Strawberries

Strawberries 17 cm x 11 cm oil on canvas

One of three new paintings I've uploaded to Original Art Under a £100

http://original-art-under100.com/artist/steve-strode

Thinking of Cornwall

oil on postcard

Painting Lesson. Complementary Colours and Keeping It Simple

Lesson 2
Complimentary colours and keeping it simple with oil techniques.
Materials: Stiff hog hair brushes one large one small. Red, Blue, Yellow and white. Work at an angle if possible.
The complementary colour of a primary (red, blue, or yellow) is the colour you get by mixing the other two primary colors.
If we take red then the two primaries left are blue and yellow are and together they make green, so green is the complimentary of red.
If we take blue then the two primaries left are yellow and red and together they make orange, so the complimentary of blue is orange.
If we take yellow then the two primaries left are red and blue and together they make violet, so the complimentary of yellow is violet.
The complementary of a secondary color is the primary color that wasn't used to make it. So the complementary color of green is red, of orange is blue, and of purple is yellow.
Why are Complementary Colors Important in Color Theory?
When placed next to each other, complementary colors make each other appear brighter, more intense. The shadow of an object will also contain its complementary color, for example the shadow of a green apple will contain some red.
In the last lesson we moved colour into shadow by mixing in progressively darker tones of the same colour family. For example yellow could be darkened with yellow ochre, burnt sienna right through to burnt umber. Another way to darken a colour down is to add its complementary colour or its opposite on the colour wheel.
Keep it Simple
· Avoid over mixed palette colours. The less mixing you do the richer your paint quality will be, one way is to let your colour mix on the paper.
· Have ample amounts of paint, if you finish with a clean palette you either got lucky or skimped on the paints.
· Use as few brush strokes as it takes, don’t fiddle.
· Keep it simple and don’t try to overdo the detail.

On a plate.

23cm x 15cm oil on canvas.

They Look Just Like Their Mum.

Still life with a twist. 10cm x 14cm oil on canvas

After Mel Stabin watercolour

When I can't paint a subject of my own I like to paint the work of painters I like, in this case Mel Stabin the American watercolourist. I like this loose style that's akin to Charles Reid and his work, a painter I use to illustrate watercolour techniques in the classes I teach. To avoid spending hours trying to get an exact replica it pays to set a time limit, in this case an hour.

Still life. Roses.

Roses 19cm x19cm oil on canvas.

Roses from the garden either hanging behind from summer or just arrived for spring, either way I believe they're better off in a jar judging by the weather that's on the way.

Liverpool painting No.128. Berry Street.

21cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas

Liverpool painting No.120. Salthouse Dock

21cm x 14cm, acrylic on canvas, £90

Completed yesterday, the year long, 'May I start May I finish', project that produced 120 studies of the city is officially over but it's a project I'm sure will continually run. Maybe I’ll be totally original and call it, ‘May I start May I finish II’.

Speke Hall scullery painting.

21cm x 14cm, acrylic on canvas board

One of the paintings of the scullery items in Speke Hall, probably a few more to follow as the place is a treasure trove of the things we used to use. I like the way the room was left, almost as if the staff would return to use it at any time.

I have a still life in the show at Editions on Cook Street

Liverpool Open 2011

Liverpool Open Exhibition 2011 at Editions Gallery
Following on from the very successful 2009/2010 Liverpool Open Exhibition at Editions Gallery, Merseyside based artists and print makers are invited by Editions Ltd and LOACA.ART to submit work for the 2011 Liverpool Open Exhibition.
The exhibition will run from the 7 April (Private View) to the 7 May in Editions Gallery, Cook Street, Liverpool.

http://editionsltd.wordpress.com/

Liverpool painting No.115. Speke Hall

21cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas board, £90

This is probably the first of many studies to be painted at Speke Hall. As part of the painting Liverpool project, ‘May I Start, May I Finish’, I have managed to become artist in residence at the hall, so I’m really looking forward to doing some still life paintings of the interiors, as well as the grounds.

Liverpool painting No.114. Aigburth Drive

21cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas board, £90

Liverpool painting No.113. Salthouse Dock

SOLD
21cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas board, £90

The Liverpool Duck after splashing into the dock, it always has a list that suggests it might sink at any moment.

Liverpool painting No.112. Strand Street

SOLD

21cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas board, £90

I see this docked most days on my walks around the studio, but some days the spring sunshine turns the Formby Channel Lightship redder than red

Liverpool painting No.111. Earle Road

21cm x 14cm watercolour

Liverpool painting No. 109. Georges Dock Way

Acrylic on canvas board, 20cm x 14cm £90.

Erotic Art Exhibition

26cm x 16cm oil on canvas £90.

SOLD

http://www.thegalleryliverpool.co.uk/whats-on.html

I think mine was the only still life at the gallery among all that flesh. Here are the details.

EROTIC EXHIBITION

No taboo is left unexplored as The Gallery Liverpool launches its first ever exhibition of erotic art. From Bondage sculpture by Sexcetera’s Len Gifford to vaginal art (!), when Michelangelo said that "In art immorality cannot exist", he hadn’t seen this work!

Featuring entertainment from Liverpool’s first male pole dancer (as well as a more traditional female – we aim to cater for all tastes!), and live art performances.

Boundaries WILL be crossed and – if you dare much of the work in the show is for sale.

We are proud to be working together with IOISIS Pole Dancers & The Association of Erotic Artists. Featuring work from the acclaimed “ photographer to the stars” John Stoddart.




Public viewing
Friday 28th January - Friday 11th February 2011

Times: Mon - Fri 10.00am - 4.30pm
Sat 10.00am - 2.00pm
Closed: Sundays

Liverpool painting No. 106. St. James' Road.

20cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas board, £90

I've really begun to notice how many smoke plumes rise from the city during these cold crisp spells of clean light. It was just turning dusk and the Mersey in the distance reminded me of a time past, when smoke filled chimneys filled the air and snow covered the roofs.

Liverpool painting No. 105. Berry Street

20cm x 14cm acrylic on canvas, £90

Upstairs in the first building on the left was where I had my first studio in town about 10 years ago, it's a chinese restaurant now. The city is full of snow and slush but I painted this at home...in the warm.

Onion Tomatoes and Bowl

Oil on canvas 20cm x 13cm. £90

Another day in the studio working on a still life