Pompeii

Pompeii - oil on linen - 20"x20"

Just put the finishing touches to this somewhat monochromatic composition the week before last.
I began working on this richly surfaced canvas a year ago, building up the image over long periods of time.

The arrangement is loosely based on a charcoal drawing that my teacher Gregg Kreutz presented in his book which tackled issues around 'lighting subjects effectively'. Working like this I feel offered me, on many occasions in the past a leaping off point, and has given me and my work a great foundation on which to build and develop my vision. This image now brings me full circle and I can begin to present to you over the coming weeks a whole series of recent studio works.

The title came to me as I developed the painting. The dusty greys and warmed shadow areas reminded me of images of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city which was destroyed and buried under 20ft of ash and pumice during the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.

Attached below are some close up images of the surface quality an paint application which went into creating this piece.