PORTRAIT AND LIFE – PASTEL PAINTINGS

I was going to show life paintings today, but on Sunday, when I turned up for the session, I was told that the model booked had called in at around 11pm on the previous night to say he couldnt make it. With some quick thinking, Phil, the guy organising the session, had roped in a fellow drinker at the pub he was at, to sit for a portrait. Who would have that job of organising models – it’s like herding cats? Well, you do get a few reliable ones, but the flakes make the job an unnecessarily difficult one.

So Trevor strode into the studio on Sunday morning. Two things I hate when painting people are glasses and beards, so I wasnt hopeful at the beginning, but decided to give it a go. However, the lighting was good and gave some interesting shadows and the greyness of the jersey, hair and beard seemed to set off the flesh tones well. So in the end it wasnt a wasted morning.

The previous week, at a different session, the model – Sarah, who is very reliable, did turn up. Though for her efforts it seems that I turned her into the ice maiden for reasons even unknown to me.

Though Roy, the organiser, had turned the heating full on so, rest assured, no model suffered unduly in the making of this picture.

Other figurative work is available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

MORE LIFE PAINTING – PASTEL AND ACRYLIC

My life (though, not the painting of it) has been a bit hectic of late, getting ready for 3 exhibitions, one solo and two joint. Tomorrow I am manning one of these as someone has dropped out – and it is only the second day. Anyway, it will allow me to paint all day at least. I’m not hopeful, in this present economic climate of sales or even visitors at our exhibitions. So there may be plenty of time to fill, though maybe I am being overly pessimistic as I did sell a painting this week from my website.

So without any of my landscapes or seascapes to show, here are some of the figurative sketches I’ve done recently at workshops. I have been trying to get along at least once a week to one of the sessions held in these parts.

I find I am labouring when I use acrylics – failing to get the effects I am after. The top two paintings are pastels and I am trying a direct approach with these, though I do want to introduce more colour, but not as much as I’ve done in the past. With the acrylics – these last two paintings – I still have issues with the tonal changes.

With the Eve, above, I realised late on, that her lower right arm was about to be too long and I spent the last fifteen minutes of the session, frantically reworking the legs and right arm and hand: she doesnt appear to be too happy about it.

Perhaps with this one of Arthur, above, in acrylics, I started to get a more painterly effect, but it still needs to be worked on to get further variation of hue that I am after.

But it is all practice, challenged by a ticking clock, it does make you speed up and make quicker decisions – occasionally the right one.

Other figurative work is available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

PAUSING AWHILE – ACRYLIC PAINTING

This is another painting from my recent visit to Dublin. Persuaded to just take hand luggage on the flight, I didnt have my usual painting kit. Instead, I took a small sketch book for quick captures of people etc. A war memorial park was just up the road from our hotel and had benches along each side of a long pond, allowing me to sketch people on the other side. One gate of that park opened up opposite an art gallery which contained Francis Bacon’s London studio, brought over to Dublin and reconstructed there, upon his death. He was a messy worker and certainly liked his champagne. Well worth a visit.

The fellow in this picture was sat in O’Connell Street. I didnt have time to sketch him as I was on the top deck of a bus, but it was such a magnificent pose – augmented by the shadows. He also reminded me of one of my grandfathers – Patrick Fitzpatrick McQuade – who also had a similar hat and stick.

Other figurative paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

RIGID AND CHAIR BOUND – PASTEL AND PENCIL SKETCHES

Whilst manning a pop-up gallery recently, a painter I know came in and reminded me about a group we used to paint with. I hadnt been to that group since before Covid ( though I had heard that they were secretly running throughout the epidemic – but that’s another story). Also, since Covid they had, for various reasons, started meeting earlier, which makes it more awkward for me to attend. Anyway, last Wednesday I forsook my evening meal and made the effort to attend.

I’m glad I did. I enjoyed the evening, though there wasnt any direction to the model and we were presented, throughout the evening, to my eye, with various versions of someone sitting naked on a bus . The lighting was good, though, but I did have to prevent the organiser turning on all the lights and ruining its effect.

Afterwards, looking back over some earlier pre-covid drawings, what did I see? Similar seated poses, just different models – a bit like the other sketches I did on the night, shown below. Despite these moans, I will try and get back there as we have lost one life group around here completely and I am not getting much figurative practice these days.

Life and figure paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

BENCHMARKS 2 – ACRYLIC PAINTING

This is the third painting in my mini series of life on the park bench. This time the subjects are in full light and I think I got clocked by one of them. I liked the way they were looking in different directions, each, almost oblivious of the other.

Other figurative and landscape paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

LIFE ROOM – PASTEL AND GRAPHITE

The life session at the weekend brought back the memories of poor lighting and stiff poses though I was glad of the practise.

I should actively seek other venues, but working in confined spaces for long periods with lots of people doesnt fill me with a great deal of joy at present. Our model was Eve who last time I saw her did a more interesting set of poses. The quick sketch of one of them, below, I converted into a pastel study during lockdown, though I think the pastel lost a bit of vitality in translation. Maybe one to try again as it has some interesting angles.

Other life painting is available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

ANGEL – PASTEL PAINTING

The image of this face reminded me of something you see carved on stone memorials with the sadness of a pieta. I thought that the addition of outstretched arms might convey the wings of this descending spirit and I set it against the bright colour of stained glass to push the spirituality further, though the resulting cruciform seemed enough.

Besides, life sessions are starting around here soon and I thought I needed practice and the different angle of the head appealed. I was going to do so much during this last year on figurative approaches but other things got in the way. Maybe with the pastels out I will have a flick through old sketch books and see if anything appeals.

Other figurative work is available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

THE WAY THE WICKED WIND BLOWS – SCULPTURE

This was the birthday present I made my wife. There is a long backstory to this which I wont burden you with. What pleases me – apart from that it is still working as I type – is the fact that it is made entirely from scrap materials which I have cut, soldered, brazed and tapped together. Even the ball bearings, the indicator runs on, were reclaimed. The carving is made from part of an old cherry tree. I had intented making a motif that was two dimensional, but when asked, my wife wanted someone reading a book – something she does a lot of in French and English. I couldnt work out a clear way of depicting a reader in 2D so I carved a version of Rodins Reader and fixed it to the top.

I did have a hic up when the indicator fell off soon after erection – mainly due to my poor brazing skills, but it is now up and running again and hopefully more robust.

When the nuclear fall-out decends I will now know which way to run.

All manner of artwork is available for purchase at very reaonable prices on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

VORTEX OF THE CROWD 3 – ACRYLIC PAINTING

Back in June 2014 I did a couple of pastels on the isolation of the individual. I was never happy with the outcome. These first two took a high viewpoint and recently when playing around I decided that a low angle might be more effective. But it wasnt plain sailing, as I found the detail I required was difficult in pastel.

So I changed to acrylic and am happier with the result. Though it may not be the final resolution, I feel I have made progress – and that is all that one can hope for, I guess. I may even revisit the first two paintings I did and see if acrylics would also suit them.

Other figurative paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com

LIFEROOM SESSIONS – ACRYLIC PAINTINGS

I havent been doing much life drawing of late, but last week I turned up to a session taking my acrylics and square brushes.

These sketches were done fairly rapidly. I was after a loose blocky style.

I am still uncertain as to how I proceed with life drawing. As you can see here the poses are very stilted and the subjects flooded with light from all angles.

I do like the pressure and demands these sessions provide, though they give little time for consideration and development. There’s too much focus on speed and I wonder the effect it has on some of the attendees including myself.

Other life paintings are available for sale on my website: grahammcquadefineart.com