2b or not 2b? Actually, mainly 4b and 5b... Pencil Portraiture.

Above is a recently completed pencil portrait. It proved relatively challenging as the photo that I was using for reference was very small, blurry and lacked detail. Normally I'd avoid doing artwork from photos of a certain size or image quality, but sometimes as an artist you don't have the luxury of choice.

Views of Cumbria, Silverdale, Arnside and the Lake District. No vomit anywhere.

A few weeks ago I took the opportunity to visit my family up in Silverdale, Lancashire - an area of outstanding natural beauty. It's one of those parts of the world that hold a special place in my heart, as I strongly associate it with my childhood. 

For as long as I can remember, every summer holiday, my Mum, Dad, brother and I would visit my Granny and Grandad, who lived there. Last year my parents moved there too.

As a child, the three hour drive up the motorway would feel like a never ending journey, hellishly long; the tedium and monotony only interrupted by a strong desire to vomit. The desire to vomit only interrupted by actual, proper vomiting. 

As an adult, the tedium of the drive is still quite potent, but thankfully the demon carsickness has been vanquished.

My love of the countryside there, however, remains just as strong now as it was as a child. Below are some photos that were snapped on various jaunts around the local beauty spots.

One of the first of those jaunts was to the top of Arnside Knott. The views from the summit make the effort required to get there very much worthwhile:

Arnside Knott

Arnside Knott's view towards the Lake District

'God Rays' over the Arnside Coast

I've been reliably informed this is a White Galloway

I also took a wander around Warton Cragg, which, like Arnside Knott, hosts some great views of the surrounding Lancashire coastline:

Sunset as viewed from the top of Warton Cragg

Whilst up in t'north I decided to take the chance to go for a walkabout in the Lake District. Having had enough of driving that week (see above), I decided that I could only really be bothered to travel for about an hour. Thus I headed up to Windermere.
It was a very overcast, damp and foggy day, but there was a calmness in the air and the autumn colours remained bright and vibrant. I spent the entire afternoon pottering about the western side, near to Wray Castle. I must have walked for at least 7 miles in total:

Autumn in Windermere

I call him Winderdeer.

Sorry.

Windermere has a variety of interesting wave types, depending on what is in the water.

I'm guessing this exact photo has probably been taken about a million times already.

There and Back Again: An Artist's Blog, By Luke Baggins (Bennett)...

Whilst not quite the 13 months that Frodo was away from The Shire, it has been a fair while since I last enjoyed the comfort of my trusty old blog.

Whilst I'd love to claim that in all those months I've been off vanquishing the lands of evil and darkness and making a positive contribution to the world of men, all-the-while avoiding the subtle but determined advances of my chubby best friend, that would be a lie.

The truth is that, regretfully, I haven't had the time or energy to devote to painting and drawing that I would have liked. Regular 12 hour days at work certainly haven't helped. But, for the immediate future, I now have more time on my hands than I know what to do with. As such I've decided to start doing more of what I love doing, resolving to take more photos, do more drawings, and to generally nurture and regain some creativity in my life.

The drawing below is the first result of that resolve, and the first sketch I've attempted in about 11 months. 

An original hand drawn pencil sketch of every Tolkien fan's favourite villain, Gollum, as depicted by Andy Serkis in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies.

I think in total it probably took between 5 and 8 hours, although I'm not totally sure as that was spread out over a number of evenings.

I approached it in a slightly more methodical way than I normally do, focusing on small areas at a time before moving onto another. Usually I have a habit of doing a bit of everything all at once in a slightly disorganised but arguably more artistic way.

I'm quite pleased with the results. Let me know what you think in the comments.

As always, more of my work can be seen/bought/commissioned at www.artbylukebennett.com

Massive savings on original art and commissions!

• Commission a high quality painted portrait for under £100.

• Up to 20% off original artwork.

Without wanting to sound too much like Al Harrington from Family Guy, I've gone discount crazy over at artbylukebennett.com!

January sales are so last year; March is when all the cool kids do their bargain hunting, so head on over to the Commission a Painting section to find the new 2013 pricing structure.

Portrait paintings from photographs now start from as little as £99. So whether you want a painting to commemorate a loved one, a special moment and memory, or a beloved pet cat or dog, rendered in a detailed and colourful piece of art, I guarantee an exemplary price to quality ratio.

Check out what previous customers have had to say about their personalised artwork commissions.

Human Portrait Paintings

Pet Portraits

Cat Pet Portraits a speciality

Original artwork has also been heavily discounted, with up to 20% off the price of hand painted canvases and boards. There's no better time to buy an original piece of art by Luke Bennett (I am him).

