Decisions.....decisions......

In my last post I shared that for the first time in a really long while, I'm going to be working on 2 paintings at the same time.

  Now...this isn't life-changing, it won't rip apart the fabric of time and space, but it is quite a change in process for me.  I usually like to give one painting a time my full and undivided attention.  For some strange reason I really want to get another piece underway so thought, whatever- go with.

And so I charged around the ruins, taking photographs of every corner, wall, and doorway.  It was a beautiful, bright and crisp November afternoon and the winter sun helped to create some effective shadows across the walls.

It was very atmospheric.  From the remains of beautifully crafted doors and windows I really got a sense of the place it must have been before the Reformation.  

Even after taking its final battering during the Civil War, there is still plenty left to conjure visions of its former glory.  Ordinarily, I would know within minutes, which part to paint, but seriously....I really have no idea.  

Over the next couple of weeks I will make some sketches to see if a particular part speaks to me.  

I am sure it will, but one thing is certain, after spending some quiet contemplative moments in such a beautiful place...

I can't wait to start this painting - I hope I can do it justice.

Come back in a few days for the first sketch!

"Just give me Britain, so that I may paint it with your colours, but with my own brush."

After having spent a number of weeks researching, I made a start this week on my newest painting.  The preliminary sketch was completed on Monday.  The gateway of the Roman Wall at Colchester will be the focal point of the composition.  But as my previous post shows, there will be quite a lot of other images going into this piece.  The difficulty here is going to be how to lay it all out.

I want to create a really rich piece, with depth and layers.  2000 years in one painting is a lot, and if I get it wrong it could just look like a big mess.

The execution of this is going to take quite a while, especially in terms of the individual layers.  Letting one dry before being able to get on with the next.  I will be using a range of different materials on this; oil paint  varnish, gold leaf, paper, metallic flakes,and probably some other stuff too.

I am really looking forward to this one, I just have to wait a couple more weeks until payday so that I can get the canvas.
Last time I posted I had a very talented lady Anni Howard get in touch with me, who uses the history of the area as inspiration for her knitted pieces.  A very interesting read at www.annidomino.blogspot.co.uk

As always the progress of my new painting will be posted here and in more detail on my website at www.oilypalette.co.uk so keep visiting to see how it goes.  In terms of composition, it's going to be the most complex piece I've painted in a number of years and size-wise I want it to be grand in stature, perhaps the biggest painting I will have worked on since Art college...I just hope I can fit it in my studio space, it's only wee!!