Mark Sheeky
@marksheeky
Ever busy artist from Northwest England. Oil painter, music artist & producer, game and software developer, writer of strange tales, and more. Links:
Second day of underpainting 'Punishment Of The Sun'. 'Behold the scorched reality!' announces my AI! Ready to be judged by the blinding light? #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #PunishmentOfTheSun #WIP
One of my my smaller paintings on display in Knutsford this year: 'Insomnia Due To Impending Sacrifice', oil on canvas, about a night of prickly anxiety. The altar and figure were first made of clay. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #isaac
Hottest day of the year. Drawing out one of my largest paintings of the year, 'Punishment Of The Sun'. Will be something of an homage to Alexandre Cabanel. #art #painting #oilpainting
Painting tip: airtight tubular caps which keep the brush damp and the tip straight. #art #painting #oilpainting #tips
'All The Broken Hearted' underpainting complete. My underpaintings are highly finished and detailed, but will become moreso upon glazing. If the Muses are with me it'll make a Peter Gric look like an Odd Nerdrum! #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism
Thought I'd share another painting. Here is 'Nine Ladies Weeping At The Death Of A Phoenix', Oil on MDF panel, 65x50cm. The Nine Ladies is a neolithic stone circle in Derbyshire. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #ladies #neolithic
And my cheap Chinese Winsor and Newton palette knife has broken after 5 months of use. The old (UK made) one lasted 18 years.
And at the end of today; 'All The Broken Hearted' in progress, oil on canvas, 70x50cm. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism
Painting today. Note the crucial blending between these two stages (much more noticeable in real life). #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism
First day of underpainting 'Crushed Are The Meek'. One of the current tranche of four works in progress. Next; a trip to the Cheshire Literature Prize ceremony. Salutes to all fellow travellers living the artists' life! ♥️ #art #painting #oilpainting
Here is 'Cracked Planet', oil on canvas panel, 70x50cm. Working on the third in this series at the moment. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #heartbreak
Back from the collection of paintings from the ancient church of St Boniface, Bunbury. Thanks to Elaine and her team for a wonderful display of art and flowers. This painting is 'The Measure Of Life', oil on panel, from 2008. #art #painting #oilpainting #Bunbury #inspire26
Here's 'Being The Elephant Man', my take on The Elephant Man. As I think of the wonderful Mel Brooks on his birthday, many great comedies (I must paint Frankenstein!), but I remember that giving David Lynch his big break with that film changed cinematic history forever.
More of the important work of painting. The underpainting to the miniature epic 'Them And Us' in oils, with the colour study. 'Miniature' - an expert in painting using the orange lead 'minium'; no lead here but earth reds and PBr24 for the yellows. #art #painting #oilpainting #miniature #themandus
My Zelenskyy portrait in the beautiful Bunbury church this weekend (about 300 other paintings on show in Inspire26 too!). Zelenskyy meets Bierstadt for the few who will recognise the reference. Photo by Deb. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #inspire26 #Ukraine
One of my desert oil paintings for this hot day: 'The Deadly Allure Of Facebook', Oil on MDF panel in custom frame (complete with ossified plaster), 45x35cm. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #Facebook #socialmedia #heat
Collecting work today and seeing quite severe damage to my frame by some idiot, in fact thick white paint was in splots and spats on both frames. This took an hour to restore. First solvent and cotton swab, a scalpel tip to scrape out the grain, stain for bare wood, and fragments of oil overpaint.
Also on this hot day, a mostly grisaille underpainting to 'All Things Bright And Beautiful'. This will be a romantic symphonic painting on the theme of dandelions. Unusual to have a green imprimatura, but it will add an eerie glow to it. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism
Tone and oil colour studies for three paintings today, large and small. This is 'Them And Us'. #art #painting #oilpainting #themandus
Today, the final glazing layer for 'Sisyphus Rolling A Coconut Dangerously Towards The Critical Mass Of Pat Benatar', oil on panel, 17x22cm. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #patbenatar #sisyphus
Stands dismantled and set correctly by laying flat on a table with exact guides. Now accurate enough. A lot of engineering is doing things in the right order, but sometimes that order is learned through trial and error. Iteration 3 coming up. 2/2 #art #photography #woodwork
Spent the last few days making painstakingly accurate towers and feet for my art photography rig. These will have 15mm steel tubing between with the camera pointing down to a flatbed to photograph in sections. #art #photography #woodwork
A new simple portrait, framed and delivered to Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery yesterday. 'Song of Innocence', oil on panel, 30x40cm. New artworks on show by Manchester & Cheshire artists. Exhibition runs 21 Jun to 22 Aug 2026. #art #painting #oilpainting #innocence #Stockport
New painting complete and photographed today. Here is 'The Blood of Winter', oil on canvas, 45x32.5cm. I have a very dark Tudor oak frame in mind for this. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #blood #winter
Happy Tuesday! Today, a first glazing day for the Kafka portrait. These paintings always look better in real life. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #Kafka
Today, expanding this idea from a few years ago into something worthy of an artwork. #art #painting #oilpainting
Thought I'd share one of my earlier paintings, one I still have. 'Penalties', oil on panel, 60x60cm. Painted for a football art competition called One Love, the first time I had a painting on show in Manchester. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #football
A tranche of new paintings begins today. Here's a small idea with an epic sense, 'Them And Us'. #art #painting #oilpainting
Yesterday, many hours working on my 'How To Paint' book, which will take months due to its enormity. Today, painting this ear, and a terrifying giant banana. #art #painting #oilpainting #surrealism #ear #banana