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Film Maker & Photographer David Peat Dies

by on May 1, 2012 in Latest News, Painting on Location

 

Launceston Place

Launceston Place

Susan and I were saddened to hear of the death of David Peat on 16th April after a long battle with Myeloma. I had the privilege of working with David back in the autumn of 2001 on a television idea my brother and I had. We decided to make a short pilot video of the idea and some friends of ours recommended David whom they had known closely for many years.

Part of the idea was to show the cooking ability of my brother Philip, so it was decided that David and I would meet up at the restaurant where Philip worked as the head chef, the Launceston Place Restaurant, Kensington in London. The other part of the idea was to show my watercolour painting skills, so I was to be filmed outside painting the street scene, including the restaurant.

Philip and I had no experience working to camera but David demonstrated his award winning talent as a film maker right from the start. He quickly took stock of the scenario and came up with some great camera angles to capture me painting which made it a lot more interesting than watching paint dry. The way he filmed Philip cooking was equally impressive and although I say it myself, the pilot came out really well. We never managed to get it seen by the right people and eleven years on, I don’t think that British television needs another cookery programme.

Here is the section that David Peat filmed of me painting.

http://youtu.be/nBEdCAEpeA8

To see the full pilot of Philip cooking and me painting, follow the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dGyIdRmss4

To find out more about David Peat, take a look at his website davidpeatphoto.com     Also there are also touching obituaries to David which elaborate more on his career in Herald Scotland & BBC News Scotland.

Our prayers and thoughts are with his family and friends at this time of deep loss.

 

 

 

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John Singer Sargent

by on April 14, 2012 in Favourite Artists, Portraits

Alan Reed's Charcoal Studies after John Singer Sargent

Charcoal Studies after John Singer Sargent

The American artist John Singer Sargent died this day in 1925. As well as being an outstanding artist, he was a gifted musician and fluent in French, Italian and German. I’ve been a great admirer of his work for many years and I often spend time deeply engrossed studying the many fine books written about this accomplished artist. For those wishing to find out more about Mr Sargent then I can recommend the fine volumes of work documenting his work written by Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray. There are three comprehensive volumes on his portraits alone plus several on his figures and landscapes. Check out Amazon for further information.

The image above is a double page taken from my current moleskine sketchbook and  shows charcoal studies I’ve made of two of John Singer Sargent’s charcoal drawings. The original of Viscountess Astor can be seen in the National Portrait Gallery, London and was drawn in 1923. Mrs John Beals Mills was drawn in 1919 and can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As he grew older, Sargent tired of doing the formal portraits in oils that he was so well known for. At the height of his career he could command around 1000 guineas for a full length portrait which is about £100,000 in today’s money. A portrait in charcoal which he referred to as mugs would normally be drawn in one sitting. These would cost his client about £50 which is around £5000 today.

Sargent would often make his own studies of the great masters as he developed his skills, a practise which I adopted early on in my career. Over 30 years on, I’m still learning as I’m studying the work of outstanding painters. You can see other studies I’ve made of Sargent’s paintings on my website. Sargent died 87 years ago on the 14th April but his influence on art remains undiminished.

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Gassed by John Singer Sargent

by on February 25, 2012 in Favourite Artists

Gassed by John Singer Sargent

Gassed by John Singer Sargent

Last night I watched the opening episode of Melvyn Bragg’s documentary on Class and Culture which examined the years from the coronation of George V to the end of the second world war. It examined how the various classes differed and interacted with each other, in particular at the front lines during the first world war. The program held my attention because it kept showing paintings by one of my favourite artists of all time, the American John Singer Sargent including this one titled “Gassed”.

In 1918 the British Ministry of Information commissioned Sargent to paint a large scale piece to a planned hall of remembrance commemorating Anglo-American cooperation.Sargent travelled to the front in 1918 and witnessed first hand the harrowing effects of war including the aftermath of mustard gas attacks. This became the subject of this 6 meter long masterpiece which depicts a procession of wounded, blindfolded men, stumbling towards a dressing station.

Although Sargent is better known for his beautifully executed portraits of high society figures, “Gassed” has to be one of his finest. It’s handled with typical skill, flair and sensitivity. I’m looking forward to seeing it on my next visit to London where it hangs in the Imperial War Museum. You can see several of my own studies of Sargent’s work on my website.

