Tag Archives: figurative painting

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 24

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Above: Forest of Luffness 17. Oil on 30×30 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2025

This is changed quite a bit from the last post, I wasn’t getting the sense of light in the forest – it was afternoon and the tones were warm.

Here’s the last version and posted and today’s side-by-side …

A detail and a close up of my palette – there’s always a nice build up of the coour scheme by the end of a series, then it’s all scrubbed back (this is a glass palette so it’s easier to scrub back) before the next series. …

One more painting and the series will be complete! I’d love to get on with that that tomorrow but we’re off to the beautiful Isle of Iona for our anniversary!

While there I’ll be sketching, painting and photographing for my next series, which will be some large, textured semi-abstract seascape paintings on unbleached linen for the Graystone Gallery, Edinburgh

I’m very excited about the Graystone Exhibition – it launches 18th July and will be part of the Edinburgh Festival. If you click on the link above you can see they show some exciting work and it’s great to be a part of that.

I’ll also be contributing some work as part of the Limetree Gallery‘s Summer Exhibition this year and if you read this blog you’ll know how happy I am to be included as part of their excellent year-round exhibition programme!

Much more about all of that soon, but, one thing at a time. I’ll complete the Luffness series first!

The Luffness series is very much a ‘slow-burn’ as it were, since I want to show the series privately at first, alongside the accompanying documentary. It has been the most absorbing and challenging series of my life so far. The documentary describes the collaborative aspect of a long-term art project like this – all the much loved people involved, the ideas, themes, research and experience.

The Luffness series and documentary probably won’t show publically until early next year. So in a couple of weeks I’ll be posting more here about the Graystone Gallery and Limetree Gallery series very soon!

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 23

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Above: Forest of Luffness 17. Oil on 30×30 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Clickable details below …

I’ve been lost in a sea of John Singer Sargent paintings these last few days, particularly this one …

What a beauty. Those dashes of lemon yellow, his incredible understanding of light. I can see this is also a bit of an erotic theme as he was never a very monogamous character, but that’s not what captivates me about this painting. I wish I’d seen it sooner in this series! Then again, we don’t want to be derivative I suppose.

This is the penultimate painting of the series. I might have said that before but I’m creating an extra one just in case. I want the series to be sevent paintings only.

More next week …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 22

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Above: Forest of Luffness 16. Oil on 30×30 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2025

(Clickable images below.)

I’m now nearing the end of the Forest of Luffness series. I have two more at this size which will be far more simple, compositionally, than the painting below. Then I’ll decide which seven paintings to choose for exhibition.

As you can see I’ve included the effigy, of which I’m no longer nervous! There will be one more depicting the effigy.

More tomorrow …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 21

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Above: Forest of Luffness 15. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Today’s painting, continuing the Luffness series. These are looking coherent now, so that’s encouraging!

Here’s a detail of the figures –

I’ve decided to paint more detailed portraits onto the smaller canvases as I’ve never liked huge face portraits. I have three more at this large size then I’ll create about three smaller portraits and that will be this series complete for now, I think. I have to get on with some landscape paintings for summer exhibitions.

Here are all the large paintings grouped together –

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 18

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Above: Forest of Luffness 12. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Today’s painting returns to the mysterious forest. I’m quite happy with the looseness of the paint. It made me reprise yesterday’s painting as I wasn’t too happy with the figure of Richard. Here it is …

Also some close ups of today’s painting …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 13

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Above: (Painting in progress) First of June. Forest of Luffness 10. Oil on 12×12″″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025.

I’m working on the hands and the rest of the background tomorrow (the easy part!) you can see pencil outlines.

Clickable images and details below –

Working on a close up portrait of Richard Demarco today for the Luffness series.

This is fairly small again at 12×12″ canvas. I took a still from film footage of our day at Luffness, from which I’m painting this portrait.

There were nine of us there that day last year, including little baby Atlas, but when I carefully look back through all the footage Manuel sent me (Manuel Pennuto is the documentary maker of the Luffness project) the person really paying attention is f course Richard and Terry.

It’s why I asked he and Terry Newman if they’d like to visit the friary ruins at Luffness.

I’d write more about that but it’s 9pm and I’m puggled! There’s nothing more complex than painting the human face – that is, if you truly want to capture expression, hence feeling tired. It’s a good thing I now have a painting lamp so I can paint all hours, but my back isn’t thanking me!

I feel I could create three portraits showing sight, hearing, touch and soul – the idea of (as D.H Lawrence put it) wholly attending.

More tomorrow …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 11

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Above: First of June. Forest of Luffness 8. Oil on 19.5×19.5 inch wood. Rose Strang 2025

This series is (at last) coming into its own now. It’s taken far longer than other painting series to become coherent as there have been a lot of elements to bring together.

I’m starting to see the theme of a search emerge – these figures in the forest asking questions of life and death. I’ve always loved Gauguin’s painting D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?/Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? 1897 In which he asks these questions so fundamental to the human condition:

At the same time as painting this series (which explores the ruined remains of a 12th century Carmelite Friary) I’ve also been learning Medieval music from the time, which has become part of the documentary (by filmmaker Manuel Pennuto) about this entire project.

So, tomorrow I’ll share some photos showing part of the process, including really beautiful stills from our music recording session from the Song House at St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh last week. Hugely inspiring!

Forest of Luffness, painting progress 10

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Above: First of June. Forest of Luffness 7. Oil on 12×12″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Today’s 12 by 12 inch oil on canvas sketch for the Forest of Luffness series. Also below, the same image (clickable) and a detail …

One more at this size then I’ll be on to 30×30 inch canvas, which will make life easier in some ways. It’s impossible to get more detail on faces at this small scale without getting finicky, which I don’t want.

With today’s painting I wanted to explore the sense of a group of people lost, or searching in a forest. On a larger scale it will be possible to have them smaller and more in the distance.

More on Monday …

June

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Above: June. I. Oil on 10×10 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2024.

A return to the subject that I began at the start of the year – namely my fascination with Aberlady and a day in June.

I think I’ve decided not to worry about either the subject matter or the way I paint it. I’ll just paint it!

Below is a work in progress, beginning to capture Richard Demarco’s fascinated expression as he encountered the effigy we all visited that day.

Here’s the painting frm the top of the post, clickable so you can see more detail –

More to come …

Forest of Luffness, painting progress 3

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Above Forest of Luffness 4. Oil on 14×14 inch wood. Rose Strang 2024

Today’s painting (from a series in progress inspired by the presence and history of a Carmelite Friary in the forest of Luffness) features my neice holding her new born baby, standing within the Friary.

I wanted to capture the sense of strength and protection that a young mother exudes, then the style of painting changed slightly and became a bit more contemporary. Probably something to do with Emma’s outfit which was quite contemporary.

I like this as a smaller study in the series. (All four paintings from this particular summer series below). I’ve been exploring the theme of the Carmelite Friary in Luffness since January, but each set of paintings is distinct to each season.