Painting Development : Mum and Dad’s Bed
Unless specified, all artwork is the intellectual property and copyright of Mark Duggan. No work is to be reproduced without permission of the artist.
SEE HOW THE PAINTING PROGRESSED, (Step by Step):
Scroll down to see more!
1. Initial Thoughts
I’m excited about this painting. It’s still in my ‘Sleep’ series and is the largest work so far in the series. Unlike the last two works however, I’m not going to show you the entire image. I know… how cruel! You won’t get to see any of the underlying linework. So it is really going to appear to come together like a jigsaw!
Not to give too much away at the stage; but… The composition is of Thomas in ‘Mum and Dad’s Bed’. He’s asleep with his arm draped over folds of bedding. The bedding is all of similar hues/tones, while his pyjama top has more impact and is a great representation of his personality.
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2. Getting Started
I’m making good progress… full steam ahead. I have done the edge of the diagonal sheet which lies across Thomas. All is going well so far. Tomorrow I will take a fresh look at what I have done and ‘fine tune’ it. Here’s the first image.
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3. Fabric Folds
I have been working more on the folds of the fabric around Thomas. The following image shows more work done at the bottom left corner of the painting as well as making a start on the folds in the fabric on the right.
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4. The Bedding!
What an effort it has been to do the duvet on the right side of the painting! I have been reworking, and reworking, and reworking it to its finished point. Yes… It’s taken a while; which has been frustrating as I have wanted to move onto other parts of the canvas. I won’t do that though until this area is finished. I’m now at the point where I am reasonably happy with it… So time to move on! Here’s the latest image:
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5. Midnight
I love it when a painting session goes well! It’s nearly midnight, so it’s time to get to bed. I couldn’t help myself tonight. Thought I would just tweak a few parts. I ended up working on a busy section of the painting and I just couldn’t stop! Painting is so addictive when it goes well. Now it’s time to crawl into bed. Too late to post an image tonight. Keep watching… I will post one soon!
6. Patience Please
I know… I was going to post a fresh image today. Honestly; I had it ready to go… but I started adjusting the bedding on the bottom left corner of the painting. To cut a long story short… The painting has changed too much there, so I will post a newer image tomorrow. Right then… time for bed again… Looks like its been another midnight run on the easel! Tomorrow I won’t paint so late. Hmmmm… I’ve said that before and it hasn’t happened. I just can’t help it when I am engrossed in a new painting!
7. More Bedding
Finally… Here is the latest image… This now shows all of the lower bedding; done. Next I’m onto the sheets. It’s all coming together nicely.
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8. Pillows
Another good session yesterday. Managed to get a pillow completed in one hit. The pillow is in the top right hand corner of the painting. I will post an image as soon as I finish the other two pillows in the painting. I hope to get into these today.
9. Pause for Thought
Hmmmm… just taking a look at the images on the website. One thing is for sure… they look great here… But actually seeing them on a wall, ‘in the flesh’ (so to speak) is quite different. They look so much better on a wall rather than on the website! The colours are richer; the brush strokes more defined; the size of the work, more impressive. I guess that’s the compromise made with artwork on the web. Still, having my work on the web does give a good indication each painting as well as showing what I’m trying to achieve. Plus, I can reach a worldwide audience…You can’t beat that for making your art global! Hmmm… that’s enough rambling Mark… Now get back to that easel!
10. Pillows Almost Done!
Time for another update. As you can see from the following image, I am making some serious progress on the painting. Pillows are almost done. All I have to do here is soften a few areas and add some further highlights. Then I’m off to tackle the last of the bedding. It’s really starting to take shape now; and with this image you can get an appreciation of what the final painting may look like. So make sure you check back to see where I go from here!
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11. Top Sheet
Another good painting session passes. I’m really on track with the painting now. From the following image, you will see that I have added the top sheet which rests diagonally across Thomas. Now there is just a very small part of the bedding to complete. Then it’s onto his pyjamas. I’m really looking forward to that as there is a lot of detail to tackle there. But not today… Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I’m too busy too approach it today. Won’t be any time this evening either as I’m off to a local Cajun restaurant… Tasty fuel for the creative mind! Well; here’s the latest image. Enjoy…
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12. Getting There
Another section completed. This time it’s a bit of a milestone as the bedding is now complete! Well… having said that, there is still a few areas I am going to touch up… but nothing significant. Now I’m really excited about the next section. It’s Thomas’s pyjama top. It’s reasonably detailed; so I’m looking forward to rendering this section. Can you work out the composition of Thomas yet? It’s becoming clearer with each completed section. Here’s the image of the bedding… more or less complete!