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Head of an Arab

by on January 20, 2012 in Favourite Artists, Oil Painting, Portraits

Head of an Arab

Head of an Arab

Head of an Arab is my study of John Singer Sargent’s oil sketch which he would have painted around 1890-91 when he toured Egypt, Greece and Turkey. It was probably painted abroad, however, he may well have painted it from a model when he returned to London. Sargent was commissioned by the Trustees of the Boston Public Library to paint a mural. He was planning a frieze depicting Old Testament prophets, so this painting is relevant to his preparation.

Having worked in the Middle East since 2007, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to Arabs on a number of occasions and I’m quite struck by their distinctive, fine looking features which are fascinating to paint. In copying John Singer Sargent’s oil on canvas, I’ve tried to make the same direct, confident brush marks as Sargent, painting directly from observation, without relying on any tracing techniques. Also, I’ve kept to a very limited palate to ensure that the colours are as close to Sargent’s as possible. Of course, I’ve had to work from a photographic copy rather than the original painting, so there will be obvious differences in colouring.

The value in making such studies of the great masters works can be seen when one looks at Sargent’s own studies of the artists he admired such as Diego Velazquez and Frans Hals. This particular study was made on board and can be seen at my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland.

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John Martin APOCALYPSE

by on January 13, 2012 in Exhibitions, Favourite Artists

John Martin Apocalypse

John Martin Apocalypse

This week I went to London to see the Da Vinci Exhibition at the National Gallery, (more on that on another blog post) but I also decided to take in the John Martin “Apocalypse” Exhibition at Tate Britain. This show was actually on last year at Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery but I missed it. I almost missed it again as it finishes on the 15th January.

John Martin’s paintings were phenomenally popular. His spectacular paintings of Biblical scenes and vast landscapes attracted great crowds who would flock to exhibitions of his paintings to be enthralled and moved by the scenes and visions he portrayed. They would pay for tickets for the shows as the paintings went on tour, rather like we do today to see concerts or movies. Indeed, John Martin’s work continues to provide inspiration today for science fiction films, Hollywood blockbusters, video games, manga comics, musicians and artists.

I was particularly impressed by The Last Judgement Triptych depicting chilling scenes from the book of Revelation and the promise of eternal life for those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The viewing of these three paintings was made even more relevant by a 10 minute light show every half hour with appropriate readings which I assumed were originally read when the paintings were first shown.

Last week I went to see the Turner Prize at the Baltic in Newcastle. The work on show there was about as relevant to 21st Century life as the Easter Bunny. John Martin’s paintings on show at Tate Britain are “right on the nail” today with the message they first communicated back in Victorian times. The exhibition finishes 15th January, so if you can make it, try to make the effort.

 

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Thames Sunrise

by on July 18, 2011 in English Scenes, Football and Rugby Prints, Limited Edition Prints

Thames Sunrise

Thames Sunrise

On Saturday evening I watched an interesting documentary on BBC 2 about the impressionists. I enjoyed it because it was refreshingly light and informative, not just about the artists themselves but about their working methods, techniques and influences. Towards the end of the programme, the presenter, Waldemar Januszczak went to London where Monet and Pissarro spent part of their lives painting different aspects of the city. Monet’s moody paintings of the Thames are well known, particularly those which capture low sunlight and I was reminded of my own paintings of the City of London.

The painting above depicting a Thames Sunrise was painted in 2005. I wanted a painting of contrasts, the linear form and structure of the skyline, contrasting against the fluid, loose washes of the sky and water. Also I wanted the painting to be full of light, not just from the sun breaking through the low lying clouds, but also the last remnants of the artificial light being produced by the city itself before being switched off to be taken over by the full light of day.

This giclee limited edition print has been faithfully reproduced from the original watercolour which was painted on Fabriano Esportazione, a very expensive hand made paper from Italy.

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How do you Paint a Turner Sunset?

by on July 13, 2011 in Exhibitions, Painting on Location

Last night I received a tweet containing a link to the Tate blog by Alison Smith from one of my followers Jorgelina Vega. Alison is lead curator of “Watercolour” and Curator (Head of British Art to 1900), Tate Britain.The blog contained a fascinating little video by Mike Chaplin, one of a series he’s made on how to paint with watercolour. In the video he featured one of Turner’s watercolours on display at the Watercolour Exhibition at Tate Britain. After a careful analysis of Turner’s paper, technique and colours, Mike showed how Turner might have tackled his sunset scene my doing a watercolour of the Thames.

