The Disasters of War – a painting

painting about ukraine war, with viewer discretion advised

A reaction to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

I’ve been reluctant to write about this painting, for fear of how it will be viewed by potential portrait customers. I haven’t even offered it to any exhibitions. But as you read this, millions of lives have been ruined or lost by a pointless conflict, so who am I to fret over losing a few commissions. So here we go.
After finishing my painting Men Wrestling, I still felt compelled to say something about the barbarity and viscousness of events unfolding in Ukraine. It’s too easy to feel detached from it all, viewing it as a spectacle rather than the existential crisis it is. That was exactly what I wanted to convey with Men Wrestling – world leaders looking on as the two naked wrestlers (representing Russia and Ukraine) are embraced in a fight to the death.  For my next painting I wanted to show the cruel horror of it all.

goya disasters of war Plate 39: Grande hazaña! Con muertos! (A heroic feat! With dead men!).
Goya – A heroic feat! With dead men!

Goya – The Disasters of War

Los desastres de la guerra is a series of 82 prints created between 1810-1820 by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya (1746–1828). These etchings are viewed as a visual protest against the violence of the 1808 Dos de Mayo Uprising, and the subsequent Peninsular War of 1808–1814. They were not published during the artist’s lifetime; they are considered a graphic representation of the atrocities of war. As such, they were the perfect source material and inspiration for the painting I wanted to create.

Composing the painting

Creating a painting like this is a bit like directing a play. You have your story and actors, and much of the time you are arranging them on the stage to describe a particular scene.
Below is a video (apologies for the very bad exposure) where I talk about the painting at quite an early stage. I explain how I saw a certain dignity in the brutalised figures Goya had hanging from trees, with similarities to some depictions of Christ descending from the Cross.

Putin and Prigozhin

From the beginning I wanted the main actors occupying centre stage to be Vladimir Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin. At the time I painted this, Prigozhin was alive and still a trusted ally of the president, with his Wagner group taking the lead in the assault on Bakhmut. That costly assault gave Russia its only gain since the early days of the war. During this battle, Wagner mercenaries were accused of castrating Ukrainian  prisoners (read the story here).

Putin and Prigozhin in detail from the painting disasters of war.
Putin and Prigozhin, when they were friends

This central section also draws some inspiration from The Flaying of Marsyas – a late work by Titian which shows the killing by flaying or skinning alive of Marsyas, a satyr. Marsyas is hung from a tree like a butcher’s carcass, much like the brutalised figures in Goya’s etchings, and also like the captured soldiers in my painting. I wanted to capture something of the inhuman and bestial behaviour of the invading Russian troops; behaviour that most people could not believe would be happening in Europe in the 21st Century.

A picnic at an execution

It took me a while to fill the space in the bottom left. I tried out various figures, but in the end settled for someone having a picnic in front of this awful scene.

woman in hat enjoying a picnic in front of soldiers being tortured
woman enjoying a picnic, with blood splatters

I had in mind the wealthy Muscovites dining in their expensive restaurants, thinking themselves isolated from the “special operation” happening in a foreign land; they might see it as their evening entertainment on TV.
But they are still tainted by it.
As are we all.


I will be exhibiting this painting along with The Gleaners at S. B. Art Gallery in London, from the 27th-29th October

S.B. ART STUDIOS

LGC Art Prize

painting of man and woman on bed adam and ever liver transplant patient

I am absolutely delighted that “Man and Woman” has been shortlisted for the Theo Paphitis LGC Art Prize. Out of 837 submissions, they shortlisted just 11 artworks, so I am feeling extremely grateful that the judges chose my work to be amongst the finalists.

It is a painting that has taken rather a long time for me to finish (I wrote more about the painting and how I recently repainted it here). I have had a troubled relationship with this piece. I started working on it during a time of great loss and pain. It has spent ten years in an unfinished state. I could not work out what was wrong with it, but I suspect unresolved feelings from that time made me feel uncomfortable working on it.

detail from man and woman, shortlisted for the lgc art prize

Anyway, it’s finished now, and it’s so encouraging having such a personal piece being endorsed by the judges. Working alone in a studio, it is all too easy to start having doubts about particular paintings and projects. Will people understand them? Will anyone make a connection with my work? So a big thank you to the judges – Kate Brinkworth, Tom Croft, Brian Reed, Jayne Kay, and a special thanks to Theo Paphitis who set up and supports the LGC Art Prize.

The LGC Art Prize Shortlist

Edit. And the winner is….

Theo Phaphitis presenting winner Tom Mead with his prize
Theo Phaphitis presenting winner Tom Mead with his prize

It was a wonderful and quite lavish awards ceremony. Theo Paphitis must be congratulated for hosting this excellent addition to the Arts calendar. Tom Meads was the deserved winner with his painting ‘Stoic’. You can read more about the three different winners here: theopaphitis.com/my-blog
What I particularly enjoyed about the judges’ selection was that they chose works that actually followed the theme “connection” – not always the case with themed shows.

theo paphitis standing next to the painting Man and Woman
Head judge Theo Paphitis in front of my painting

One very nice touch was how, after the awards ceremony, they then gave each artist a goody bag full of art materials. I’ve not seen that in any competitions I’ve been shortlisted for before, and I was incredibly pleased with that little surprise. I left feeling like a winner. Artists are so easy to please 🙂

artist goody bag from lgc

London Graphic Centre is a treasure trove of art materials in the heart of London. Here is their website: londongraphics.co.uk

How to Commission a Nude Portrait

artist drawing nude model in studio

Have you ever thought about commissioning a nude portrait painting?

