Ruthie!

This is an oil painting of Ruth, my girlfriend and soon to be mother of our daughter.

Progress on Waters painting...

Still a long way to go with this, just doing a bit at a time in between working on the website and going to antenatal classes leading up to the imminent arrival of our first child! Classes are all done, so not long to go now :-0

Obama - for Weekly Standard

Started this piece for the Weekly Standard on thursday morning, finished Friday night. I used the extra time I had on this to really explore the options, with tighter deadlines there isn't always that luxury. In a way having more time is a good thing, but it can also mean you end up seeing too many options! I went through several ideas, including drawing the desk from a high angle to fit the whole desk in, drawing Obama face-on, drawing him looking depressed...I must have spent half a day sketching and trawling through reference photos, until I came upon one that I liked. I also found that everything started to fit together when I began simplifying, only focusing on the main elements of the piece: Obama, the oval office, and the sign on the desk.

Roger Waters Painting- Early Shot

This was taken just after I started. It's come a long way since, still a long way to go. :)

Jason Seiler

This is the current book by my friend Jason Seiler. This latest book contains all of his published and unpublished work completed between 2008-2009, and will make a great addition to your collection. Please check it out by going to http://jasonseilerdepot.blogspot.com/

I've got lots of plans for 2010, these include exhibitions, a new website, lots of traditional painting and more! I look forward to surprising you with them soon. Hope you all enjoyed the New Year celebrations too.

Happy New Painting Year Everyone!!!

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has read this blog in 2009, and hope to see you back here in 2010! I'd like to make my last post of 2009 a sketch of a young John Lee Hooker, and also to say that although digital painting is great, nothing can replace original artwork and the feeling of making original work, whether in oils, acrylics, pencil, or any other medium! So I say let's make 2010 the year of traditional painting!!! I know I will be as much as possible :)

Lots Of Books!

The books arrived on Christmas Eve, and all pre-orders will be sent out once the Post Office re-opens after the holiday period next week.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and will be recovered in time to have a very happy New Year! I'd like to thank everyone who has read this blog in 2009, and I look forward to posting lots of new artwork in 2010.

Book News and Roger Waters sketch

Been busy with private commissions/life/christmas these last few weeks, but I've also started a large scale oil painting of Roger Waters. It's a 100 x 70cm canvas. The sketch above was just a quick doodle to search for the energy and composition of the piece.

Book news: the bulk shipment of the books will be arriving at my door on Thursday morning (Christmas Eve). I will make sure all books that have been pre-ordered are posted the moment the Post Office reopens after Christmas. I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered so far, and thank you also for your patience.

ISCA Top Ten Most Interesting Faces of 2009

Earlier this week ISCA released a list of ten faces from 2009 that have been declared the most caricaturable faces of the year by it's members. It's an interesting list, and ten ISCA members, including myself, submitted either an existing or new piece for the list. Mine was a small oil painting of Kim Jong Il, which was fun to do.

Tiger Woods- Small Watercolour

Susan Boyle

This weekend is X Factor final weekend, opinion is divided as to whether this is a big deal or not, either way, here is a sketch of Susan Boyle, as appearing in the 'Susan Boyle Story', on X Factor weekend! Sketched with ball point pen.

News At Bedtime

This was a little piece I did last weekend for the Radio Times christmas edition (out today!). The print size for this is very small, so I could have got away with less detail than I went into, but I was having fun with it and got carried away. I worked the whole time in black and white, starting with a rough sketch in photoshop, then spreading 15 hours work over two days. I added the colour about 30 minutes to an hour before the deadline.

The piece is based on a radio programme called News At Bedtime, a show with presenters John Tweedledum (Jack Dee- right) and Jim Tweedledee (Peter Capaldi- left).

Old and New!

Before I post some video of the book, I wanted to share with you some of the changes my work has gone through over the last 3 or 4 years, and to do this will mean posting some old 'artwork'. Hopefully you can tell the difference! ;)

Looking back at old and new does two things for me, firstly it makes me feel proud of how far I've come, and secondly it makes me look forward to what I can do next. When I finish a piece of art, it is like letting go of the past and moving forward, so in that way, art for me is a form of therapy.

I hope you get a kick out of seeing the old stuff!

OLD (pre-2007)

NEW (post-2007)

The old ones were done using Painter Classic (I wouldn't use anything else!???), and the new ones Photoshop and Acrylics. The main thing I've learnt is to widen my use of mediums, and to experiment. Enjoy!

Books on their way!

Here's a photo of a couple of the books, complete with shiny cover! I've been informed that the bulk shipment will arrive at the latest 21st December. At least they will make a nice late christmas present!

I just wish I could show you all of the pages here, but then that would defeat the object of the book itself, wouldn't it ;)

Just a quickie

Just messin' about in Photoshop with this one of Don King. Spent about 3 hours tops on it. For the hair I used a charcoal brush with the shape dynamics turned on and set to 'Pen Pressure'.