Following the Election Fever that took hold over here at Hound Towers, it’s been back to reality for a few weeks now. I’ve been working on some strategic planning for a vast online and intranet project which will fill my order book well into the Autumn. Alongside that, Project Veebase is also gathering pace now, and is hopefully {finally} nearing launch.
Aside from the day job however, I have been finding time to continue with my personal artwork, and last week I treated myself to a fantastic 3 day painting workshop run by Mike Skidmore. With oil painting, you can only really get things off the starting block within the confines of a few days. Meeting other people, finding out their artistic aspirations, and learning some of the academic tips behind various oil painting techniques was incredibly valuable though – even if there was no “finished” painting at the end.
One very quick but effective exercise we did, was to highlight the dramatic effects that can be achieved by painting pattern – on ceramics or material – using simple flat colour, and then sculpting the 3D form by using thin glazes over the top. We referenced a porcelain vase to create a very quick acrylic underpainting in blue and white. Then, a glaze made of oil paint and medium was applied on top and wiped off in areas out of the shadows. Finally, a couple of thicker dabs of white oil paint were added as the final highlights. In less than an hour, the objective of demonstrating the power of “technique” was achieved. The resulting picture may not be a masterpiece, but it really emphasised the point about the need for lateral thinking when painting. You need to think of the layers ahead and how each phase fits together.
The vase, along with the initial stages of a still life piece I also started can be seen in the following gallery:
The still life may take some time to get even close to completion!