A "Trapiche painter" Eavie, oil on wood panel 20cm x 15cm

Two commissions

Two commissions, Top one is a 30cm x 40cm, lower one is 20cm x 30cm. Both oil on wood panel.

This is a "Trapiche painter" I've done this painting before.
Sometimes when I'm packing my kit for the market the next morning, I suddenly discover I don't have an image to paint and I have to go through my archives looking for a good subject.
This is Lauren my very first studio model. This is a challenging portrait, normally with a studio model you don't tend to draw too much on the likeness but Lauren has such a beautiful profile and her parents are good friends too - so I felt obliged to get it close.

Oil on wood panel
20cm x 25cm

I call these my "Trapiche painters" they are the little paintings I work on when I'm at the farmers market. I can usually get most of one of these done at the market depending on how many people step up for a chat, sometimes  I bring them the following week or I finish them off when I'm back at the studio.
Oil on wood panel
20cm x 25cm
This is Eavie. I've painted her many times - my favourite model.

Catch up post November

Here are a couple of commissioned portraits.
I've been quite busy with these little pictures lately, they seem very popular.
Oil sketches from photographs supplied by the clients.

Oil on wood panel 15cm x 20cm

This is another little oil sketch, of Rory on a rope swing. 20cm x 25cm oil on wood panel.

This is the latest oil sketch I did at Trapichi market this week. It is painted on an old 30cm x 40cm wood panel that had.
Sometimes if a painting doesn't work I let it dry and just rub it down with some sandpaper and use it again, it can often provide and interesting foundation for a new piece.

I'm in the process of updateing my website. If you need any information on my work please email me at steve@focaleye.com.

"Made in Peru"

“Made in Peru”
35cm x 27cm Oil on Canvas board
I knew how I wanted this painting to look from the very start.
Ursula had kindly agreed to come and sit for me at the studio and my mission with this portrait was to do another work from life rather than my more common material – photographs.
The painting got off to a good start. I felt the benefit from having my model in the studio, it certainly gave a much more personal attachment to the painting and was more fun. Ursula is a very talented artist herself so we had plenty to chat about as I worked.
I managed to get all the ground work down during the sitting and I was able to figure out the skin tones and add some colour.
There is so much more information coming at you when you paint from life but I try to keep it under control by trusting my instincts. If I suddenly see ultramarine blue in her hair then I put it on the canvas, see how it looks and adjust it accordingly.
Ursula was with me for about 3 hours and of course ultimately I shot some photographs of the sitting to help me complete the painting later.
I had plenty of time to do this painting, so over the following weeks I worked on it when I could. New layers had time to dry before I did more, and I really got a lot of value from setting it aside for periods of time whilst I worked on other stuff.
Each time I came back to it I saw the painting with fresh eyes and was able to make adjustments and move it on.
Over Christmas it sat in my studio for quite a while almost complete - just out of the corner of my eye. A couple of weeks ago I put it back on the easel and in 20 minutes it was done.



If anyone local is interested in joining in on my workshops drop me a line on steve@focaleye.com