In Memoriam and Completing an Unfinished Painting
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we are already in the second month of the New Year and Christmas and New Year is just a memory.
World Events
So much has already happened in the world. I would like to take a moment to share a thought and prayer for all those affected by the terrible earthquakes in Turkey and surrounding countries. Our hearts go out to them and hope that many will be saved.
Good Intentions
However, the year started off well with the intention to complete the video I planned for December (!) but life happened and I never got round to finishing the editing. I will endeavour to finish it this month.
Planning the various tutorials I envisaged also quickly got shelved for a little while since I was commissioned to finish an oil painting I started last year. We also said our sad farewells to a dear friend who passed away in January and I was asked to do his memorial portrait. After months of doing pastel and coloured pencil work as well as watercolours getting back to oil painting was really lovely.
Lynette’s photos
Last year I wanted to do a study of my friend’s little granddaughter, simply to hone my skills with oils. The photograph was taken by Lynette of her granddaughter Eva while they were taking a ferry to Mykonos in Greece but looked like it was taken in a studio!
She really has wonderful photography skills and takes beautiful photos of her travels and of the people in her life. I asked her permission to paint one of the photographs and she readily agreed so I started. However, I got distracted with pastel and coloured pencil work and it stood on the easel for many months. After completing the drawings I decided in January that the painting needs to be finished.
Lynette contacted me about something else and I video-called her and showed her the progress on the study. She immediately decided she wanted to purchase it with the result that I now had to complete it before she returned to Greece!
Loss and Tribute
In the meantime we lost Ian van Oordt who passed away in January. Ian was the author who had commissioned me six years ago to do a series of paintings for his book: The Battle for the Cape. He and his wife, Barbara, had become dear friends and the loss was keenly felt.
Then I got a call from Barbara to do his memorial portrait. There was a time constraint on the commission since she wanted it ready for the funeral. So I had to put Eva aside and do the painting of Ian.
Working on the painting
When I requested a photograph, Barbara said that I was perhaps one of the few who had any of him. I do have many since I had taken photos of him during the photo shoot of the characters I had needed for references for the paintings.
However I they were all very poor quality. I recalled that he had sent me a photo of himself with a friend to serve as the reference for one of the paintings I did for him. Ian had wanted himself standing next to an old cannon in military uniform, but as a younger man.
My thought was that, if he had been given the choice of how he was to be remembered, I was sure that it would’ve been one where he was in his prime.
It was an emotional roller-coaster doing the painting ranging from grief at the loss to remembering our conversations and the many times we got together to plan the paintings. I was pleased with the result and so was his wife and after I had it framed it was ready for presentation at the funeral.
Painting Eva
Then I got busy on the painting of Eva. What a joy to work on portraits! While you paint you get insights into the personality of the person: the way the head tilts, the way the eyes look at you, the curve of the mouth and even the attitude captured at that moment by the camera.
What I love most of all is re-creating the glow of the skin, the changing colours and finding those ‘hidden’ tones and values that may escape the casual viewer. All of these components come together to capture the spirit of the sitter and to give joy to the observer. Needless to say my friend was extremely happy with the result and cannot wait to show it to her daughter.
The Process
I cannot speak for other artists, but the process of the painting or drawing is what I love the most. The final product and the gratitude with which it is received is just the cherry on the cake for me.
Trying to mix and create new colours to get that special something in a painting is what I love. I will also stare at my reference photo or outdoor scene for hours to create the picture in my mind.
Even at night I’ll be thinking of which colours I could combine to get to that elusive one I battled with during the day.
I get lost in a painting and am most happy when I am doing little details or applying the finishing touches to give it that extra special dimension.
Taking a Break
During the weekend we went to visit family about two hours away in Saldanha. Nearing home we were getting closer to the mountain ranges and I was once more intensely aware of how beautiful our country is! I snapped some photos from the car window as we approached Stellenbosch. The camera cannot really show how majestic those mountains are but after coming into the Winelands from the West Coast it really takes your breath away!
Even though I love most of the country, this is where my heart is. I am truly grateful for the endless beauty of nature around me.
Planning the month ahead
But now it is the time to get the video tutorials of the coloured pencil and pastel work edited and posted. I will be posting time-lapse videos of my process on YouTube; however the longer tutorials will be posted on Patreon as soon as I have enough to post over there.
I also have another pet portrait to do and am still undecided about the medium I want to do it in. Perhaps I’ll first do a study of him in pastels and then perhaps also in oils. I’ll see. In the meantime I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and get spoiled by your loved ones.
