How 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 destroying the top coat of the painting,

Dragons: 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

Electronic 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 looked like.

Open Air Painting: Methodist Chapel

Today’s painting was created on location. (This is often known as ‘plein air’ painting. If you invent Impressionism, you get to set the language of the lexicon.) I set up at the top of Victoria Avenue. (People not in Cambridge:

Still Life, Roses and Reflections: Day 9a

Day 10 was a half day, so filed under 9a, not 10. I did other things in the studio as well, after three or four hours of work on this. I am now on the top layer, which means I’m

Dragons: 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

Still Life, Roses and Reflections: Day 8

Today was a really, really difficult day. The copper jug was always going to be hard to do. It’s a mixture of an imperfect mirror, a cylinder, an overall colour, and a lot of drapery and complicated reflection. Ignore the