Demo Down Under

This past Saturday afternoon I did an alla-prima portrait demo at Leoni Duff Studios in downtown Launceston. For students in my workshop and the  public, the idea was to show the steps in the completion of a portrait collapsed into a couple of hours. Leoni's husband Alan was kind enough to offer his handsome face for me to paint.

The following progress shots were taken at various points over 2.5 hours:

Setting proportions

Wash drawing

Beginning colour lay-in

Setting background colour

Modelling planes

Adding smaller forms

Fixing shapes

Completed portrait - 

One can always use just one more sitting

Above pics by Lynne Davies, Darren Day and Joanne Mitchelson - Thanks!

Some press coverage from the Launceston Examiner, Nov. 24 2013.

Off the Coast Podcast

Early in July I recorded some audio
with an old pal from Florence, Matt Collins. Matt is an amazing artist and one of the head instructors at Cecil Studios in Florence. Take a look at his site here:
Matt Collins website.

I decided to play around a little to try and get an idea of how hard it would be and how much time it would take to do a podcast. It took the whole day (not including the conversation) and was not that difficult. There is plenty of free online help: Top 5 pieces of free podcasting software.

The podcast is far from professional, nor complete, but the process has been fun. To listen now, click on the audio player on the top right.
You can also download the mp3 here: Off the Coast Podcast 13/08/13 - Matt Collins

The music I used was was free, from Opsound.org. Intro piece: Inhale Part 2 by Peter Rudenko
Closing piece: Lost On Corners by The Orchestral Movement of 1932

Ravenna

Ravenna was the western center of the Christendom when the seat of Rome was transfered to Constantinople. As a result, several beautiful churches and basilicas were built in the 5th and 6th century and decorated with mosaics which exist today in excellent shape.  Ravenna is a great day trip from Florence with a direct train at 7:30 am that gets you in by 10 am, costing around 11 euro each way. From the train station it is a short walk to the center and the main attractions of the city.

San Vitale  - 526 AD - one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture in western Europe.   

 The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo - 561 AD

Mosaic of the greatest saint ever: Saint Martino!

The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe - 549AD -  is described as "an outstanding example of the early Christian basilica in its purity and simplicity of its design and use of space and in the sumptuous nature of its decoration". The basilica is a 15 minute bus ride from Ravenna and is situated in what used to be Classe, the main port on the Adriatic founded by Augustus Cesar around 20 BC. Today the basilica is found isolated surrounded by fields of sunflowers. a stunning contrast of nature and architecture.

For more info: Ravenna Tourism

Taking a Leap

“Quitting my day job and starting my life as a writer was a tremendous risk. It was a fool’s leap, a shot in the dark. But anything of any value in our lives, whether that be a career, work of art, a relationship, will always start with such a leap. And in order to be able to make it you have to put aside the fear of failing and the desire of succeeding. You have to do these things completely purely, without fear, without desire. Because things that we do without lust or result are the purest actions we shall ever take” - Alan Moore

Drawing of Alan Moore by Frank Quitely

Alan Moore was the writer of some of the best comic book fiction ever and he has an interesting life story. Check out this video for more.

Scott McCloud and Understanding Comics in Lethbridge

This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday I was in Alberta's windy city, Lethbridge, taking a workshop with comic artist and theorist, Scott McCloud. His 2005 Tedtalk is one of the best:

 "Understanding Comics"  

As you can see from his talk, he is a fine orator. His teaching skills are equally excellent. The workshop was a combination of exercises and lectures.

During the first day lecture, Scott defined comics as a series of choices:
1. Choice of moment
2. Choice of frame
3. Choice of image
4. Choice of word
5. Choice of flow

There were two in-class exercises structured around how these choices could create clarity and/or intensity. Students were given various non-sensical situations that had to be translated into images. Mine, for example, involved an astronaut walking into a petting zoo, picking up a goat and throwing it at the moon. After the goat bounces off the moon enter Einstein on a camel who proceeds to shake the hand of the astronaut.
The larger project for that day was a 16 panel comic describing our life:

The morning of day two was spent looking at and critiquing the "Life" comics. 

Scott introduced us to the Grimace Project followed by a lecture on facial expressions and gestures. He then assigned us the task of translating various emotions and gestures into drawings. The last project of the day involved us picking a hawaiian word from a hat and translating that into a story. I chose Muumuu. I came up with an elaborate story involving Yoda, Zippy the Clown and Homer Simpson. Needless to say, I never finished.

Overall a fantastic workshop. Always nice to stretch the artistic muscles in a new direction. 

I will leave you with a snap of the Alberta prairies from my drive back to Calgary.

Listening 1 - Dr. Dallas Willard

Sometimes I paint in silence. Most of the time I look for podcasts to listen to. Most recently I have been listening to many podcasts off of The Veritas Forum. One speaker in particular is rather powerful in his knowledge and presentation: Dallas Willard. Nietzsche vs. Jesus Christ: Who holds the true path? is an interesting review of how the the West transitioned to a secular society. Highly recommended.

Whats up...

It's been a busy 5 months: since leaving Calgary in June I 've gone from  Portugal to Florence, spent 2 days on  boat sailing to Elba, took a one week workshop in Madrid, visited Dehli, Udaipur, Jaipur and the Taj Mahal in India where I was so  overwhelmed I spent the following weekend in Milan recovering. I have been working on a number of portrait commissions and experimenting with new approaches (to painting) and new subject matter (landscapes) all in a new format (small). Here is some of what I have been up to:

Ritratto di Stephana

Rachel (piambura study)

Pomodoro e Aglio

Moinho da Apulia

Ami

This is the study for the project I am finishing up:

Mary

I can't let you see the final version until the client does!!