Rembrandt Tribute - Portrait of Christ

4 x 6 inches, watercolor, August 2007

I'm a member of eBay watercolour group Watercolours (Wet n Wild) and each month we have a challenge where we choose a different old master and paint renditions of their work in watercolor. This month (well, September, I'm a bit early) Rembrandt is the artist. I didn't choose to do a version of this painting for any religious reason - I just thought it was a beautiful image. Rembrandt is a challenge in watercolor because his paintings are so dark. I used a lot of prussian blue, sepia and both raw and burnt umber to create the dark tones.

You can find the work of other Watercolours (Wet n Wild) artists on eBay by searching for "WnW". If you are interested in what the others have done with Rembrandt search for "WnW Masters Tribute."

Lew

4 x 6 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007

This is a portrait of fellow artist Lew Clayton. Lew bravely put himself up when I asked on Deviantart for volunteers to be painted. He liked the result, feeling it had captured his personality.

Isis

5 x 7 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007.

My second entry in the EBSQ Pet Portrait Swap Show, this is Heather Mathiesons lovely cat Isis. As you can see she has beautifully coloured eyes but didn't look too happy about being photographed!

Marie Of Guise

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, August 2007

Marie of Guise was the mother of Mary Queen of Scots. She was born in 1515 in France, her father being the Duke of Guise. At 18 she married Louis of Orleans. They had a son, Francis but then Louis died in 1537, 3 years into the marriage. Two months later Marie gave birth to a second son, Louis, but four months later he also died. It was then arranged for her to marry James V of Scotland (the son of Margaret Tudor). He had also just been widowed, his previous wife having been the french King's daughter Madelaine de Valois. Marie was still grieving for her son and was frightened at the prospect of travelling to a strange country away from her family and leaving her son behind, but eventually she agreed and she was married to James in 1538 after arriving in Scotland and then was crowned Queen Consort in 1540. They had two sons though neither lived longer than a year. In 1542 Mary gave birth to a daughter, named Mary. James died six days later. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran became Regent and it was originally arranged for young Mary to be married to Edward, Henry VIII young son, but then it was decided she should marry the French Dauphin. She was sent to live in France in 1548. In 1554 the Regency was given to Marie. She ruled Scotland for the next six years, relying on her brothers an uncles in France for support and advice. However she faced growing opposition from the Protestant Lords of the Congregation who (supported by Elizabeth) caused unrest and eventually deposed Mary from the regency in 1559. She died in June 1560 of dropsy and her body was taken back to France for burial. Her only surviving child, Mary (Francis had died in his teens), returned from France in 1561 as Mary, Queen of Scots.

Pool Boy

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007

My Portraits

Lettice Knollys

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007

Lettice Knollys was born in 1540. She was the daughter of Sir Francis Knollys and Lady Catherine Carey. Catherine was the daughter of Mary Boleyn, Anne's sister, which made Lettice Elizabeth's cousin once removed. During Mary's reign the family, as protestants, fled to Switzerland but they returned on Elizabeths accession and Lettice became a Maid-Of-The-Court. In 1560 she married Walter Devereaux, later to be made Earl of Essex. She bore him two daughters but became bored of living in their house in Staffordshire and returned to court. It is here she began an affair with the Queen's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Elizabeth eventually sent Lettice back to the country having become suspicious of the pair. Lettice gave birth to a son in 1566, Robert Deveraux, who many believe was fathered by Dudley. She had another son by Walter in 1570. Walter died of dysentery in 1576. Lettice and Leicester resumed their affair and later secretly wed. When her father found out he insisted the ceremony be repeated and witnessed. Months later, to her fury, Elizabeth was made aware of the marriage - she branded Lettice a "She-Wolf" and banished her from court. Lettice and Leicester had a son but he died aged four in 1583. Lettice may have been banished from court but she often resided with her husband in London and dressed so finely that she was often mistaken for the Queen. In 1588 Leicester died of a fever. A few months later Lettice disgusted Elizabeth again by marrying her sons friend Sir Christopher Blount. She was 25 years his senior. Blount and Lettice's son Robert Deveraux were executed in 1601 after an unsuccessful rebellion against the Queen. Lettice retired to the midlands - she eventually died in 1634, aged 94 years, and was buried with Leicester.

My Desktop

The products of the last few days work....

