#rmor paints

[rmoart]

Wedding Portrait, 2019

My wedding present to the happy couple. It was very gratifying to return to acrylics and find that I can still paint, six years after the last time I used them for portraits.

Original photo taken by Shutter Bliss Photography, Bristol, UK. The photo was chosen and provided by the bride, and no money was exchanged in the creation of this gift.

Acrylic paint, 18x25cm, approx 9 hours.

[rmoart]

Carwyn Liadon, 2018

I totally forgot to post this here! This is Carwyn, the half-elf son of my main DnD character, Llarynna Liadon. He’s my backup character, and a paladin of Lathander. As on the previous picture, I modeled him on The Sims 4, and then I used a reference picture (credit to faestock on deviantART)to help with the cloak and pose, before painting in watercolours.

Caron came to a good start in life when he was born in the temple of Lathander, god of birth and light. His mother did her best to raise Caron properly, and with the aid of many acolytes and priests from the temple that had taken her in, did a fairly good job of it. The solemn manner of the clergy came through more than any mischief from his mother, and he demonstrated a sense and steadiness that both endeared him to and frustrated Rinn. He appeared shy, studious and a little anxious – wide-eyed and always looking for ways to help – but took great, if quiet, joy in light and music and nature and art, and greatly preferred being with people over studying. He is very dutiful, but not necessarily to the law. The path of a paladin seemed a natural extension of this, and when he became a squire to an older paladin he felt at home.

Ten years later, he completed his training, swore the Oath of the Ancients, and chose his adult name: Carwyn. His mother bestowed a Cloak of Elvenkind upon him, as while he would not want to keep to the shadows at all times, there were times when being unseen would save his life. She then left for Silverymoon to pursue her own calling to be a cleric of Tymora, leaving Carwyn in Neverwinter. The two of them correspond when they can, and Carwyn is rather fond and proud of his mother for what she’s doing; he also thinks it’s very funny that she has unwittingly adopted five more boys, after leaving for some freedom.

Carwyn has spent most of the past year serving in and around Neverwinter. He is very much based at the temple of Lathander, and most of his service is in aiding and protecting the poor and vulnerable (another trait he inherited from mum). He has done some adventuring in and around the city when required.

[rmoart]

Rowan, 2019

Not my first artwork of the year, but the first I have permission to share. This fellow is Rowan, the character of one of the other players in the game. Going by backstory, he’s the one that my character, Llarynna aka Rinn, has known longest, after she caught him cheating in a game of luck and decided to use her powers as a cleric of Lady Luck to mess with him. The pair ended up travelling together, and are good friends, although she often calls him out when he’s lying.

While this is his true face, it is not the one he often wears. He is not a wizard: he is, in fact, a warlock, who thought he was a sorcerer, and he has been accused of being involved in the murder of his adoptive mother, so he uses a magical disguise. As I understand it, he got caught up in a pact with Asmodeus that his parents made, and was thus unwittingly granted powers. As our campaign progressed, Asmodeus began to communicate with him, and that book is how he can communicate back. Also, his true form has begun to change into that of a chain devil. Thus far, his first intentional pact was to save Larynna’s life when she had been cursed to turn into a hell hound. He asked Tymora/Lady Luck for guidance when faced with a decision between Llarynna and another party member, or his parents’ souls (said parents were planning to kill hundreds of people), and Lady Luck clearly wanted her cleric to keep going. Larynna was less than thrilled to be “indebted” to the Prince of Devils, but had promised to aid Rowan in his quest.

[rmoart]

Ria, 2011

An A4 pencil drawing and an A3 acrylic painting based on the same photo I took of my friend a few years earlier, when I was intending to draw them all as gifts. The pencil version was later given to my friend, once the coursework was returned. She was the first of two Fillipina friends I painted; looking back, it would have been interesting to paint a wider range of ethnicities.

[rmoart]

Exploration and Discovery - Painting Study, 2011

One thing I considered doing for my final piece was a simple painting of this ‘fae’ character discovering something, so I did a mock-up. Here, she’s found a stone frog. In the top picture you can see my process for getting the image right.

[rmoart]

Oh so Controversial, 2010

A painting entered into a competition for creativity at school, and the origin of my artistic motto/original professional art handle. It features two of my OCs from my story, Gemwing: Stephen Auric and Pearl Hydra.

17-year-old me had a point to make, and so I present to you my semi-essay:

Rainbows do not require an intellectual justification for the claim that they are actually quite attractive. You do not need to be an Art student to draw rainbows. They are accessible to everyone, from kids to pensioners. Innocence, naivety and childish pleasure are not acceptable in the Art Establishment, or so it sometimes seems. That is why I did this. Because for the most part, I seriously doubt my artistic journey is going to take me into very abstract or conceptual art, art that needs someone to explain to you. If I belong to a school of art, I belong to the school of Attractivists (those who make attractive things). I do not derive much pleasure from making things that have deep meaning, but have little aesthetic merit in them. I am not against conceptual art, but I like there to be something to look at, something that has been well made and considered. I am not a very controversial person. I'm weird, and out of place a lot of the time, but I follow rules, try to abide by my religion, and listen to the advice of those who should know better. That's the reason that I'm out of place, at least compared to some of my peers. I called the picture Oh So Controversial because this IS me being controversial - speaking out against the way that we are discouraged from producing art that pleases ourselves, our friends and family; art that everybody seems to like (even my brother, who professes to be the biggest philistine since Goliath) apart from those who seem to decide what “Art” truly is. I hope that this painting can be recognised and accepted for what it is and what it says, and that it reminds someone that art is for everyone, and that everyone can contribute in some way. Bring back good craft and rainbows. Time taken: approximately 36 hours Materials: Pencil, tip-ex, acrylic paint, Biro, pen, paint marker and nail polish on double gesso-primed canvas 40"x50" Playlist: Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Red, Nickelback, Bowling for Soup, Breaking Benjamin, dai and miscellaneous pieces.

[rmoart]

River Painting 4, 2010

A2 level Art & Design (aka second year of A-levels, which is what I’ll refer to them as in future) began over the summer between Years 12 and 13 with a project to explore a range of artistic movements and create ‘responses’ (original pieces inspired by the subject). This was the first piece, responding to Impressionism. It is, of course, rather similar to the three impressionistic paintings I did of a place 50m upriver a year earlier - hence the numbering.

It took just over an hour, and was done in Windsor and Newton Galleria acrylic paints. Referenced from a photo I took in 2007.

[rmoart]

AS Level Art Sketchbook Pt4, 2009

Preparatory studies for this installation - this was the space aspect, and worth its own post.

These are paintings of nebulae/galaxies referencing photos from the HubbleSite Gallery. I prepared the backgrounds by painting them black and using a toothbrush to fleck white, blue, ochre and red paint onto it, before painting straight on top with Windsor and Newton Galleria acrylics. First one I stuck the picture down and then imagined what the rest of it would look like, as well as copying another one - second two are copies as well, and you can see what I copied on the page.