On this page is a "live" sequence of photos of work in progress, with updated pictures of paintings I am actually working on. This will enable you to see paintings as they evolve in real time. There will be new work here on a regular basis and I will try to show as much as I can.
Soon there will be new subjects here. Paintings of the Yorkshire Dales and Cornish coast will soon be on view. I am currently studying new areas of art and find much inspiration from Cornwall where I live, to the Yorkshire Dales. For now, I will leave these wildlife paintings on show.
NEW CANVAS: "THE MASAI MARA" 48x36 inches
This is the frist stage of a new painting simply called "The Masai Mara". It is 48x36 inches and will be on show at the 2008 Safari Club International show in Reno, Nevada, USA. Please make enquiries to my agents, Call of Africa, Ft.Lauderdale and ask for Ross Parker.
Stage 2. October 19, 2007. The tonal relationships are important in order to get the effect of the sunlight. Here I have blocked in the rest of the elephant and must check the tones before moving on to fine detail. Once the detail is done, it is difficult to correct any colour mistakes.
The finished painting. To create the feeling of more depth, I've created a more interesting landscape which is totally genuine, and I am very happy with the result. This bull had some of the biggest tusks I have seen on any elephant in Africa. He was slowly walking alone across the open plains on a lovely warm evening with gentle sunlight.
New 36x36 inch canvas. COOL WATERS
This is the first stage of a 36x36 canvas of three zebras at one of the many waterholes in Etosha. I seem to be painting a lot of Etosha these days! It has been done using only four colours which help to give unity and harmony. Two blues, burnt sienna and cadmium yellow, plus white.
A bit further into the process. You may be interested to know that the "white" stripes use exactly the same colours as the "black" stripes, just a very pale version. This keeps the colours in harmony with each other. There is quite a lot of cadmium yellow used to give the painting warmth. The simple graphic composition is exciting and will result in a strong image.
"Cool Waters" The finished painting. The idea was to create a graphic image with bold stripes and blue sky - or reflection of it. I've added a gentle suggestion of vegetation in the water just to give the feel of being somewhere near dry land! This painting will be available from Call Of Africa Gallery in Florida and will be on show at Safari Club International, Reno, USA in January, 2008.
Buffalo, Nakuru National Park
Just started this little beauty. This is from the trip to Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya, last month. We'd come from the famous lake with all those wonderful flamingos when I spotted this buffalo just lying in the middle of a large puddle. It will make a great painting and will be on show at Safari Club next January in Reno.
The were a lot of flies buzzing around the animal's head so I will make these a feature of this painting - unless they don't work visually. He was sitting in the puddle in the middle of the park ans probably very tired of the irritating flies which were everywhere.
"FLIES" 32x20 inch. The finished painting. The flies don't show up very well in this web image but are quite clear when you see the original.
Work just completed:
18x8 inch. Giraffe in Etosha. A small painting of this lovely scene. There is a majestic feel to the way these and other animals run across the vast salt pans of Etosha, with the dust trails behind them.
This painting has just been completed and is the first of my new Masai Mara works since returning from Africa this year. Size is 40x12 inches. It is also in my wildlife gallery.
This is also just completed and is 40x12 inches. Depicting the vast open salt pans of Etosha in Namibia. An amazing wilderness.