You’re not that unusual if you have. I receive plenty of enquiries about such commissions. In fact, almost half the commissions I have worked on were for nude portraits, and I am sure I would receive many more enquiries if people didn’t feel slightly awkward asking about them.

The simple answer to the question “can you paint me nude?” is yes. I don’t see much distinction between a nude portrait and a more conventional portrait. The preparations for both are much the same. I like to arrange an in-person sitting if possible, during which I will make several drawings, trying out different poses. Once a pose has been selected, I will take a reference photo, and use that along with the drawings to create a painting.

I can have sittings in my studio, or am happy to travel to the client’s home. That’s often the best option, as the sitter is more likely to feel at ease in their home environment.

life model sitting next to life drawings
It often turns out that the best poses are not planned for, but can happen by chance. The light might fall on the body in a particular way; a fleeting expression might say more about you than a carefully prepared pose. By having a three hour sitting, we’re more likely to happen upon that one elusive pose that says what you want to say.

nude female model sitting on bed
An example of an unplanned pose that worked well – the model was just taking a break between poses

The most important step is finding out what the sitter wants from the painting. Everyone has a different reason for commissioning a portrait – nude or conventional. Understanding why you want your likeness painted will help me decide how to paint you.

Is a nude portrait the best way to boost your self-esteem?

Last year I was contacted by journalist/author Radhika Sanghani who was writing a feature on women who have commissioned naked portraits of themselves to celebrate their bodies. It was something she had personally done, and she was looking to be put in touch with women who had done the same. None of my customers wanted to be contacted (possibly because the story was destined for the Daily Mail), but Radhika managed to finish her article, and you can read it here: Is a nude portrait the best way to boost self esteem
I found it particularly interesting reading three different stories for why people had commissioned a nude portrait of themself.

artist painting a nude portrait

 

Can I paint your nude portrait from photos?

It might be impractical for you to have in-person sittings. In that case I can paint from photos you provide, but they will have to be of adequate quality. I am happy to advise; it is possible to have a preliminary chat via Zoom-call, where I can give advice about the pose and lighting. Expensive cameras aren’t necessary. It is more important to avoid lens distortion and to get the correct lighting. Both are achievable with a good phone camera.

The most exciting thing about painting portraits is also the most daunting thing: there are such endless possibilities for how to paint someone, it’s a challenge knowing where to start. It might help looking at examples of nude portraits, by myself and other artists (photos or paintings), just to get some ideas.

selection of poses with nude portraits
Look at other paintings or photos for ideas about how you want to be painted

If you are thinking about commissioning a nude portrait, feel free to contact me with any questions. I am always happy to chat, with no obligation. Embarking on a portrait commission is a collaborative exercise between the artist and the sitter. It should be both rewarding and enjoyable, and can be more affordable than you expect.

Contact Page

More information at How to Commission a Portrait

Artist Interview

A Journey from Catharsis to Social Commentary

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Joana Alarcão for the online magazine Insights of an Eco Artist. I must admit that it was harder work than I expected. I’ve given a few interviews in the past and usually the questions are predictable, generic and a little boring. So I was a little surprised to be sent some more challenging questions specifically about my art practice.

I’m not sure how many people read these interviews, but I always find it a useful exercise trying to explain my art practice to someone. The interview can be found here.

Joana Alarcão is an interdisciplinary eco-artist and writer who works primarily within the concepts of social/environmental justice and culture. Her website is here.


 

A few years ago I gave an interview to the naturist magazine Clothes Free Life. Somehow I managed to delete the original blogpost about it. It was an interesting exercise as the questions were from a different perspective to your normal artist interview. So here is the link to the article:

Portraits of People with no Clothes

Portrait of a Singer

portrait painting of young country singer

Several years ago I had the pleasure of having a young singer/songwriter by the name of Devon Mayson pose for a portrait sitting. This was just one of a series of portrait sittings I arranged at the time, all with different sitters.  They went well, and I recall Devon in particular was fascinating to work with. But at this time I chose instead to concentrate on figure studies and my Relationships Series paintings, so the drawings and photos from these sessions have remained unused. Until now.
In the past few years portraiture has become a much more important part of my art practice, and so I have been taking another look at the reference material from these earlier sittings.

detail from portrait of singer

This is a portfolio piece, to demonstrate my skills to potential customers, and also to give them ideas for what they can have in their own portraits. This is an example of how the introduction of a landscape in the background can add visual interest to a portrait. It is a device I have used frequently in commissions – the main risk is that it can distract your view from the sitter. It was sometimes used to good effect in Renaissance portraits. Artists like Titian would usually set the sitter within a neutral, abstract space – possibly for economy. However the addition of a window view, as in the examples below, opens up the space and adds an extra meaning to the portrait..

titian and possibly Giorgione portraits, showing technique of adding window in background
Two examples of Renaissance portraits with window in background

If you are interested in commissioning a portrait, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. My email address is on my Contact page. I have also produced some portrait case studies which might be helpful – they are below this blog post.

The model for this paintings was singer/songwriter Devon Mayson. From her website:

“Devon is a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist whose unique style is shaped by influences from the musical worlds of Country, Folk and Pop”

Her website is here: devonmayson.com