My Artistic skill..

04/04/2011

So, i've always liked art, and was really good at it in school, but did nothing 'artistic' since..
A girl from work attended an art class, so I thought i'd go along. I'm glad I did, as it feels good to have created something yourself!!

My art teacher Nelson suggested we paint a photograph we have taken ourselves rather than an image from the net; it makes it more personal. So I painted a photograph I took of a beach in Grenada, in October 2010. It is my view of the beach looking out toward the sea, whilst lying on a sun lounger.

Here's the photograph:

It's a beautiful photo, but looked soooo complicated to paint!
I however gave it a go...


Here's the progress the painting took:

used a wet on wet technique to paint the background.

then painted the towel on and the shadows in the sand

I was told to paint upsidedown..it allows you to copy the photograph better as you're not painting what your brain thinks it SHOULD look like..

then the legs go on, and the towel is shaded in.

then the legs get shaded and the shadows get broken up a bit

then the shadows get lengthened and the sky is given more depth

The sea gets more depth and it gets some waves!

And there's the finished article!
I'm pleased with it!!

Painting no. 2

I started another painting, but with only 2 lessons left, I had to do something relatively simple..
I decided to represent myself in this next one.
I decided to paint the Grenada flag, with the London skyline on top.
I used these pictures:

Grenada flag!

And ended up with this!!

It's the Grenada flag - where my parents were born - with parts of the London skyline painted over it in black.
If you couldn't tell it's the London eye, Tower Bridge, the Gherkin, and Big Ben.
The flag is a bit 'funky' as instead of straight lines around the edges, they're zig zaggy, and the stars arent straight either.
I'm proud of this one, as I painted freehand the straight lines and the small detail. I think I did the circle of the London Eye well too! : )

It represents my background with the background, and my foreground in the foreground!

I however, havn't finished it and intend on doing so when I find the time! My plan is to turn it upsidedown and paint Nelsons column, the Palace and St. Paul's cathedral on the otherside.