Thinking of Bill 8" X 6" oil on canvas board

My brother-in-law is struggling with his health right now and we are all worried about him.  I have always found painting good therapy so I headed to my studio.  This is another small one and I find them more difficult to paint.  I really struggled with this and I am not very happy with it but looking back I realized that the whole time that I was painting I was thinking of Bill in the hospital instead of on the golf course or in his boat fishing.  If I was focused on all the great times we have had the painting probably would have come easier.  It definitely needs less grey and more happy colour.


Keep fighting Bill.

A Very Good Friend of Mine 11" X 14"

For years people have been telling me that oils are way easier than watercolours and until now I never believed them.  They aren't exactly easier but they are much more forgiving.  I always balked at oils because of the solvents and the messy job of cleaning brushes.  I have discovered that vegetable oil and brush soap works fine for cleaning brushes and I thin my paint with walnut oil so no solvents are required.

This still needs a fair but of tweeking but it is were I managed to get to today.

My First Ever Portrait in Oils 6" X 8"

I had a blast doing this.  The colour is off a bit and I missed any likeness but as a first attempt at a portrait with oil paint I am quite pleased.  The fact that I was working from a photo taken by Jack at an odd angle with my iPad didn't help me much.


I think that I am going to find oil painting much easier than watercolours but I have been wrong before.  The only down side of oils is the cleanup afterwords and I am getting better at that so it isn't quite the chore that I thought that it was.

Painting with a Master - Conclusion

Guennadi suggested that a good way to learn to paint was to copy a painting by a favourite artist.  This Tom Thomson painting would have been easier to copy if I had one of his boards and his pigments but I didn't so I toned a canvas light brown and agonized over matching his colours. As it turns out there is a much to be learned by attempting to copy a painting by another artist and when that artist is Tom Thomson it is easy to learn because I can see all his brush strokes.

In the process of copying his painting I was constantly trying to analyze why he chose the colours he did and why he put strokes of paint where he did.  I also became acutely aware of how he used his background colours to tint the snow which gave a sense of unity to the painting.  My trees need to be less perfect lines and more broken up but hey I am proud of this anyway.



The top painting is mine and the bottom one Tom's,  My colours are closer to his than this looks.  

I am loving oil painting.

I am Loving Guennadi's Class and Oils

This was week two painting with oils and I am having a blast.  Guennadi Kalanine is a great instructor and seems to know just what instruction/criticism I need to get to the next stage.

I continued to work on the still life that I started last week.  It took me a whole class to get everything painted and then a second class to refine it.  I am very pleased with it as my first painting.

I need to get more aggressive and work more quickly if I am going to take my oils outside.    I suspect that "Alla prima" oil painting especially if done "en plein air" isn't for cowards.

I am excited and nervous at the same time

I  am really excited about this.  Because watercolours freeze outside in the winter I decided to take a beginner oil painting course.  I did an oil painting when I was about 14 and a colour chart about a week ago.  That is the total of my oil painting experience.  Until today.


Last week was taken up with discussions of materials and safety.  No painting.  This week Guennadi did a demo of this painting to quickly show us how it is done and then he set us loose to try it ourselves.  He then walked around helping us out.  I have not been this excited in a long while.   It was as much fun as playing in the mud.  I have a lot of learning to go but I am really stoked about where this is going to take me.  I am very proud of this considering it is really my first ever oil painting and I have never liked doing a "still life" before.

Therein lies my conundrum.  I am a watercolourist.  My site says that, my cards say that and everyone knows that is what I do.  I may have to completely redesign my website after this.

It might be worth it though.  Anyone have any thoughts?

Yet Another Great Day in Paradise

It was another fantastic day to paint outside.     There were a number of artists from the Burlington Fine Arts Guild painting at the RBG today but John and I didn't manage to hook up with them.  I suspect that they stayed up top and didn't venture down the slippery slope to the waters edge.  


We had sun overhead, snow on the ground and enough warmth that my watercolours didn't freeze on me so it was a perfect day.  I am happy with this.  There is a lot that I would do differently next time but I am okay with it. The sun reflected off the ice of Coote's Paradise was almost blinding but it gave us nice long shadows and warmth as well.


I love watercolours however I am looking forward to much colder weather as an excuse to play with oils for a while.  I am trying too hard with the watercolours and I think that a change will be good for me.