Tag Archives: King James VI & I Oak of 1612

Bluish Grey Sky with Tea

“Bluish Grey Sky with Tea” [8th February 2024] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, gouache painting signed in black gouache paint on A3 250g mixed media paper, digitally balanced 3000 x 2164 pixels image.

This is an original gouache landscape painting made from a blank canvas in just 56 minutes 9 seconds on A3 artists paper excluding signing. 

The first draft took 33 minutes 29 seconds, followed by a cup of tea then second draft at 22 minutes 39 seconds. I used some tea in the painting, then happily signed with my signature brush. I have used this same brush to sign paintings for approximately ten years.

In all eight brushes were used for painting with speed. Eight individual paints were mixed – black, white, burnt sienna, cerulean blue, lemon yellow, burnt umber, ochre yellow and sap green.

Inspiration arrived whilst I enjoyed a phenomenally delicious cup of tea and carefully considered how next to continue my painting.

It was an early evening. Curtains drawn. No natural light to make use of. Working from a photograph dated 13th March 2021 taken at 1522hrs (see below). It was one of several compositions standing in the field, others shot in varying directions. I even kept some of the blue sky poking out to the centre-left for authenticity.

On the evening of the artwork creation I was yet to see the painting myself in natural sunlight. The texture is certainly handsome with artistic movement and feeling.

It was dark outside whilst painting in the early evening indoors. Raining through the night.

I love the sound of rain!

Here is the photograph:

“Bluish Grey Sky – photograph” [13th March 2021, 1522hrs] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

The photo is uncropped since the composition from my camera is perfect through good framing of the landscape. My canvas image is quite difficult to colour adjust and required highly complex photographic editing. It is now the closest representation of the artwork having edited same meticulously for publishing purposes. This was entirely necessary to capture the grey tones in the clouds and meter the overpowering blue hues in the original unedited canvas photograph. 

The bluish grey tones art everything for this piece.

Furthermore the trees are naturally overcast by the atmospheric clouds in the original photograph. Again, this is a mood I wished to ensure fairly equitable in my artwork.

Obviously my painting is a quickly produced (56m9s) Impressionist piece, especially if you can appreciate A3 sized canvas paper to cover with paint. For this I had just 12ml tubes of fine artists’ gouache since my usual working oils are currently in storage. One of the reasons I sketched in pencils since approximately February 2021. Iron gall ink works dominated 2020, with poetry and sayings consistent through 2019 to 2021. 

In 2019 I did do one or two sketches too, notably “Young Pegasus [sketch #2]”.

Oils, particularly the impasto style I prefer take considerable time to dry.. months. Whereas gouache is more so days. Besides I have loved creating sketches of my local nature reserve, and also digitally derived artworks using professional painters software applications.

In this I hope you’re as satisfied as I am with my speedily resulted landscape artwork comparable to the originating composition. The King James VI & I Oak of 1612 shown foremost left is contrasted by the theme of a rather beautiful bluish grey sky. 

Please do click on the canvas image for a detailed look at all those wonderfully delicious textures! Goodness gracious it made me so happy.

The joy is making art for you to wonder.

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Cluster of Oak Leaves

Cluster of Oak Leaves in Hayfield Meadow
“Cluster of Oak Leaves in Hayfield Meadow – third version” [26th July 2022] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, drawing with H, HB, 4B, 8B and charcoal stick, signed in black ink pen with blue chromatic halo effect on 280gsm 250mm x 300mm gesso primed canvas [pad], digitally edited image 3261 x 2812 pixels.

Sometimes I sit underneath this young Oak tree for shade from the midsummer sun. Third version took me approximately one and a half hours to produce.

I am very happy with this third version. First version, unsigned, second draft, is a Digital Artwork. In terms of quality I would be glad to include this as a Limited Edition print.

A new poem inspired from these Cluster Oak Leaf artworks:

“Bind yourself to the Twig,
Breathe your roots to the Fig,
Cluster Leaves to the Vine,
Sing your Way, sublime.

Dance your life to Peace,
Let beration cease,
Liberate wheated sheaf,
Happily half to Meet.

Tune your heart,
To Waterfalls beat,
Find the Love you seek,
Whence good you shall keep.”

– by Matt The Unfathomable Artist – Copyright © 26th July 2022.

“Cluster of Oak Leaves in Hayfield Meadow – first version – Digital Artwork Edition only” [20th July 2022] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, digital Artwork image 3154 x 2745 pixels.

I really like “Cluster of Oak Leaves in Hayfield Meadow – first version – Digital Artwork Edition only” [20th July 2022] and would happily make limited print editions. Personally I believe, should I ever do so, official authenticated Print Editions of First Version will become as valuable as the canvas Third Version..

.. by reason that my First Version is irreparably damaged. The first and second versions are both canvas, unsigned partly-incomplete works. However, I would personally sign the First Version Limited Print Editions.

The second version is a quick study only, I was not happy with its proportion:

“Cluster of Oak Leaves – unfinished, second study” [25th July 2022] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist, digital image 3204 x 2730 pixels.

FInally, here is the original photograph for this series of artworks/studies:

“Cluster of Oak Leaves in Hayfield Meadow – Original Photograph” [1940hrs, 4th July 2022] by Matt The Unfathomable Artist.

For photographers viewing this image – F1.9 1/313s 3.60mm ISO 40 from my smartphone camera. Nice depth of field, with wonderful macro detail.

Interestingly, I made the ‘lower stalk’ part of the composition for the third version (below the leaves, mid-lowest centre in the photographic image). In fact, the two foremost lowest leaves you see are actually at the very end of its branch. The branch itself is at the mid-upper-centre of the image, vertically represented.

To my knowledge this is a young Quercas Robur [English Oak], approximately some twelve to fifteen feet tall. Its tree trunk is not even to that of a mature elephant, I should say. Quite in contrast to its mighty King James VI & I Oak of 1612 in nearby field proximity, link to photographs of the latter, larger Oak here Conservation – Local Nature Reserve.

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