Adina Wykes Fine Art Portfolio

This painting was a rollercoaster and a half.  This is the largest piece of artwork I have ever created and I faced a lot of difficulties along the way.  I started this piece on a whim with no idea what I was doing and without the use of reference pictures.  I had never painted a nude female form in oil paints as of then but I'm fairly happy with how it turned out and am very proud of myself for painting this all from my head.  I did a sort of underpainting, but not done in the typical manner.  I used only fat layers up until I added glazes and she underwent many a nose job, face lift and numerous tucks but I got it as close to my vision as my ability would allow me.  When I started this painting I had a faint vision that I wanted it to resemble the work of Larry Vincent Garrison.  I wanted the viewer to feel voyeuristic and as though they walked in on something they shouldn't have and the subject of the painting is angry and upset at this.  I l...

I created this ceramic vase inspired by the potter Kate Malone.  I'm rather inexperienced with claywork but I'm pleased with it.  I used to coil method to build up the height and used a combination of different glazes and fired them in a kiln to achieve the appearance of a blackberry.

The beauty of portraiture is that you can capture the nature and essence of a person or character and have it be everlasting, this is why I am so drawn to it and why there is a lot of it in my portfolio.  This portrait is the first piece I created when I first purchased the Winsor Newton  Cotman palette.  It is of the actor Charlie Day as I was inspired by his character in the programme 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' as his character is so naive yet outrageous and I adore painting his structure.

 Here is a monoprint of a Death Head Hawk Moth  from the first topic from when I started college;  'Dark Intention'.  I wanted to create something     that would look good as a print if I were to sell   my art.  My target audience was people     interested in dark and gothic themed art.  The Death Head Moth is directly associated with the concept of death and therefore links to the name of the unit.

Underpainting I started this self-portrait as a part of a class project at college - and during this I learned how to properly, classically oil paint; even though I had been oil painting for a long while before.  I chose the more comical route for my painting because I felt as though posing and trying to make myself look elegant didn't truly capture my personality and how I put a satirical spin on things.  I wanted to create something that juxtaposes my 50s glamour with something a little bit grotesque.  I wanted it to be eye-catching, whether you like my piece or not you cannot deny that it is memorable. Most up to date photograph of my self portrait.