Astute 2 – Painting techniques

I have started on the painting stage of Astute 2. I started laying in the white paint that makes the skylight windows. I then have to mix a huge number of colors and lay them in. The weather is very hot at the moment and it is incredibly difficult keeping the paint from drying out but also not to over water them (I use a water-bottle sprayer) to a watercolor consistency. The floor with it’s inground tracks has been laid in with a thin wash of paint, but other areas have an opaque layer of paint. Many of the colors aren’t quite right, it’s a layer by layer correctional process I employ, it’s tediously slow but it works. I have spent 16 hours painting the image below. In total the hour mark is at 90 hours.

I am at the 100 hour mark (image below). It takes a lot of time with such a complex painting – the colors are so subtly different, and I have a limited amount of money, so I can’t waste too much paint.

I am now at the 120 hour mark after a period of painting only a few hours a week.

Astute 2 – Drawing

I have started drawing Astute 2. I am using a 1cm square grid, and you can see that it is a very complex image.

After some more work, it’s starting to fill the 81x60cm MDF board.

This detail view (at 30 hours) shows one of the most complex passages of the artwork.

And now at the 40 hour mark you can see the sheer amount of detail required for this particular painting. What I have done at the top centre-right of the image below is draw in these large areas of flat color (they are skylights) because it helps in not making any lines in the wrong square. I also use a fifth square – blue dot in the middle system to help with ‘navigation’ as well.

Detail view shown below at the 40 hour mark. It has been slow for the production of my artwork at the start of this year due to a variety of reasons, and I am keen to get stuck into my work.

The top section is quite difficult in some of the passages. I have had to use an eraser and if you take a good look at the image below (photograph taken at 50 hours) you can see afew dark smudged areas.

I am on the final stretch. Images below are at the 60 hour mark.

I have finally finished (the drawing) after spending 74 hours.

Photorealist painting – Astute 1

Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. 60x45cm. Completed 23 January 2012. Time taken – 82 hours.

The HMS Astute is a nuclear-powered submarine in the Royal Navy. It is an outstanding achievement of modern engineering. Her builders BAE systems boast that it is “the largest and most able attack submarine that the Royal Navy has operated, with a performance to rival any in the world”. HMS Astute was launched on 8th June 2007 and this photo was taken by Christopher Morgan-Jones. The submarine is 323 feet long has a beam of 37 feet and a draught of 33 feet. It also weighs 7400 tonnes. She is capable of hitting 29 knots (54 kph) and has a crew of 98. The HMS Astute is nuclear powered and its powerplant never needs refueling and the limitation for time away from port comes down to the supply of food on board. Her service life is 25 years.

The HMS Astute is capable of destroying other ships and submarines with torpedo’s as well as launching her Raytheon Tomahawk Block III land-attack cruise missile’s. These missiles utilise high explosive warheads and not nuclear warheads. The Tomahawks can fly 2,500 km at 880 kph. This makes the HMS Astute a formidable weapon.

Please note – due to me using a $99 camera there is a slight color shift in the image. It appears slightly cooler than in real life. I will try and update the image.

The drawing can be seen here.

The techniques used can be seen here.

Astute 1 – Drawing

I have spent about 16 hours on the drawing for the first in a series of ten paintings of HMS Astute, the British submarine.

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- Astute 2 – Painting techniques February 27, 2012
  I have started on the painting stage of Astute 2. I started laying in the white paint that makes the skylight windows. I then have to mix a huge number of colors and lay them in. The weather is very hot at the moment and it is incredibly difficult keeping the paint from drying out […]
- Astute 2 – Drawing January 25, 2012
  I have started drawing Astute 2. I am using a 1cm square grid, and you can see that it is a very complex image. After some more work, it’s starting to fill the 81x60cm MDF board. This detail view (at 30 hours) shows one of the most complex passages of the artwork. And now at […]
- Photorealist painting – Astute 1 January 23, 2012
  Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. 60x45cm. Completed 23 January 2012. Time taken – 82 hours. The HMS Astute is a nuclear-powered submarine in the Royal Navy. It is an outstanding achievement of modern engineering. Her builders BAE systems boast that it is “the largest and most able attack submarine that the Royal Navy has operated, […]