Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Drawing studies of hands


Here's a few studies I did recently of hands. It's something,
 that while drawing always seems to hold a little trepidation for me, 
the need to to accurately capture a good representation of the hand.
The only answer I have for that though is repitition. Just draw it over
and over ...

Hands drawing  kevin gough

and over...

Hands drawing  kevin gough


and over..

Hand drawing  by kevin gough

and over..

 drawing of the hand by  kevin gough

and over..

 drawing of the hand by  kevin gough

again...

Thanks for looking :)


Friday, December 13, 2013

Two trees Gougane Barra

oil painting by kevin gough

oil on canvas  36 x 26 cm

I wanted to do a painting of Gougane Barra that might describe 
the wildness of the place so I followed the stream that eventually
becomes the Lee river up in to the wooded hills until I found an 
area which I felt had just the right look to it.

Thanks for looking :)

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Quick scribble of an imaginary landscape


 Ballpoint pen on cartridge 30 x 20 

This is one from a bunch of scribbles I worked up at the 
Cork sketch group Drink & Draw meeting a couple of
nights ago. Anyone living in the area interested in 
drawing should check out these events if they can
as its a really great place to share ideas and just
generally have a lot of fun scribbling.

Thanks for looking :)

Friday, November 29, 2013

Sea cliffs on the south coast


oil on foamx 27 x 20 cm

 A quick study of some sea cliffs on the coast of Cork.


Thanks for looking :)

Colors of Winter



Oil on foamx 24 x 24 cm

Another heavily laden oil work I have just finished.
Once again I have used foamx as a base. The painted
image is one from the Gearagh in Cork. It's an area of 
such scenic quality that I think it would be easy to find
 a thousand paintings in just one visit.

Thanks for looking :)

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Trees on the road to Dinis Cottage Killarney

art by kevin gough

 oil on FoamX  24 x 18 cm

 I'm trying something different for a change, today, I just worked by loading
on heavy paint, no preliminary sketch, no drawing and my surface was 
foamx a perfectly smooth moldable polymer sheet. It was a lot of fun as I 
have do not normally work with such heavy paint and the smoothness of the 
surface allowed me to slide the paint around without any resistance.

Thanks for looking :)

Friday, November 22, 2013

Study of the head of a crow

Drawing by Kevin Gough

Ballpoint pen on cartridge 30 x 20cm

I have to admit I have a weakness for drawing crows, they are such a resilient and
intelligent bird. I have ample opportunity to study them also, living near a large 
roosting colony.

Thanks for looking :)

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Some Life studies from the fourth floor studios



Got a chance again, to do some life studies at the Fourt Floor Studies.
The poses last from two minutes to twenty. The shorter poses are shown
above in the top images with the a longer one displayed in the lower image.
At the moment it seems the only time I am taking a break from my ink pens
as a drawing medium is when I attend these studies, but I couldn't  imagine
capturing life poses in anything other than graphite or paint.... yet.

Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Exhibition at The Mart Art Gallery.


 I have been lucky enough to have myself included as part of the exhibition, "Art, Line and Sinker," 
in Dublin this week, so if you are around the capitol and have some time to spare then please feel free to drop in.


Friday, November 8, 2013

Portrait of Jeremiah


 Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

Got a chance to visit the Cork Sketch Group drink and draw event last night
and was lucky enough to be in the company of a patient gentleman and fellow
artist who was willing to suffer my pen scribbling for a couple of minutes.

Thanks for looking :)

Monday, October 21, 2013

Life drawing at the Fourth Floor Studios



Yesterday I got a chance to attend some life drawing at the Fourth Floor Studios in the city.
The drawing session runs for a duration of four hours with poses held from one minute 
warmups right up to twenty five minutes so quite a lot of work gets done. Below are some 
of the sketches completed in the fifteen to twenty five minute poses.





Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Study of a Velazquez self portrait in ballpoint pen, sandpaper & Bleach

Drawing of Valasquez by kevin gough

Ballpoint pen, sandpaper & bleach on recycled card  30 x 20cm

Here is a study from a self portrait by Velazquez. For this piece I first scribbled
out the main portrait with my ink pen, I then sanded the whole piece with a medium grade
emery cloth and used a hard eraser to knock back the lighter tones. After some adjustments
with the pen I then proceded to brush with household bleach the areas where I wanted to get 
the highlights. It's a messy approach but I thought it would be worth a try and for the materials
I used it seemed to come out ok. The whole work is done on a piece of recycled white card used
for packaging which I found much easier to sand than the normal A4 cartridge sheets I use from
time to time. Of course this is not the first piece of artwork I have created from mediums which
are all  destined to become rubbish :)

Thanks for looking :)

