I know - it is crazy isn't it! But preparing for a winter show sometimes means starting in the Summer so that they are ready in time to deliver in October...
You may remember that I started a new series at the beginning of the year featuring foxes and badgers in their dens under snow-covered landscapes. I had a whole series planned and intended to get them finished all together. Then lockdown happened, and a close friend died from Covid19. Needless to say, like a lot of people, my motivation dwindled.
Happily I am back in full swing again and painting more of the series, as well as a couple of pet portraits.
Here is the new winter painting, 'The Heartbeats Underground II':
Number three in the series is underway - here is a quick snapshot of it on the easel today:
As I mentioned, I have also been painting pets. Three years ago I adopted a lurcher puppy from Just Whippets Rescue and she has been a delight in our lives. She is such a pretty dog too, so I decided to do a portrait. I also wanted to try out a new technique in painting - doing the underpainting in acrylic and finishing off in oils. I rarely paint in oil because of the techniques I use in acrylic and the time it takes to dry. But as the portrait is for our household I decided I could do it.
Here is, "Meg":
I am so pleased with the result, that I am trying out the method again on another pet portrait. More on that to come!
The new online course, 'The Magic of Painting Landscapes in Acrylic', is in progress, with all the content planned and filming has begun. It is quite a challenge as I want to cover a lot of important aspects to painting landscapes, not just how to paint one scene. Subjects covered in the main part of the course will be:
Tools and possibilities
Mark-making
Colour theory
Creating a great composition through cropping and tonal values
Aerial (atmospheric) perspective
Underpainting
Identifying and mixing colours from the scene
Identifying painting planes
Painting skies
Painting textures in trees, bushes and the foreground
How to evaluate a painting and fix issues
So there is lots to do, but it is quite exciting! This will be a paid course on Udemy. At present I have three free courses on there at the moment with over 9,000 students between them and an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5. The great thing is that the students have lifetime access to the courses, which makes it less daunting to choose and accomplish. I am doing a few myself on different aspects of working as an artist from business skill refreshers to painting. It is where I learned from another professional artist how to paint oils over acrylics. There is always something to learn, whatever stage we are at as artists.
Before I go, I'll just show you a summery painting recently completed, 'Wild Coast III'. Enjoy!
Keep safe and keep creative, Debs x
