This painting of the Royal Crescent in Bath was done for my Bath Group show in May last year at The Bath Gallery. I went to Bath to do a study in graphite and then I took loads of pictures too. I came back to London with all the reference material and embarked on this piece, which is my largest painting of a place in Bath.
It is such an incredible structure and I love it, ever since I did two (here and here) plein air shots of it during my Bath Marathon. I have always longed to do a bigger piece and this was my chance, although painting the details was a nightmare!
It some how didn't sell during the exhibition but it fetched me a commission of St Paul's in the same format(A couple visited the exhibition and just loved the way I painted this structure that they asked if I could paint St Paul's the same way) for 3K and then I was happy to later hear that this piece sold for the same price after the exhibition was over! It was indeed a double blessing!
The Royal Crescent bathed in the spring sun, 48" x 20", Oil on canvas, 2011
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I'm a firm believer in the value of working outdoors from nature, and I'm not shy about saying one simply can't be a good studio painter unless one paints directly from nature outdoors. That said, I seldom finish a painting on location. I take digital photographs of the subject when I start painting, and then I complete the painting in the studio. If the plein air piece is promising enough, I will use it as the basis of a larger studio painting, again using my digital photographs to guide me through the initial stages of the larger composition"-Kathryn Stats
I had loved this piece the moment I saw it on your blog. In fact I then looked up the crescent on google and loved your interpretation of the subject. Congratulations on the sale and the commmission too.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Thanks Vinayak!
ReplyDeleteA double blessing indeed!! Congratulations Adebanji!
ReplyDeleteI have never painted outdoors,would'nt it be great if you arranged a plein air workshop of your choice,I would be the first to sign up.
Thanks Azra! I so long to have one, I'll be happy if it can happen before the year ends and the good weather too. So that's one space taken already, cool!
ReplyDeleteStunning work. Congratulations/
ReplyDeleteThanks A. Decker!
ReplyDeleteHi Banji. I worked in the Bath Gallery in 2010. You probably wont remember me, but I met you a couple of times. I really admire your work, and one day I hope I can commission you to do a painting of Mallory's and The Bath Gallery where I worked for almost a year. Im back in Australia now, but have fond memories of my time in the UK being surrounded by such beautiful paintings. You are an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHi Nita, that's so cool!! Thanks for dropping this wonderful encouragement this morning! You have simply made my day!
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