At the Macbeth, Shoreditch
Oil on canvas, 35.5 x 25.3 cm
I think that this picture is at last pretty much finished.
I may work on the faces a tiny bit more, but I shall leave it alone for a good while first.
Painting largely from memory whilst still trying to achieve a certain degree of realism I found very nerve wracking. Trying to work out the lighting, in particular, was especially tricky; different coloured lights coming from all sorts of different places! But for now, at least, it feels finished, and I am actually quite happy with it…
At the Macbeth, Shoreditch (Unfinished)
Oil on canvas, 35.5 x 25.3 cm
Almost a year ago I went to a gig at the Macbeth pub in Shoreditch where people were dressed up in the most extraordinary way. I sat at the bar and sketched one or two of them as best as I could. Now, about a year later, I have started a painting which I hope will work out okay once I come to put all the colours in, despite my only having a few quick sketches to work from.
I have also put into this picture a girl whom I sketched on another evening out. She’s the one in the stripy dress. I got chatting to her when she noticed me sketching her and we hung out a while that evening; her name was Sarah but unfortunately I never saw her again, as is so often the case in London. Perhaps one day she might notice herself in this painting when it is finished and eventually ends up on the walls of the Tate? That way I might get to see her again!
I have also sketched a figure in on the left hand side, that I shall attempt to pose for myself. I thought it would be interesting to try and put myself into a picture in this way, although it will be tricky to paint myself in profile like that…
