Paris

"Paris" oil on canvas, by Hilary J. England, 16" x 20" x 2", 2015  No. 4 in series "Travelogue"  

Each object in this painting represents something.  The red woolen cape with fur trim was a really warm coat I wore there when it was (and I was) feeling very festive, and boy, did I get festive wearing this coat lolololololol.  I always loved a yellow rose, as it represents new beginnings, or welcome home, and friendship, which is what Paris always represents to me, in her eternal sunshine and optimism that is the city itself.

I very much enjoyed painting this, and it was a challenge, as all still life work is to me, as I don't usually have a lot of discipline and patience that these require, as I would rather flit off to something else like a butterfly, so painting this series has been very good for me, as it requires I sit still and just concentrate, which I haven't done too much truly quiet work like this in a long time.  Anything that pushes our boundaries of comfort is ultimately a growing experience, and that is good.

Enjoy!

Torso study

Here is a live figure study done in 20 minutes at the Art Establishment in Bethlehem.  This is 18" x 24" conte on drawing paper.

Goa

"Goa" by Hilary J. England, oil on canvas, 16" x 20" x 2", 2015

This is the third painting in my series of "travelogue" paintings, as there will be 12 as of now, perhaps more if I do some more traveling in the next few months (a very strong possibility).

The skirt was hand-dyed by a local vendor (he used this as his sales pitch to me), and I was able to buy it for only 400 rupees, and the other objects are all symbolic of my time in India this summer.  I didn't want to put too many items into the composition, as it becomes cluttered.  There was already a wealth of interesting textures and colors to keep the eyes occupied, so that more objects were unnecessary.

I continued along with the same perspective as the others and will continue as the unifying format in series.  I am looking forward to starting my new painting tomorrow :-)  These are generally a little slower moving as they require probably a month a pop since I don't work on them steadily, but rather in sessions...I'm hoping as the weather gets colder, and I have less distractions outside, I will begin to get each artwork done a bit quicker.

Enjoy~