I am engrossed in the arts. Lately I have dived into the arts and it's application of my practiced medium intensively. Both culturally, historically and technically; as concerns my painting. I have on my easel now a small miniature on the go. This miniature is of special importance to me because it is the image of my grandfather and grandmother dressed in their wedding clothes and set up against an old panel fence. I'm exercising my colour mixing memory skills on all the subject matter. The photograph I am studying from was taken in about 1948/9 hence it is a black and white and a very old image. I am recreating Roland Chaldecott and Vera Lucy Chaldecott in full realist colour.
I will not give up with what I am doing; only me popping it will see to that. And I shall recreate in oils all my family and relations in this manner in due course. My miniatures, they are in-between paintings to larger ones, they keep my mind flowing into the study whilst nothing else is going on. At the moment, I await yet another commission that is due, whilst I await it, I will hold a pencil, or brush in my hand. Or indeed my eyes will be trained upon yet another subject or in a book of art history, or on this site. And if none of that is happening I will be relaxing with a can of beer; but my mind: that will be dreaming up something else to paint, metaphysically, it will be observing all manner of things. If I do not express these 'things', I feel I would go quite insane with frustration.
The finished portrait will be uploaded for my viewers to observe in due course. Anyone else interested in having their family or relations recreated from old B/W photo's feel free to contact me. And do hope that you catch me in moments of nothing going on!
M.Chaldecott; Oil Painter.
In between the bigger pieces I like to paint miniatures. I'm concentrating my efforts on miniature portraits of people at the moment; since I've never been too good a painter of portraits, studying them in miniature firstly is a great way to come to grips with the amount of detail involved in a portrait oil. It gets you involved in the shapes and the forms that are so essential to a portrait of a person. And, it lets the painter study to a degree of detail that trains the mind ready for the larger pieces. Do it and study it in miniature before one commits ones oil pigments to a larger scale, is my philosophy with this subject matter.
I have always introspected to the point of realising my inadequacies and failures in the things that I do (which is more than I can say for some people). With portraits of people I have much to learn on the subject matter. I have proved to people that I can paint of course. I have the 'stroke': however with people, or the individual human person as a subject for an oil, things have to be observed very carefully indeed. Because each and every one of us is different, except in the case of twins I presume. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, and two ears on one person is different to another. I will study in oils more on this subject, and one day I will present to the people (where ever I may show it) a person as real as you look at me! framed through the window, and with a depth in the pictures planes enough for the viewer to step right in.
Well, the 'Peace' rose is complete, and framed, and hung in my Gallery space. With 14 translucent glazed layers applied to the background; each layer drying in succession. With the flower painted in with fine brush glaze: I really enjoyed painting this one. This painting took me a month and one week to paint. Viewers won't see the full glory of the detail in this painting; I have purposely done it like this to stop unscrupulous print outs. On my site you can see it here: flowers other than that you will have to visit my exhibitions when they are on to observe the painting in the flesh. I hope in due course of this year this piece along with five others will go forward to the Royal Institute of Oil Painters exhibition from September.
