Updates from My Art World IX (December 2016)

1. Sketching on Public Transport

2. One to One Coaching with Gary -This day we did Plein Air,

Adebanji painting on Battersea Bridge I

Adebanji painting on Battersea Bridge II

How it looked after the first coaching session

3. Painting a Commissioned piece of The Chelsea Riverside

One of my collectors got me painting this scene, they plan to use it to remember Chelsea, a place where they used to live before.

4. Painting a Commissioned piece of Albert Embankment.

Auntum Light, Albert Embankment, 11" x 8", Gouache on Watercolour paper

5. Christmas Holiday Trip to Portugal

A quick demo sketch I did of a tree in Algarve, Albufeira

Three paintings I did in Gouache at Albufeira in Portugal

Catching up on my football skils during the Christmas break.

Travis, 16" x 12", Oil on Board, 2016 (Commission)

Travis, 16" x 12", Oil on Board, 2016 (Commission) 

This is a commission completed recently. It's the beloved dog of one of my greatest collectors in Spain. I went into a little bit more detail with this piece.

SPECIAL QUOTE: Whatever you paint make sure you enjoy painting it, somehow if the work is executed with joy, it kind of shines through"- Adebanji Alade

Two Portrait Commissions (S.Boys)

The Amazonian Adventure (S.Boys), 30" x 24", Oil on Canvas, 2016

These are 2 commissions that I completed recently for the lovely parents of these two boys.

I really enjoyed the whole process and I thought it would be worth sharing the finished result of both.

The Formal Sitting (S.Boys) 24" x 30", Oil on Canvas, 2016

SPECIAL QUOTE: "Portraits are very demanding and I feel it's a great adventure to get along with a client from the beginning of a commission to the end. After it all, a great affinity and relationship is formed that goes beyond the picture."-Adebanji Alade

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career (36, 37 and 38)

NUMBER 36- A LITTLE GIRL IN DAZZLING MORNING LIGHT

Gracie, Graphite/Oil Base Pencil, 13" x 9", 2009



This drawing is part of a study I did for a an oil portrait commission of this little girl for her parents. Why I love it so much is that it was just a way for me to experiment and find out different parts of her features that worked well for the final piece. Among all the sketches and studies I did before the main portrait, this is the one I liked best but wasn't the one her parents chose. They settled for a more frontal view of their daughter. Looking back at this piece which is now part of my collection, I really feel it opened up for me a great revelation-which was the ability to really investigate a little more detail in a face with my best medium of all-GRAPHITE- I always feel the potential and celebration of the ordinary pencil gets overlooked. I think colour is powerful and for some reason gets more attention than black and white pieces. But I must say I love What the pencil can achieve and I believe a day will come that it would only work in black and white!






NUMBER 37- AFTER THE RAIN II

After The Rain II, 48" x308", Oil on Canvas, 2011


This is a painting I did that was supposed to be a commission but the clients didn't have sufficient funding to give a go ahead. But since I had really given myself so much into doing it by taking almost 1, 500 pictures of the scene and trying my best to understand Rupert Street in Soho- Also with the encouragement of Enid Lawson, I went ahead to do this painting. My mission was the same as the requirements of the clients, to capture an evening scene at Soho, Rupert Street, with neon light signs, reflections and anything that reminds us of London-I decided to add the Rickshaw driver!

The reflections on the wet pavement was my key point in this piece. I had to study the work of Gustave Caillebotte, who painted a lovely scene of a Paris Street in Rainy Weather.
But what really got me absorbed in this piece was just going there whenever the rain had just fallen and there was a feeling of dusk in the air. There's so much power in just observing a scene and taking it in. It really helps in communicating the scene effectively when painting the scene in the studio.






NUMBER 38- RAIN AND REFLECTIONS, LONDON STREETS

Rain and Reflections, London Streets, 10" x 8", Oil on Board, 2011


This is another painting that deals with reflections, it's smaller just 10" x 8" but still communicates the same feeling. I really liked this one because although it was painted entirely from a picture in the studio-I really feel it had the qualities of a plein piece and the reason is, I painted it very quickly in Alla Prima as if I were just painting it outdoor. This piece sold in the Affordable Art fair last year at Battersea.


SPECIAL QUOTE
"I really feel whenever one embarks on a painting, one really needs to be totally absorbed in the piece , so that nothing will deter ones attention and energies in making the piece exactly what it was supposed to be when the idea was conceived or envisioned.- Adebanji Alade"

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career (29, 30)

NUMBER 29- St Paul's Panoramic View

St Paul's Panoramic View, 44" x 20", Oil on Canvas, 2011 (Commission)


I was pleased to get this commission for two reasons, the first being, I just really love St Paul's as a building, I think it is architecture at it's magnificent best! Then secondly because it came from the fact that the client had seen my painting of The Royal Crescent and loved the way I handled the paint in various degrees of thickness, that they had the confidence that I would be able to take on St Paul's in the same manner. The client was very detailed with exactly what they wanted, they had an image stitched up from google -maps, it had where they wanted a bus, a taxi, the people, the New Change building etc. To really get me absorbed into this work, I must have taken up to 500 shots of the whole St Pauls area before coming down to one which I produced a sketch from, once the client saw the sketch they were pleased and I went on to complete it.

