Still Life with Skull...process

I finished this still life study recently, which began as a demonstration for my oil class students. As I've said before, I don't always finish these, but it feels good to have done so. I didn't do an underlying pencil sketch to start this off, instead I oultined the basic shapes/forms with Raw Umber thinned down with mineral spirit. However, every painting I do, whether personal or for a demo, starts out as a thumbnail drawing in my sketchbook. I've included those sketches as well to give an insight into the advent of the process. This is oil on paper.

Memento Mori process...

I seem to have painted a few skulls in the last year or so. It wasn't planned like that, they've all been commissions of one sort or another. Painting skulls is enjoyable, and they are certainly challenging, but I don't plan on any more in the foreseeable future. It was a huge advantage to set the skull up in front of me, with a strong, consistent light source, and paint from life. Photos have their advantages, and sometimes you don't have much of a choice, but nothing beats painting from direct observation. I used to mostly mix my skin tones from the complementary pairing of red and green, but I tried out a new combination of pigments for this one- cadmium red, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, and flake white...

Torous: Mindfield album cover process...

This was another highly collaborative effort with the rock band Torous. This is my third illustration in response to their music, and each time I've benefited from exploring various ideas with the band. It really felt like a symbiotic relationship, and the journey of the image, as it morphed from one concept to the next, evolved painlessly. That's not to say we struck on the final idea immediately, not at all. But the creative process was so enjoyable, it always seemed like the solution was 'just around the corner'. As usual, I've attached some of the earlier ideas that were eventually discarded. It interests me to see those initial sketches in comparison to the final image, as although they didn't make the final cut, they are imbued with a sense of enquiry and are therefore not altogether irrelevant to the final design. The background was rendered with acrylic glazes, whilst the main event was painted in oils using a limited palette.

Dried Bones process...

This will be the front cover for the Dried Bones EP by hard Celtic rock band Torous. They wanted to go back to a more traditional approach, hence my involvement. I did a lot of thumbnail concept sketches for this, more than usual, but my imagination was fired up for it. I was sent over the lyrics and got to work immediately. The lyrics were vivid, which really helped generate lots of ideas. I had my heart set on one idea in particular, but another image was chosen instead. In hindsight the final painting reflects the concept of the song much better, so everyone wins. The tattoo on the chest is the torus symbol...