I recently put the finishing touches on Tree, Dappled Light. A simple painting with some challenging aspects. Reference Photo I painted from the following reference photo. I believe it was taken in Tasmania some time ago, but the location is hardly relevant. This is a study of trees and nature rather than a specific location. … Read more
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” Vincent van Gogh Let’s take a closer look at Vincent van Gogh’s Irises. A beautiful display of shape and color with an illustrator-like feel. I’ll cover: Key Facts and Ideas For a painting simply of flowers, there’s a lot of meaningful history behind it. Here … Read more
Below are two recent but vastly different paintings based on the jetty at Kingfisher Bay. Together, they remind me of chaos and harmony. So much of art can be distilled down to a basic conflict between chaos and harmony. Chaos is unexpected, unwanted, unknown. It’s that burst of activity amongst a quiet background. It’s your … Read more
In this post, I’ll discuss how you can critique your own art. Critiquing art is no easy task, especially when it’s your own. We’re either far too critical or far too generous. But it’s a valuable skill that allows you to identify areas for improvement and to give yourself a pat on the back when you … Read more
Let’s take a closer look at Claude Monet’s Waterloo Bridge series. A beautiful display of color and atmosphere, as you would expect from Monet. The series includes over 40 paintings created from 1899 to 1904. Though many have since been sold to private collections, lost, or destroyed; only a handful remain visible to the public. … Read more
(My “On the Easel” posts give you a behind-the-scenes look at what I am working on, what went well, what went wrong, and things I learn). Below is Fraser Island, High Key. It depicts Kingfisher Bay’s jetty at blue hour—that brief period after the sun falls below the horizon line and all of nature’s pastel … Read more
In my recent paintings, I’ve started incorporating rather unusual techniques. Cotton buds, paper towel, fingernails, whatever gets the job done. I take this as a good sign, as it means I’m focusing more on the outcome rather than how I’m going to get there. I’ll run through some of these techniques in this post, using … Read more
I have some catching up to do with the On the Easel posts. I painted Airlie Beach in August and have done a few since then. I traveled to Airlie Beach recently with my brother and father. It’s a stunning place in the Whitsundays, within reach despite the world’s travel restrictions. We were blessed with … Read more
Highlights are tricky. Get them wrong and your whole painting will look slightly off. Get them right and it pulls everything together, like slotting the missing piece into a jigsaw puzzle. Let’s take a closer look at what highlights are, how to paint them, and some of the nuances to look out for. I’ll cover: … Read more
I have a few recent paintings to share. Here’s one of them, Impressions of Noosa. I had mixed feelings about the outcome of this, but it’s come to grow on me. Something different at the very least. I also think it’s worth sharing paintings that didn’t go exactly as planned as this gives you a … Read more