Painting demos

Here you’ll find videos I’ve made while doing some of my daily paintings.  Many more are available on my YouTube Channel

I always work from life.  I’ve tried working from photographs a long time ago and found it did not work for me.  I like to be able to look at my subjects from all the different angles.  I also want to be able to look into the shadows and see all the details and colors.  With a photograph, things are flattened, and you have to make a lot of things up.

I do my daily paintings on gessoed boards and plywood.  I apply at least 3 layers of artist quality gesso to make sure that the oil in the paint does not absorb into the surface.  I only use pure linseed oil as my medium, since I paint indoors and prefer to not breath fumes.

Yellow Apples – Narrated Oil Painting Lesson

Papaya – Time Lapse Demonstration

Napa Cabbage Oil Painting Demonstration

Daily painting for January 3, 2015 7×10 oil on hardboard

Red Potatoes Oil Painting Demo

Daily painting for December 30, 2015 Oil on board 6×8

Two Pears on a Plate Oil Painting Demo

Daily painting for December 28, 2014 6×8 oil on board

All of these paintings are done in one sitting, using Ala Prima style of painting (wet on wet).  I really enjoy this way of painting because the results are always  fresh and loose. Feel free to leave a comment.

 

6 Comments

  1. I love watching your videos. I wonder if you can tell me what paint brushes you use and also your paint colors. I have no formal training and right now I am working on improving my drawing so I can be a better painter. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have only been painting for a short time. My biggest problem is that I do not draw well and it limits what I can do on a canvas. I really struggle with perspective.
    Thanks for sharing your beautiful creations.
    Sandy

  2. Hi Sandy,
    Thanks for your comment. For oil painting I mainly use hog bristle filbert-shaped brushes. Once in a while I use a sable brush to add some fine detail. For my small paintings, I generally stick with sizes 1-3. The brand of the brushes depends on your budget. You should buy the best brushes your budget will allow, because they will give you more control. For paints, I use Utrecht and Windsor & Newton paints. I also use linseed oil to dilute my paint.

    Good drawing is crucial to painting, so you’re on the right track with focusing on improving that. The best advice I can give you is to keep at it. Time in front of the canvas makes all the difference.

  3. Hi,

    Just discovered you. Thanks for the demo paintings. Keep them coming and maybe some longer ones on Youtube??

    Do you use a limited palette? If so, what are your choices? Do you also have larger, more complex paintings also?

    Best of luck to you in your painting! I will certainly watch your work in the future.

    Lynda Naske

  4. Hi Lynda,

    Thanks for your comment. I have longer videos, but didn’t think anyone would be interested in sitting through them. I will try to take the time to edit them and upload.

    My palate is usually as follows:
    titanium white
    cad yellow
    yellow ochre
    cad orange
    cad red med
    alizarin crimson
    burnt sienna
    burnt umber
    ivory black
    chromium oxide
    ultramarine blue

    In the past I’ve done bigger, more complex, more expressionistic painting. These days I am focusing more on alla prima paintings.

  5. Hi,
    Just came across your videos on youtube and I really enjoyed watching them. Today I tried my hands on oil paint for the first time. I ended up making a bit of a mess when I tried to apply a lighter color on top of another color. What is the trick to paint wet on wet ?.

    Thank you for the great videos

    Jesper

    • Hello,
      I’ve just watched your long video with the two red capsicums. Your presentation was excellent. One of the best lectures I’ve seen on oil painting. I will certainly be watching more. Your explanation of colour, colour application, light and shadow, shapes, harmony and much more was extremely informative. Clearly your art is exemplary but your capacity to instruct and inform was the best I’ve seen, both on social media and at university lectures. Thank you.
      Kind Regards,
      Maria

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