Painted Memories

Train

Richard — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 06:24:58 +0000

This week’s illustration Friday topic is “Train”. This painting is of Kyoto train station, inspired by my trip to Japan last year.

Lonely

Richard — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 07:47:13 +0000

For this week’s Illustration Friday I thought this children’s portrait would fit the theme of “Lonely”… “When the sparrow sings its final refrain, the hush is felt nowhere more deeply than in the heart of man.” – Don Williams Jnr.

Carry

Richard — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 04:14:04 +0000

This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “Carry”, and this is a commissioned painting for a racehorse owner from a couple of years ago. “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” ~Winston Churchill. Carry.

Lost

Richard — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 07:03:35 +0000

The topic of this week’s Illustration Friday is “Lost”. Although this painting is unfinished I thought that it would still fit the topic. I am enjoying painting people at moments of extreme emotion… whether that be joy, exuberance, or in this case, sadness.“There are moments in life, when the heart is so full of emotion That if by chance it be shaken, or into its depths like a pebble Drops some careless word, it overflows, and its secret, Spilt on the ground like water, can never be gathered together” . – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Suspend

Richard — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 08:37:06 +0000

The theme for this week’s Illustration Friday is “suspend”. I liked the idea of a dancer seemingly defying gravity in a graceful manoeuvre… the challenge here was defining the axis of gravity so that the poise is at once threatening to tip forward yet balanced, as if … suspended.

Refresh

Richard — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 08:10:22 +0000

The topic for this week’s Illustration Friday challenge is “Refresh”. In this painting I am attempting to balance the orange skin tones of the boy with the cooler blues of the tap and the gushing water. Nicholas Sparks in The Notebook says “It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.” Refresh.

Comic Actor #2

Richard — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 05:26:55 +0000

Painting inspired by watching kyogen (comic play) in Japan earlier this year. The Japanese are usually very reserved, so it was a lot of fun watching these actors putting everything into their facial expressions and movements. This was a famous theatre at Gion Corner in Tokyo.

In this painting I am trying to capture a diagonal light from above, accentuating the lines and features of this wonderfully Japanese face… the pose was on the front foot, the actor reacting in surprise to an event which had just occurred.

Space

Richard — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 07:51:27 +0000

This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “Space”. I tried to resist the extra terrestrial and instead submitted this painting of the spacious view from our house. Where the sea meets the sky the horizon seems to stretch forever. This storm approached from Bass Point and within minutes lashing rain and lightning followed, enveloping the whole house.

The next day our postman came to the door and saw the painting. “Hey, was that the storm we had yesterday?” ”Yes” I smiled. Space.

Secret

Richard — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 08:10:20 +0000

The topic for this week’s Illustration Friday is “secret’. My painting is based on a photo I took of a young maiko (apprentice geisha) in Japan earlier this year. Waiting outside the red lanterned geisha house for her onee-san (teacher) there was something about the furtive glance which opened a channel into her secret world of dance, tea ceremony and the art of casual conversation.

Elusive by day, the geisha are an occasional scurrying blur as they glide the streets to perform their daytime errands. By night their world is one of high culture, performance and story telling. Secret.

Shiny

Richard — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 07:24:25 +0000

In the Gion district of Kyoto the cherry blossoms explode under the streetlights… shiny rippling reflections, the frigid spring air settles on my shoulders and head. I try to layer the pink blobs so they meet the black silhouette of the branch but still hang as a separate, fragrant, weighty presence. Shiny.