My art work is now for sale on Bluethumb.com.au or my web site Kevanrigby.com

The news to date; My painting 'The Night Florist' was selected as a finalist in the Clayton Utz Art Award and my paintings, Un Cerchio di Scarpe (A Circle of Shoes) and Tea Garden 5, were selected as finalists on the Australian Watercolour Muster 2020.

Its a long time since I made my last post on this blog. There have been extenuating health circumstances but I have not stopped painting. My last still life painting was a copper kettle viewed in the hearth of a stately home in Cornwall England, and the other ' The Night Florist", is a street scene depicting a florist shop called 'Flowers Vasette' at dusk, which is on Brunswick Street, in Melbourne Australia.

 

Though they appear the same size in this post, the street scene is much larger.

My last watercolour is a painting of ladies shoes as displayed in a shop in Bulimba, Brisbane, Australia. I have given it an Italian title in homage to the superior design of Italian shoes. 'Un Circhio di Scarpe.

All my work can be viewed or purchased from my new website www.kevanrigby.com 

The latest in my still life in oils series. The small jug is sitting on top of my piano which provides me with a reflection.  I was interested in how the reflection was influenced by the black, mirror-like finish, of the french polish.
I am enjoying painting these and, whilst they are in the genre of 'realism', they are not 'ultra-realism'. I still like to retain a the character of a painting.
I have recently purchased another jug and copper teapot/kettle from an antique centre in Sydney, and a jug and sugar bowl from a local charity shop. All will feature in paintings in the near future.
The painting that is on the easel at the moment is a street, urban landscape showing a florists shop in Melbourne. I shall show that in my next post.

My fourth oil still life. This was a challenge because of the excess of white porcelain.
I chose it because of the teapot, which I found in a local antique shop. The 'Shelly' cup, saucer and plate were used to add to the 'white' challenge.
I have since seen a companion cup to the teapot as a still life painting on Instagram but I think that it was in America. It was very well painted.
I liked the shape of the pot with the 'globe-like' panels separated by a ribbon of gold. I chose the digestive biscuits because the tone and colour helped to create a unity in the composition.
I am still not totally happy with my techniques in this style of oil because, even though in this photograph it can't be seen, the background is not a unified as I want. I am experimenting with the mediums that I use to get a more consistent overall tone.

The same cup as in my last still life in oils but a different jug. I included more of the napkin this time as I find it challenging depicting the sense of the lace.
One thing that I discovered with this painting is that to include reflections of light on a white object is quite difficult.
I shall select a different cup for my next painting as I have just had a shopping expedition at the local antique centre and purchased a number of items that will keep me busy and inspired for a little while.

 

My first two oil still life paintings. They are quite small and presented quite a challenge for me.
The left hand one is an apostle jug the original of which is quite a bland grey colour, so I gave myself permission to add the influence of light in the tones. The green jug and cream cup are from different eras and, strictly speaking, would not have been used together in their respective eras. I found the shape of the cup handle a little difficult to get right but I am happy with the result. My next one will include the same cup but with a different jug. Watch this space! Assuming there is anyone reading this!!!!

 Two more watercolours in my 'Tea Garden' series. There are four to date in the series with at leas one more  planned when I find the right cup and saucer and flower.
My current work, is completing a number of miniature watercolours and small oils for a 'small works' exhibition in our home studio gallery. Being in a hot part of the sub tropics, we are calling it a 'Christmas in July' exhibition of small works.