Loads of new paintings going into my online shop right now!
Buy original art directly from Scottish artist Ian Elliot at sensible prices. These paintings are one of a kind oil on canvas and come in a rage of sizes to suit your space and budget - plus free UK shipping!
I’ve a two-man show in Rowan Gallery, Helensburgh. It’s running now and ends in mid March. Lots of new work! Check it out here.
I have a varied stock of paintings in my studio.
Email me your choice of subject matter - Landscape, Scottish, Tuscan, cafe scenes, seascapes, etc. and I will send you images of available stock!
The artist at Corte Real Gallery, Portugal
Solo Show. Gatehouse Gallery Glasgow 29April-27May 2012
A friend sent me a link to this write up, I knew nothing of it…
I’m updating my website so hopefully you’ll see more frequent posts from me. After that I’ll be adding another layer to it so you’ll also be able to see exactly what paintings I have on exhibition where, and what I have for sale.
I am always happy to product custom paintings for you, please get in touch if you are interested in hiring me for a commission.
I was featured in International Artist magazine. The article was titled ‘Travel Opens the Eyes… and the Mind’ and covered my art, influences and working method. In the below posts I illustrate the different stages of a work entitled Rendevouz, Mallorca which was a 20×20″ oil on canvass piece shown in the ten page article. International Artist magazine on Ian Elliot:
“Painting from source materal is one thing, but this artist says nothing gives a painting extra dimension than being on location and taking in the sights, sounds and aromas.”
The finished painting
Now for the Sea. You will have noticed that I worked with certain colours as mixing agents. These colours now become central to my foreground areas. The basic sea colours have so many variations according to depth, distance, sky clarity etc.
My first stroke, seen in stage four, is a mixture of Cobalt Blue and permanent Mauve, creating a band of strong, rich colour stretching across the canvass and defining the meeting of land and sea. At this stage I use another 25mm brush and mix Cerulean Blue a touch of Winsor Green and Titanuim White, and using a small brush slap on the colour, around the outline of the central shapes.
In this case I deepen the colour as I move down the canvas using less white and more Winsor Green, Cobalt Blue and Cerulia Blue.
To add the effect of the ever changing surface of the water, using a variety of smaller brushes, I overpaint marks of pure, unmixed colour. Aong with this, I included small whit daubs and others of a mix of roughly threee parts White with one part of permanent Mauve as a warm contrast to the warm greens and blues.
Now for the main centerpiece of my painting. Very dark areas in and around the boat are painted. Masts and such like, everything is still quite vague. But a tightening up is now in progress; smaller brushes are ow being used, shades and tones are carefully considered. The most important implement at this stage of the painting is my Rigger 0 and 00 paint brushes. I use them in all my works for the fine lines which create, in this case, details all around the boats and hold the visual attention of the viewer, creating a center focal point to the work.
When I think I have done all i can to create an image, I love to add splashes of vibrant red (Light Scarlet Lake perhaps mixed with Permanent Orange); this might represent a buoy, a flag, lights, life-belts. It really gives the painting punch!
Stage 4 - A band of colour
The Mediterranean skies are a wonderful fusion of blues reflected on the waters which in turn reflect back onto surfaces. For these areas I use a white base with tiny inclusions of Cerulean Blue, or Cobalt Blue with maybe a hint of Permanent Mauve… or a mixture of these with a spot of Naples Yellow or Scarlet Lake… but only a spot! i always remind myself that reflections and shaded areas are all different, so I don’t bother about consistency of colour, but more about consistency of tone.
Taking some of the previous mixture aside, I added more small amounts of Permanent Mauve/Cobalt Blue for darker tones and in a haphazard sporadic way, dabbed and daubed on marks of varying sizes and tones to suggest the plant-life on the slopes. Everything is kept vague as this is not the centre of attraction.