Horny Devil

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007

Just a fun piece...

A Secret (Ashleigh-Michelle)

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, August 2007

A portrait of Ashleigh-Michelle a talented artist and painter. She has a lovely face and I asked if she minded me doing a painting of her from one of her photos. Kindly she agreed so I painted this small watercolor of her. It looks to me like she knows something very pleasing to her, hence the title "A Secret".

Queen Annika - EBSQ Pet Portrait Swap One

5 x 7 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007

This was painted for the EBSQ Pet Portrait Swap Show. Basically you pair up with another EBSQ artist and exchange photos and do artworks of each other's pets...yes, it's that simple This is the first of my two portraits, Queen Annika, Tyler Smiths dog. She looked like she had just been woken up for the photo and was not very happy about it. I also liked the decorative sofa and cushions and the way it matched her colouring - she looked rather regal and very comfortable

My Aceo Art on YouTube

Mary Rose Tudor

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor, gouache and gold ink, August 2007

Mary Rose Tudor was born in 1496, and was the younger sister of Henry VIII. They were close as achildren and he bore her great affection. he maned both his first daughter and the warship Mary Rose after her. At the age of 18 she was married to Louis XII of France, who was 52, the marriage part of a peace treaty. Her time as French Queen was short - Louis died three months later. Though he knew Mary had been in love with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk since before she was married Louis, he sent him to collect her from France, on the promise he would not propose. Two months later they secretly wed - Henry found out about the marriage and was furious. For one thing, to marry a Royal without consent of the King was treason - he had also lost a bargaining tool. However due to the affection for his sister Suffolk escaped with just a large fine. The marriage was a successful one and produced three children - one of them , Frances Brandon, would be the mother of Lady Jane Grey. Mary died in 1533.

My Art On eBay

Margaret Tudor

ACEO, 2.5 x 2.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007

Margaret Tudor was born in 1489, the eldest daughter of Henry VII, eldest sister of Henry VIII. In 1503 she was married to James IV of Scotland, part of an agreement to try and bring peace between the two countries. Their only surviving son was born in 1512 and would go on to be James V and the father of Mary, Queen of Scots. By 1513 the attempted peace was in tatters, Henry VIII having succeeded the throne of England and preparing to go to war with France, with whom Scotland had an old allegiance. James invaded England in 1513 but was killed at the Battle of Flodden. Margaret took on the role of Regent but James' will stated she could keep this role only as long as she remained a widow. Scotland was a notoriously difficult country to govern and soon Margaret found herself opposed by a faction supporting the Duke of Albany. While she managed to keep the peace she found herself drawn to the Douglas family for support. In 1514 she married Archibald Douglas - this made her Regency forfeit by the terms of James' will as well as losing her any support she had. She had to surrender her children ( she had had a second son by James not long after his death but he later died) to Albany who was installed as Regent. She escaped to England, pregnant by Douglas. She gave birth to a daughter, Margaret Douglas, who would be the mother of Lord Darnley (the man her granddaughter Mary would marry). Douglas returned to Scotland to try and make amends while Margaret stayed in London for a year. However, she did return to Scotland. She found that Douglas had been living with his former mistress while she was in England so she set her mind on a divorce. Albany at this time was in France and allowed Margaret to rule in his absence, returning in 1521 to help her and forcing Douglas into exile. Albany was legally still Regent - while he was back in France, Margaret decided to end his regency, brought her son James to Edinburgh and had the regency declared over and James proclaimed as King, with her as the Kings' chief councillor, as he was still only 12. Then Angus returned from exile - he arrived in Edinburgh with a group of armed men demanding he be allowed to take his rightful place in Parliament. Margaret had the cannons of Holyrood Castle turned on him. Though he retreated, she eventually gave in to pressure and allowed his entry to the council, whereupon he took custody of James. He ruled in James name for the next three years. In 1527 Margaret received her divorce from the Pope and promptly married Henry Stewart. The next year Douglas was forced into exile again as James escaped from him and began to rule in his own right and Margaret and her new husband acted as advisers to the King. She soon realised she had made another disastrous marriage - he spent her money and chased women - and she constantly wrote to her brother Henry asking for money and bemoaning her situation. She even tried to escape to England but was brought back. She died of a stroke in 1541.

Antoinette Watercolor Demo Video

Thanks to Erika for putting this together for me!

