Sagrada Familia

Child

An apple drawn on SketchBookExpress

Preliminary sketch for a painting

Neil and Aodan at Key Largo, oil on board

Rob Deuchar's Ankle is Hurting, oil on board, 60 x 48 cm

Stuart Burt, oil

For the first time since I started a nine-till-five job at the beginning of January, I'm painting again. Here's my latest work in progress.

Twisted Torso, oil, 18 x 24 cm

Comfort (oil, 60 x 70 cm) Stage 6: Completed

Comfort (digitally worked detail)

I was walking round Dusseldorf this afternoon thinking about my latest painting, feeling that it is not good as good as it could be when I had a brainwave...I have to leave the original photo behind me now and work on the painting in its own right. Because I'm not at home, I can't work on the original painting, but what I have done is experiment on a digital version on my computer. The example above is just a detail, but it should be enough for you to judge the results for yourself.

Comfort (oil, 60 x 70 cm) Stage 1: The Underpainting

At 60 x 70 cm, this is the biggest work I've ever attempted, and I'm really enjoying it. I've started with an underpainting in verdaccio and, once it's dry, will add the flesh tones by means of transparent glazes. This is the technique used by the old masters.

Sold for £465: The Little Girl with Flowers in her Hair

This morning I bade farewell to the Little Girl with Flowers in her Hair (oil, 40 x 60 cm), who was sent on approval to a London buyer at a price of £465.

Neil and Aodan sheltering under a boulder

An eye, digital paint

This is a detail copied from a painting by Bouguereau.

Seated woman, acrylic, 20 x 30 cm

Martin, Sarah and Bill at Glen Clova (Acryllic, 50 x 40 cm)

I painted this picture as a present for Sarah's Bat Mitzvah.

Aodan on Cape Cod

I did this painting from a photo I took on holiday last year. Aodan was feeling pretty miserable on the day the photo was taken, due to a severe case of sunburn.

I'm pretty pleased with the painting on the whole. It's the biggest I've ever attempted, and I managed to loosen my brush strokes considerably to cover the huge white surface. What I'm still not satisfied with, though, is the fabric of Aodan's teeshirt. I think I've still got some learning to do there.

Laughing Woman (acrylic, 30 x 40 cm)

This painting is modeled on one by the American artist John Currin. I started it about nine months ago, but halted work because I couldn't get the hair right. Today I had another go and got to as near to completion as I will every get it. I am pleased with the solidity and roundness of the head and with the ambiguity of the expression: is it agony or ecstasy?

Aodan on North Berwick beach

Earlier in the summer, we drove to North Berwick with Aodan and his grandparents. This photo was taken on the beach. It's actually Aodan's reflection on wet sand, flipped 180 degrees. I like the way the feet are in focus, while the head is indistinct, as if lost in swirling clouds. The pose is very casual, but the low camera angle makes him seem to tower like a giant. I also like the three distinct bands of white, blue and grey.