Cola Crush 2 and 2014 Show.

So here is the latest original "Cola Crush 2" it was quite a challenging painting to take on with the reflections and the fact that the entire painting was filled with no less than four crushed cola cans.

A few weeks past with a lot of patience and it was finally finished, I had originally thought about not including the reflections and instead filling in the ground work with shadows, but I decided against it and i'm so happy that I did as I feel it came out great.

"Cola Crush"

Oil on panel 

30" x 30"

Available for pre-sale at Warwick Studios

Call - 07807 540498

Now I do have a little announcement to make, In January whilst delivering my painting "Billiard Balls" to Warwick studios I got talking with the gallery owner David and he kindly offered me a show for late this year. Now at my speed of painting I know I'm going to be limited to the amount of pieces i'll be able to create but have suggested around the 12 piece mark but the smallest size of the show will be 30" x 30" so there all going to be big ones and fill up the space nicely, but obviously this also puts the pressure on even more to be as organized as possible, so when i'm not painting i'll be priming/sketching/photographing etc.

Cola Crush 2 is the first painting for the show and is available for pre-sale at Warwick Studios. Another thing to mention is that as I produce work for the show I'll not be posting every single image but just a select few this is to  purely to create that desire to want to visit the show. But I promise that once its happened i'll be posting each of the unseen pieces.

So I have a lot f work to do......Wish me luck :-)

Cola Crush

I can only apologise for the lateness of this blog but as the saying goes better late than ever. I've just been very busy using every spare hour I have to paint and sketch to meet a deadline for the replacement commissions and I'm happy to say I'm way ahead of my self.

Now I finished the piece "Cola Crush" a few weeks ago and boy did i have some problems with it,  usually I put a few coats of primer on the side to be painted and one coat on the back and sides, once dry I sign the back of the board, but for some reason with this board I signed the front not the back, I then sketched the cola cans without to much issue but when it came to painting I noticed that something wasn't right the paint wasn't taking to the board and it was sinking into the wood, I realised what I had done and had to go about fixing it, after sanding the paint away re-priming the whole board and re-sketching I was good to go.

I painted in the silver cola can that took alot longer than I had thought but I don't know why I was surprised with all the change in colour and tone in the reflective can and the sheer size of it I knew it was going to be challenging, I then hit problem number two.....the red paint.

My Cadmium red had ran out and I needed some more, not a problem I just ordered some more from my online art suppliers, but when it arrived I started to use it and realised it was VERY opaque some thing that's usually an option with paint,  but when I checked the website there was no option and basically you just got what you got. I called the company to ask why this was and was told that the type of paint id had previously had was no longer available!! I didn't have time to mess about sourcing a new supplier and setting up a new account and so I worked with a mix of the Cadmium medium, Cadmium deep and Alizarin crimson to make the paint work, and thankfully it worked.

"Cola Crush"

30" x 30"

Oil on wooden panel

SOLD

I'm really pleased with how it turned out despite all the problems, and I've now moved on to the next commission, the grolsch bottle & after thinking about what composition I wanted I decided that I really liked the original and so I'll be changing very little to it & the only thing I'm toying with is a change in the background as I've always been a little unsure of the green in the first piece.

I've also completed the first two boxing figurative pieces, & I'm now contemplating what to do with them, a gallery, competitions, a private buyer........I'm still undecided.

Cola cans and exhibitions

Here are the latest two painting to come out of the studio, I have wanted to do the crushed can composition for a while and i decided originally to do three single paintings and sell them all together but a sale of this first can the day after it had been completed put a spanner in the works for this idea

 

 

"Squeeze me gently"

18" x 18"

Oil on wooden panel

 

SOLD

 

I had already started the second piece to go along side the first so i carried on until it had finished, it was more complicated than the first due to its reflective nature but i had a blast painting it

 

 

"Dent in the diet"

18" x 18"

Oil on wooden panel

 

SOLD

 

THE FANNY GOGH EXHIBITION AT GENERATION GALLERY

I have a really busy month ahead with new paintings commissions and charity events but couldn't miss out on the Fanny Gogh exhibition being held at the Gallery That represent my work Generation Gallery in Manchester

 

Fanny Gogh AKA Sian uses underwear that has been donated by celebrities like Sara Cox and Ricky Hatton to name a few

 

 

 

Me and actor Ciaran Griffiths AKA Micky from channel 4's Shameless

 

Both left and right some great underwear artworks from the exhibition

 by artist Fanny Gogh

 

 

Fanny and Ciaran

 

 

Bez from the band Happy Mondays

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Rock 'N' Roll Cola"

The Latest painting has finally been finished!! I have to admit this painting has really pushed me in terms of difficulty and time.

The Idea to do the coke painting came a few months ago but I really didn't want to do the modern plastic coke bottle and when I came upon some old style glass Coke bottles I was thrilled and thought the painting could be started, but after taking some reference photos with my typical dark background It soon became apparent that the reference lacked the vibrant colour I like to get to contrast the black background, After talking to the gallery a few ideas were thrown around and the suggestion of  adding bright straws was made, I tried it but it still didn't look right, then the suggestion of a Jukebox and I loved the idea.

I searched far and wide for an old style jukebox with no luck and was about to give up when my Uncle mentioned that the place he works had them, I asked permission from the company to take pictures and thankfully they agreed and I got some great colourful references.

I started the painting full of excitement but admit at week two I was loosing my patience as the background had only just been started, A huge push and three weekend painting sessions I did it in just over three weeks, and I am pleased with the results. But Its has been a hard painting to do and pushed me in many ways which Is always a good thing.

"Rock 'N' Roll Cola"

30" x 30"

Oil on wooden panel

SOLD

Works Available at Warwick Studios

Call -  01926 423529