"Duo"

"Duo"- Oil on Board 19 x 35.5cm

I wanted this to have a quick 'sketch' feel to it, sometimes too much rendering can ruin a piece. If the expression is there then rendering is less important.

I could paint 'The Boys' every day and not get bored, it's all about the relationship.

New Blog!

Looking forward to adding more work to this soon. http://artofmoyse-landscapes.blogspot.com. Stay tuned!!

Bowie Faas- Revisited

Hi All,

This is pretty much copied from my website describing my commissioning process for portraits.

Bowie is an actor and singer from the Netherlands who has commissioned me for several pieces over the last few years. Here is the process we went through for his latest portrait. 

Originally we could only work from photos he had available, which he sent via email. There were limited options with these in terms of lighting and expression, but as this was my only choice of reference at the time, I made a painting from it.

At the end of the painting I wasn't completely happy with the likeness, having seen photos of Bowie in the past. The colours in the reference were from a stage show he'd performed in and were unusable. So I was also unsatisfied with the skin tones. I knew I could do better.

A few months after completing this, Bowie said he was going to be in London for a few days and we arranged for him to come to my studio on the south-east coast for a live sitting. I was eager to meet him after communicating so long via email and facebook. Himself and his partner Nandi were delightful. They also brought individual gifts for my girlfriend, daughter and myself, which was incredibly thoughtful and kind. So we started the live sitting, but I was always conscious of the time limit we had.

Some people are better sitters than others. There are some who can hold a natural pose for hours at a time, others, like myself and Bowie, feel less relaxed when being scrutinized by either a painter, photographer or sketch artist. An artist interprets what he sees. A portrait artist aims to capture the soul of the sitter. So the end result of the sitting was a better likeness than the one from the photo, I was happy with the skin tones and lighting, but it still wasn't right. The expression wasn't there and therefore the likeness wasn't 100% there either. Now I'd met Bowie, I had a better idea of what I wanted to paint.

So at the end of the live sitting, we had a photo shoot where we had a chat about his likes and dislikes. I mentioned his singing and what it's like to sing on stage. This gave me the expression and pose I wanted.

After they had left I spent a day working on a sketch. I was happy with the expression and pose, and I knew that the likeness and structure could be enhanced during the painting. I transferred the sketch onto a gessoed board ready for painting, then started the blocking in process. 

Above are some progress shots leading up to the final artwork. The time for the final rendering was roughly a weeks work spread over two weeks. Drying time for the oil paint can be anything from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the thickness of application. Framing and shipping can add several weeks on top of this. To commission a portrait from me, you can contact me via email at info@paulmoyse.com or phone on (+44)7713 248 429.

Here is the finished portrait:

Derren Brown - National Portrait Gallery

'Rasputin Always Wins'

Oil on Board

600 x 900mm

Hi all!

It's been a while since I posted any finished paintings on here, but finally here is the Derren Brown painting that took me several months to complete.

It has been selected for exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, as part of the BP Portrait Awards 2012! It will be on display with 55 other international portrait artists from 21st June-23rd September and will then go on tour around the country. I am a very proud artist right now!!

Derren and me after the sitting.

My subject, Derren Brown, is one of the most talented psychological illusionists in the UK, best known for his mind-reading and t.v stunts. His shows on Channel 4 during the early 2000's made him a household name. Three million viewers tuned in to watch him play Russian Roulette live on air in 2003!

He is also a talented painter. During our three hour sitting he gave me a tour of his home, or should I say his museum, dedicated to caricature, portraiture and, last but not least, taxidermy. Thankfully the bird in the painting, Rasputin, is very much alive. Sadly the others didn't make it.

His paintings were amazing to see in person, especially the Dame Judy Dench and the large format portraits of his parents. Wow!

Working on this has been an incredible experience. I am honoured to have met Derren and to be exhibiting at such an historic gallery. I look forward to seeing all the other paintings selected for the exhibition in June. Congrats to all!

Making progress

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've been going through what you could call a period of adjustment. Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control and force us to change our plans slightly. I was in the middle of a new painting when my back decided to give in. Not long after this, while I was nursing myself through the pain, my computer also decided to throw in the towel. It was a PC, and this is the final straw. I will be switching to a Mac, something I should have done a long time ago!

The portrait of Derren Brown that I finished just before my back went has been framed and delivered to the NPG. I'm really looking forward to sharing the piece with you, I'm very proud of it! Will share it with you soon.

So now my back is well on the mend, I feel I can return to some full time sketching and painting. Attached is a shot of a sketch commission I've nearly completed of Christopher Hitchens. The reference was suggested by the client. It's a great reference and would make an excellent painting should the client want me to do so.

Joe Bluhm Won An Oscar!!

Well, not just Joe, it was actually the entire team at Moonbot Studios who created 'The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessimore'. I've met Joe several times and not only is he an amazing artist, but a great guy as well. He truly deserves this recognition for his hard work. Congrats to Joe and the team for a beautiful film and a well deserved win!

                                              

John Hurt W.I.P

Here's a quick study of one of Britain's  finest actors, congrats to him on his BAFTA award the other night! Hopefully I will get back to finishing this soon.

Oil on Canvas.

Happy Birthday Dickens!

An acrylic from a couple of years back.

Opening Night!

Opening night of the Muhammed Ali exhibition went very well, lots of lovely people, including Ian Puleson-Davies, aka Owen from Coronation Street. The exhibition is looking great and a fun evening was had by all. Well done to the guys at Generation Pop! My works will be on display along with the rest of the exhibition for 2 weeks.

Also, there is only one day left to sign up for my courses at http://advancedcaricature.co.uk and get a 25% discount on any course throughout 2012. If you're thinking of doing it, do it now!

EDIT: Here is a brief testimonial from recent student Kurt Elliot. Kurt started with the beginners course and is moving up to intermediate:


"I have really enjoyed the past 9 weeks. I find the more I sketch and practice the more I understand what you have to say in your lessons and critiques. I replay the videos while I sketch and without really paying attention i find i get more and more out of the videos. Not sure what the highlight of the 9 weeks was for me as i enjoyed the whole thing, seeing you sketch and looking at your paintings gives me so much energy to practice and improve."

Muhammed Ali- Exhibition Opening!

Next week is a big week!! I will be attending the Muhammed Ali fine Art Exhibition at Generation Pop, where I am one of the official artists. The opening on Tuesday 17th is coinciding with Muhammed Ali's 70th Birthday, so I am deeply honoured to be able to be a part of it. Also, I was told today that BBC News 24 want to do live broadcasts and interviews with yours-truly and others throughout the day. Should be a fun day!

Extreme Exaggeration

Here are some sample sketches I prepared for critiques for my students at http://advancedcaricature.co.uk. On the beginner’s course, I have a lesson based around extreme exaggeration. This is probably my favourite lesson. I spend a lot of my time with portraits, and it can be very easy to forget what it feels like to exaggerate. We can easily get out of the habit, so the above is a good exercise. It’s an opportunity to let loose!

JANUARY SALE!!!!

Click the image to find out more!

*OFFER APPLIES TO ALL COURSES IN 2012. SALE ENDS 20th JAN!!

Daughter- Christmas 2011

Pastel and pencil on toned paper.

Bowie Faas

Bowie Faas from the Netherlands, private commission, Oil on Board, 40 x 60cm.

Christopher Hitchens RIP

Sad news about Christopher Hitchens. Above is a sketch I did about a year ago that I didn't share for whatever reason. Below is a video of Mr Hitchens addressing a Baptist Church last year. The last 30 seconds are particularly amazing!

RIP.