En Plein air

I painted this on a cold wet day not far from Sidney, Vancouver Island. It was the colours in the puddles that attracted me to paint that scene. I generally start from the back and work my way to the foreground, completing the painting as I go along working wet in wet, that way I can quit at any time and my painting will be complete as is.

Heading outdoors to paint?

Be prepared! There's nothing worse than heading outdoors to paint to find out after you've set up ur easel that u forgot ur turpentine, worse, brushes!

Make a list and stick to it, take ur time when packing ur stuff, make sure u have everything. Pack the day before so u don't have to rush, even better, have a package ready to go at a moments notice. To be that organized means u have to unpack after ur last outing and prepare for the next. I have a cart on wheels, so convenient, my french easel fits in there perfectly with a fold up stool. I also use bungee cords to attach more paraphernalia.

My list... french easel, canvas, oils, brushes, stool, turpentine, paper towel, disposable palette, cling wrap, (to cover your palette when u leave), umbrella, sugical gloves (keeps the lead at bay), sunscreen, bug-off spray (a must have!), dress for the weather, don't forget refreshments! oh and one more thing, enjoy!

Beach at the Creek

I just had to take advantage of the sunny weather and sit on the beach in Roberts Creek and paint.

Documenting Colours

Don't u just hate it when u want to rework a painting and u cant remember what colours u used? Aaaargghhhh drives me nuts! From now on I'll be documenting every painting and the colours I used. Yes a colour chart works too! I highly recommend doing Richard schmid's colour charts. I find them very useful, saves me a ton of time. When designing a painting, I simply use my colour charts to map out my painting and the colours I'll be using. If I'm not sure of a colour, it'll be on my colour chart for sure. How simple is that!

Another example of using compliments

This painting was done using very few colors, mostly blues and oranges plus white. Notice how I set the stage for the blue and orange tubes of paint, the colors that surround them are their compliment greyed to allow the subject to be clearly seen.

"I stand humbly at my easel, trial and error my teacher, and passion my master" Lesley Grindlay

To stand humbly refers to the shedding of the ego. Everytime u humble yourself, u learn something new.

Using complimets to work for each other...

An example of using blue and orange (compliments)to work for each other. The ocean water is ultramarine blue, dash of cobalt blue and a dash of cadmium orange to tone down the blue.

The waves are titanium white with a tiny dash of cad orange. The blue sets the stage for the orange tinted white waves to stand out. If you want a yellow highlight to really stand out, then surround it very subtly with its compliment... purple. See Where I'm going with this? Tone down bright yellow with a dash of... purple. Tone down bright purple with a dash of yellow.

I suggest practicing 'setting the stage' for compliments to work for each other. Experiment with this! you will learn soooooooo much from practicing this!

Complimentary colors

When it comes to learning to paint, this is one of the most valuable lessons you will learn. Using complimentary colors to work for each other. I'll try to convey this in the simplest of terms...

Compliments are as follows...

Orange - Blue
Red - Green
Yellow - Purple

Compliments mixed together create a grey, u can go warmer by adding the warm colors or make the grey a bit cooler by adding the cooler compliment.

If you find the red or green is too intense then add its compliment to tone it down. if you want a highlight to really stand out then use its compliment to set the stage.

A still life set-up

I always set-up my still-life next to a window and making sure my easel and palette is drenched with daylight as this is the only light I use.
You can't go wrong using natural daylight, the colors are always true and the end result will look good under any light condition.

About the links...

The Cennini forum... excellent resource! The early stages of study and development of my skills came from this site. It costs only around $8 to join and well worth it!The Cennini Bible can be downloaded and I suggest u keep it and study it!

A stroke of Genius.... Everything portraits is here. Get on to their forum, wow, a wealth of info and huge knowledge base, the best on the web re - portraiture.

Everything Technical...this is a MUST READ for every oil painter! Study it from beginning to end!

Important facts to know...

Fat over lean...

One of the worst mistakes that artists make is to set up a cup of oily medium on their palette or stand and dip into it indiscriminately with their brush. If one medium uses 2 parts oil and another uses 3 parts oil, but you apply twice as much of the medium with 2 parts oil, then you have just added 4 parts of oil to your paint, which will be fatter than the layer with 3 parts that follows it. You will not, then, be painting fat-over-lean. You must apply the same amount of medium to your paints for each color and for each layer.