Beloved pet

A bit of a challenge here because the left side of the subject was in dense shadow so left to the imagination to create.

New pastel

New painting

An oil made up from two photos and a fair bit of imagination.

Wesney

A pastel of Wesney, now 15 years-old.

Rottie Pup

Was really pleased with the way this pastel turned out. He was a shy pup and I wanted to capture that:

Updating after long absence

Yes I am still painting but have been very busy with other endeavours also. Here is a selection of works from the last couple of years.

First up a palette knife oil, a still life, Roses in a White Jug:

And another palette knife oil, Paremata at Dawn:

At that gappy age

A pastel of Danny:

Another palette knife painting

Lucy

Two works in progress

A Springer Spaniel in pastel

Couldn't crop this one because it's on a round canvas. This tabby was lying in his favourite place - his play tunnel

Oops forgot to take photos of these pastels before framing.

Denise

Nice news on Sunday last. My entry into the annual Muriel Hopper Art Award received People's Choice.

Danny and Katie

Danny and Katie is a pastel around 14 x 18 inches. Here's how it evolves:

Mt Cook landscape

Oil on canvas with palette knife, based on a photograph.

New paintings

Another return to my favourite subject; historic black and white Maori photos used to produce colourful portraits.

New paintings from historical photographs

These are small oils from black/white historic photos. The first photo was title 1900s Haka and the second, WW2 soldier and dog Paddy. They appealed to me emotionally.

 

Jack

A pastel portrait of Jack who apparently characteristically had his ears back,

New painting

Azalea

Here's one just finished. Oil on canvas. Zali is  Reona's granddaughter. She was playing in our garden late summer - at times throwing about a rugby ball with my 20 year-old son. One portrait alone couldn't capture her various expressions. So I painted four views on one canvas. She is life-size in each. Goes without saying but she's gorgeous.

Recent portraits

I was proud to call Wim Verhoeven  a friend of mine. A gentleman of  enormous integrity and kindness. Here's a pastel I did for his son Terry late last year.

This is the late Mrs Connell whose portrait I painted for her lovely husband. He came to collect it last week and was thrilled. I didn't know her and worked from a small photo on funeral service memorial notes creating a 500 x 400mm oil. She looks like she made the most of life.

"Breeze"

This is "Breeze". An oil painted on canvas primed with burnt sienna to create a warm glow feeling which is how I feel about dogs.

Chinese Dragon

A palette knife work- in- progress. This is a very large piece in which I want to capture the powerful build of this sire and the hot, summery, Manawatu countryside:

New sketch

At Red Roof

I am now sketching at Red Roof Gallery in Eastbourne on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Lexie

Baby in pink - pastel progression

Jack

This doggie was painted posthumously. The unusual thing about him was he had a missing front leg. So I crafted the painting in such a way as to put the attention on his face rather than chest. Looked like a very appealing chap. I see it is unsigned so it might not have been finished when I took this photo. I think he was a bit hairier by the time he left.

Freya

Lionel, Ihaka and Te Kaha, 2011

This is a composite portrait from three different photos taken on the same day and in the same light.




This is also a composite from some shots taken at Tauheranikau, New Year's Day 2011. This is a lot looser than my usual style. The unpainting is violet and I have left quite a lot showing through to get a sense of movement into the scene.

Recent pastel sketches

Two heading dogs

The lower dog is the mother, the upper, her son. I took the photos used outside my shop. She was very camera shy and it was impossible to get a shot with them posed together so I treated them as individual (but combined) portraits. Lovely temperaments.

The English Pointer