Watercolor Demonstration

I was recently asked if I could give a demonstration of how I paint in watercolour. I have put a step by step demo of the painting of "Young Marie Antoinette" in my Deviantart scraps section. It's a bit rough and ready but gives you the gist of the techniques I use. If anyone is interested you can

click here to see it.

The Princesse de Lamballe

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolour and gouache, August 2007

The Princesse de Lamballe was a friend and confidante of Marie Antoinette. She was born Princess Marie Therese Louise of Savoy Carignan in 1749 in Turin. In 1767 she married Louis Alexandre, Prince of Lamballe but he died the following year. She and Marie Antoinette became friends. The Princesse was known as "The Good Angel" - she had a sensitive, melancholic nature and was renowned for her purity - she had stayed a widow. She was also not particularly clever, nor a gossip. They became close friends. After Marie Antoinette became Queen she was given the position of Superintendant of the Household, so was a constant companion of the Queen. She moved with the Royal Family when they were removed from Versailles to the Tuileries after the start of the Revolution. After the Royal Families attempted escape in 1791, Lamballe had fled abroad. After initially opposing the idea and telling her to stay away, Marie Antoinette was eventually persuaded to ask her to return to her. Prudently, Lamballe wrote her will and then returned to Paris. In August the Royal party were transferred to the Tower, then ten days later Lamballe and the other attendants of Antoinette were removed and taken to the prison of La Force. It was here that she met a terrible end.The September Massacres began on the 2nd - a mob descended on the prisons of Paris and massacred the inmates - priest, prostitutes, children, raped and murdered. The killing continued for several days. At La Force prison, Lamballe was taken before a tribunal and asked to denounce the Queen and the Royal Family. She refused. She was taken out to the courtyard where the mob awaited her. What exactly happened to her is not exactly certain. She appears to have been hit unconscious with a hammer - one hopes so. It is possible she was gang raped. What is certain is that her body was stripped and mutilated, her head cut off and placed on one pike, her entrails (some reports say her sexual organs) on another. It was then decided that Antoinette should give her one last kiss. After being taken to a cafe where they drank to her death, her head was paraded through Paris. They stopped along the way, first to have her head cast by wax modeller Marie Grosholz (later known as Madame Tussaud) and then to have it's hair coiffured. It was then paraded past the windows of the Tower, the mob shouting for Antoinette. She was spared the grisly sight but could not be spared the taunts of the mob or the knowledge of her friends terrible fate. The head and remnants of the body were later rescued and the poor Princesse was given proper burial.

EBSQ Show Winner!

My entry for the "Ripped Off" Show on EBSQ has won a Patron's Choice Award!
You can see it here.

Young Marie Antoinette

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007. Based on a portrait by Mytens.

Marie Antoinette was born in 1755 in Vienna, the daughter of Francis I and Empress Maria Therese of Austria. She was the youngest of eleven daughters, though they had 15 children in all. Antoinette was rather indulged by her Governess and while she excelled at music and dancing, her education in other ares was lacking. Her Mother was a rather formidable woman and she was her Fathers favourite. However he died in 1765. Her elder sisters were married off to the Princes of Europe. Austria and France had been at war with each other several times over the previous century, and a treaty had been signed in 1748 with the aim of bringing peace between the countries. It was decided a daughter should be married to the French Dauphin to cement the treaty and the formal proposal for Marie Antoinette arrived in 1769. Early in 1770 she began the long journey to the French Court and Versailles. First she had had to go through a marriage ceremony with her brother representing the Dauphin, Louis Auguste, as she was not allowed to enter France as an Austrian Archduchess - she had to enter as the Dauphine. A month later she arrived at the French border. There she had to leave everything behind - her servants, her luggage, her friends. She was stripped of her Austrian clothing and placed in French clothing. After much negotiation she was allowed to keep her little dog. She was then taken on to her new life as the Dauphine. A few days later she arrived at Versailles where she was introduced to King Louis XV, her father in law, and her husband Louis Auguste, a shy young man of 15. On May 16 they were married in a lavish ceremony. Marie Antoinette was presented with beautiful jewels and a diamond encrusted fan. After the ceremony there was a dinner, where there was an audience eager to see their new Dauphine - her public life as the future Queen had begun.

Lola

4 x 6 inches, watercolour and gouache, August 2007.

