :)

Here’s the quick studies from today’s Cartel session.

Figure is 40min, portrait is 1hr.

I’ve been absolutely blasted with work since day 1 getting back from overseas, so these are some of the quick abstracts done late at night after work/before riding home to maintain sanity :)

These are tonights..

#1: Listening to Saul Williams “Explain My Heart” and Nujabes “Luv Sic (P3)”

#2: Listening to Triosk “Visions IV” and 65 Days of Static “The Fall of Math” and Chemical Brothers “Escape Velocity”

And one from a few days back, I have absolutely no idea what songs it went with :)

Hey sapiens. Here’s an oil self portrait in the moleskine, and a lil’ bit of angsty poetry thrown in there for you too :D It came out of listening to Saul Williams while bogged down with a bad job - a dangerous combo. There’s a reference or two to his stuff in there too (metaphor, what else are we living for). Its pretty much me making a verbal statement to myself about the importance of dedicating the lion’s share of my time to real art, even if it means taking a hit in career or comfort. Its kind of funny, its no shakespearian sonnet and I wrote it train of thought without stopping to analyse it - but when i re-read it it starts to take on more layered meanings that i hadn’t originally thought about, that are dead on observations of ‘where I’m at’. When that happens I usually take it as a ’sign’ that my thinking and actions and intentions are beginning to realign, for the better…

Peace

*click for bigger*

Recent practise pieces, STILLLL getting the hang of the medium, it seems every time i paint the brushes feel different, the paint changes consistency, the canvas has different absorbancy - which is both a pleasure and a pain! Hope you like em anyway. Excuse the token crown :/ These are all single sessions.

Today’s study from the studio life painting sesh. Every time i finish a study like this I spend an hour on the different atelier websites, marking admission rates up against my budget, looking at student work and generally crying into a pillow :D

5×20min (one entire 20 minute block was spent >:( trying to mix the right colours!)

My photography skills are about as good as my colour mixing skills at this stage… sorry!

Cartel Session