Peter Dransfield says Hi.
 

I have wondered whether to simply cut and paste from other people's intros or go through the effort of drafting my own since many of us have had similar experiences as far as our art is concerned.

Like some here I won prizes when young (8 and 12 in my case) but had a disappointing experience at Art College. I had a reasonably good time on my Foundation Course but when I changed college to that of my girlfriend I found that my two main tutors were, rather curiously, Stalinist supporters of the Albanian Communist Party. Even more curiously they were both abstract painters and since I was resolutely figurative and of a Trotskyist persuation it was not a marriage made in heaven. As a result I spent lonely days in the life class, or writing theoretical articles on the history of art wondering what on earth I was doing there. In the end my girlfriend, who was French, decided to return to Paris and I dropped out to join her. So in 1981 I started teaching English as a Foreign Language to earn a living and am still doing now today although now I have an English wife and live in Spain.

I have painted Cezanne style landscapes/still lifes and Giacometti style figuratives over the years but realised recently that I hadn't touched a brush in nearly 15 years. I started painting portraits a couple of years ago but stopped again after moving to the dolls house I now call home and it has taken me a while to work out how to erect an easel and get far enough away from the painting not to get my nose dirty. I have now cracked the problem and now call a whole square metre in my bedroom my very own studio.

Expect me to be opinionated and I apologise in advance for my tendency to offend but I shall try extra hard to control my fingers and be the diplomat etc etc. I enjoy robust discussion and have trouble understanding that some people mistake this for a nuclear attack so just cuff me if I get out of line.

For the record I am determined to get where I can get to without tracing, projection or any other artificial aid but I see no problem with the intelligent use of photo references.

I have learned a tremendous amount reading virtually every post and there are many here I admire so this place feels like a very good place to be.

Hello Peter, and Welcome! :)

Sounds as if you have had an interesting time of it! Jump right in and don't be shy, we don't bite hard even when we do bite.

It would be interesting to see some of the work you are doing today as most of what you describe in your background is fairly impressionistic and/or highly stylized types of painting. Post a portrait or two if you have pics about. :)

Hello Peter! Welcome to the forum. I look forward to seeing your work.

A promising introduction, we eagerly await your contribution !
Ilaria

Thanks for the welcome. In fact I am enjoying painting tighter than in the past and this has meant learning new skills (always a good thing). I will need to get onto my other computer to post some pics tomorrow as due to a major crash this heap of trash no longer recognises my camera nor my external hard drive.

By the way I applaud your determination to improve your drawing skills. It is often evidence of the struggle that produces great art but those who seem content with tracing or whatever deprive themselves (and their clients) of so much. You have spoken of the artist's integrity and this word sums it up very well. Have you tried drawing with no form of measurement whatsoever? Try keeping your drawing hand on the paper feeling angles and lengths of lines and 'process' your way to accuracy. You will end up with lines all over the place but it will be a live and lively account of getting to grips with that particular piece of reality.

Thanks Ilaria. You are one of the people I admire on this site and seeing your work inevitably gives me an emotional 'zing'. I am learning to paint a little tighter at the moment (relatively speaking) but I strongly suspect it won't last.

I wish I could say the say the same - you should see the portrait of one of my daughters I am struggling with at the moment - a real pig's breakfast. I will post a couple of pics tomorrow.

Good luck with that! I think the cuffs are attached to a lead weight. ;-)

Welcome aboard!

Thanks Marvin, I'll practice my ducking but a little forced exercise is better than stultifying blandness. Art as I know you agree, is about passion and so passion should ooze from the pages here. Too often people defend the indefendable by giving the punchline that the 'client liked it' but what the hell does the client know about art? We should be demanding with ourselves and each other and good discussion is part of that.. I have read passionate discussions about photos vs life and on the merits, or lack of, of cloying sentiment (Aldo Balding) as well as on the advantages of certain palettes and techniques and these are precisely what brings forums alive and people posting so I raise a glass to real discussion.

Rant over.

First painting for 15 years
 

Here is a portrait of my wife. It was the first painting I had done for more than 15 years and the first for which I used a photo reference. As I have only a cheap point and shoot digital there was considerable distortion and I ended up having to paint her face from life.