This is not the time for discovering new things and trying to incorporate them into a project. More oil paintings!!

I know I shouldn't but I found some work the other day in the Artists' Handbook that I fell in love with.

I'll check later, but I believe the name was Jan Vanriet. I love the pared down nature, simplicity and containedness all at once. The implication of skin tone as the complementary to the green.

So I had a go, firstly at a straight copy and the compositions of my own.

Maybe too illustration for my purpose but I think they work.

The disaster painting, I think I went too big with this one, lost and sign of subtle and might have to file it under B. I. N.

Looks better on here than it does in the flesh, maybe I won't trash it yet, maybe I'm a better photographer than painter?

Getting there 'Underpainting and Subtlety' Oils on Board

The next stages.

My work is getting more subtle, delicate and controlled. I have never spent so much much time considering the methods, materials, composition. I now spend more time thinking than painting, yet I feel I am still getting some good marks and looseness but in a more refined way. Don't know if that's true but it feel a lot more like painting and being a proper artist.

 

I have also been looking at colours, mixes, combinations and complementaries to create a palette that works for these paintings. I love the bright but earth colours, combining my love of bright and primary colours with the subtlety required to show the process of knitting (of doing with the hands) as an earthy, mundane but skilled process.

 

These paintings are as yet unfinished, further updates to follow.

 

Final pieces - A tryptic of knitting hands - Oil on board

A run up to the finish now, just a few weeks left.

I made all my own boards this time without any help, hand cut mitres for the frame, cut the board and it nearly fits!

I now have four boards measuring 105cms long  by 45cms wide, the same as the two original boards. I'm hopeful I can get three good paintings out of six, it would be amazing to get all six.

I've taken loads of photos, this is just a few, I love the more dynamic dexterous looking pictures 

"showing or having skill, especially with the hands."

synonyms:

deft, adept, adroit, agile, nimble, neat, nimble-fingered, handy, able, capable, talented, skilful, skilled, proficient, accomplished, expert, experienced, practised, polished, efficient, effortless, slick, professional, masterful, masterly, impressive, finely judged, delicate;

I have started the drawing for these paintings plus some more sketches (to come later)

This is the close up and the full board

Close up work in progress and the full board

I've been tempted just to leave these as pencil drawings but I'm so keen to paint that the pencil drawings will have to be on record and in my sketchbook.

I have just bought the 'Artists' Handbook' which is an amazing book by Ludion,

George Wittenborns's Guestbook.

Michael Borremans

Denmark