I’ve painted another beautiful part of the town I live in – Yarra Glen. As you come into Yarra Glen from Lilydale there are a few of these trestle bridges left from the old railway line. This one thankfully wasn’t burnt down in the recent bushfires that devastated the area.
Photorealism empowers an artist with a limitless array of potential paintings. I decided early in 2009 to paint some of the scenery of the town I lived in – Yarra Glen. This is a painting of some the old Yarra Glen railway station, which is now long abandoned. I walked past this beautiful scene every day. I like these rural scenes because they are a counterpoint to the more conceptual pieces. Living in a rural town on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia is an inspiration that the world can be a nice place.
Painted as a homage to the greatest painter of photorealism, Richard Estes, this features an Aston Martin painted in front of the cityscape of Houston. The drawing was very time consuming, and then, the painting of the image wasn’t too much of a problem. This piece was chosen mainly because it was a very difficult work, visually stunning, and intended as a homage to the American artist who’s work who inspired me. Taken from Autocar magazine (18th April 2001) it features the new Aston Martin Vanquish, the car was designed as the flagship by its new owners Ford and represents a stunning mastery of all that represents the quintessential design hallmarks that set this marquee apart. The car was driven before it’s release by a journalist across the USA and photographed against an incredible backdrop of the city.
The two page spread had to be scanned into the computer before being joined, then the text removed. Buildings like this were a time consuming challenge and took 150+ hours just to draw! All up 556 hours was invested in the work before it was shown at the local library. The windows were one of the most difficult passages I’d undertaken and the gravel car park wasn’t far behind in getting it to look just right. The car by contrast was very easy. Upon completion it was rather ironic that it was to be a Vanquish in the picture as I felt I had truly conquered the mastery of my technique.
Landscapes can be very difficult to paint. The surfeit of chaotic detail, with its myriad of subtle, variations of color as well as incedibly intense hues present huge challenges to the artist. I use the best acrylic paint in the world (Chromacolour) and this certainly makes things easier.
This painting is of a vineyard in Yarra Glen, the heart of the Yarra Valley, famous for its wine, I painted it hoping it would appeal to tourists. It was reasonably difficult to do because trying to get the realism just right on this small scale requires acute observation and a very deft touch using the OOO brushes that I use 80% of the time.