I've been experimenting with simple backgounds that consist of just one or two colours. Backgrounds are so hard!
This is one of my biggest paintings so I kept the colours simple in greys and black. I liked the juxtaposition of the two children.
These two paintings are done at life classes and are therefore more loose and creative. It's important for me to get away from photos,in order to inject more of myself into the work, and to develop creativity.
My portrait of Julie, a woman in her 60' with a wonderful mane of grey/blond hair. She had a face full of expression...a life lived to the full. The painting was done from life, on a portrait course with Andrew James.
We had started with a tonal sketch in charcoal and then in oils. Julie was more alert and cheerful at this early stage!
This is actually quite a small painting...I was going for atmosphere by using glazes.
Looking at this again, I think I need to knock back the shadow areas of her dress...hmm...you never get to finish in this lark...there's always something else to do.
Done at life class last Tuesday. I loved the pose...and I've started to use the background to introduce liveliness and space.
I used some oil medium while painting this picture...it smelt awful, and got stuck to my fingers and brushes...but it made the colours glow beautifully.
Princesses climb trees too!
Cousins...just chillin'
Rana. I struggled in this painting to create a composition out of such a long slender woman. In the end it became a matter of balancing colours.
Penny. I tried for the painterly approach in which every brush stroke shows.
Abbey. I liked the russets and blue/greens.
John, he has such a strong yet sensitive face. He looks a bit wistful here...he's probably yearning for the teabreak.
Jonathan, painted in two sessions. A delightfully interesting man.
Amy on the beach. Had fun with a bit of paint flicking in this picture.
Rana. A Syrian woman with a wonderfully strong and expressive face. 
One of my favourite paintings...I'm finally getting the hang of painting 'light'.
This portrait of Tony was painted in two sessions at my Thursday portrait group. The extra work gone into it has, I think, made it more complex and richer.
This painting's still being worked on.
Now that this pics on the computer, I can see all sorts of adjustments that need to be made.
Abbey, painted at the life class yesterday. Paint's still wet and shiny!
