Grandpa

I had mixed feelings when I finished the painting this morning. In one respect I was sad because I have really enjoyed painting it and listening to James tell us all about his times with Grandpa  but I was glad too that it was complete and that I was able to transfer the image and feelings that were in my mind onto the paper .  The quote "To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die" (Thomas Campbell) is so true. Grandpa certainly lives on in James's heart and I think all of ours now. He certainly was a master craftsman and engineer.

There is such focus and concentration on Grandpa’s face. …For this moment in time the rest of the world does not exist. It is just him and his model engine as he puts the finishing touches to its creation before lighting its tiny fire for the first time.

Ona

Grandpa WIP 6

Its taking me a while to paint the traction engine. Its by no means technically accurate but I do want to convey a feel of the complexity of the Allchin and the skill and attention to detail that has gone into making it and keeping it in good working order. I'm having to change the lighting on the engine from the reference photo so this is taking more thought too but its gradually appearing on the paper. I hope Grandpa would be forgiving of my mistakes. The photo I am working from is very grainy.

Hopefully I will finish in the next couple of days.

Any ideas for a title?

Ona

Grandpa WIP 5

At last, I have a photo that looks pretty close. I have now finished Grandpa's hands and the section of the traction engine in this area. I am pleased with how the lights and darks as well as the brighter colours in this area help to draw our attention from his face to his hands and the engine.

When I paint I'm not only thinking of the objects but the emotion or 'story' it helps to convey as well. I wanted to make his hands tell a story. To a model engineer his hands are so important. They are used to craft, with such care, the tiniest details but they also have to be strong. They are also older hands full of experience but at the same time worn with age. I have included a close up of this section in the next photo.

 Ona

Grandpa WIP 4

I tried so hard to get a more accurate colour balance in the photo for you this evening but the camera really doesn't like this painting :(  Does anyone else have this colour balance problem when they take a photo of a painting in which they have used mutliple glazes in watercolour?Try to imagine the background a more dark greeny yellow as in my last photo. I just couldnt get it looking the same as the painting this time without turning Grandpa a very strange colour and I thought it was better to have him looking ok.

Today I painted Grandpa's trousers. It took 10 glazes in all to get the depth of shadow effect that I wanted so that his back leg merged into the background at the bottom. I've also painted in the back half of his oil can. This looks a little dark at the moment. Its hard to get correct values against the bright white of the paper. I might need to lighten it a little but I do want this area to have the highest contrast so that it draws our eye from his face down to his hands and the engine so I will leave it as it is for now and adjust if necessary later.

 Tomorrow I will begin the engine.

Ona

Grandpa WIP 3

Thank you for all your positive responses to my progress on this painting so far. I have been mostly working on the jacket over the last couple of days, gruadually building up the colour with a succession of glazes. I've still got a little touching up in some areas of the jacket to do but it is basically done.  I love how the jacket seems to appear out of the page as each pale glaze is added. I still think painting in watercolour is pure magic. 

Ona

A Memory of days gone by

Thank you for all your support and congratulations.

I promised you all that today I would tell you about my new painting. It's a subject that is again very close to our hearts and because of this is such a joy to bring to life. 

A couple months ago while I was looking for photo’s of my Nan I also found a few old photo’s of James’s Grandpa. One in particular caught my eye. 

 The background is very distracting and the lighting not great but I was drawn to the photo because  Grandpa had such focus and concentration not only in his face but his hands, upper body and shoulders too. It is almost as if to him, at that moment in time, the rest of the world did not exist.

  

 I asked James to write a little about his grandfather for you all: 

“Some of the happiest memories from my childhood are of times spent with my Grandpa. He was a model engineer, and his workshop was a treasure trove of tools, materials and finished models. The Allchin (a type of traction engine) in this photo was the result of many years of work, exquisite in every detail, even down to a set of scale size tools and miniature oil can. The greatest thrill was to take it outside, tend the fire (using pea sized chips of anthracite), and have it pull me around the garden. The smell of steam-oil and coal is unforgettable. On a hill the exhaust would take on a sharp bark, pulling sparks from the fire and shooting them high in the air, mixed with great clouds of smoke and steam. Could there be anything more exciting for a young lad with a love of science and engineering?”

What a wonderful memory of a wonderfully talented man.

For my outline I decided to crop right in on Grandpa and his miniature traction engine. I must admit it took me three days to draw the engine. Mind you, it took him over 6 years to build it so maybe three days for me wasn’t so bad.

In my painting I wanted to create a much less cluttered background than the ref photo using light and shade to help to accentuate the centre of interest while also helping to convey the mood. It’s the start of the day and Grandpa is oiling the engine before lighting the fire. Care and attention is needed so that everything is in good working order when the coal is lit in the engine’s tiny furnace.

I'm having huge trouble at the moment getting a decent photo of this painting. The background is as dark but much softer in real life. Hopefully as I get more detail  and variation in colour and values in the camera will do a better job.

Ona