'Here Comes the Sun' - original Beatles art

'King Lion' - wildlife artwork, prints available

'Big Blue Cat' - original, quirky, cartoon art

Introducing: The Big Blue Cat

Since long before studying Animation at University, I've always had a fondness for creating cartoon characters. Big Blue Cat first came about during a doodling session over a series of pencil sketches and Photoshop messings, back in 2008 (or there abouts I think). Long before a certain well known grumpy cat meme came to prominence.
I thought it was high-time time for him to make an official appearance in the form of an original painting on canvas.

Big Blue Cat's main interests include eating, sleeping, staring and an apathetic curiosity. Some say he's a paradox, others just say he's fat. Indignantly he watches, silently he judges. Above all else, Big Blue Cat is resolutely blue.

Original paintings, prints, commissions and more available at artbylukebennett.com.

How to Paint Perfectly Straight Lines - A Simple Guide

A rare instructional post on Memoirs of a Visible Man.

Getting a straight line when painting, without any bleed or messiness is an extremely useful skill to have as an artist or for general DIY purposes.

With the creation of 'Here Comes the Sun' (pictured below - high quality prints available via artbylukebennett.com!), and through lots of trial and error, I perfected the art of painting perfectly straight lines on a canvas, using nothing more than regular masking tape and paint.
The technique applies equally well to painting perfectly straight lines on a wall or any other surface too.

No smudging, bleed or leakage, just nice straight lines.

First of all you will need just three things:

- Paint, the colour you want the line to be.

- Paint, the colour the line is being painted on to.

- Masking tape.

There's no need to buy special tape or sealants. They're unnecessary and in the end, no quicker than the following technique.

The only thing to be aware of is some masking tapes are better than others. Some have a habit of not peeling off very well, leaving bits behind, so it's worth using a test piece first before applying any paint - Mask off an area, leave the tape for an hour or two, then remove it. If it peels easily without any residue or ripping, excellent! If not, you might want to try a different make. Don't say I didn't warn you.

So with those warnings in place, you're ready to begin.

1.) Apply your tape, masking off the area that you don't want to be painted with the new colour. Be sure to smooth it down as best you can.

2.) The cunning bit - paint along the edge of the tape, but with the underlying colour - ie the colour that is already there. 

This will bleed under the tape, but since it's the same colour as what is already underneath the tape, it doesn't matter! It's what you want to happen because it will seal off any gaps in the tape.

3.) Wait for that to dry. You will then have a perfectly sealed piece of masking tape, ready for a coat of the paint the colour you want your line to be.

4.) Apply the new colour and wait for it to dry.

5.) Once you've applied as many coats as you want and need and it has dried, remove the tape to reveal a perfectly straight line!

And if that wasn't easy enough to follow, I've created an illustrated "How to Paint Perfectly Straight Lines" guide version below -

I hope this is of use to some people. Please share and leave a comment below if it was. Good luck.

Pet Cat Portrait Painting

Here is a scan of a pet portrait I completed and sold in the run up to Christmas. It is acrylic paint on box stretch canvas measuring approximately 16 inches wide by 12 inches high and about two thirds of an inch deep (406mm x 305mm x 14mm), glossed and ready to hang or place in a frame.

To commission your own artwork, pet portrait, family portrait or anything else, please get in touch via the contact form here or over at artbylukebennett.com.

Obligatory Winter 2012 - 2013 Snow and Frost Photos

Once again, snowfall has hit Britain. Once again, the media has decided that we haven't quite noticed. Once again the country is divided between those who love it - embracing the natural shimmering beauty it provides and making the most of the white stuff while it lasts - and those who hate it, cursing its very existence, lamenting the good old days when they didn't have to drive carefully around bends or walk like a  windup 80s toy robot to avoid slipping.

And once again, I'm firmly in the Love It camp. Out of all the different types of weather, other than uninterrupted sun, snow is my favourite. It provides a nice change of pace, visually, physically and mentally, forcing you to mix up your regular daily routines and interrupting the usual monotony of rain and grey skies.

The only problem with this year's batch being that the skies have been mostly grey throughout the snow's presence too, which makes taking photographs more difficult. Seamless.

Without much sunlight getting through scenes are obviously much darker than they would be otherwise. The whiteness of the snow however tricks not just your eye, but also your camera into thinking there's more light than there is. The lack of sunlight eliminates any chance of light and shadow contrasts too.

As such, a few of the following have had some pretty heavy post-processing, at least compared to what I'd normally do.
I'm usually of the opinion that a good photograph shouldn't need much, if any, tinkering with. And if there is post-processing then it should be subtle and naturalistic.

On this occasion for some of the shots of Henley in Arden further down I've abandoned that methodology.

The photos above were taken in Dorridge Park back in December 2012 when the weather was just frosty rather than snowy. Straight out of camera.

Above - Berkswell in the frost.

Above - views from the big hill in Henley during the 2013 snowfall.

Above - some icicles in my garden.

All were taken with an ageing Powershot G3. Today is supposedly the last of the snowfall for the time being, with a big melt predicted for the weekend. Sigh. I'm looking forward to the media pointing out that there are floods in areas that tend to flood.