Monday, September 16, 2013

Quick scribble of a woodland scene

Ink sketch of a woodland scene by kevin gough


ballpoint pen on cartridge  30 x 20cm
 Here's another quick sketch done with ballpoint pen at the cork sketch group
Drink & Draw event. I heard someone say recently that the ballpoint pen is the 
pencil of the 21st century.. I guess that could be true really as even the cheapest
mass produced pen can still offer up a satisfactory drawing result. I find for speed
and tone and a fine line, a ball point pen can be second to none when you are in a
hurry. I also like to use sandpaper with these scribbles, drawing the ink across the 
page in a semblance of a wash, making for a nice finish. Of course with the pen, 
there's no turning back, once you put down that line it's there to stay, but I like to 
think that's an advantage to as it forces you to make better decisions knowing in 
advance that you will not be able to undo any strokes. I have been using ballpoint
pens now for many years and I find that each time I return to graphite or oil pitt I
 do less corrections as a result of using this medium.

Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Quick oilsketch of a cow

Oil Sketch of a cow by kevin gough


 oil on canvas 30 x 20cm

As the title suggests, a quick oilsketch of a cow done in a limited palette
of naples yellow, burnt sienna burnt umber cadmium green 
and a lick of aliziron crimzon.

Thanks for looking :)

Monday, September 2, 2013

Dreamscape


 oilwash on canvas 30 x 20cm

I thought I might try something different for a change so I put this reduced color palette
together just for fun, it's mostly a heavy oil wash with just a few strokes of color laid over it.

Thanks for looking :)

Two Little Pigs


oil on canvas 30 x 20

A quick oil sketch of two little pigs from the heritage farm at Killarney Co.Kerry.


Thanks for looking :)

Monday, August 26, 2013

Painting and drawing from life

Graphite on paper 20 x 30 cm
oil on oilboard 20 x 30 cm



oil on oilboard 20 x 30 cm



 Yesterday I got the opportunity to study some models from life with both pencil and oil. 
These are from the longer poses which varied from twenty minutes to forty minutes.
It's quite a rush to get a piece some way completed in the time available so they are 
quite minimalist in their appearance. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks for looking :)

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Re-entry

oil on masonite 20 x 15cm


A quick oil sketch of an astronaut on re-entry just for fun

Thanks for looking :)

Monday, July 29, 2013

Study of a Rembrandt self portrait in oils

oil on canvas 46 x 36 cm



Almost at the end of the art challenge now with the art group "The Galway Pub Scrawl"
Todays theme was "master copy" and so I had the audacity to try my hand at a facisimile
of a Rembrandt self portrait...

Thanks for looking :)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Pencil study of Caravaggios' Medusa


This was my entry for day 23 of the Galway Pub Scrawl drawing challenge for July.
The theme for the day was "Bad Hair Day "

Thanks for looking :)

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Abandoned


Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20

My entry for day six of the July drawing challenge.

Thanks for looking :)

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Invisible to her prey.


Disposable ink pen on recycled paper 30 x 20cm

Here is the day five drawing from the drawing challenge, the subject was, "invisible"
I attached a digital border to this piece to contain the text as I thought the drawing
itself needed a bit of an explanation in order to satisfy the theme

Thanks for looking :)

Old Crow


Disposable ink pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

For the month of July I have joined a drawing challenge started by the Galway Pub Scrawl
A drawing group based in Galway. The challenge is to draw something each day for the
month, based on a list. One drawing per day each day. All the drawings done by those in 
the event can be seen here. The above is my entry for day three " your spirit animal "

Thanks for looking :)



Sunday, June 23, 2013

Study of Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas" with disposable pen


  Ball point pen on recycled paper 12 x 8

I started this the other night while with the Cork sketch group at their drink and draw event
 and finished it on returning to the studio. I felt attempting a Caravaggio study would have
 been a bit of a challenge with the,"ten for a penny" ink pens I am using at the moment but 
they seem to be more than able. Any reluctance on my part to do this was based on the fact 
that there is no adjustment allowed so I would have to look at my own mistakes when finished. 
But that's all part of the process and I think I got away with it, for the most part. I do like the 
results though, because the finished scribble gives me a good understanding of where I
might have made better decisions with my pen strokes and it also teaches me to accept the
limits of my ability with the media.

Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Sailboats sheltering in the early morning in Drake's pool


Oil on masonite 31 x 27 cm

For this piece I tried to concentrate only on the color shapes in the scene.
Rather than attempt to paint boats in the water I placed on the  masonite
as accurately as possible, a description of the shapes I could see and the
colors they assumed without regarding them as components of the real
world but instead just considering them as a collection of abstract
color shapes.

