Rush Hour VI, Oil on Canvas, 45 x 60cm, 2011

These are some real life quotes from real people on the tube in the RUSH HOUR in London! It's no joke, if you have been in the heat of it you will understand what it's all about.
I have been in the Rush Hour and it is a real hard time breathing-it's a typical rat race situation, one we have to live with as long as we use the public transport and want to get to work early.



Rush Hour VI, oil on canvas, 45x 60cm, 2011



This is what makes me paint these scenes-they are not just records of situations in busy cities but they are who we are in this fast generation!

Enjoy some quotes below taken from a public site of different peoples experiences.

"Why do people stare so much in London! And it's not as if they you see them looking at you just as they look around, they actually stare!!!"-A L Johnson



"I work for London Underground and when I make platform announcements at rush hour this is usually the structure:

Ladies and Gentlemen your next eastbound train will be in x mins.

The train may be quite full so please move down the platform and use all available space.

The train is approaching the station, please stand behind the yellow line.

Please let passengers off the train first before boarding.

This train is ready to depart, stand clear of the doors please, mind the doors.

Our objective is to get our customers on the train quickly and safely. The need to get the train out of the platform quickly is essential. We hate the last second boarder who jumps in the train whilst the doors are closing and jams them - causing delays. At rush hour, the Central line can run a train every minute. So please do not block the doors and listen to us when we say move down the platform."-R Rashid



"One time on the district line there was the usual 'stand clear of the doors' announcement when the doors shut the driver goes 'See now that wasnt so hard was it?' and what is it about people barging u wiv their hefty arse backpacks 2 get 2 a seat and then gettin off at the next xxxx stop?!"-D Hollands



Rush Hour VI on the easel with Palette

Special quote
We are here to learn lessons, and the world is our teacher
When we fail to learn a lesson, we get to take it again... and again!
Then once wev'e learnt the lesson, we move on to the next one. (and we never run out of lessons!).-Andrew Matthews

Learning by Sketching from Paintings in Galleries/Museums II

This is my 2nd post on the usefulness of sketching in galleries and museums, the first one can be seen HERE. It really helps one to tap into the way the artist works and that also helps increase the ability to see and learn from seeing. Seeing does sound a bit common but for the artist it isn't, it means so much more and I keep learning that everyday.

Learning from Andrew Festing PPRP.

I love The Portraits of Andrew Festing and I always lookout for his work during the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibitions at The Mall Galleries annually. The sketches I made in this post were of detailed parts of complete portraits he had on show at the RP Exhibition in 2007. I'll just share below, all the notes I jotted down while getting absorbed into the paintings.

1. Portrait of the 55th Grand Prior of the English Knights of Malta, Oil, 80" x 46" (detail)



I have sketched this face because I love it, it communicates! Simple! It's fascinating to paint from life and Andrew Festing makes it look like a delight. His BRUSH condition is his strength and the marks in specific places delineating the structure is very interesting. The cool parts of the skin around the chin are just great, it makes the skin flow with life and it definitely depicts the form.
A few lights (2) midtones (2) greys (2) and there is no mark in dark but colour.
He must definitely use black because it has a "carbony content" appeal. But it's great! I love it! It's a delight to watch and observe this guys strokes- Adebanji Alade(thoughts going through my head)

The real painting (detail)




2. The Master and Past Masters of The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, Oil, 50" x 70" (detail)



2.1 Every mark is a sketch, stroke paint-placed mainly broad
2.2 Draughtsmanship, even though executed fast is precise!
2.3 Kolinsky Round Sable brush sketch, stoke paint, "It's Sick!"

