Lay Figures - Part 2

Conté on black paper (A4)

Meet Jack, aka Sportylay. He's quite a bit smaller than the bigger figger in part 1, but he's not stuck to a pole. He's magnetic - well, his hands, feet and ball are.

Lay Figures - part 1

Conté crayon on black paper (A4)

Perhaps not every artist has one, but many do. I'm not sure if they get used very often, though. Mine doesn't, although I do like him (actually, I have two; this post is devoted to the larger one, which is affixed to a pole). The Twitter event / hashtag #stilldecember (still life) encouraged a few of us to treat our lay figures, or artists' manikins, as subjects in themselves.

Vote - Best artwork on an art blog 2013 - Making a Mark

Belated Christmas Greetings

Boxing Day already?

How time flies.

Happy Christmas!

Dippping a toe into the world of fine art printing

We're not talking greetings cards. We're not talking posters. We're miles away from Vistaprint or Bonusprint.

Hot Wheels 2 - "Meyers Manx"

It's pink (and purple) and it's a dune buggy - it's a model of a Meyers Manx, which is a real vehicle (many Hot Wheels designs are invented for the toys).

Acrylic on canvas, 7 x 9 cm
18 December 2013

Previous Hot Wheels painting

If you go down to the woods today...

2013 - Derwent Drawing Pencil on black paper (A3, cropped to ~A4)

Teddy bears can make interesting subjects. Many seem to have a character all of their own - especially the well-loved ones. Only one of the bears in this post dates from my childhood - but I had him before I was one year old, and he is certainly in the "well-loved" category. He's worn pretty well, though - I wonder if he's obviously the elder bear?

1998 - Derwent Drawing Pencil on white paper (A5)

1998 - Conté pastel pencil on white paper (A5)

Pumpkin Half

So, I finally got around to making my "Autumn Soup" (it's still bubbling in the pan; I can't tell you what it tastes like yet).

The Beeches - SOLD

With your back to Watership Down, you are looking down the line of The Beeches and the footpath to Ladle Hill (the footpath is part of the Wayfarer's Walk, a long distance path). You can see the sloping side of Ladle Hill through the trees to the right.

I took a few liberties with fences (largely removal thereof) and I also took a tree out to improve the view.

Oil on canvas 33 x 55cm
SOLD

EDIT (20 December 2013): High quality "giclée" prints will be available of this painting in the new year.

30% discount on Blurb books this weekend

Meta Painting Knife

So, when I finished Claret, there was an unaccountably large quantity of blue left over. It seemed like a shame to throw all of it away, so I turned it into an abstract-ish background for a knife painting of a painting knife.

Oil on commercially prepared canvas board, 5 x 7 "

Claret - SOLD

This was a commission, painted yesterday and finished just as the light was failing. I'd forgotten how complicated those blue squares are to paint...

LEGO Minifigures 90: Doctor

It really is the doctor this time!

The Domestic Painting Knife - a book

Hot off the press: published today.

So hot that it, er, hasn't been printed yet.

The Domestic Painting Knife by Amanda Bates | Make Your Own Book

The book preview shows all 52 pages for a limited time only (until I change it).