Work in progressMy latest commission features Holywell Church near St. Ives in Cambridgeshire. Initial reference photo This picturesque church is purched atop a hill which rises gently from the fenlands and stream below. It is surrounded by trees. All paintings present an element of challenge, but as you will see from the original picture I took on my visit to gather source material in 2009 (see picture above left); the aforementioned trees provided a somewhat restrictive view of the main subject. Main reference photo after image manipulation I used a variety of pictures to create a montage view of the scene, ommitting as much of the foliage as I could as it was important to show as much of the church as possible. I inserted some cows which were 'digitally' borrowed from a field close-by into the main composition. (see picture above left). Painting progress as at 1st February 2010 This picture (left) shows the painting as it appeared on 1st February and some of the original pencil sketch is still apparent. The painting is now finished and once it has been delivered to the customer, prints will be available from the beginning of April. Watch this space.  NO THIS IS NOT A PHOTOGRAPH! It is in fact the latest stunning painting by Artist John Twinning, in his photorealistic style. John says "One of my most recent commissions was an animal portrait for a family in Lichfield, Staffordshire of the their beautiful Golden Retriever, Molly. Prints of 'Molly's Portrait' are available from the Gallery area of the site. Click the link above to take you straight there. Molly's owner said "she was bred by Guide Dogs but sadly rejected by them at a very early age because of a problem with her legs. It was diagnosed as a rotational problem in her hind legs. Instead of puppy walking her, we kept her as a family pet. She has taken part in a few fund raising events." Molly, as you can see from the photograph below, was an extremely affectionate dog and I really enjoyed getting to grips with this lovable canine. I say was, because sadly, since the painting was completed in December 2009, Molly has had to be put to sleep. I outline below some details of how I approached this work. Directly below is the photograph I used as my source reference for the painting.  Molly reference photo The main commissioned painting of Molly is now complete. However, the picture below shows the work at the earliest stages of development. When you consider the finished piece at the top of the page, you will see that the early stages were not really quite so appealing to the eye. The image below is in fact just the skeleton of the piece and needed to be considerably “fleshed out”. The initial drawing was sketched in using pencil and the painting was established with thin washes of gouache to mark positions of important features such as the eyes and nose etc. Concentration on positioning the eyes was particularly important as it is surprising how much information the eyes and their position give in identifying a subject - human or animal. Layers of thicker gouache were then added and the details built up. One of the reasons I rate gouache so highly is its ability to be over-painted. However, one must be careful not to work the paint too heavily or one can mix and drag up the colours underneath into layers above.  Molly painting in early stages of development.  Molly painting at about 38 hours of work. Below is the preliminary sketch which I completed earlier using a limited palette of black, white and grey pastels on a neutral brown/grey pastel paper. Prints of 'Molly - pastel sketch' are available to purchase in the Animal Portraiture section of the Gallery.  Completed pastel sketch. I'm also about to launch a series of framed photographs of some pictures I took on a journey to Paris in 1983. The first image Street Musician, Montmartre, Paris, 1983 is now available as a framed or unframed print. Please contact me for prices and ordering details.  |
Tabatha, Study I  Original - gouache on paper © John Twinning 1999 & 2010 Tabatha was a slightly podgy moggy, but as with a certain other cat (I refer of course to that cloth-covered and baggy TV puss); her owners loved her - as did this artist. Here a noise from outside the window has attracted Tabatha's attention. It is probably that time when Tabatha's owner came through the small gate in the middle of the fence and made her way down the little slabbed path to knock on the back door and ask if she could retrieve Tabatha so that her real family could spend a bit more quality time with her. Browse more images: Churches & Cathedrals | Topographical Studies  |