The sketch and draughtsmanship is everything
There's no feat, no hesitation
It shows he enjoys this
It is "HANDWRITING"
The Background is a pinkish warm colour
The strokes mould and model the figure in clothes
Enough colour has been mixed
The light must have come straight on
-Adebanji Alade(thoughts running through my head put on the page)

The real painting (detail)






While researching for the images for this post I discovered a wonderful blogpost on his working methods by Joseph Galvin Winner of the Bulldog Bursary Award in 2007, which can be seen HERE

Links and information on Andrew Festing can be seen below
Website
Wikipedia
Royal Society of Portrait Painters
Commission a Portrait
How to paint a portrait-Very Useful on Youtube
Painting a portrait-Very Useful on Youtube

Special Quote
"One of the most frequently asked questions from students is "How do you know what to paint" It's a question that comes from painters working at all levels: beginners who really haven't done much subject searching and more experienced painters who are trying to discover their unique style. Here's what I recommend: Buy a small notebook-one that you can easily carry around. In the book, write down the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Carry the notebook for three weeks and as you come across them, jot down things that really wow you under the appropriate sense category. These should be the things that take your breath away. For example, under sound, one of my horse students wrote, "The sound of my horse running in the meadow at night." By the end of three weeks, try to have 10 to 20 things listed under each category. These are the things you should be painting. Once you've focused in on what you should be painting, there aren't enough hours in the day to paint that subject."
-Mary Whyte on Why Workshops work-in Watercolour Magic Handbook

Sketches on the bus, train and tube in February III

These are some of my recent sketches on public transport. The guy above slept all the way from Toy's R Us on Old Kent Road(SE15) in a Bus 453 to Parliament Square(W1). Now that's a sketchers delight! It's because of opportunities like this, that the sketch hunter MUST have a sketchbook handy, just a pocket size one and a sketching tool (pen, biro, pencil) ready to "fire" at short notice when a great model appears!





Special quote
"At most college-level art schools, instructors take the easy way by letting students do their own thing. Why? Because it'll "stifle your creativity". NONSENSE!
Figure Drawing is really not about learning how to draw the Figure! It's about learning how to make your eye see something, your mind perceive it, and your hand obey.
The human figure is the best subject to practice on, not only because it's endlessly challenging, but because anyone, even you can accurately evaluate your progress.
With a figure drawing, if it looks right, it quite likely IS right.
Clearly it is worth the effort to learn to draw.
Your investment is small, and the payoff comes EVERY TIME you pick up pencil or brush.
I don't know the first thing about a horse's hind end, but I can draw it. A cowboy, or an artist, or anyone, can look at my drawing and say, "That Harley really knows his horses!"
I don't know horses. I just know how to observe a horse. I know how to reproduce what's in front of me.
You can learn it too. Yes, YOU CAN DO IT!
But your eye has to be trained. And the way to train it, is to draw constantly, not to learn how to place muscles, not to do fabric folds, but to learn to SEE what's before you, to SIMPLIFY what you see, and PUT IT DOWN ACCURATELY with as few strokes as possible"- HARLEY BROWN on "DRAWING IS IMPORTANT"

Bath Revisited II-CAPTURED AT THE CIRCUS!

It was a wonderful day, I had a shot(painting) at the Circus from Gay Street the day before. Up till that moment I had never seen the Circus,but my little experience from the day before, gave me a vivid impression that the Circus was worth exploring!



"Easel does it by Jess Loughborough "SUNFACE13"



On the 21st of September I got out of my bed while the sun was shining with a glorious morning light and I ventured to get one shot(painting) of the Circus done. I arrived at around 10.15am at an interesting spot right in the middle of the park at the Circus and decided to paint a good view of an area in which the sun had illuminated part of the grass to almost a fluorescent yellowish green, with Brock Street peeping through!
While getting ready to paint, a resident from the Circus buildings came down to meet me with a cup of tea and said, "May the sun shine for you all day long"- I gladly had the 'Cuppa' and got down to work, at about 11.38am I had completed my first panel and then I thought the composition looked a bit incomplete. So I brought up another panel and joined it to the first and at around 12.36 in the afternoon I completed my first two 6" x 8" panels of the Circus. I was happy with the result until one passer by said, "it's good you are doing a panorama of this....." then I thought, OK, a panorama....I think I'll try...? Let's see what a third panel would like, by this time I had to turn my position to capture another part of the Circus, linking the third to the second. IT WAS and MUST HAVE BEEN AT THIS MOMENT, THE MASTER PHOTOGRAPHER, Jess Loughborough CAPTURED ME in the shot above!


