Sunset Beach

Another seascape in oils on 14x18" canvas. A little scene from my imagination. Still need to add a few minor touches like some highlights on the water and shadows on the foam and this one will be finished.

Church of Twin Peaks

I wanted to paint another painting on hard board 36" x 24" in oils. Done in one sitting, I probably should have broken it down over a few nights. I think fatigues got the better of me. I'm happy with the greens and bushes in the painting. I feel I could have done a better job on the mountains. There a spot on the camera lens as well, bugger!



Some close up detail shots

Winter Serenity

This is a little painting on mix media acrylics and oils. I wanted to try something a little different. Painted on canvas 12"x12" (30.5cm x 30.5 cm)

Sunset over Mountains

This is my favourite painting to date but unfortunately the photos don't really do it justice. The subtle lighting on the mountains is what I'm most pleased with. Painted in oils on a 14x18" canvas.

A little place in the country

Now I'd love to live in a place like this. I didn't quite get the proportions right and the painting feels like it's sliding down hill. Oh well, you live and learn. Painted on 18x24" canvas with oils.

Coming Autumn

This is a little scene from my imagination. Painted with oils on a 18x24" canvas. I wanted to add just a hint of autumn in the air.

Tropical Seas

Another painting to replace my parents old faded prints. I thought i'd have a go at a tropical ocean scene. Enjoyable painting on 14x11" hardwood with oils.

Winter Pines

This is another painting i did for my parents to replace so old faded prints that were nicely framed. Please excuse the poor picture quality with this one.
Oil in 14x11" hardwood.

Hope

There's always a hope, no matter how dire the outlook, there's always an opening beckoning for us. 18x24" canvas painted in oils.

By The Lake

This one came straight out of my imagination. Funnily enough a lot of the inspiration came from my office location. There's a lake outside my office and we get some unexpected visitors like Great Egrets, and other water birds.

This one was done on hard board 36" x 24" in oils and my biggest painting to date.

Some close up detail shots

One Tree Hill

This is my favourite painting to date. I was really trying to add some depth to this piece and although it could have been 'deeper' i do like the results.

I also thought it would be best to go back to bare bones (so to speak) with the trees and think more about shape and composition.

Overall, I'm happy with the painting but like always, I can see what/where and how I would do things differently next time. Unfortunately, the photo's don't really do the painting justice. Oils on canvas 24" x 18".

Study... Wetcanvas Landscape Study for May

This is a little oil sketch done for the wetcanvas May landscape challenge. Just a quick painting to participate in the forum challenge. Painted with Oils on A4 canvas sheet.

Going Home

This little piece was done on a 10" x10" canvas painted with Oils. Little scene out of my imagination.

Twilight approaching Babel-17

You shouldn't immerse yourself in sci-fi prior to a painting. I painted this one whilst reading the Nebula award winning book, Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. I wanted to paint a scene that somehow identifies with earth but somehow, it's not quite Earth the way we know it. Perhaps somewhere out there, this scene may be reenacting itself daily.

Oils on canvase 24" x 18" canvas.

Yarramundi

This is a spot where I go fishing from time to time. Just down stream from the Yarramundi Bridge over the Nepean River. There's a new concrete bridge here now but it wasn't that long ago that an old wooden bridge provided access across the river.

Painted on Canvas 24"x18" using oils, this is one of the first paintings that I've done paying attention to the little I've learned about composition. Even then, I can see composition 'rules' being broken in this painting, but it's a step in the right direction.

Sycamore Gap - Study

This one was painted as a gift for my friend Al, (Skid Solo) it's a quick sketch done in oils on A4 canvas sheet. This is a part of Hadrian's Wall in the UK, not to far from where Al lives.
I need to confirm whether or not the wall is visible on the left hand of the painting before I complete.

Richmond Bridge

This painting was inspired by the Richmond bridge in Tasmania. Painted on Canvas 24"x18" using oils.

"The Richmond Bridge is a heritage listed arch bridge located on the B31 ("Convict Trail") in Richmond, 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) north of Hobart in Tasmania, Australia. It is the oldest bridge still in use in Australia."
Source Wikipedia

Lonely Point Ridge

This one came straight from my imagination. The idea is an old fire trail or road looking down a cliff to the water below.

Painted on oils on 18"x24" canvas. I'm having difficulties capturing the light effects on camera, will need to practice with different camera settings to get a real life feel to these photos.

Study

Quick study done on A4 canvas sheets. I wanted to practice flowers a little more with this one. I really like this little study, only problem with it is that I'm too scared to try it on a larger canvas as I don't trust myself to recreate the feel.

Flowing Wild Flowers

Looking through my previous painting, i noticed I tend lean to the darker more mysterious colours and themes. I thought I would brighten it up a bit with this painting. This one really pushed me, done "alla prima" i often thought I bit off more than I could chew during this painting. First time painting in pink and blue flowers, and first attempt at a sunset. Towards the end of the painting I was exhausted (approx 6 hours of standing time went into this one).

