Month: February 2023

Francis Bacon as Pope Innocent X

February 18, 2023

Francis Bacon had the most extraordinary head. I tried to be as realistic as I could in making this portrait, but he kept coming out a bit like an editorial cartoon from a 70s news magazine.

I painted him in oil on board, with lots of glazing, using Damar Glaze Medium. Tough sledding, but it produces much richer, more vibrant colours than just slapping the paint on alla prima.

As for the gold on his chair (throne?), I read in an old book I should use Cobalt Yellow. It costs slightly more than gold itself, but it is very effective. Thank you Joseph Dawley.

The frame is from the Op Shop. I picked it to fit the board. It previously housed a faded print of a milkmaid.

Lucky Buddha beer bottle

February 12, 2023

I once shared a fridge in which a lone bottle of stout sat for a bit over 20 years. You see, nobody in the house liked stout.

I picked up this smiling bottle of beer on impulse, whilst buying the largest bottle of cheap cooking sherry I could carry. I do not drink, so I expect this chap will be sitting on the fridge for many decades to come. As you can see, he is stout, and so the cycle of existence rolls on.

It was an odd picture this one. I think it peaked about halfway through the painting process and got slightly worse as I finished it. It happens sometimes. Here are some drafts: you be the judge.