Adebanji's Circus Panorama- 36" x 6", Oil on Board, 2010, (SOLD)



I didn't know he captured me in a powerful shot until last week when Jose, a plein air painter from Spain and a lover of British Artists like Peter Brown, David Curtis and Trevor Chamberlain, introduced himself to me by email and told me he had discovered a picture I'll like on Flickr. I went to the link on flickr and "Lo and behold"- It was a picture of me painting the Circus!!!!



Adebanji presenting the Circus Panorama



The art of photography is similar to my quick sketches because most of the people I sketch never know I sketch them and that's the same way I never knew Jess had captured me with his Pentax K20D camera! But the Internet is a small world and Jose happens to follow my blog and has also taken part in one of my competitions. He discovered it and I love the picture so much! It brought back memories of one of the days during my Bath Marathon when I feel Inspiration and Perspiration met at their best! I went on to do 3 more panels and it ended up as a 6 panel Panorama of the Circus. Jess has given me the permission to use the image on my blog. Check out his other pictures HERE, they are great! Also check and read the comments of other photographers, one had actually seen me the day before, the picture and comments can be seen HERE

Below are some other pictures related to the Circus Panorama.



Circus in progress I





Circus in progress II

Special Quote
"Always paint your intention. One is composing with every brushstroke. Every brushstroke is furthering the composition, not just by completing the painting, but by creating it. As pearls reflect the string, so do the brushstrokes reflect the composition, the artist's intention. One is always painting one's taste. Every brushstroke is a reflection of that taste or sensitivity"- David Leffel, painting as a discipline,

Sketches on the bus and train in February II

These are some more recent sketches. There's one of me sketching myself, I didn't have anyone to sketch on a bus, so I looked into the CCTV Mirror and did one looking up. The others are of the best models ever-The sleeping commuters.





Special Quote
"What we do on some occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline."-Henry Parry Liddon

Sketches on the bus and train in February I (and the materials I use to sketch)

This is one page spread of sketches I have recently. I have also decided to highlight the materials I use to sketch, I have done this before but it seems a lot of people still would like to know. I have replied many emails from readers but I have now decided to re-post. I'll do the one of my graphite sketching kit when I return to the trusty old graphite sketches. But for now it's the pen sketching kit.



This is my Biro sketching kit

1. Bic Biro (medium)

2. TOMBOW Dual Brush pen (Number 75)- Cool Grey..I think

3.Daler -Rowney sketch Book A6(150g/m acid free cartridge paper) or Winsor & Newton Heavy Weight Case Bound Sketch Book A6 (170 gsm heavy weight paper)

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with inner drive, go much farther than people with vastly superior talent. -Sophie Loren

Bath Revisited-Competition Winner, The Review and Some paintings

Last year I set up a competition on one of my posts after meeting the inspirational Peter Brown. The question to be answered was to decode the inspirational message Peter Brown wrote on his Exhibition catalogue for me. Laurie won! She decoded the message and her prize was that she would win a 6" x 8" painting of any location of her choice. She chose the Back of Pulteney Bridge at Bath and I completed the painting and she is the a proud owner it. You can click HERE for the details of the competition. Also Peter Brown is gearing up for a wonderful Solo Exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery in April to June-It's going to one you mustn't miss, so if you are in the UK during that period, don't miss it!



Laurie, who also happens to work at the Bath Gallery where I had my Bath Marathon Solo Exhibition has done a review from the gallery's point of view. You can click HERE to read it.

Here Below are some memories of the marathon with the paintings too.





