Glass Roses

I had great fun this weekend doing reference photos for one of Ona's future paintings. She is going to use some glass roses in the composition, and Giuseppi Crystal (www.glassroses.com) very kindly provided us with some samples. Each rose is hand made and very beautiful. The combination of shiny curved surfaces, translucent glass and gold accents makes them fascinating (and difficult!) to photograph, so as well as the reference shots for Ona I did a few for myself as well.

I tried a few on a white background, but my favorite is the black, which really lets the roses pop!

James

A little press coverage :)

It was kind of neat to see Ona's entry in the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's exhibition get a couple of mentions in the press. The first was a general piece from when the show opened, where hers was one of the paintings featured in the photographs

http://www.timesobserver.com/page/content.detail/id/541116/Watercolor-Society--an-incredible-show.html?nav=5003

The second was a follow-up about the people's choice award which mentions Ona's work as one of the runners up in the voting.

http://www.timesobserver.com/page/content.detail/id/541983/People-choose--Journey--at-watercolor-show.html?nav=5011

James.

Wings of Freedom

'Wings of Freedom' ...I'm not sure if this is going to be my final title or not. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Anyhow, here is the finished painting.

 

and here are some close ups of the main centres of interest. Firstly hand hand closing the canopy in anticipation of take off

and secondly Wayne's face and the reflection of what lays before him in his sunglasses

Thank you Wayne for all your help as I paint this and for your inspiration words

"I have always been drawn to activities that change the perspective of our world. Not long after my spinal cord injury in 1999, I chose to keep searching. While pursuing my single engine licence, I was introduced to gliding.

From that first flight I knew there would be no other sensation to parallel the freedom of motor-less flight. Navigating as does a silent bird under pillow top clouds and being silently whisked to greater heights was intoxicating. My prey was the thermal. my reward was the dizzying heights that could be achieved and the time to see the vast landscapes that I soared above. I love the challenge that gliding presents along with the ability to leave my problems as many thousands of feet below that my skills and the day will allow."



Ona

Wings to Freedom WIP 3

The painting is coming along slowly. I've now almost finished Wayne's face. It was such fun painting the reflections in his sunglasses.

Here is a close up so you can see the wonderful reflections. Its so cool being able to see in his sunglasses what he was looking at.

his hair and beard were fun to paint too.


Ona

Wings to Freedom WIP 2

Between the many hospital appointments this week I've been working on Wayne's face and arms. Firstly underpinning all the features and then adding in the layers of skin tones. I am happy to report that Wayne now looks healthily suntanned. There's still lots to do though.

 

I also wanted to take this opportunity to share with you what gliding means to Wayne. He kindly wrote the following and for me it just sums up so beautifully what this painting is all about.

Thank you Wayne

"I have always been drawn to activities that change the perspective of our world. Not long after my spinal cord injury in 1999, I chose to keep searching. While pursuing my single engine licence, I was introduced to gliding.

From that first flight I knew there would be no other sensation to parallel the freedom of motor-less flight. Navigating as does a silent bird under pillow top clouds and being silently whisked to greater heights was intoxicating. My prey was the thermal. My reward was the dizzying heights that could be achieved and the time to see the vast landscapes that I soared above. I love the challenge that gliding presents along with the ability to leave my problems as many thousands of feet below that my skills and the day will allow."

Ona