Anglesey Seascape: Day 1
As Christmas approached, I managed to get a commission for an introduction made by a client, and in the process nearly pulled off the finest practical joke in my history of slow-burn amusement. Last...
View ArticleAnglesey Seascape: Day 2
This is day two of painting a view of Anglesey, after the first day’s work has dried. Previously, I had left the work with some of the sea painted, and none of the foreground. The centre of the...
View ArticleAnglesey Seascape: Day 3
For the last day of painting, I had to do those awkward, awkward things that most people do not notice. There are ways to transition most good paintings into better paintings, at the end of the...
View ArticleGirl in a Dress: Day 1
Over the summer I painted a Tudor dress with a girl in it. Let me phrase that more appropriately. A client of mine took advantage of an offer and provided a picture to let me expand my portfolio. She...
View ArticleAllegro, Day 1
This commission started, as they often do, with sketches and squinting at the canvas. I painted a purple background, made of the blue and red I used for the sail with titanium white, which is a...
View ArticleDragons: Day 3 – the lighting
The dragon cave is going to be made up of receding layers of rock, going back towards the outside, where a dragon is silhouetted. The further back a layer, the earlier I should be painting it, which in...
View ArticleDragons: Day 4 – the rocks
Day 4 was a faintly annoying day. I had to mix a blue that was darker than the colour out by the entrance, as if the yellow had been removed as the sunlight faded. However, there was not any yellow
View ArticleElectronic Critique: Methodist Chapel
I finished the Methodist Chapel painting while I was outside, and it was great, and I really enjoyed the process. Then I took it home and dried it, and a bad thing happened; I saw what it actually...
View ArticleDragons: Day 5 – the dragon
This day was spread out over a couple of painting sessions, to allow the paint to dry, but the underpainting took no more than a couple of hours, so I’m calling it a single day. I knew the dragon in
View ArticleHow To: Varnish a Painting
Varnishing a painting protects the surface, and makes its surface consistent and glossy, like the top surface of a freshly finished painting. A coat of varnish can be taken off and replaced without...
View ArticleMasters’ Soap
I’ve never quite been convinced by brush soap, even as I use it. Other soaps might work as well, and there’s always washing up liquid. Still, the pot I have is good for working colour out from the base of
View ArticlePortrait of A*.
Sometimes in the life of an artist there comes a time when they just have to terrify passing civilians by asking, “Do you mind if I paint you?” For extra points, you can then tell them why, but that...
View ArticlePortrait of A. – background
The gridded portrait was quick enough that I could get started on the background in the same day as I began the tonal sketch. I decided to go with the same lighting as in the train, and to lie about
View ArticlePortrait of A. – forming the features
I had a day to myself when everything else was drying, and I put the Portrait of A back onto the easel. I’d already done the hair and jacket, but not completed them – they were on the canvas to
View ArticleRoses and Reflections
Finally, I have finished Roses and Reflections. I’ve left out several potential posts that say ‘then I went over the top surface and improved it a bit’. I’ve done that everywhere, and I’ve also nudged...
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