122- THE PAINTING AND THE PAINTER. Gay Street Facing up to the Circus (SOLD)






32. THE PAINTING AND THE PAINTER. Laura Place, facing Victoria Art Gallery(SOLD)






31. THE PAINTING AND THE PAINTER. Laura Place, Facing Holbourne Museum






10. THE PAINTING AND THE PAINTER. Tree Shadows, Kingsmead Square (SOLD)






101. THE PAINTING AND THE PAINTER. Afternoon Light, Broad Street from Landsdown Road (SOLD)






190. THE PAINTER AND THE PAINTING. Cleveland Bridge at Night(SOLD)

To enquire about any of the Paintings from the Bath Marathon, please contact THE BATH GALLERY

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Focus on giants-you tumble.
Focus on God-your giants tumble"
-Max Lucado author of Facing Your Giants

Sketches on the train, tube and bus in January II

These are some sketches I have done recently.

It is good to note that the best models are sleeping models. If you get the "perfect sleeper", go for it. You might even want to extend your journey to some extra stops if your model is very interesting and still sleeping!





Sketching on the train




Special Quote
"No one ever attains eminent success by simply doing what is required of him: it is the amount of excellence of what is over and above the required that determines greatness"
-Charles Kendall Adams

Sketches on the train, tube and bus in January I

More sketches of people on on public transport. Some of people I sketch always love to see what I am doing, so I show them. It is quite interesting to see their mixed reactions when they see themselves!




Special quote.
"There is a popular notion that artists are born with the ability to draw, but that isn't true. The impulse to draw is there, but no one arrives in this world with the capacity to graphically depict visual reality. I have never known a painter who was just "naturally" good at it and could do it without serious training."
-Richard Schmid author of "Alla prima, Everything I know about painting"

The Flying Moleskins-Kezia-the Spark and wonder!

This is my contribution to Sheila's Sketchbook, this is part of a world wide sketchbook exchange I am currently taking part in with 12 other artists. She asked us to put in it anything we loved besides art. My answer to that is-Children!

So I decided to draw my little girl, Kezia, who is a spark and wonder!


Kezia-the spark & wonder! 6" x 6", charcoal an graphite, 2011


When in church, I enjoy teaching children Sunday school lessons with captivating stories form the Bible and I am always delighted to see their facial expressions when they enjoy the lesson!

This drawing was done with charcoal dust and water, and graphite for the details on museum mount board.

Special Quote
"Be Like a postage stamp-stick to one thing until you get there"-Josh Billings

Adebanji featured in The Artist Magazine February 2011

Adebanji painting in acrylics pen plein air

I only knew about this yesterday by Carolann, she put a comment on one of my posts this week, that read, "Splendid as usual. I have been reading my Artist magazine - it is really nice to see you in print Adebanji"- I then gave it a good thought, because I haven't even seen the article myself. I went on The Artist Magazine website to see if I could get anything related to the article and they have put a good entry on it HERE, to see the full article you need to grab yourself a copy of the February Issue of The Artist Magazine, which is on sale now!


The Artist Magazine- FEBRUARY 2011

If you also want to enjoy the article with the full DVD, you can order your copy from Townhouse Films as they have produced a WONDERFUL FILM of how the scene in the article was painted from beginning to end. One of the great advantages of watching and reading about how other artists work, is that you can gain a full insight into what goes on in their minds and how each artist differs in making decisions that help a painting progress from the first marks to the end! Be Inspired!

Special quote
"If we hold a vision or a dream deep inside our heart and mind, it will begin to not only influence our attitudes and actions, it will reach out and influence the circumstances of our lives."
-Stephen R Covey author Living the 7 Habits

Learning by Sketching from Paintings in Galleries/Museums

In this post I would like to highlight one of the ways I like to learn by sketching from paintings I love in galleries and Museums. If you love a particular painting, especially if it is a portrait, one of the ways of understanding how the artist went about it is to sketch it. Working in this way can really help to improve your understanding of how artists edit information and concentrate on what matters most to them. I have two in this post, as seen below.

