Painting Paddington - "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

I have been neglecting this blog lately, but I have been busy painting. I am continuing with my project of producing paintings with the feeling of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" set in the suburb I live in, Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

I think illustrating the story is not the right thing to do, but it is rather the atmosphere and richness of the text which I want to emulate.

Paddington houses, streets, trees, gardens together with portrait heads, animals, and all things botanical are the subject matter. It feels hugely daunting to be attempting this and in some ways I feel I have been heading toward this for years. Trying to put so much in comes with its own set of problems.

I have started about 5 largish canvases and several works on paper just to sort out ideas.

I thought I would post a studio shot to give the general feel.