Chris Rose - Artist - Studio Page

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:31:00 +0000

Stage 4; I've worked across the width of the grassy plain at the the back, gradually adjusting some of the colours as I've gone to reflect the change in the angle of the light source. At the left of the picture, where one is looking more towards the sun, the colour is dominated by cool greens caused by light shining through dew drops on the grass. As one moves right across the picture light is reflected less off the dew drops and reflects more of the true colour of the grass.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:46:00 +0000

Stage 3; I've painted in the background hillside and the elephant seals., and have started on the grassy plain at top right. Pitching colour and tone correctly at this stage has been crucial as it

helps set the quality of the light in the picture.

The seals had steam rising from them as the sun burnt off moisture into the cool air of early morning.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Stage 2; I've added some 'local colour' in very thin paint to start to get a feel for the light and atmosphere I'm looking for.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 07:34:00 +0000

The moultings; This is the first stage of a new oil painting of elephant seals and king penguins at Diaz cove on the south shore of South Georgia. They are all undergoing moult - the seals are shedding old fur and the penguins, many of them immature birds, are picking out the last vestiges of their old plumage. Size; 28" x 40".

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:21:00 +0000

Finished painting.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:07:00 +0000

Stage 14: Having completed the seals and sprayed on the wind-blown sand in front of them I have now started working on the penguins. I've done the heads and grey backs of the three and a bit left-hand standing birds. I'll do the same to the remaining standing birds and then do their white fronts. Before painting the lying down birds I will spray on the wind-blown sand in front of the standing birds, then add more in front of the recumbant ones when I've finished painting them.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Stage 13: I've painted the top and shaded right-hand side of the elepahant seal and am now working around the face, putting in texture and detail. The wet sand pushed out from under the seal has also been finished.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:40:00 +0000

Stage 12: After a bit of work with the tip of the palette knife dragged across with darker paint to give shadow, the bottom left-hand corner of the sand is finished.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:43:00 +0000

Stage 11: A detail of a finished patch of sand. Over the dark spatters I then sprayed on a lighter colour using the same technique. In theory some of these lighter spatters will overlay parts of the darker ones giving the impression of grains of sand. Had I wanted to create a pitted surface I would have put the light colour on first and overlaid with the dark, giving the appearance of tiny dimples where the dark spots partly obscure the lighter ones. I have then added a few larger 'grains' by dabbing the paint on with the tip of a painting knife, again putting dark spots on first and slightly offsetting lighter spots on top of these but just to their right, thus giving the appearance of cast shadows.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:34:00 +0000

Stage 10: A detail of the bottom of the picture where I've begun adding texture by splattering on darker paint by dragging my finger across an old toothbrush loaded with well diluted paint. By holding the toothbrush at an oblique angle to the picture surface I can produce roughly oval-shaped spatters that align in a horizontal direction, mimicking shadows cast from a low sun on the sand's surface.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 21:30:00 +0000

Stage 9: I've finished blocking in the penguins and have started on the sand. I've just painted in a ground colour on to which I will add texture. I've indicated slight undulations in the sand using a slightly darker colour.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:21:00 +0000

Stage 8; I've more-or-less finished blocking in the penguins; just a few of the white underparts to fill in.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:14:00 +0000

Stage 7; Here I have started roughly put in some colour on the penguins. I am working quite crudely at this stage as I try to work out the patterns of light and shade and to test out colours to see how they fit with the rest of the painting. There is no point in working up to a high level of finish at this stage only to step back from the picture and decide that the colours or tones are all wrong.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:05:00 +0000

Stage 7: By the end of the second day I have the seals roughly painted in. I will go back over these when this thin layer is dry, refining the colours and textures of their fur. Next I am going to give the penguins the same treatment.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Stage 5: I have added some white on the sunlit parts of the penguins' breasts. This will be the lightest tone in the painting so, together with the dark of the heads, I have the extremes of the tonal range established early on. I'm enjoying working on the elephant seal's head!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:58:00 +0000

Stage 4: I've started adding some local colour, roughly and still using quite a thin mix, just get a quick idea of how the colours will work over the whole picture.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Stage 3; At the end of the first day I have the basic composition drawn in.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:56:00 +0000

Stage 2; Here I am adding some form and shading to the drawing, again using thin oil paint.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Elephants and kings, stage 1; This is the first stage of a new oil painting - king penguins and elephant seals sitting out a sand storm on the beach. I've drawn in the figures in thin oil paint. I use paint rather than pencil or charcoal because it s easy to wipe out without making a mess.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Finished painting; Having completed the scene it just remained to paint in the swimming king penguins, which took only half a day. One of the inspirations for this work was the shot of orange on the penguins' heads aginst the blue of the rest of the picture. Without this small accent of colour the picture would be greatly diminished. The penguins also help to give an idea of scale.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:10:00 +0000

Stage 17; Detail of completed bergy bit. Although the day was overcast, light transmitted through sections of ice in wonderful minty greens.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:12:00 +0000

Stage 15; I've started painting in the larger bergs, at the back, and their reflections.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Stage 14; The water is now complete. All that remain are the larger bergy-bits and the two king penguins.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 23 May 2011 21:03:00 +0000

Stage 13; I have now reached the stage where the glacier reflection becomes broken by the reflection of the sky along the top horizon of the ice face.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Rose) — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:56:00 +0000

Stage 12: Towards the bottom of the picture, where the water is nearer to us the viewer, the horizontal ripples become more noticeable. I still start by painting in the water as vertical bars of colour but am conscious that these verticals will in places be broken by horizontal ripples.