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13. Fine Tuning
I have just spent some time fine tuning the last completed section of bedding. I have shifted a shadow and softened/minimized some of the wrinkles/folds. Nothing worth posting a new image for yet. So I will have to keep you waiting a little longer…
14. Progress Report
Good progress made… great!… Thomas’ top is progressing nicely. Still a lot of work to do on it as the patterns and fabric folds require a lot of attention. From my perspective, the pattern really defines Thomas personality. You will see what I mean when I have completed it. I’m about to start this… so make sure you visit again to see more!
15. Patterning
One day its good, the other… well… not so good. Thomas’ top is making progress. The main background of his top is done. It’s the patterning which is slowing me down now. For some reason, I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind yesterday. Progress lumbered along… but it wasn’t as free flowing as some other sessions. Oh well… you get days like that. I will have another crack at it today. Better luck this time?… We will see.
16. No New Image Yet!
Just another text entry today. This doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on the painting… just that I am not ready to post an image yet. As a general rule, I don’t paint during the weekends… but that never happens. I always end up spending some time at the easel. Yesterday, I put some more work into Thomas’ top. Within the next few days I hope to have something here. So keep watching!
17. Top is Almost Done!
All is going fairly well with Thomas’ top just about finished… I seem to be talking a lot about this top lately. Probably because it is reasonably detailed, and I’m not quite ready to post an image yet. I am so close to a point where I can show you progress made to date… which is exciting. I hope to finish it today!
18. It’s Done!
Yes!… Thomas’s top is done! There are just a few minor areas I want to tidy up. This involves ‘knocking back’ a few colours… but really, it’s pretty much done. Now I’m going to be a bit cruel and not show you the entire painting on this one. The reason being that I want to leave the most impact when I reveal the completed work. Ahhhh… the marvels of computers… I was able to ‘erase’ the rest of the painting in the photo to show you this. So I am only going to show you his top. Still… you should get an idea as to why it has taken a while to get this image online… there is a lot going on here! Together with the rest of the painting; it’s looking great! Now I’m going to tackle Thomas’s arms and hands. The end is in sight !!!
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19. Fine Tuning
I have done some more work on Thomas’s Pyjama top. Nothing worth showing you yet… just a series of small changes over the whole top. These were… adding highlights; dulling down (knocking back) some colours; adding more definition to some shaded/shadowed areas. You will see this when I complete Thomas’s hands, which I am about to start. So you know the story… keep checking back!
20. Next Painting
On an aside: I am about to start another painting. So I will have an overlap with paintings I have on the go at the moment. I will post images of this soon too.
21. Hands
Hands, hands, hands… always a challenge. I have been working hard to render Thomas’ hands and I am now at a point where I am reasonably happy with them. It’s funny… one hand has gone really well… straight forward to render… looking good. The other!!!… well… I have reworked it several times! I think I am there now. Take a look at the following image of them. When you see them with the rest of the painting… they look great! Now I am about to start on Thomas’s face. Exciting!!!
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22. Face
I have just about finished Thomas’ face. It’s really starting to come together now! I just have his ear and lips, plus overall fine tuning to complete. Then it’s onto his hair; a little fine tuning and done! I won’t be working on the painting tomorrow as I am flying to Wellington (New Zealands capital) for the day. So image will have to wait till after then.
23. Face, Hair and Pillow
Well… a difficult time spent working on Thomas’ face and hair. A lot of time working, and reworking this area. Phew… this part is all done now. You know what that means??? The painting is complete! Here’s an image showing his face/hair done.
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24. FINISHED!
Yes… the painting is finished!!! Fantastic!!! Here’s an image showing the whole painting… all done! Like all my work, there are areas of the painting which I am happier with than others. Having said that… overall, I am very happy with the completed work. Let me know what you think… place a comment on it. I would love to hear from you!
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25. Painting and Thomas
Time to add the very last image. I have to have Thomas beside his painting. Another satisfied customer!
About the Painting:
Entitled ‘Mum and Dad’s Bed’, it is a perfect representation of Thomas. He is a fantastic, energetic boy who just loves superheroes.
The finished painting ties in so well with him. You can imagine him dreaming of superhero adventures in the early morning just before he wakes up in Mum and Dads bed… where he snuck in for a hug with Mum and dropped off to sleep again early in the morning. The pyjama top further reflects this with his passion for heros like Superman and Batman. What else would a 9 year old boy dream of?!!!
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