Latest portrait in oil

As well as photography I also paint a bit in my spare time, and have joined a local group. This is only 2 hours a week so I read and practice as much as I can- other than tutorage I currently find this the best way to improve.

Below is a portrait I've been working on over the last week and shows the first stage (simple line drawing and block-in) and then the nearly-finished painting. The subject was taken from a photoshoot I did a while back, although I deliberately changed the model's features slightly. More will appear here as I improve; as well as more portraits I want to try some landscapes soon.

I've now been painting about 4 or 5 months, does anyone have any tips on how I can improve? I've been studying the works of Richard Schmid, Nelson Shanks, David Leffel..all fantastic contemporary artists - One day I hope to have a tenth of their talent!

Merry Christmas everyone

Another Christmas out the way and I hope you all had a good one. Among my presents was a Thermos flask that look exactly like my Nikon 70-200 lens..What will they think of next?! My nephews were very pleased with the radio controlled helicopters I bought them, although I doubt their parents will be quite so thrilled ;)

Anyway, hope you all have a fun-filled New Year and I'll be back in a short while with more images. I also need to book some more model shoots so I'll be quite busy..remember, if you would like one please get in touch via the contact form on the main site links.

Mark

Tweet

Nerea Studio Shoot - Outtakes

Following my last post (and also because I haven't done much new model photography lately) here are a few out-takes from a studio shoot I did a while back. This was in South London; next time I'll be looking for one nearer so I can take more kit! Anyway, I've no idea why I didn't like these as much at the time. Nerea is doing very well and getting lots of shoots, so I'm lucky we worked together before she hits the big time!

Tweet

Victoria - Soho Photo Shoot

Although I haven't yet updated the site with the last one, I recently met up with Victoria Dmitrienko again for a second shoot - this time around Greek Street, Old Compton Street and the surrounding areas of Soho. It was more unplanned than last time as we just wandered around and used whichever locations looked good, and I found some inspiration from the cafes we stopped at as they usually had their own artwork inside! We found a Spanish bar with a superb old-style jukebox (Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd etc) and used that for some shots too. Enjoy the previews below.

Shoreditch Photoshoot - Preview

Just a quick update again- I had a great shoot two weeks ago with Victoria D, an L.A. based model of Russian origin, who I met through my Model Mayhem page. Victoria loves anything to do with the Swingin' Sixties and this showed in her style (despite the Madonna T-shirt! :) ) The location was trendy Shoreditch in East London, this has traditionally been a deprived area of London but with the nearby City and Spitalfields Market redevelopment, the area is seeing rapid change. We got some fantastic images and have another shoot booked soon, before she returns to the US. Full post to include more photos, coming soon..