Roses 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 the copper pot back to

Portrait 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

Masters’ 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

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

Dragons: 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 this case

Still Life – Jug

I painted this over several days, with a long break in between for Christmas commissions and then for other work that came up. I started with an hour-long study in pencil, and measured that up against a photograph to check

Thinning paint and painting layers

This is an expansion to a couple of Twitter posts I made as @DianaProbst. Oil paints can be put on in layers, but because they are slow-drying, there are some rules that have to be obeyed for a painting that