Painted in oils and on canvas measuring 24" x 18".

What Light Yonder

The painting has been done in oils and is on 24"x18" canvas.

I'm happy with the tones in the sky as it's close tho what i had envisioned in my head, unfortunately the result is a little lost in the photo, I like it more in real life. I muddied the left tree a little, but think i redeemed myself if only a little on the right side tree. The grassy hill is an improvement over the last painting (at least i hope it is) but i'm not overly happy with the bushes and the composition problem may be here somewhere?

Morning Mist

The painting has been done in oils and is on 24"x18" canvas.

I like the background misty trees and blending.. I could have had better definition on the shrubs/bushes in the middle of the painting focusing more on the light source and varying colour. As i was painting I was torn between a stream/waterfall or beaten path. I think indecisiveness has resulted in a waterfall that is not quite correct and the splash on the front rock seems to be a little exaggerated given the slope of the hill. Nevertheless, it's my favourite painting to date.

P.S

Some of the white specs you see in the sky (on the outer edges of the blue area of sky) is light reflected off the still wet canvas...

Study...

Oils on A4 Canvas sheets.

I wanted to practice different trees and work on my layering.. in particular the background trees being lighter cooler values and the foreground trees being darker and/or warmer colours to suggest distance.

Now winter nights enlarge

The painting has been done in oils and is on 24"x18" canvas primed with black gesso. I'm really enjoying the black canvases, so much so that I've got a couple already primed and ready to go.

This one was a Bob Ross inspiration that i felt like attempting. I had to redo the old church as my original attempt made it stand out too much for my liking. The new version looks much better but unfortunately, as the canvas was dry, I was unable to blend the snow in the way I had originally envisioned. Overall, I'm still happy with this little night scene.

Study on Hardwood

My parents had an old print that had faded and washed out but it was rather nicely framed. This is another little study this time on 14x11 inch hardwood. The hardwood was coated in white gesso and then painted in oils.

Critique

I enjoyed painting on the hardwood surface but was surprised by how easily brush strokes were left in the hard wood, This is most evident in the sky. In hind site, I should have used a blender brush to soften the effect.
I need to go over the boats when the paint dries a little to define them and the shadows a little better. I'm much happier with the layering of the trees in this last painting unfortunately the effect has been a little lost with the photo. That's a little deer in the middle of the grassy paddock. Overall, I'm happy with the slow progress and definitely see the trees as an improvement in this painting.

Study - Under Painting

Here's a little study I did a couple of nights ago. This one was really just to practice under painting. I painted the A4 canvas sheet in Black Gesso and painted the pebbles in acrylics. I wanted to give the illusion of the pebbles under the water as well as allowing the sun to filter through the trees. Very rough but really just focusing on techniques here rather than anything else.

Sandy Lake

In my latest oil painting on 45cm x 60cm canvas I wanted to try my hand at mountains again and also take another opportunity to practice my layers with trees.

Critique
I'm making a little progress on the layering of trees but still have a tendency to muddy them up a little. I was looking at some landscapes the other day and I thought of a couple of things that may assist so I'm looking forward to the next attempt.

I'm happy for the most part on the way the mountains came out, but I feel the next painting i can be a little less heavy handed to produce a more realistic finish. The cottage came out ok but i could have focused on the bank of the lake and get a smoother transition to the shore line. The sandy beach looks great if it was a beach LOL... i should have toned it down a little more to depict a lake shore a little better.

All in all, I'm happy with the painting. Still see tons of room for improvement and I also see improvement in every painting, so on to the next one.

Oh yeah, this is also my favourite cloud to date.

Hidden Valley - My 13th Painting

This was another of Tvpainter Michael Thompson's great tutorials. I followed along as Michael shared tips and techniques on his tutorial.
Michael, pass on a note of gratitude to your participating students. I found myself sighing along as I struggled to achieve what you do so effortlessly.

Painted with oils on 45cm x 60cm canvas.

Critique

I'm still struggling with layering of paints but I think I finally understand what is happening here. More on that with the next series as I attempt to fix my problems. In the meanwhile, if you can share some tips, please feel free to contact me here or offline. Some of the trees are still looking like a mess. I do like the blue of the lake and shore line as well as the foreground shrubs. What I like in this painting is that I can still see so much room for improvement and have some idea as to how/what I would do differently next time.

Lighthouse: Light of the World

With prayer there's often breakthrough. A couple of nights after the first painting in the series, i decided to revisit this theme. This time the picture is in a different light. A4 canvas sheet with Oils.

Critique

I feel this painting was the better of my skies and gradient/blending. I also feel it's probably my best clouds to date. I really like the way the little birds came out. The ship in the background could have sat a little lower in the water.

Dad

My dad is a strong proud man. This was my first portrait, it was painted on A4 canvas with oils.

