Working from photos has its own challenges. Ideally the photo would be one you have taken, so that you have a feeling for the whole vista and have breathed the air that the scene inhabits. I believe that this psychological connection is important. Sometimes you will be commissioned to paint a scene that someone else has photographed and this can be more difficult unless the photograph is already brilliant! (... and downloading other people's creative photography from the internet without … [Read more...]
Why sketch if you have a camera?
If I want to paint a still life, I set it up very carefully, photograph and crop it, perhaps move the objects or fiddle with the lighting and then photograph it again until I am satisfied. This will take place of the 'thumbnail' or planning sketch. I start drawing with the paintbrush on the canvas, only referring to the photo to get the composition right, but working from the actual still-life. I put the camera away and continue painting. I will hardly refer back to the photo unless I … [Read more...]
Toxicity in Solvents, mediums and pigments in oil painting
My granddaughters introduced me to the lollipops which the children call 'Toxic Waste'. She said: 'First they taste awful, then soooo nice, and they make your tongue a brighter colour than the lollipop!' I can't figure out the moral of the story, but she certainly delighted in the notion of toxicity! In oil painting, or any artist's medium, pigments have various levels of toxicity and thank goodness Flake White (which caused the fatal lead poisoning to JMW Turner's father and later his … [Read more...]
Choosing Oil Paints
The topic of student’s oils vs. artists oils comes up again and again in my classes, so this is an attempt to de-mystify selecting oil paints. Let’s look at the main differences between Artist and student oils: Oil paints are made up of pigment, oil and binder (and sometimes filler). You can make similar colours using cheaper, often synthetic pigments (although some synthetic pigments are fantastic); and you can use cheaper oils and binders/fillers to bulk the paint out, meaning that you … [Read more...]
A few more frames
I have now chosen a few more frames for my skies, large still-life paintings and tiny tree paintings. The sky paintings are 20cm x 20cm and I have flat contemporary frames, with a deep bevel. The frames are 7cm wide. I would describe these frames as 'crisp'. My little tree paintings, 10cm x 10cm needed to keep their sense of miniaturism. The paint is textured and applied really thickly, with delicious globs of pigment. The cradled frames are about 5mm wide on top and 2cm deep on the … [Read more...]
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