I’ve been using some new water soluble oils from Jackson’s and I’m liking them a lot. The tubes are large and don’t cost too much, the paint is smooth and blend-able plus the colours are strong. I don’t have to use solvents so there is no smell and they are easy to use Plein Air.

I did have a go outside with them but completely messed up the composition and produced a real dud. No picture of it on the this post. So I’ve returned to my desk and am painting scenes from photos I’ve taken on holiday and my walks with Molly.

I’m really enjoying the versatility of oils and the fact they don’t dry instantly. The colours are so much stronger than watercolours and I’m enjoying achieving strong contrasts with them. Also I feel freer to try out different colour combinations and am using purple far more than before.

Two recent paintings. We were walking in the Peak District during the lambing season, the sun was out and it shone on this group, lighting up the ears of the lambs.

Derbyshire Lambs

One evening we were walking to the local pub along a very quiet lane (Milldale Lane) with the sun setting. Looking behind we saw the hills lit up and this scene spread out.

Milldale Lane, Peak District

I’ve some more oil paintings of animals on the go and will share soon…

Over the past 5 years I mainly kept with watercolours but recently introduced ink and oils. I was interested to find out their differences: strengths and weaknesses against a common subject.

Whilst walking the dog on the usual route a herd of dairy cows were in one of the far fields. It was a bright day and the cows close by so I took a photo. Having looked at the picture I felt it would make an interesting composition and a good one for trying out different media.

I start with an outline drawing, which is then checked with tracing paper to see if I’ve kept to the right shape and scale. I then add more detail by eye and start thinking about the painting process.

Ink: This is primarily tonal range and shapes. I’ve found from the tango pictures that a really effective image can be created from a tonal range of three tints plus solid black and the white of the paper. The cows markings are ideal for this medium and the picture worked out to plan.

Norbury Farm herd (ink)

Watercolours: This medium was going to be the hardest to work with. Not using black on the palette, not making any blending mistakes and keeping to the same mark making throughout is tricky. Keeping light in the picture is also key and I think this has been achieved.

Norbury Farm herd, (watercolour)

Oil: As this is my most recent medium I was apprehensive about the outcome. The painting was completed relatively quickly, but I am working to a small size (10×8). I’m getting used to oil being so much darker than watercolours and have to keep adding light to lift the overall feeling of the picture. Once again I’m getting glare from the camera and this has killed the right hand side of the picture.

Overall it was interesting to try out the three media on the single subject. I liked the subject matter and think other animals could be used in the future (horses are a good subject). This has given me more confidence with oil and also highlights how tricky watercolours are.

On a recent holiday to the Peak District I took my old Aunts oil box and set up to paint the Viators Bridge on the river Dove. I found a quiet location, beside the river and sat with the box on my knees. Not really knowing how long it would take I established a composition and started with an undercoat of acrylic block painting. This coat dries quickly and allows me more time to move the oil paints, which take days to finally dry.

The issues at hand were: a cold wind, cramped position, fading and/or changing light, a constant sound of moving water (yes I wanted to pee very soon after starting), unknown paints, poor brushes and a line of walkers over the bridge.

I lasted just over an hour before my daughter called me in for lunch. I didn’t bother to photograph the result as it was still in its basic shape. It looked out of focus and very simple. I did take a photo of the scene and finished the painting off at home.

Viators Bridge, Milldale, Derbyshire

Thoughts; its dark, a little fuzzy, and looks better in real life. I’m pleased with the hills (aerial perspective) and bridge (hard to get the texture without painting every stone) and grassy bank on the left . As it was a dull day there are few hard shadows and it does remind me of one of those dusty old Victorian paintings hung in the corner of an old Aunts room. Perhaps my aunt was watching over my shoulder.

I inherited an oil painting box, called a Pochade from an Aunt over a decade ago. I have not used the oils as they are getting too sticky and require spirit to get them working again.

So I bought a set of water based oils from Jackson’s and have been working out the best ways of using them. I have also been following a Plein Air artist Tom Hughes who uses oils and I love his work and videos.

Ideally I want to get out and start painting with oils straight away, as the weather is improving but I need to get my equipment working as smoothly as possible. This is where the Pochade comes in. It can carry a lot of equipment but more importantly it can hold the canvas in place and store without smearing the fresh oil.

So I set about making my own; a smaller and lighter version. I started with an old tripod and created the way of attaching a base (the palette) to it.  Then using old brass hinges I made the lid, which can hold a 10×8 oil board. Adapting a few screws and pins I gave myself options for landscape and portrait shapes, plus I made a brush holder and water plinth.

The photos show the difference is shape between the old and new boxes plus how it attaches to the tripod.

