Author: risteardom

John and his wife Sue have been friends for nearly 20 years. I would have thought that knowing him so long and having a good picture would have made painting a picture of him fairly easy – it has not worked out like that. There are many problems left to resolve in this painting which will have to wait until I make further progress.

Rebecca posed for me on the final 3 days of the summer course I attended at the Slade this Summer. One portrait was completed on the course and I completed this one when I returned home. I feel I will have to return in due course

 

 

I was drawn to Amy by her beauty and the tough life she was drawn into. Her dramatic image helped me to respond with a quiet expressive painting

I have been interested in portraiture for many years. I loved doing self-portraits and almost 20 years ago did a pencil and charcoal drawing of my Father. During my degree portraits were a relatively small part of the course. I stepped up my work on portraits during 2019. Initially I studied pencil drawing using techniques developed by Leonardo.

Now! I am trying to work in oil again including a self portrait.

 

I am inspired by the power of nature when a storm such as the Beast came in and demonstrated that in the last analysis we are powerless to control her. The environment around Llyn Tegid was transformed by this storm. All plants at home exposed to easterly winds were blasted losing much of the 2018 summer season.

We get many plays of light on the Aran Mountain that can be quite stunning. The sun sets over the Aran in the depths of Winter – If you can imagine it its real – Oil on Slate

 

Sadly a varnishing day was not allowed in our final show so that I had to wait till I got one of the paintings back to the studio before making this change. What do you think?

     

The Final Show was launched on May 5th and will hang until June 3rd. The paintings are below. It is fantastic to see your art in an exhibition. I am so proud – it makes the effort of the past year well worth while. I am so grateful to all the Tutors for their support over the past 8 years

 

l on

The growth in the Sex industry across the world has been one of the major scandals of our time. Hundreds of Girls are selling themselves for sex in a major City like Manchester every day. Perhaps one of the worst aspects of this trade is the use of single mothers. Young women abandoned by the fathers of their children have no jobs, no money and no childcare. They seem to feel that they have no choice but to take to prostitution. Once drawn in they become trapped and continue working for years to feed their children and to provide a decent life for them.

Oil on Board 110x110cm

These young women feel shame and low self esteem but their plight could get worse as Governments move to disrupt human trafficking for sex. The Scandinavian law would outlaw payments for sex. This could dramatically cut the number of customers and force young mothers into more dangerous activity on the streets.

oil on Canvas 84x59cm

Benefit cuts to the most vulnerable in our society and closure of dedicated mental health facilities have led to a surge in the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of our cities. The basic benefit they can receive does not even cover the cost of a hostel bed. Many of them have become addicted to hard drugs and many steal to supplement income from begging. Society has abandoned these people to a short desperate life while we carry on with our shopping and lives of pleasure.

oil on board 110x110cm