Thanks for looking :)

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Leo


 Ballpoint pen on cartridge  20 x 14 cm

Leo is a dog of no particular pedigree
Small and muscular and tough
His growl so deep it makes you shudder
and he pants like laughter
then walks toward you rolling his big head
which he lands in your lap
and closes his eyes and snorts and sighs
"I am your dog
Where are the dog treats?"

Thanks for looking :)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Empty glass bottle



Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

It seems lately that I am unable to let go of these cheap pens, I am
finding them so versatile. I just buy them in bunches and draw with 
reckless abandon.. 

Thanks for looking :)

Thursday, April 11, 2013

View across the bay




Oil on oilboard 40 x 30 cm

This is a view of the bay below the bridge at Glenavaud. 

The tide is out and the sky
 is full of that soft damp greyness
we are so used to here.

Thanks for looking :)

The Back Lane gallery Killarney


The Back Lane Gallery Killarney can be found on Scotts Street as you exit
Collage street through the arch in the above picture. The Gallery is the creation 
of artist Deborah O' Keefe and functions as an artist collective.

They have kindly given me some wall space to hang my work from
which I have packed as tightly as possible, this will now give me more 
space in the studio that I will endevor to fill all over again as quickly
as possible.

If you are visiting Killarney do drop in and have a loook.
Deborah's amazing work can be seen on display here and
she herself can often be found in the gallery working away
on her latest masterpiece.

There's lots of other fine work to be seen there also.
The excellent pastel works of Roman Rocco Burgan,
and works by Phil Davis , Olivia O' Carra and many
 more making it well worth a visit.


Thanks for looking :)

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Very quick tree study


Disposabel ink pen on cartridge paper 20 x 30cm

As the title suggests, here's a very quick tree study.
When I am little caught up for time I like to resort back
to my well used disposabel pen and some cartridge paper.


Thanks for looking :)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

The Crow


Disposable ink pen on cartridge paper 30 x 20cm

Heres a quick sketch I did at the Cork Sketch Groups, "Drink and Draw" meet up.
I really like working with cheap disposable pens and recycled paper. When I'm 
using more expensive media I am always worried that the outcome might not
 justify their cost, however with just the basic tools I dont have these concerns
so I tend to be a little less cautous in my approach... something that seems at times 
to prove usefull.

Thanks for looking :)



Thursday, March 7, 2013

Exhibition News



This week starting on Friday the 8th I am fortunate to have some of my work on show at "Art in the Park" in a group exhibition at the Lord Mayors Pavillion in Fitzgeralds Park. If you are around there any time please feel free to drop in and have a look.
 The exhibition will run to the 31st of March and I will be there in person on 
the 9th, 10th and 17th painting outside... hopefully, if the weather permits :)

Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Gearagh in the rain


oil on oil board 40 x 30 cm

Another oil of the Gearagh, this time I am trying to capture the amazing winter 
colors of this area, which even on an overcast rainy winters day are still present.

Thanks for looking :)

Friday, January 25, 2013

Mixing the real with the virtual.


Recently I have been working on a process to produce illustrations which are more 
computer friendly. I need to produce some work that can be easily manipulated in the 
virtual world and that does not carry the same difficulties when transferring from real to 
digital. I am more used though, to producing my artwork through traditional mediums,
most likely because I began producing artwork in a pre computer age. For my post here I 
am using as a model, Titians portrait of Doge Andrea Gritti. 
All apologies in advance to the great master.

My first step is to rely on what I know and just draw a quick sketch of the painting. 
I am not really worried about the level of accuracy here as much of the original sketch 
will disappear later in the process. So I am just producing a very fast drawing with a 
disposable  ink pen on recycled paper.
This will provide me with a skeleton upon which I can hang my body of color.


After taking a photo of the sketch I import it into an ipad and with an application called 
"Brushes" and a stylus called a "Nomad" brush I go to work with some color.


While I am painting I try to use as many transparent brush strokes as possible so that
the underlying scribble is still visible in some areas... it's just personal preference. 
I am reasonably pleased with the finished result considering it was done with just
a disposable pen, recycled paper, an old camera and an app that cost me less than $4.



The resulting digital piece could be finished ad infinitem but for now I will
leave it as it is. 




Monday, January 14, 2013

Friday, January 4, 2013

Sacred smoke

Mystic... a drawing by kevin gough



 Minen lead and oil pitt on I50 lb cartridge   30 x 20 cm

Here's a drawing I did at the Cork Sketch Group's drink and draw meeting
last Thursday night January 4th. I might do some more work on this yet
but for the moment I will leave it.

Thanks for looking  :)

Wind blowing through the reeds in the Gearagh


Oil on oilboard  36 x 25 cm

Another painting from the Gearagh series I am working on.
The view facing south this time from the edge of the reeds 
on the walkway through the sancturary
facing the main lake.


Thanks for looking :)
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