Nyctophilia - the Love of Darkness

Nyctophilia - the love of darkness or night, or feeling like you belong in the dark. Ever since I was a child, I've been fascinated by the night, with it's stars, the moon and shadows. There were even times I would sneak out of the house just to go walk or explore the night.

As an adult, there have been many remote places I've traveled to, away from city lights and witness stunning night skies, that sadly, most people on the planet are not even aware exist above their heads for all of the light pollution. I've even been to places where there was no artificial light, no moon and yet I could see my shadow on the ground from the Milky Way's starlight, where there are so many stars, the sky does not appear to be black. I always make time to stop and look at the moon if I see it. Wandering across the countryside with out a lamp, relying only upon the moon and stars is quite an adventure, dare I say, magical. But, I am aware that for many, the night is a thing of fear. I don't take the darkness for granted, rather, I like the way it sharpens my senses, I feel more alive. Are you a lover of the night? Read the full article

Hard Soft Lost Edges

Edges in art refer to the transition between two shapes of colour or value. Edges are strongly related to value! Edges are created when there is a transition of: Objects – an object is front of another Planes – the surface or face of an object meets another Colours – caused by lighting or a change in the objects physical colouration (pattern) Many people overlook edges and focus on colour and composition. Just as the hierarchies of value and colour in our artwork are important, a hierarchy of edges expands our visual language; the tools available for directing the viewer’s focus. Edges are defined as either: Hard (Found) - Where shapes of contrasting value meet, they create edges which appear as sudden, break, cut or line of demarcation in the image. Think of a the dark silhouette against a bright light. Soft - A soft edge is a smooth transition between two shapes. These are typically found on rounded corners or curved surfaces. Lost edges blend with or flow into one another so that it is hard to distinguish where the adjoining shapes begin and end. For a limited time and for a limited number of people, I am offering a free critique of one artwork to help start pointing you in the right direction. Become a member on my site to take advantage of this offer. Details of how the critique will be done, will be emailed to you after you register.    Read the full article

Divided Values

When considering the values of an image, we divide them into two camps, light and shadow, that which is directly receiving light and that which is not. Halftones are part of the light family, but are receiving less direct light because the surface of the object is starting to angle away from the direct light. A shadow does not implicitly imply a complete lack of light, as it might be lightened to varying degrees by indirect or reflected light. With these seemingly obvious basics we can then grasp of the subtler little details of lighting and shadows that create the illusion of our visual reality. For a limited time and for a limited number of people, I am offering a free critique of one artwork to help start pointing you in the right direction. Become a member on my site to take advantage of this offer. Details of how the critique will be done, will be emailed to you after you register.  Read the full article

Values That Make Sense

The illusion of realism in an image is dependent upon the correct organisation of values. A value is how light or dark a portion of an image is, whether monochrome or colour, in relation to the rest of the image. It is the interplay of light and dark that creates recognisable, shape and form from abstraction. For this to work, the darkest lights, should not be darker than the lightest darks, otherwise the illusion fails. This is one of the fundamentals of realistic artwork that all artists struggle with in the beginning. It takes time and practice to master. To that end I am building an online art course. For a limited time and for a limited number of people, I am offering a free critique of one artwork to help start pointing you in the right direction. Become a member on my site to take advantage of this offer. Details of how the critique will be done, will be emailed to you after you register. Read the full article

Goodbye Rembrandt!

Goodbye Rembrandt! It was a pleasure to have you watch over my studio, my struggles, my progress and triumphs. For some time now I've had studies of self portraits by two great Masters hanging in my studio. They've almost been like icons, where I can look to them for inspiration. Now Rembrandt is off to a new home in another country, thankfully one that is still accepting post. There is a growing number of countries that are not accepting post. Let that one run around your mind for a while until you realise what the consequences of that. Rembrandt's departure leaves a space on the wall... for another Rembrandt self-portrait. He did so many in his lifetime that I will have plenty to choose from. This one is one of my favourites. I've even had the chance to look at the original as close as possible before the museum security become upset. Here's the a stop motion video of the painting development. I would have shared the DTube link instead of YouTube, but DTube would not play the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzJ2tsnQM1Q There are more videos on my YouTube Channel and more artwork on my website. Read the full article

