An entrance in an old city

This was my second painting done in class.  Pictures of interesting doorways attract my attention unfailingly.  Later, when holidaying in Costa Brava, Spain, we walked through an old city very similar to this, leaving me amazed! To think I’d painted it already….. it was too much! I was so excited.

Door ajar in old city

Still life – flowers in a vase

This is the third painting I did in class. Not easy to paint flowers!

Rendition of Flowers in a glass vase

 

 After this picture was taken, I’ve ended up changing the colour of the central flower into a darker one, as this started looking just too light for my liking.

I rarely leave a finished painting alone – end up making tiny alterations on the errors that glare at me. There are times that the changes don’t work too well either!

 

Flowers in vase ‘after’

                                     This one looks warmer, I think, and I’m okay with it.

More on oil colours

To continue the previous post, here’s a list of the colours that are useful.  A limited palette can  force you to learn mixing well, but might also frustrate you or delay the learning process.  So, it’s quite alright to start with a set of 12 artist-grade colours readily available, and add or minus as you go.  Here are the ones I like to work with -

Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Prussian blue, Cerulean blue

Crimson Lake

Cadmium yellow deep,  Chrome yellow,  Naples yellow

Vermilion, Cadmium red deep

Burnt Sienna,  Vandyke brown

Burnt Umber,  Raw umber

Yellow Ochre,  Lemon yellow

Titanium White,  Flake white,  Zinc white

Sap green,  Viridian green,  Olive green (can be mixed too) ,

Black is needed sparingly. I do have some more hues for convenience, but they don’t get used much.

COLOURS …….

  Ah, colours…isn’t this why we turn to painting ? Who doesn’t love them. Whether it’s the colours of the rainbow or black and white or the many shades of grey, plus all the other shades that you sometimes cannot put a name to, we artists love ‘em all !! Put down the right colours in the right tone and shape on your canvas, and voila… a lovely picture shines back at you ! A signature in yet another colour, claiming joyfully that YOU made that pretty painting, is all the steam you need to press on to your next one !

Yet to put up

I have ten more paintings that I’d like to put up here….just as soon as I get around to it. There are so many things to get done each day, and time just flies. Will do it within a week, for sure.

Work in progress

I’m working on a 12*16 venice scene with gondolas in the foreground and the street beyond. Impressionist style, with brushstrokes in streaks of colour over a dark base of prussian blue ragged over light ochre.

It’s interesting to see how the picture develops from dark to light, with changes seen in every stroke. Doing this from a project in a book, but altering some elements as I see fit.

Oils on canvas finished recently

I love both these paintings – The first  is my rendition of a Timothy Easton oil on canvas.  I saw the picture in a book and decided to go for it. Mostly done with a small round brush and the edge of a flat brush. Size – 14*18.

Rendition of Farm painting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second is of a street in perhaps a Spanish old city, very much like a similar one that I’ve been on within the fort in Ibiza. It was done in class almost totally with a painting  knife .   Both took a long time to finish, but am happy with the results. Size – 18*24.

Rendition of Old city lane - Mediterranean