This was a commission from and for my friend Erika, who is an extremely talented artist herself. So I was both flattered and honored to receive the commission from her. It's a portrait of her beautiful Grandma who passed away recently. She asked me to paint her and gave me a selection of photos to work from. I loved and chose one of her saying her Rosary - it seemed to say so much about her, her faith and beliefs and the situation. I placed her in a garden setting with a halo of lilies to symbolise purity and sympathy.

Marie Antoinette

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, August 2007


Marie Antoinette is a figure who often divides opinion. Was she an air-head who lived a shallow life of extravagance, or a much maligned, courageous woman and mother who bore her trials with dignity? There is truth in both arguments. This is the first of a series I intend to paint on Marie and other characters from her life. I will also try and tell her story.

This painting is available to buy here.

Snow

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolor and gouache, July 2007

No real story behind this one, just wanted to paint a guy for a change...
For sale here.

eBay Shop

Monet Tribute and EBSQ Front Page Image

4 x 6, watercolor, August 2007

I am privileged to be a member of eBay watercolor group "Watercolors (Wet'n'Wild. One of the fun challenges we have is the Monthly Masters Tribute Challenge - each month we paint our own watercolor rendition of a work of a Master (or you can paint two or more if you like). This month it's the turn of Monet. I'm not a great lover of Monet (or any of the impressionists really) but when I had a look for something to paint I came across "La Japonais" and loved it. Painted in 1876, it features his wife Camille in a kimono, fans decorating the wall behind her. I had to crop my image, concentrating on the top half of the figure. I was attracted to the face and the colours and pattern of the kimono, and the contrast with the blue/greens of the background wall. I really enjoyed painting it, using a style that's looser than I usually allow myself to work.

You can buy this painting here.

Also my Robert Dudley ACEO has been chosen to represent the featured gallery (ATC's) on the EBSQ homepage this month! Thats the second time I have had an image on the homepage since I joined 4 months ago :)

Mary I (Bloody Mary)

ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5 inches, watercolour, gouache and gold ink, August 2007.

Mary was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine Of Aragon and was born in 1516. For the first few years of her life Henry doted on her and was immensely proud of her - she was well educated and given her own court, and several marriage contracts were discussed though none ever came to fruition. However, everything was soon to change. By 1527 Henry was looking for a way to escape his marriage to Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, and by 1533 he had achieved this. The marriage to Katherine was declared void and Mary lost her status - she was now legally illegitimate and just known as Lady Mary. She was not allowed to see her mother again. She was sent away from court and later became a lady in waiting to the Princess Elizabeth who had gained all of Mary's previous privileges. Her relationship with Henry was also difficult and she was forced to recognise him as head of the Church. After Anne Boleyn's fall the relationship began to improve and she was godmother to Henry's son Edward. It was during Henry's marriage to Katherine Parr, and thanks to her, that both Mary and Elizabeth were returned to the line of succession , though legally they remained illegitimate. Mary was devotedly Catholic, and had remained so despite the religious changes of the times. When Edward, her half -brother, became King in 1547 it became a serious issue as he was Protestant. It was only after her cousin Charles V threatened England with war that she was allowed to practice her faith, though it had to be privately. After Edwards death in 1553 an attempt was made to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne, but this failed and Mary was crowned Queen. Mary was essentially a good person. She refused to agree to the execution of Jane Grey, believing she had been a pawn, until it became clear that the threat to her was too great. But she also politically naive and rather single minded - she was determined to return the country to Catholicism and this led to between 250 - 300 Protestants being burnt at the stake for heresy during her five year reign and gained her the nickname "Bloody Mary". In 1554, when 37 she married Philip Of Spain, another Catholic monarch. It was a deeply unpopular decision and lost her the goodwill of the people she had had when she succeeded the throne - England had not had a female ruler for 400 years and marriage to a foreign power was greatly feared. Philip however did not stay in England for long as he found her unattractive (she was 11 years older than him). Mary believed herself to be pregnant on two occasions, in 1554 and then in 1558 but it was not the case - the second time it is believed to have been ovarian cancer, and she died that year aged 42.

What I'm working on..

..at the moment. Just about to finish this page of ACEO paintings with an Elizabeth I. When it's done I just take the sheet off the pad and chop it up, then the paintings are signed and dated on the back and put into poly sleeves, ready to be sold.