158. Portrait of a tree
Acrylic on canvas
59.2cm x 39.8cm (64.2cm x 44cm framed)
£230
Exhibited at "Members' Exhibition", The Eagle Gallery, Bedford. 17th September - 10th October 2024
Having been AWOL in New Zealand during July, I was quite keen to up my painting productivity. New works in 2024 have been far from numerous; so with that in mind I decided I should aim to enter two new works for the Eagle September members’ show. To my amazement this was achieved with this speedy piece.
With the working title of ‘Palette cleanser’, I chose from a selection of five photos my wife had picked out as possible works. I picked a canvas from the loft which had a pre-bought matching white floater frame and proceeded to match the images to the frame proportions.
As is often the case the element that draws you to the image often declines in its dominance as the project progresses. In this instance a striking sky is almost cropped away in the final image.
I came to like the sense of the painting as a portrait. I realised the definition in my reference photo was a little blurry, but luckily, I remembered that the tree was very local (having been on our covid exercise walks) in a field around the back of Keech hospice in Luton. So, I returned to experience and photograph the tree anew.
I straightened the horizon in Photoshop and after transferring the image to canvas I was already to paint. With a few sessions, within the week the piece was ready, and I drove it up to the Eagle Gallery in Bedford ready for the next show. Rapid decision making is good practise occasionally, and I felt great pride in sticking to a deadline for once.
59.2cm x 39.8cm (64.2cm x 44cm framed)
£230
Exhibited at "Members' Exhibition", The Eagle Gallery, Bedford. 17th September - 10th October 2024
Having been AWOL in New Zealand during July, I was quite keen to up my painting productivity. New works in 2024 have been far from numerous; so with that in mind I decided I should aim to enter two new works for the Eagle September members’ show. To my amazement this was achieved with this speedy piece.
With the working title of ‘Palette cleanser’, I chose from a selection of five photos my wife had picked out as possible works. I picked a canvas from the loft which had a pre-bought matching white floater frame and proceeded to match the images to the frame proportions.
As is often the case the element that draws you to the image often declines in its dominance as the project progresses. In this instance a striking sky is almost cropped away in the final image.
I came to like the sense of the painting as a portrait. I realised the definition in my reference photo was a little blurry, but luckily, I remembered that the tree was very local (having been on our covid exercise walks) in a field around the back of Keech hospice in Luton. So, I returned to experience and photograph the tree anew.
I straightened the horizon in Photoshop and after transferring the image to canvas I was already to paint. With a few sessions, within the week the piece was ready, and I drove it up to the Eagle Gallery in Bedford ready for the next show. Rapid decision making is good practise occasionally, and I felt great pride in sticking to a deadline for once.