The final email I got from them read thus:

"Dear Adebanji,

We finally picked up the painting on Thursday as we have been so busy. It was great to see it with our own eyes, and we are very pleased with it. Keep up the good work and I hope we meet again.

Kind regards,

R & S"

It's not every time that one gets a commission that really suits one's passion, but this one really did!





NUMBER 30-After the Rain , London Streets

After the Rain , London Streets, 30" x 24", Oil on Canvas, 2011


If I could, I would say this is my best painting till date, but I can't, I believe the best is yet to come! I think it encapsulates everything I love in a painting-Crowded figures, movement, reflections, bold colour and subtle greys. I did it for the Affordable Art Fair Exhibition last year at Battersea and it sold straightaway!

The client took the time to email me these few words

"Hello Adebanji,

We bought your picture "After the Rain" at the Affordable Art Fair and
I just wanted to let you know that we are absolutely thrilled with it.

Good luck"

Now, when a client is thrilled with a painting, it pays more than the money!!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Decide what you want to do with a particular painting, Keep it down to one thing and communicate that thing so strongly that even the man who couldn't see properly would feel it was done!"-Adebanji Alade

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 20

Number 20-The Royal Crescent bathed in the spring sun




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

The Sketch

Adebanji with painting at the exhibition

Adebanji sketching the Royal Crescent

SPECIAL QUOTE
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

The Story Behind 40 works that changed my career 1

Number 1-A portrait for Toby Sharp and his wife.


On this day last month, I clocked 40, and I shared 40 works that changed my career on Facebook. But on this blog I have decided to show the works and the stories behind them in the days ahead, so stay tuned!



Mr & Mrs T. Sharp, 80 x 100cm, Oil on Canvas, 2008


This portrait came as a commission from the groom's father, who wanted a great wedding gift for his son and daughter-in-law. It's a tricky one, when it has to be a wedding picture and I have to work from the photo supplied. But to make this work I had to go their houses and sketch them from life. After spending 30 minutes to 1 hour sketching each of them, I then went on to take a series of pictures of my own in the poses they took in the photo supplied. This would help me understand their features better and some of their body language. So I combined this with my sketches while working on the portrait.

After completing, it went well the the groom's face but his dear wife had a few things to correct on hers. I got her over to the studio and had a good look at her face and I could see exactly what she wanted corrected, around the areas of her cheeks and jaw line. Once this was done, they both loved it!

I really enjoyed working on this piece because it had them with a landscape in the background. The landscape helped in tying the composition together. I could use the flowers to lead the eye too.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Think before you mix and place a brushstroke. Three precise strokes during a painting session are more productive than a hundred sloppy, unplanned, "spontaneous" ones. Think before you act." -John Howard Sanden

The Westbourne, Evening Light-12" x 10", Oil on Canvas, 2011

This is one of the commissions I did in Summer through Enid Lawson Gallery. A tricky one indeed. But it ended up being exactly what the client wanted. The client wanted two similar pictures of The Westbourne with him and in his mate. One of the paintings would be his and the other sent to his mate in Australia, they both used to have a drink there and he thought it would be a good 40th Birthday present for his friend.



I have never painted two similar pictures and the only way I could do this was to paint each one side by side it was a crazy experience and since I'm not a machine you can see the many differences. Anyway, it pleased the client and that's always a good thing.



SPECIAL QUOTE
"You've got to be able to copy things faithfully before you can deviate"- (Damien Hirst)

All Bar One & Starbucks(Moonlight Effect) Bath, 20" x 16", oil on canvas, 2011

This painting was another commission that came from my Bath Group Exhibition in May at the Bath Gallery.


All Bar One & Starbucks(Moonlight Effect)Bath, 20" x 16", oil on canvas, 2011

Two lovely ladies had a look at some of paintings from my Bath Marathon and found out that I didn't do any of All Bar One! They said, "How could you not do one of All Bar One?" I said, "I'm sorry I missed it out but you can commission me to do one for you!"
They had a good think about it, talked about the size and price with The Bath Gallery and the deal was done. That night they took me to All Bar one and said, we want a bit of the Abbey, Starbucks and it should have a moonlight effect. I took loads of pictures and came back to paint it in London. After a few weeks work I sent them a copy via email and this is the exact reply I got, "Thank you so much for the wonderful painting you made for us. You have created a beautiful response to our brief and we are delighted. All being well I plan to collect the painting today. Many thanks again.
Kind regards
Amelia and April xxx"


The sketch

It's always great to get a pleased client after a commission!

