Rijksmuseum
On a recent trip to Amsterdam I decided to visit the newly re-opened Rijksmuseum dedicated to Dutch Art and the history of the Netherlands. I’d read a very positive review of the museum by art critic and TV presenter Waldemar Januszczak which encouraged me to brave the crowds and queues to pay homage to Rembrandt, […]
Rodin’s The Kiss
Rodin’s stunning marble sculpture The Kiss is currently on view at the National Gallery, Edinburgh. It’s on a year long loan from Tate Britain. Last week I decided to pay homage to one of Rodin’s most famous works. I find that one of the best ways to really appreciate art is to draw it so […]
Commission a Portrait Painting
I’m currently working on a number of portraits for various clients in oil paints and I thought it may be helpful to see the process developing over the sittings, each one over a period of three hours.
Moleskine Sketchbooks & Journals
Yesterday I finished yet another Moleskine sketchbook by making some further studies of the portrait work by John Singer Sargent. I’m a great fan of the Moleskine brand and have a growing collection of notebooks, sketchbooks and journals filled with important notes, studies, ideas and thoughts that are documenting my humble career. The drawing on […]
BP Portrait Awards 2012
National Portrait Gallery The BP Portrait Awards 2012 Exhibition is currently on at the National Portrait Gallery. Over the years I’ve received many a commission to do a painting of a client’s home. Sometimes this has been overseas in countries like Italy. I always enjoy travelling to see the property which is usually impressive and […]
John Singer Sargent
Richard Ormond The American artist John Singer Sargent died this day in 1925. As well as being an outstanding artist, he was a gifted musician and fluent in French, Italian and German. I’ve been a great admirer of his work for many years. I often spend time deeply engrossed studying the many fine books written […]
Portrait in Charcoal
Charcoal I’m currently undertaking a number of portrait commissions at the moment, mostly in oils but some in charcoal. Emanuella was one of the portraits I drew when studying portraiture in Florence in 2011. She was drawn from life. Dominic was commissioned as a present for his 50th birthday in December 2011. I managed only […]
Head of an Arab
John Singer Sargent Head of an Arab is my study of John Singer Sargent’s oil sketch. He would have painted around 1890-91 when he toured Egypt, Greece and Turkey. It was probably painted abroad, however, he may well have painted it from a model when he returned to London. Sargent was commissioned by the Trustees […]
Portrait Painting in Oils
Paint a Portrait in Oils Working in oil paint however is completely different, particularly when painting a portrait. When the sitter isn’t there in front of me, I can usually see various elements which need to be changed during the next sitting and oil paints allow you the freedom to do so. One of the […]
Charcoal Portraits
Watercolour Since this blog post was first written in 2011, I’ve found myself doing more drawings with Charcoal. I often do a 10 – 20 minute charcoal drawing in my Moleskine sketchbook if I’m warming up for a portrait. I’m best known for my watercolours of cityscapes, landscapes and seascapes. However, I’ve painted a number […]