Oil Painting: Quiet Peaks

Hello Everyone;
Here is another oil painting I finished today.  Yes, I finished two oil paintings within a few hours of each other.  Oil paint is a very easy paint to manipulate.  You can brush it over wet paint, you can wait to dry and brush into dry work, you can combine the techniques.  Oil painting is complicated in some ways when it comes to mediums and solvents, but in its application, oil painting can be the most forgiving of the painting mediums.  This painting has both techniques I mentioned in this post.  The sky was completely dry when I painted the clouds in and the mountains were very wet when I painted the highlights.  As you can see, both work well, it is just a matter of practicing enough to get comfortable with the techniques as well as the paint you use.  Oil paint and really, all painting supplies vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.  French Ultramarine for one brand acts and looks a bit different then another so it is really important that you understand the paint you use.  It will help make your learning curve just a bit easier.

Oil Painting: Peaceful Day

Hello Everyone;
Here is a new oil painting.  This may be the first oil painting on this blog.  It has been a long time since I painted in oils.  They are very complicated, messy and very dangerous to use if your not careful.  Those are really, the very reasons why I stopped painting in oils almost six years ago.  Since then, I have learned of new products and techniques that make painting in oils much safer, and nowhere near as complicated.  I missed the lush, deep colors oil paint gives you as well as the ability to correct mistakes much easier then most painting mediums.  Shortly, I will be posting the supplies I use when painting in oils.  If you wish to try this wonderful medium, be sure to do your research first.  Learn as much as you can from blogs, you tube and any other resource you can find.  Once you have all of the information, you will have much more success and much less frustration.

Watercolor Painting; New Painting On Aquabord

Hello Everyone;
Here is a new watercolor painting.  As you know, I have been using aquabord a lot lately.  This painting is no different.  I used a 5" X 7" piece of aquabord to do this simple landscape.  I am finally starting to get used to the amount of paint needed to make the colors stand out better.  That really is the main issue with using this support.  The amount of paint and water on your brush.  I believe, once you get that combination down, painting on this surface will be much easier and very rewarding.  Lifting color is truly as easy as advertised.  Lifting for your highlights is pretty simple.  A damp clean brush and a paper towel to wipe off paint from each pass. You generally do not get to pure white again, but you get a really good highlight.  The mountains in the distance and the foreground rocks were highlighted that way.  As you can see, the lifting of color works very well.  Even though learning how to use aquabord can be challenging and it does take some effort, I am convinced it will be well worth the time.

Watercolor Painting: Really? A Bird on Aquabord

                                                                                Hello Everyone;
Here is another bird painting on a piece of Aquabord made by Ampersand.  This was completed on a  6" X 6"  1/8" panel.  For some reason, I have never tried the square panels.  I always overlooked them.  This bird vignette actually looks a bit better on a square panel then a standard 5" X 7".  Again, these panels have a bit of a learning curve.  I do not want to talk you out of using them, but I need to give my honest assessment.  Actually, the only reason I keep trying to use them is two fold.  First, I like the idea that my customers can hang their paintings without glass or frames.  A huge savings right there.  The second reason is the work I have seen on these panels by artists that really understand how to use this support.  The colors are magnificent.  Edges are defined or faded out perfectly, the whole piece just looks much better then paintings on paper.  For those two reasons, and possibly others, I will keep trying to perfect my technique using them.  I do believe the time and patience needed to get good at working on this support will be rewarded by how my art will eventually look on them.  In the mean time, My work looks good, just not where it will be one day.  Have a blessed day.

Watercolor Painting; Bird On Aquabord

                                                                                Hello Everyone;
Today, I thought I would try something different with the aquabord I am working with.  I have done a couple of landscape paintings so I thought I would try a bird painting.  The colors do stand out well with this support.  My bird itself is by no means perfect, but it does stand out well.  The more I work with this aquabord, the more I like it.  The whole idea that my customers do not have to spend extra money on framing behind glass or framing at all appeals to me.  Another great advantage with the aquabord is the durability.  The masonite panel the clay adheres to is very solid.  Ampersand says these panels are archival as well.  I still have a ways to go before I am comfortable with this support, but on today's painting, I was able to layer without lifting the underlying colors.  On paper, that is not that difficult, on these panels, it gets a bit tricky.  I will continue to keep you posted on my progress with this support and share anything I learn.  In the mean time, have a great weekend.

Watercolor Painting; More Aquabord Practice

Hello Everyone;
Here is another new painting on aquabord by Ampersand.  No, your not seeing things, this composition is very similar to the other one.  When I am trying out something new, I find it beneficial to paint a very similar scene to gauge the progress or regression in the quality of work.  When you have something close to compare different paintings to, it seems to be more obvious of triumphs and failures.  Trust me when I say, failures are just as important and possibly more important then triumphs when learning something new.  Take your mistakes and learn from them and you will progress much quicker then ignoring them.  In my experiences with painting, I have met a lot of people expecting too much in the beginning of their learning process.  They seem to think that they can become experts in a few days and therefore, each mistake they make they look at as a set back and failure instead of a learning experience.  So many end up quitting art for that reason among others.  Always look at mistakes and failed paintings as an opportunity to progress in your journey of becoming an artist.  It is not a cop out or rationalization to make you feel better.  Over the years, my mistakes have been the reason I can sell my work.  My mistakes are the reason I can keep making that next step forward.  My mistakes are the reason I will, one day, be the artist I have always dreamed of being.  Embrace your mistakes and failures and become the artist you have always dreamed of being.  It will happen, just put everything you have into it.

Watercolor Painting; New Landscape Painting

Hello Everyone;
I hope everyone had a safe and joyous Holiday season.  As for me, it was wonderful.  Time with family and pretty decent weather considering I live in the western burbs of Chicago.  Even though the winter thus far has been pretty tolerable, once Christmas is over, I look to the spring time.  Warm temperatures and green grass.  Today, I put in a Jimmy Buffet cd and painted this spring time scene.  I used the Ampersand Aquabord I mentioned in my last post.  As I stated before, it is considered a cold press surface, but the paint reacts completely different then with paper.  I do love the way the colors pop out as opposed to paper.  Remember, when painting in watercolors on paper, the paint will lighten up approx 50% when it dries.  With the aquabord, that does not happen.  One difference in applying your paint is to use more paint then water.  I realize that goes against using watercolors to begin with, but the paint lifts very easily on this surface.  If you are used to layering colors, be very careful you don't disturb the underneath layers.

Right now, I am seriously considering using the aquabord exclusively for my paintings going forward.  I really like the results, but I need to still work out a few kinks.  My plan is to use the 1 1/2" cradle the aquabord comes in.  When a customer buys a painting on the aquabord with that cradle, they can hang it up as is.  No need for a frame, glass or matting.  The cradle would really save my customers a decent amount of money and best yet, it is a clean look on the wall.  Like I said, I still need to work some things out before I make the switch, but that is most definitely the plan.  If you have never tried this support, give it a whirl.  Blick has a 3 pack of 5" X 7" 1/8" panels for under $7.00.  Practice on it, use a wet rag to remove the paint and start over again.  You can almost go to complete white again so your investment will go a long way.  Let me know how you like it.