Critique

It was nice trying to capture the look of my dad in a painting. There is a resemblance, but the clothing portrays more his personality than the way he normally dresses. I will definitely be painting more portraits in future but will need to study up on techniques and take some art classes before hand. The shading and colour tones are not too bad but they are a world away from what I saw in my minds eye.

Overall, my dad will get an Easter present I hope he enjoys.

Lighthouse - Light in the Darkness

Painting say something of the artist? Perhaps. I was under some stress the evening I painted this piece on A4 Canvas. I needed the light in the dark of a forth coming storm. This is the result after about 1 hours work. My first night scene and second sea scape.

Critique

There's a few things going on in the paintings dominated by the pending clouds. My first attempt at a beam of light, I suspect the technique may also work for sun ray. I like the waves crashing across the cliff face although technically they are not the greatest. You guessed it, this was also another good reason to practice my clouds. I like the lighthouse, I feel like i capture the shading to portray a 3d image.

Autumn Dreaming

This one was inspired by the pending Autumn coming down under and the changing leaves. The painting was done on 45x60 canvas using Monte Mart oil paints. The paints went down reasonably well and as a student, I found the paints to be suitable, at least for now, at nearly 1/12 the cost of student grade oils.

Critique

I like the tree on the left of screen, some nice highlights came through. IMO, the clouds keep getting better, and hopefully, they will look even better with more practice.

I'm finding myself lost when layering paints on top of background scrubs/tress. I think this will come down to paint consistency and thinning. The composition draws you to the middle of the painting. I didn't anticipate this as I was painting, and had to qujavascript:void(0)ickly improvise. In the end, I settle for something resembling a beach in the middle of frame. In hindsite, I could have turned this into a new little fishing shack.

Alien Sunset

This piece started out as another exercise at cloud formations. I also wanted to experiment with different shading so the next thing you know I had created an alien scene. The shadows over the lake are being cast by the different moon and one that is behind the viewer. The result is something not quite natural, intentionally so.

The Likes

Not much to really boast about here. I like the fact that the clouds are starting to look more like clouds. The grass on the right bank came out nicely unfortunately the detail is not caught on camera well.

The Dislikes
I wish I could have made the colours pop a little more. I could have also spent more time on the stars.

Painting on A4 Canvas Sheet

Old Shack - First Painting on Proper Canvas

So I went out and bought a few 45cm x 60cm canvas. Only cheap and I'll probably regret the choice but at least I'm painting on some larger areas and the feel and spring of canvas feel awesome. This one come straight out of my imagination and it's my favourite painting so far.

The Likes

The fact that it looks like a painting instead of a piece of paper :-) Nice to incorporate some of the things I've learnt and apply them from my mind to canvas.

The Dislikes

I tried a cloud again and failed miserably so I had to blend it out. Note to self: Must practice a piece with clouds only. Also some of the bushes ended up being a mess, may touch them up a bit once everything is dry.

Rough Seas - My 6th Painting

So it's the weekend and I thought I'd go out to sea, well at least in my head.

I thought I'd have a go at a water scene, boy what a challenge. I'm also thinking that some formal classes will really help,

The Likes

I really enjoyed the painting and can see that water scenes will appeal to me. Having said that, I think lots and lots of practice is warranted here. I also like the blues and turquoise colours I mixed.

The Dislikes

Not too many really, apart from it not looking realistic at all :-)

P.S This is the image that inspired this painting

Weeping

Having found some confidence with the black canvas technique, i tried again this time taking a little more care. Still using the A4 canvas sheets. Oil wet-on-wet techniques.

The Likes
I feel like it's an improvement over my last attempt. Unfortunately, the scan makes it look a lot darker than it is in real life. I like the highlights on the tree leaves and trunk.

The Dislikes
I must practice more cliff faces and waterfalls...

Not too bad for my 5th painting?

Black Canvase - Quick Test

This was a very quick test painting on a black canvas and my 4th ever painting.. Still using the A4 canvas sheets. The canvas was painted with black acrylics before starting the painting.

The Likes

Painting on a black canvas and experiencing the difference.

The Dislikes

I rushed this one, was not really interested in the results as I was about the feeling of a black canvas. Also found how difficult the waterfalls are going to be.

Mountain Lake

This is my third ever oil painting. It was obviously my first attempt at a lake and reflections, also my first attempt at snow covered mountains. This time the painting came from my head but obviously inspired by the likes of Bob Ross and Will Alexander.

The Likes

I enjoyed painting the lakes and got some experience working with a palette knife.

The Dislikes

The mountain is suspended LOL... I could have worked the mist into the trees a little better and have it look more like a photo. I also don't like the shore line, could have added more highlighting and contrast.

The Fishing Hole.. Second Attempt

After having finished my first painting, I decided to do another painting of the same scene. This time I didn't follow along and tried to see how many of the techniques I could remember.

The Likes

That I didn't manage to forget everything I saw. My cloud is a little better but could do with some major improvements.

The Dislikes


I don't think I succeeded in creating variety in the foliage, maybe more attention to highlights are required.