Keep Calm Carry On Painting

We are all facing challenges right now. Events unprecedented in world history are seeing us quarantined, locked down and isolated. We are social creatures by design. Isolation starts to play on our minds. Couple this with a lack of freedom of movement destroying our established daily and weekly rhythms, it is all too easy to slide into a sense of powerlessness and depression. If that were not enough, add to the mix of economic collapse and a disease that threatens death, crisis edges its way into one's life. Crisis, whether it be social or personal, when it leads to rapid and far reaching change, affects our state of being, leaving us disorientated. When the uncertainty of when things will ever return to a state of normality cuts us adrift from the anchor of our life patterns, our sense of identity comes into question. Without a sense of identity our world dissolves into chaos leading us be further overwhelmed by the situation at hand. Mindless distractions, such as drugs, alcohol or Social Media are not a solution, as they only provide a short term Dopamine hit that quickly fades, leaving the ever pressing issues to dominate your thoughts again. The way forward is to as far as possible, to relax, disconnect for a time from the media maelstrom and engage in rewarding activities, whether it be going for walks, spending time with a pet, talking to a friend or learning new skills. Is there a language you wanted to learn? What about those books you've been promising yourself that you'd read. How about picking up brush or a pencil and creating an artwork? Find something enjoyable yet requiring engaged focus rather than passive. This will give you at least a small cornerstone of structure in a world bereft comprehension and certainty. You can create your own little of island of certainty, a life raft of tranquillity.  Image: "Now Now Death, I'm Painting", Leo Plaw, 30 x 40cm, oil on canvas. Original and Prints available.   Sign up as a member and gain access to special content.   Read the full article

The Big Leap

  Mass panic is like a game of follow the leader over the edge of a cliff. The result will be unpleasant. #covid2019 #coronavirus "The Big Leap", Leo Plaw, 80 x100cm, oil on canvas Original available. Read the full article

Figure 54 - Graphite Drawing

"Figure 54 - Graphite Drawing", Leo Plaw, 21 x 30 cm, graphite pencil on paper Original available. Read the full article

Figure 43 - Drawing

 "Figure 43 - Drawing", Leo Plaw, 21 x 30cm, graphite pencil on paper Read the full article

Menschenbilder - Exhibition - Galerie 4616

It has been a hectic past week preparing for this week's group exhibition. I've been racing to finish one of the larger pieces for the show. I crossed the finish line late last night. But, preparations weren't over just yet. It was an early start today to pack all of the paintings as they were being collected today. I'm looking forward to some well earned sleep. I need to be my best for the exhibition opening this Thursday after all. =) I will be exhibiting alongside Austrian painter, Jolanda Richter and sculpter, Erwin Burgstaller. Menschenbilder 4614 Galerie Marchtrenk Im Marktplatzcenter 1. Stock Linzerstraße 35 4614 Marchtrenk Austria Opening: 19:00, Thursday 30. January 2020 Duration: 14. February 2020 www.galerie4614.at Read the full article

Figure 42 - Drawing

How often have you felt like these guys?   "Searching for Ideas - Figure 42 - Drawing",Leo Plaw, 30 x 21cm, graphite pencil on paper Read the full article

Figure 41 - Drawing

 "Figure 41 - Drawing - Defying the Gods", Leo Plaw, 21 x 30cm, graphite pencil on paper Read the full article

Figure 39 - Drawing

"Figure 39 - Drawing", Leo Plaw, 21 x 30cm, graphite pencil on paper 300gsm Read the full article

Figure 40 - Drawing

Each artwork is a step towards perfection, but none are perfect in themselves. It is a journey to build upon, even if sometimes we feel a little sidetracked and feel we are missing our goals. I'm in it for the long haul. "Figure 40 - Drawing", Leo Plaw, 21 x 30cm, graphite pencil on paper 300gsm Read the full article

Figure 38 - Drawing

"Figure 38 - Drawing", Leo Plaw, 30 x 21cm, graphite pencil on paper 300gsm Read the full article

That Was 2019, Here Comes 2020!

So that was 2019, and now 2020 is upon us. Here's my best of 9 artworks for 2019. I'm looking forward to producing more this coming year. Have you figured out your New Year's resolutions yet? If you need a little help on how to make them work, take a look at this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm9CQn07OjU I'd like to wish you all the very best for 2020. =) Read the full article

Magical Dreams V - Exhibition - Warsaw Poland

Three of my paintings are touring with the Magical Dreams V exhibition organised by Bator Art Gallery. The next exhibition opens in Warsaw, Poland, Jan 9. 2020. If you're in the neighbourhood, I recommend seeing all of the excellent artwork on display. Thank you to the Bator family for all of their time and effort to make this a reality. Opening January 9th, 2020 at 7 PM. Centrum Promocji Kultury CPK, Podskarbi?ska 2 Street, Warsaw, Poland The exhibition will continua until January 30th 2020. The exhibition is supported by Tomasz Kucharski, Mayor of the Praga-Po?udnie District of the Capital City of Warsaw and curated by Marcin Kokoszko. Read the full article