My next post will be about my first oil painting outdoors.

Following an inspirational talk at the art club by Roger Deller,  http://www.rogerdellar.com/ , on painting interiors with oils, I had to give the medium a try.

I’ve not really used oils before (2 paintings in the last 5 years) and needed to sort out a canvas/board and prepare it for oil painting. I used a 24″x 16″ hardboard and made my own gesso. Not used to this scale of painting, as all my watercolours are no larger then A3 and most much smaller, I had to get familiar with the scale and composition. The subject had to be an interior and with my current interest in social tango I selected a challenging shot of a Tango Festival in Porto, Portugal.

A couple of years ago I attended a memorable Tango festival in Porto (thanks Maria) with a group of friends. The main milonga were held in a fabulous room in the ‘ateneu comercial do porto’. I’ve tried to capture the room, atmosphere and dancing with this painting. Lots to think about and improve on but a really enjoyable process. (I’m not used to photographing oils and there is a bit of glare showing through)

Tango Festival, Porto (Oil)

I’ve been working on another ink painting, again using just black and white. This time the dancers are professionals but I  liked their embrace and the way she is stepping back. Very tango.

As I worked on the main image I was aware of certain lines and shapes that I wanted to focus on but couldn’t on the smaller scale. So I identified those shapes: the line of her arm on his back, the curve of her back and her feet: and produced close-ups of them.

The combination of the images produces an interesting composition/focus and as someone remarked today a ‘Marvel’ comic book effect.

I’ve been walking past Thorncroft Farm regularly since I arrive here, 18 months ago. First on my own to discover the area, then to convalesce and finally to walk the dog. There is nothing extraordinary about the scene but I’m always drawn to it. It reminds me of the large sky, blues and oranges of some of Pissarro’s works. (L’Avenue, Sydenham).

The tangle of farm buildings, line of lanky trees with mistletoe and mess of elderberry shrubs in front don’t invite time spent on a painting. But I did sketch the scene and to my surprise I liked the outcome. So, yesterday, I set about producing a more finished version.

As usual I’ve drawn inspiration from other artists such as Zbukvic, Tim Wilmot and Geoff Kersey. Wilmot especially paints scenes I would never think of undertaking and this is one reason I took on this subject. I’ve mentioned in recent posts I needed to work on tree lines, buildings and composition, so these are all part of my thinking in this piece.

Thorncroft Farm, Leatherhead

For me the building is a vast improvement to Bosham, the distant tree line more atmospheric and composition better balanced. The elderberry plants are a real tangle in the foreground but I’ve kept them in as they do identify the location and give perspective.

Following the lumpy picture of Bosham I wanted to see if I could produce lighter, more atmospheric paintings. My daughter and I walked the dog on a very cold, frosty but bright morning on Ranmore Common. The views over the Surrey Hills are stunning and one of my favorite places to draw inspiration from.

The first painting was a really simple subject. Distant hills, a line of trees and some foreground. I decided to add my daughter and Molly to create interest, a story line and scale.

Laura & Molly at Ranmore

This was an improvement on Bosham, but there were still elements I needed to test out and resolve. Such as distant trees and buildings. I moved on to another photo I took on the same walk. This photo ( the composition) was always going to be an odd one but I liked the distant line of trees and the solitary pine tree. The church spire, peeking out from the hillside and the house emerging from the mist were challenging to get right and could look very out of place if dealt unsympathetically. The painting was more about atmosphere and working on my technique.

St Barnabas, Ranmore

Following a wonderful demonstration by Chris Forsey (chrisforsey.com) a couple of weeks ago we were all challenged to paint our own ‘Foresy’ the following week. I really liked the way he used his varnish brushes and bought a 1″ and 2″ from Rosemary & Co, (www.rosemaryandco.com) – a fantastic source of high quality brushes.

Chris uses the 1 inch brush almost continually and I wanted to see if I could replicate some of the washes and marks he made. I especially wanted to try out trees in the distance and water.

I found a photo of Bosham as it provides a lovely variety of boat, buildings, water and trees. I sketched the scene and tried a couple of compositions, finishing with the image below. I started the actual painting during the club challenge and finished it at home.

I’m unhappy with the spire, trees and buildings. They are all too heavy handed. The boat, sky and water are okay but the composition is still not right. More reference work needed to understand how I can improve overall.

Following on from my black and white tango ink pictures I have been thinking of how I can integrate them into a story. This first prototype is of a scrapbook produced by a fictional social tango dancer. (the whole page is painted as one ink drawing)

Rather than explain all the ideas I have developed into this picture I invite friends who see this to come up with their own story around the items on the scrapbook….