Nostalgic Art – Painting from Old Photographs

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Arsty, Art, Art and nostalgia, Art as therapy, Art of different times, Art perspective, Artist, Artistic moment, Arty, Emulsion painting on box canvas, Light and shade in art, Memories for art, Memories in art, Nostalgic art, Original art, Original Nostalgic art, Original painting, Painting from old photographs, Perspective art, Reliving memories in art, Sepia art on canvas, Sepia tones, Street parties, Street party art, Themed art idea, Thought provoking art

‘Nostalgic Street Party’

 

When I painted this canvas a few years ago it was done after I had had an enquiry about maybe doing a series of nostalgic images. The theme was for the elderly to look back and remember, even to try and jog the memories of those finding life hard to recall as they had developed mental degeneration. Sadly the inquiry came to nothing in the end due to funding and the like, but it sparked some thoughts within me of how I would approach this if I had been commissioned? I set about trying to ask some elderly people if they had any old photographs of street parties from around the war time. As the question must have spread, amongst people, I was eventually given on loan some old photographs to see if they would help my ideas. Sifting through the images I came upon the family/friends above. The image was very poor as the photograph wasn’t or had never been in an album. It was a very close up picture with absolutely no background in shot at all. I looked at the small tea party of maybe grandma organising table, Father enjoying a cup of tea,  the little girl too eager to sit down with excitement. Mum maybe, crouching at the side to talk to the young man, who not wanting to waste a crumb in those hard times, looked like he was tracing the last remnants off his plate, while his sister/friend stood by. I tried to image if I had been there behind them, what and how would the street look (Might add at this stage I am not old enough by far to have been around then!!!) I do remember however when I was very young, staying with my grand parents in their small terrace house with cobbled back streets in Manchester. The scene above that I imagined, is what I painted as the backdrop to the family tea/street party. I wanted to put as much perspective into the canvas as I could stretch, taking it further and further back. Almost in the same way I would have wanted to take the elderly back with their memories, stretching their minds to times which they might remember with happy, fond and nostalgic memories. The reason also I painted them in sepia tones was to give them warmth as the initial black and white proposition I think would have been too stark and harsh for the approach I wanted to achieve. The most important part of the painting, to me, will always be the perspective though. I achieved it even more in this picture than I thought possible. When the picture is hung on the wall and you look directly at it, yes obviously you see into the picture with depth, but walk so you are standing against the wall it is hung on and look sideways at it an you still travel down the street, it is almost like when eyes follow you around the room on a portrait!! Amazing, even to me, and I painted it!!!

Below is a photograph taken from the side to try and highlight what I mean (This picture is on  a 100 cm x 100 cm box canvas and painted with emulsion paints and varnished with water based non yellowing varnish)

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‘”SCENE” From A Bench Series’ – Soaring Moments – Oil Pastel Beach Landscape’

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‘”SCENE” From a Bench series’ -Soaring moments’

Here is another of my “SCENE” from a Bench Series of Oil Pastel Pictures. Obviously in this one I have tried to give the perspective of overlooking the  sea from the top of the cliffs, whilst in the mid distance I’ve included sea birds rising on the thermals – giving it the title ‘Soaring Moments’ !

This series of pictures have all been done using Oil Pastels and in each one I have placed a Bench. Always the same bench but sometimes I’ve flipped it around to suit the angle of the scene. All the pictures in this series are from my imagination and are drawn to give maximum illusion to the perspective of the landscape around and create as much depth as possible in the small images. Hence the series title, ‘ “SCENE” From A Bench’ ! 

‘ “SCENE” From a Bench Series’ – Tuscan Ruin – Oil Pastel

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‘ “SCENE” From a Bench Series’ -‘Tuscan Ruin’

In this Oil Pastel drawing I wanted the viewer to be aware there was a backdrop to the picture but for the main focus to be within the ruin and of how the light entered it and cast shadows, light and shade. The image should project, hopefully, a sense of a hot summer’s day, even becoming hotter into the middle distance until a haze is cast over the far flung mountains. Pure imagination!

This series of pictures have all been done using Oil Pastels and in each one I have placed a Bench. Always the same bench but sometimes I’ve flipped it around to suit the angle of the scene. All the pictures in this series are from my imagination and are drawn to give maximum illusion to the perspective of the landscape around and create as much depth as possible in the small images. Hence the series title, ‘ “SCENE” From A Bench’ ! 

Still Life (Master Compilation Series) -” ‘EAR’, Where’s He Gone?” – Oil Still Life

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Art, Art idea, Art perspective, Artist, Artistic moment, Arts, Artsitic, Artsy, Arty, Different Old Masters Art, Ear, Ear Where's He Gone?, Gel together, Gelling, Gelling art, Idea, Left wondering, Master compilation series, Mini Series, Mini Series of oil paintings, Oil painting, Oil still life, Original, Original art, Original idea, Original oil painting, Painting, Painting for fun, Perspective, Perspectively challenged, Pleasing, Quirky, Quirky art, Quirky original art, Still life, Van Gogh, Van Gogh's Chair, Wacky, Wacky and weird, Wacky art, Wall art, Whistler, Whistler's Mother

I Titled this painting – ” ‘EAR’, Where’s He gone?”

This little painting is the result of playing around one day with Old Master’s Works. I had the idea of ‘gelling’ together two different paintings by two different artists. Of course I can’t take any credit for their artworks in the first place, though I must admit to being very pleased with the idea I had. (It turned out to be a mini series of four so far) Though perspectively challenged I do like the fact that they have seamlessly gelled into one picture. To add to the quirkiness to Whistler’s Mother and Van Gogh’s Chair I think the title I gave it just adds a little fun!

‘ “SCENE” From A Bench Series’ – ‘In The Woods’

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Art, Art drawing, Art idea, Art illustration, Art perspective, Artist, Artistic, Artistic idea, Artistic moment, Arts, Artsy, Arty, Be inspired, Bench idea, Colourful pastels, Drawing, Illustration, Imaginary scene, In the woods, Inspirational art, Landscape perspective, Layering, Layering pastels, light and shade, Nature, Oil pastel Original, Oil pastel picture, Oil pastel series, Oil Pastels, Original, Original Oil pastel picture, Ornate, Outdoor scene, Outdoors, Pastel Art, Pastel drawing, Pastel picture, Pastel scraping art, Scene from a bench, Scene from a bench idea, Series of drawings, Series of paintings, Sunlight and shadows, Toadstools, Trees, Woodland, Woodland picture, Woodland scene

‘ “SCENE” From A Bench Series’ – ‘In The Woods’

This series of pictures have all been done using Oil Pastels and in each one I have placed a Bench. Always the same bench but sometimes I’ve flipped it around to suit the angle of the scene. All the pictures in this series are from my imagination and are drawn to give maximum illusion to the perspective of the landscape around and create as much depth as possible in the small images. Hence the series title, ‘ “SCENE” From A Bench’ !

This picture was a lot of fun and it was the first in the series that I did. Using oil pastels in this one, especially in the dense forest, was done by layering many different colours on top of each other first, then scraping back until I was happy with the effect of light and shade. Once I was happy then I used the pastel in the conventional drawing manner to give more detail, throwing in some ornate toadstools for good measure!