All this reminded me of the difficulties and joy I have experienced as a watercolourist over the last 30 years in painting sunsets and sunrises on location. In May 2007 I was painting in Venice in my small leather bound sketchbook. On one particular afternoon, we were on the island of Burano, famous for its lace and brightly coloured houses. After spending a pleasant afternoon on the island, which included a quick sketchbook watercolour of one of the canals, we waited for the vaporetto to take us back to our hotel, La Calcina formally Ruskin’s house.

I just had time to blast off a rapid watercolour in about 15 minutes where I managed to nail the sky and reflections of a Venetian sunset in two washes. The first was a base wash of Lemon Yellow, the second was a combination of Manganese Blue, purple and Rose Madder. It dried just in time for me to indicate the outline of the nearby island from which the vaporetto seemed to come from. By then, the colours of the sky had completely changed which is the challenge one has when painting sunsets on location. By the time your first wash has dried, the scene has changed. This is why Turner often carried a selection of tinted papers so that he could pick the colour and tone closest to the one he had in front of him.

I have experienced similar challenges when painting sunrises too. In many respects, they are even more difficult as you start off in semi darkness, trying to imagine what the colours are going to be over the next thirty minutes or so. The sketchbook study above of a sunset over Muttrah in Oman was tackled in two washes for the sky, the same colours as mention previously, followed by a combination of Raw Sienna and a purple for the foreground rocks.

In June I went to see the Watercolour exhibition at Tate Britain. To quote the introduction in the small booklet which accompanies the exhibition, “This exhibition explores what watercolour can achieve in terms of technique and expression that no other medium can, and why it is capable of producing an astonishing variety of effects, from subtle atmospheric washes to brilliant translucent colour.” There are some stunning paintings on display, which is well worth a visit if you are spending any time in London until 21st August.

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London Eye

by on July 1, 2011 in English Scenes, Football and Rugby Prints, Limited Edition Prints

London Eye

London Eye

London is full of incredible architecture from so many different periods in history. The London Eye has taken it’s rightful place as an iconic symbol of the Thames amongst other famous landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge. It was opened in March 2000 to bring closure to the 20th Century and to herald in the new millennium.

For this particular painting I wanted to combine the new with the old and to create a strong visual contrast between the sharp, straight vertical lines of past architecture against the smooth, gentle curve of the giant wheel. By looking into the low afternoon sunlight, most of the shapes became silhouetted which gave me the opportunity to produce some intense golden colours for the sky.

The London Eye is one of two paintings I have reproduced as limited edition prints, the other being Thames Sunrise. The original will be one of the watercolours I will be exhibiting 4-9th July at the CastleGate in Newcastle as part of the charity exhibition titled “INDEPENDENCE” to raise money for OWN IT.

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Show me the Monet

by on May 7, 2011 in Latest News

You may recall a blog post earlier in the year where I wrote about being filmed for a BBC Series titled “Show me the Monet“. Well, the 10 episode series begins on Monday 9th May on BBC 2 weekdays 5:15-6:00pm. I have been told that I am appearing in the program on Wednesday 18th with my painting of Grey Street viewed from Emerson Chambers.

“The series following the fortunes of amateur and professional artists from all over the United Kingdom, as they battle it out for a spot at the Show Me the Monet grand exhibition and sale at the Royal College of Art in London, where members of the public and the art world alike will bid to buy the best of the art work on show.

Contenders could stand to make some serious cash, but first they need the seal of approval from three of the art world’s toughest critics. To win a spot at the exhibition and the chance to sell and make some money from their work, hopeful artists must first face the Hanging Committee, where their hopes and dreams could be made or dashed.” Quote taken from the BBC Website.

The painting I submitted actually began with me doing a sketchbook study in watercolour on location as preparation for a painting demonstration I was doing at Waterstones the book shop one Saturday morning last September.

Using the sketch and some reference photographs, I drew the basic shape of the buildings and figures in readiness for the demonstration. I was able to work quite quickly on this particular painting and as you can see form the photograph, I managed to complete most of the building on the right hand side of the painting. I was able to finish off the rest of the scene in my studio.

The filming of my appearance on the program was an enjoyable but slightly disappointing experience for me as my work was not selected for the Royal College of Art, but I’d much rather try something and fail than not try at all. I’m looking forward to finding out what artwork the judges did pick in the end.

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