The Rocker

Oil on Stretched Canvas
610mm x 770mm
Click here To Bid

You may recognize this rocker: Brain May (Queen).
My intention was to use the photo (a still from their 1986 concert) as a reference for a generic guitar hero, but then my wife convinced me to just paint it as it is... he would have been playing a Gibson 335 (Chuck Berry type guitar) if I had my way.
What I did want is that feeling of a god like guitarist in the spotlight caught midway through a spine chilling solo - I think I got it.

Did you know that Brain May and his dad made his first electric guitar out of the old coffee table (your useless fact for the day).

Oilcan Guitar

Oil on Stretched Canvas
610mm x 770mm
SOLD

This one was painted almost sarcastically; it's not in my normal style and was done almost completely from imagination. The only time I referenced real life objects was for the tuning pegs on the headstock, the way the fret board and string are lit... and the amp is loosely based on my Marshal amp.

I stood back from the painting and thought, 'Yeah that works' - I was surprised. The painting ended up on exhibition for a few days and was sold as I was unpacking it. During the exhibition this painting got more comments and praise than any other on display. I am still stumped - why is this painting so popular? What makes it more appealing than... well, what makes it so appealing?

It hung on my wall for three months before the buyer cam to pick it up, now it's gone and I miss it!

On the easel at the moment...

Girl Walking

Street Vendor

I've not been working very hard the last two weeks - I could blame it on computer problems; which is true, but an oil paint artist can't really use 'PC problems' as an excuse... but that's where all my reference photos, notes, planing, etc. live...

These are the two paintings I'm slowly working on at the moment, both are only 30min away from finished, and have been for the last week or so. The photos show the progression of the paintings - I'll probably delete this post once the finished paintings are posted.