Michelangelo study

A study in colored pencil after one of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel figures; 297 x 210 mm (A4):

Two drawings

Two somewhat random studies, both 18 x 24 cm on A4 paper.

Praying girl:

Somewhat loosely based on a still from the film The Witch, a wonderfully creepy evocation of 17th century New England.Mostly HB pencil; I used a 2B here and there. For this leopard, I did the whole thing in HB:

Not using darker grade pencils is of course a somewhat questionable decision, but on the cheapish paper I use, I can't get much darker values anyway, and I have come to like the soft, almost silverpoint-like effect of HB.

Leonard Cohen

The late, great Leonard Cohen:

Pencil, 24 x 18 cm on A4 paper.

Sunsets

Been a while since I painted this kind of thing; silhouettes against a sunset sky.

Acrylic on board, 15 x 10 cm:

Pyramid tree

Pyramid tree, Lagunaria patersonia.

Some recent photos

My latest adventures in point-and-shoot photography...

Two Cupcakes

Both acrylic on board, 15 x 10 cm:

And two more...

Both acrylic on board, ACEO size:

Tried a somewhat more painterly approach here, instead of my usual heavily outlined, post-impressionist style. It remains to be seen whether this will become a new thing...

Two minis

Two ACEO-sized (i.e. 2.5 x 3.5 inch, or 64 x 89 mm) ones:

Both acrylic on board. And in both, the camera washed out the colours to a significant extent. I have never been able to work out how to prevent that from happening, or how to fully fix it afterward.

Cats and Containers

I now and then indulge in photography. My humble point-and-shoot puts limitations on what I can achieve (not to mention my even more humble talents), but it's fun and often useful for reference.

Expressionist Cat

Expressionist Cat doesn't like you. If it makes you feel any better, she doesn't like anyone else either.

Acrylic on canvas board, 10 x 15 cm.

Two new ones

Both acrylic on board, 20 x 25 cm.

The first is not entirely a success, I think. I initially got the composition and colour all wrong and then tried to do a salvage job on it, and perhaps I shouldn't have bothered, On the other hand, some people apparently like it:

This one worked out better, I think:

Nowadays, the ginger cat often makes its way into my pictures. To some extent, it has a certain personal symbolism for me, but I also just like cats as subject matter, and the ginger coloration often fits in with my colour scheme...

Ivy Leaves

Acrylic in canvas board, 7 x 5 inch (about 18 x 13 cm):

Picket Fence

Acrylic on board, 420 x 297 mm:

Lucy and the sky with stars

Among my most vivid childhood memories is lying in bed and looking out the window at the stars, often with the aid of a pair of binoculars. We did not have a TV in those days; I don't think I missed much.

Acrylic on board, 420 x 297 mm - a.k.a. size A3. Depending on which country you find yourself in!

Yellow Lilies

Acrylic on canvas board, 10 x 8 inch (about 25 x 20 cm):

Not sure I really like this one - I was still suffering the after-effects of the flu...

Magnolias

Been battling it out with a monster flu, but I finally had some energy to get something done. Acrylics on canvas board, 8 x 10 inches (about 20 x 25 cm):

Calla lily and hibiscus

Two more small ones; acrylic on canvas board, 15 x 10 cm:

Tulip

Acrylics on canvas board, 15 x 10 cm:

Magnolia

Acrylics on canvas board, 15 x 10 cm:

Iris

Acrylic on canvas board, 15 x 10 cm. The camera washed out the colour a bit.

Tiger lily

Acrylics on canvas board, 15 x 10 cm:

Some recent acrylics

I have long had this idea that drawing is serious, but painting is just for fun. And thus, while I often try to make reasonably realistic drawings, my painting style tends toward a sort of naive post-impressionism.

Acrylic on board, 13 x 18 cm:

And size A4, which in South Africa means 210 x 297 mm:

More recently, I have been trying to enrich my use of colour. Unfortunately, my point-and-shoot camera does not reproduce colours very well!

18 x 13 cm:

And another A4:

Endless changes...

Scarcely did I decide to shift my artistic operations to DeviantArt, or I have reason for second thoughts.

I very much like the layout of DA, and the way its galleries work. But it is also a very big umbrella, and I have noticed that lots of the artists there produce some pretty extreme adult-oriented art. I don't personally mind such work at all, but many people do, and I don't want anyone to get into trouble because they ended up viewing more than my own gallery!

I also noticed that DA's discussion forums are positively infested with neo-Nazis and other kooks, cranks and assorted nuts and dolts.

I'll probably continue to make use of their gallery feature, but for the moment I'll be here again, on a more regular basis.

So, let me first play catch-up, with an assortment of some of the stuff I have been up to since I last posted art work here.

Some more drawings:

Small pencil drawings (18 x 13 cm)

And ballpoint pen:

I like the medium, but it has a tendency to fade. I do notice that nowadays, lots of professional artists make use of the medium, and opinions vary somewhat as to how permanent such drawings are. If kept behind glass and out of direct sunlight, they'll probably last reasonably well; I am not too sure.

Some attempts at somewhat more detailed pencil drawings:

I have never been much good at these - I tend to prefer rapid sketches. But they are a good and necessary exercise, and now and then it is fun to sit back, relax, put on some soothing music and spend a few hours with a subject.

A pen and wash sketch as birthday gift for a friend who wanted a picture of a Tuscan-style window:

I also made a stack of these that I turned into handmade greeting cards. Here's a selection:

Some recent adventures in acrylic painting in a next post...