My Art - Frank

La Rochelle

A few years ago we went on holiday and stayed with friends at La Rochelle. This inlet is where Tim keeps his little boat that he uses for his favourite pastime, fishing.

A few years ago a very good friend of ours said come stay with us for a few days. They live close to La Rochelle and this is the bay where his little fishing boat is moored. We must make a return visit someday soon.

Shells

An array of shells and stones laid out as a still life at the local art group. A simple Thursday night challenge and a wonderful picture.

An exercise in pen and watercolours grew into so much more. This is one of those pictures where the image takes over and you really are not sure where you are going. I started by laying down some loose colours and then drew in the pen detail and finally added the shading and shadow to give depth and ground the shells. However, the result is very pleasing and the original has been stolen by my wife.

Swallow Falls

Water through trees and mist; such an ethereal subject. Ideal water colour territory very delicate and soft.

Swallow Falls Wales

This is one of the gentlest pictures I have ever produced. I hope it conveys the feeling of flowing water and a misty damp day!

Duffield Meadow

A water meadow, flood plane environment and for me this picture has the feeling of soft wetness on a late afternoon when the air is cooling; wonderful.

The meadows at Duffield are really very special, the river winds around the flood plain in a big loop with a cricket pitch and lots of open space. However, when you look back towards Duffield you are presented with a view of tree and the church with the railway cutting you off from the town a lovely relaxing place

Rats

My wife has a small collection of Netsuke and these little object make fantastic subject for still life paintings. However, they are quite tricky as they are very small and very detailed. This monochrome rendering in pen and ink just captures the mood.

Squirrel

This watercolour took forever as I just kept on adding more and more colour until I captured the effect I was endeavouring to capture. Negative shapes are not my strong point and I found this rather tricky but it was worth the struggle. I the real world he was sat there in the snow with the woods in the background.

Frog

This smug looking frog has just laid several hundred eggs, which after all is what frogspawn is. I just could not resist trying to capture that look.

Robin

This picture was I admit inspired by a photograph taken with flash. The result looked quite graphic so I decided to paint most of the picture with short strokes. Lots of time and patience later I love the result.

Two Apples

Well to be honest two wooden apples, hand turned chunks of wood with holes in them. I love the texture and the colour and was inspired to paint this still life. The monochromatic leanings of this picture make it very easy on the eyes and positively relaxed.

Still Life

I started to paint this classic still life in a rather unconventional manor by painting the shadows. I did this because white objects are very difficult and I was focused on capturing the form and not the detail. Once the basic shapes were outlined I added the colours and finally drew in the shapes with a pen. The result is looser than many of my pictures but I am very happy with the result.