SPECIAL QUOTE
"I paint because I love painting. For me, painting is an immense pleasure".-Sorolla from his Biography book by Blanca Pons- Sorolla.

St Paul's Panoramic View, 44" x 20", Oil on Canvas, 2011(Commission)

This was a commission I had recently from my Bath Exhibition, to paint a panoramic view of St Paul's, it was to include a 23 Bus, a Black Cab, Busy London Commuters, a typical Black London Telephone Box and the New Change Building. After about a months work with the client, The lovely couple were pleased with the final result.



St Paul's Panoramic View, 44" x 20", Oil on Canvas, 2011 (Commission)



The Sketch

SPECIAL QUOTE
"If I'm out on a beautiful Island someplace. I'm not there to paint first, he says. I'm there to enjoy the experience first and paint second."-Ron Stocke from Watercolour Artist Magazine

Completed Portraits of Two Lovely Children, 30 x 40cm, oil on canvas, 2010

Monty 30 x 40cm oil on canvas


I have finally completed the portraits of these two lovely children. I did their studies a while back but never got over to finish the portraits. Now they are complete and their parents are pleased with the results.



Gracie 30 x 40cm oil on canvas

Click HERE and HERE for the sketches and studies

These portraits were done in glaze layer by layer technique, which started off with glazes of acrylic and then I finished them with oil.

Childhood Joys, 16" x 16", Brown and Sanguine coloured pencils, 2010

This is a recent commission I completed and his parents were pleased with the result. I have actually drawn all other members of this family last year. Then this little boy was added to the family, his parents waited for him to gain some good stable features-evolving in to a boyish face and now he was ready for his portrait. Click HERE for the link to his dad's piece



I used three Faber Castell polychrome coloured pencils(walnut brown, sanguine and burnt sienna)and black for this piece on a Fabriano Printmaking paper.

Sketch of Sylvia, Graphite on Paper(A2) 2009

Those of you who are current with my blog would remember the sketch I did of Dorothy. Through my friend Graham I got to met another wonderful elderly lady called Sylvia, she is going to be 102 this month!



Since I knew I was going to only have about an hour or so to complete this commission, immediately I met her I quickly shared pleasantries then started concentrating, sometimes this is funny because while we are talking I am drawing with my eyes, "feeling" the structure of her main features. I just love faces and hers was full of life and character! She had never been sketched before and didn't do many photos either, so this was a great opportunity to enjoy the sketching and also help her to have one that she'll keep, probably for many more years ahead. You might be wondering why I have said this, but this lady is so mobile and full of life, she moves so swiftly, she even took me and Graham for a fine lunch afterwards!



Sylvia (detail)



Talking about God renewing ones strength in old age- This was a crystal clear example! She really liked the sketch after I'd finished.




Below are some shots Graham took of me while in the spirit of sketching!

"The 22nd Anniversary", 24" x 20", Oil Base Pencil, 2009

This is another commission completed and delivered with the client pleased. The clients were their children and they gave it as a gift to their parents!



I have used medium, soft and extra soft oil base pencils on a smooth artistico fabriano watercolour paper. I really liked the smooth absorbent texture of the paper and the way the oil base pencil marks appear on the paper.

Daniel, 30" x 30", Oil on Linen, 2009

This is a recent commission I have finished, with the client pleased and the work delivered!



I have worked with oil in a technique that employs glazing, starting from thin oil layers to heavy layers but still keeping the transparency.




Below are some detailed shots

Sketch of Dorothy, Graphite on Paper(A2) 2009

Today I got to sketch a wonderful lady introduced to me by my friend Graham, She is 102 years old and she is knowledgeable, humorous and friendly!



She used to teach nurses at St Thomas Hospital years ago and she even does some drawing herself. She showed me a picture she did in her 90's! I couldn't believe it! This is the oldest person I have met and I felt really great, having the opportunity to sketch her.



(detail)

Grandad Transformed! 10" x 12", oil on linen canvas, 2009

Some of you might remember the post I shared about having a commission to paint someones Grandad from a small 6x4 black and white photograph, it was the only photograph they had left.



I took up this challenge and now after a few adjustments here and there it has been verified!

To do this it was tricky all the way, because it was hard to depict warm and cold colours, I just had to stick to tones, which doesn't really help for skin. But it was a bit like Karin Juricks exercise for last DSFDF weeks challenge. Only that I took a picture of his son(client) and used his tones for the painting.

Hey lest I forget don't forget to vote click HERE