Learning from Anastasia Pollard RP
I really like the work of Anastasia Pollard. She paints very small scale sensitive portraits from life. The one I have sketched from here is not illustrated but it was a wonderful little portrait that measured 8" x 7", titled "Nick" it was exhibited at the Mall Galleries last year during the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition. I remember standing in front of this little piece for hours. I kept coming back to it. When I couldn't get my head around it I decided to sketch it, now the experience is with me for ever. Even though you can't see the painting in colour-you can tell from the sketch that it had a very solid tonal foundation and that's one of things I was trying to explore. Other things that were of interest to me were the way she handled the temperature changes. When next in a gallery or museum and you are carried away by a favourite piece-don't let the experience go by your visual response only-put it down and it would remain with you forever.




Portrait of Nick by Anastasia Pollard-added after comment by Vinayak

Learning from Velazquez
Diego Velazquez is one of my favourite painters of all time and again it is the manner in which he edits information that excites me the most. This page spread is just one of the several I did from original paintings during The Velazquez Exhibition at the National Gallery in 2006. It's good to do the sketching but also to write notes of what you think you need to remember about the way the artist distributes tone or anything you feel is worth noting for future references. Keep sketching!




Special Quote
"If work is fresh and new, you can't expect to like it straightaway, because you have nothing to compare it with.
The effort of coming to terms with things you don't understand makes them all the more valuable to you when you do grasp them.
Good art speaks for itself. That doesn't mean you have to like it.
So the next time you go to an art show, or look at anything for that matter, observe what effect it has on you and try to form your own opinion.
That way you become the critic and not a mouthpiece for someone else's opinions."
-Paul Arden author of Whatever you think, think the opposite.

2 London Scenes both 12" x 16" in Acrylic.

These are 2 other city scenes of London in acrylic. The Royal Exchange and St Paul's.




Summerlight, Royal Exchange, 12" x 16", Acrylic on Canvas, 2010- A blazing place to view and paint in the summer. The building takes on new refreshing colours and the surroundings are exciting too. I really like scenes like this because of the contrast between modern and traditional architecture, something very common in the City of London.




St Paul's at Night, 16" x 12", Acrylic on Canvas, 2010-This building has history and its always a delight to behold at night, but getting its exact and compelling grandeur and beauty is always a struggle.

SPECIAL QUOTE
"Onlookers and underachievers put a major emphasis on talent. For them talent, or the lack of it, is a great excuse to do nothing. If there is an outstanding quality to great artists, scientists, sports stars, humanitarians and business tycoons it is not their talent-it is their focus. Once you know what you want to do, get focused! You can't save the whales, heal the sick and plug the ozone layer all at the same time. Leave some chores for the rest of humanity."
-Andrew Matthews author of Follow your Heart.

2 London Scenes both 10" x 12" in acrylic and oil.

Summerlight Charing Cross Road, 10" x 12", Acrylic on Canvas, 2010

These are 2 scenes from the road I love best in London. Its's Charing Cross Road, I must have walked this road a "million times" since 1999. I'll mention a few reasons why I love it: It is home to my favourite art shop-Cass Arts, it has the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, A great Art book shop-Henry Pordes. Foyles, it used to have Borders (a great bookshop, I still miss it!) It has the lead to Denmark Street-The music Instrument world! It has the lead to Leicester Square- the Entertainment Square. It also has great scenes to paint and sketch. I never tire walking through this road-watch out this year, for more urban scenes that I'll be painting from this road!




Evening light, Leicester Square Station, 10" x 12", Oil on Canvas, 2010.



To spice up this year, I'll be sharing some of the things the keep me inspired from ALL the books I read. I'll be starting a special quote for each post this year. Something that has caught my attention and fired me up!

Special Quote for this POST
"What carries people to the top? What makes them take risks, go the extra mile, do whatever it takes to achieve their goals? It isn't talent. It's passion. Passion creates fire. It provides fuel. I have yet to meet a passionate person who lacked energy. As long as the passion is there, it doesn't matter if they fail. It doesn't matter how many times they fall down. It doesn't matter if others are against them or if people say they cannot succeed. They keep going and make the most of whatever talent they possess. They are talent-plus people and do not stop until they succeed."
-John C Maxwell, author of TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH"