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Mike's conservatory (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Woody
- Start date
ARTHUR BISHOP
Well-known member
Only can agree . Full of life
mark richards
Well-known member
three nice birds there Mike...love the last pose , mark
RussB
Going for Gold
Oh yes! Very nice indeed, Mike. These have an almost illustrative quality to them (is it the soft lead or your deft touch?) but still ooze life. I'll echo the sentiments here about them being difficult to resist; they have it all: lovely bold patterns, great shapes, including almost angular heads and a wispy crest plus, for you painters, very subtle hues and tints on those upperparts.
These have inspired me to for my next foray into the field.
Russ
These have inspired me to for my next foray into the field.
Russ
Woody
Well-known member
Oops! I seem to have dropped off the first page!
I've not been totally idle though. I've been unable to get out with a sketchpad for a couple of weeks now but I've been working away quietly in the studio.
Last year I was on Elmley on a quiet Sunday morning in the middle of summer. There were swallows skimming low and skylarks singing high against the azure sky which was broken only by the contrails of even higher flying planes.
As I looked at the patterns of criss-crossing vapour trails the thought struck me that I could have been transported back to the 1940's when the skies above Kent were the scene of fierce fighting as the RAF fought the threat of Nazi invasion and the might of Hitler's Luftwaffe. Even as these battles raged, and brave young men of both sides lost their lives, the birds on the marshes of Sheppey continued as they have always done, oblivious to the struggles of men.
In early September this year I was lucky enough to catch up with a merlin on Elmley and the thought of the summer of 1940 returned to me and this painting was conceived. The Rolls Royce merlin engine powered both the spitfire and the hurricane so I thought it would be an appropriate bird to place in the context of the Battle of Britain. The young male sits on a pile of boulders which are not naturally occuring in Kent. They have been brought in to be used in the coastal defences, so again I thought they were appropriate. I did some research into Sheppey and the marshes of Elmley in WWII and discovered a poignant story relating to early September 1940. I'll write up that story on my blog in the next few days.
Mike
I've not been totally idle though. I've been unable to get out with a sketchpad for a couple of weeks now but I've been working away quietly in the studio.
Last year I was on Elmley on a quiet Sunday morning in the middle of summer. There were swallows skimming low and skylarks singing high against the azure sky which was broken only by the contrails of even higher flying planes.
As I looked at the patterns of criss-crossing vapour trails the thought struck me that I could have been transported back to the 1940's when the skies above Kent were the scene of fierce fighting as the RAF fought the threat of Nazi invasion and the might of Hitler's Luftwaffe. Even as these battles raged, and brave young men of both sides lost their lives, the birds on the marshes of Sheppey continued as they have always done, oblivious to the struggles of men.
In early September this year I was lucky enough to catch up with a merlin on Elmley and the thought of the summer of 1940 returned to me and this painting was conceived. The Rolls Royce merlin engine powered both the spitfire and the hurricane so I thought it would be an appropriate bird to place in the context of the Battle of Britain. The young male sits on a pile of boulders which are not naturally occuring in Kent. They have been brought in to be used in the coastal defences, so again I thought they were appropriate. I did some research into Sheppey and the marshes of Elmley in WWII and discovered a poignant story relating to early September 1940. I'll write up that story on my blog in the next few days.
Mike
Attachments
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Woody
Well-known member
I've also been taking a sojourn into portrait painting as it's interested me for a long time. I thought I'd dig out my oils and have a go so here's the result. Say hello to my friend David.
Whilst I had the oils out I thought it was about time I tried a bit of wildlife with them. Now I know I said I'd never post another work in progress but this doesn't feel like it's going to go wrong and I'm enjoying the looser feel that I'm getting from the oils so here's what I'm working on at the moment.
BTW please ignore the few oddly coloured needles, they were an experiment with other colours but not a very successful one!
Mike
Whilst I had the oils out I thought it was about time I tried a bit of wildlife with them. Now I know I said I'd never post another work in progress but this doesn't feel like it's going to go wrong and I'm enjoying the looser feel that I'm getting from the oils so here's what I'm working on at the moment.
BTW please ignore the few oddly coloured needles, they were an experiment with other colours but not a very successful one!
Mike
Attachments
Woody
Well-known member
Thanks John. David doesn't get to see his portrait yet, I'm planning a large family portrait for his wife Denise who has a milestone birthday coming up, and this was done by way of a study to help me get the feel for his face.
Mike
Woody
Well-known member
Thanks Gaby.
I've come to realise lately that many of my paintings are simply 'birds on sticks'. Nothing wrong with that but I'm trying to add an extra layer of interest and give my work a bit more depth by adding narrative. What really inspired me to set the merlin against the Battle of Britain backdrop was the idea that nature is above all of the squabbles of mankind and her beauty is both timeless and resilient.
Mike
Lykos
Well-known member
I understand Mike,
your work has a lot of depth,and a story round the picture is not bad. I think that all painters do not paint only with their eyes, but also with their hearts
the pictures speaks for themselves
hope you understand what I mean,it`s difficult for me to write it in english
friendly greetings Gaby
your work has a lot of depth,and a story round the picture is not bad. I think that all painters do not paint only with their eyes, but also with their hearts
the pictures speaks for themselves
hope you understand what I mean,it`s difficult for me to write it in english
friendly greetings Gaby
solitaryVSong
Well-known member
I've always wondered about trying to add extra meaning to paintings, other than what's obvious. But I think sometimes for me, and particularly for you here, it helps to focus the work even more and bring it to a higher level. I think that's what happened here. A really striking and successful painting!!
Like the portrait and looser owl too but this is the one that I just had to comment on.
Woody
Well-known member
Thanks all.
The swallows are for another painting Colleen, as are the skylarks. They will appear in time I'm sure.
Mike
ARTHUR BISHOP
Well-known member
Hi Mike merlin is superb . I can hear that distinctive wonderful sound of the merlin engine.
Looking forward to the Little owl.
Looking forward to the Little owl.
Strandman
Well-known member
fantastic to see birds with context and connection
you might be just the man to render in paint a deeply evocative b/w illustration in a book by J K Stanford from waaay back - a Kingfisher in a WWI bomb crater being watched via periscope through the barbed wire
you might be just the man to render in paint a deeply evocative b/w illustration in a book by J K Stanford from waaay back - a Kingfisher in a WWI bomb crater being watched via periscope through the barbed wire
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