Oils...

It's been a while since I posted, I just don't find the time to post frequently. I can't believe where the time has gone, it's November already!

A couple of months ago I decided to give oils a try for a change, something completely new for me. With the water mixable oils available I didn't need to worry about turps, which was always what put me off using them.

The first painting I created in oils is 'By the Lake' which is my favourite of the oil pieces. The colours are just beautiful, rich and creamy, I was really impressed with how well the oil paints blended. The downside of oils is the length of time they take to dry, but this is also a positive as you can work 'wet on wet' for days and the results are great.

The painting features in my Italian Lakes collection, depicting a view across the lake. I can never tire of looking at these views and have many photographs from the time my family and I have spent there. I have used the speedboats in many of the paintings in this collection but decided that I would paint a rock and grasses growing in the water this time and I love the result.