Scotland Painting - Cairngorm Forest Scots Pines Painting

Further progress shot of my painting of a scots pine forest in Scotland. This is showing a further level of refinement beyond the initial blocking in and establishment of the main colours. The canvas is 24" x 20" size which is large enough so it will take some time to work on it. I am using phthalo blue and prussian blue for the background. However I will tone that down in the later stages a bit perhaps. I will see how it progresses. I am using viridian green mixed with cadmium yellow pale, or white, or raw umber, for various greens and other shades. I also use naples yellow. I haven't concentrated on the yellow sections much yet, and have a lot to do in getting the right amount of yellow without it being too much. The main focus in refinement of the image is to get the feeling of light correct and establish depth throughout. If you are interested in learning more about this, see my post on aerial perspective. To see a previous forest painting, see Winter in the Woods, my painting of trees in snow. If you want to get regular updates of the blog, why not become a subscriber by clicking on the links on the right. That's it for today. Jim

Edgar Degas - A short Biography

L'Etoile by Edgar Degas

Hilaire German Edgar Degas was born in 1834 in Paris. He was the son of a wealthy banker. His father hoped he would study law but he enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts in 1855 where he was trained in the classical style. His mother had died when he was 13, and he had a brother Rene with who he was close. Unlike the impressionists he did not focus on colour and light, but emphasised composition, form and line. He is still often included in the impressionists movement as he exhibiting with them but he was not generally like them in style. He exhibited with the respected Salon until 1874 before beginning to exhibit with the impressionists until 1886. From the mid 1870's he began to suffer from deterioration in his eyesight, and by the time of his death in 1917 he was almost blind. This was also the reason why he began to use pastels more and more and eventually abandoned oils. His art was an attempt to combine the disciplined approach of classical art with the direct approach of the impressionists. His favourite subjects were portraiture, ballet, theater and racetrack scenes.

For a more modern impressionist have a look at the work of William Wendt who was based in california at the early half of the 20th century.

Happy Easter to all Blog readers!

Wishing all blog readers a Happy Easter. Here in Ireland we are enjoying very nice weather and I have been painting outdoors, although not from life. I was working from a photo for the above. This is an undercoat stage, just finished more or less, so I will be progressing on to the next refinement layer once this has dried a bit. For now, the above is a good start on this image which is quite large, 24" x 20". Getting the feeling of light right in the undercoat is really what I wanted to achieve for now, before moving on. Anyway, I may take a short break from painting daily over the next days, so check back soon to see more. Jim

Snow Tree - Snow Scene Latest Painting in Progress

This is a partially finished snap shot of my current April painting, which is meticulous and time-consuming but is coming along nicely. I love snow scenes, especially ones with great snow shadows like this one, so am enjoying it a lot, in getting the right colours and tones. Check back in a week or so for the finished version. If you want to see a indepth online demonstration of a snow scene painting browse this site. Thanks Jim

Best Friends -- Finished Painting (Girl with Beagle)

As I have limited time available to post these days, I am doing another short update to the blog. Here is my finished painting of a girl with her favourite dog, Best Friends, which I have finished but yet to sign. I started this some four weeks ago approximately so you can look back through earlier posts to see the earlier stages. This is another step for me in painting people, and I see it as a stepping stone to better works ahead, hopefully. Also the final version of Olive Grove is in the gallery, scroll down the main page to see...That's it for today, comments welcome, Jim

Olive Grove -- Finished Version

Another quick post to show finished shot of my latest April painting, Olive Grove, available for sale in my gallery section. Just scroll down to see all available art for sale. Thanks Jim

Olive Grove Painting nearly finished

My painting of an olive grove is nearing completion so this is just a quick update to show the almost finished look. It will be just a case of refining some of the colours and detail to finish it. Enjoy, and check back for final version soon...Jim