Solo Show. Gatehouse Gallery Glasgow 29April-27May 2012
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A friend sent me a link to this write up, I knew nothing of it…
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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.
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International Artist magazine
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.”
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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!
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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.
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Stage 3 - Filling in large areas
Mallorca has stretches of its coastline which comprise sheer cliffs and scary steep slopes careering menacingly into the sea. Hardy pines and exotic leathery plants, such as Aloe Vera cling on grimly to the sides of these slopes in an act of defiance.
To attempt to recreate this, I used a large base of Titanium White and by degrees introduced small quantities of Light Scarlet Lake and Naples Yellow to create the warm, fleshy pink colours of the bare earth, adding some small amounts of Berulean Blue, or Cobalt Blue, or permanent mauve to produce the cooler, darker areas.
I’m fond of filling in large ares with flat bristle 25mm brushes. These are so-called ‘economy student brushes’, but don’t be fooled into buying the most expensive of brushes for the most simple of tasks!
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Stage 2: Keeping the colours clean
I like the colours to be clean and ‘unmuddied’ and with htis in mind I usually apply White to the relevant areas, ignoring all detail and the fact that there are two separate boats. I emply a farly well used brush so as not to create hard outlines.
The white stands out well against the oatmeal background.
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Stage 1: Choosing the format
Here is the first of a six part explanation of my creative process, featured as ‘Art in the Making’ in International Artist magazine. I transferred this content form my last site as it was well received.
From a wealth of source material gathered during my frequent visits abroad, I decided on a seascape as my subject matter. Mallorca has a fantastically rugged coastline, dotted with white sanded coves ideal for anchorage and for passing a few lazy hours in the heat of the afternoon sun.
I selected a size of canvas best suited to the view. I always work to a square format and never on white, preferring a base colour of oatmeal on a treated medium course canvas.
Using the wrong end of an old thin brush, I dip this into what will be the most common colour, in this case blue, and simply outline my composition. This i keep relatively simple, and unfinished, as I’m not in the business of colouring in shapes!
