Grand Canal in Spring -- Current Work

Here is a snapshot of one of four current paintings, which are all at various stages. This is how this one looked a few days ago and I have moved forward on it since then. I have been busy as I have decided to apply for a number of artistic opportunities. I now have a venue for 2012 for an exhibition, but I would like to try for to hold an exhibition this year also. All depends on how my rate of painting progresses.
The amount of time artists spend actually painting is of interest to me. I am not the most prolific of painters, but perhaps compared to some I am actually quite okay. I have been getting more disciplined and better at breaking through the everyday resistance that all of us face when trying to motivate ourselves. There is always something else to do apart from what we should do to progress our goals. I want to read a book that has been recommended to me, The War of Art. Interesting thought that one failed painter found it easier to start a world war than to fill that empty canvas that was staring back at him.

Learning to paint Portraits

One of my goals for improving as an artist is to extend the range of subjects which I can paint with good ability. This includes painting people and portraits better and learning about tone and colour in dealing with images like the above. This is a half completed painting I started last week. I have used a variety of ochres and cadmium red with these and white to get the skin tones. I have to decide on the colour for the pillow yet, and was thinking a light blue. I will post updates of this when finished which will be in a week or two as I am only painting this in my art class. In the meantime I will be working on my other paintings, most of which are landscape subjects.

Late Summer in the Golden Vale -- Finished Painting

Above is my finished painting of that Oak tree I started a while back. I call it Late Summer in the Golden Vale, the golden vale being the name of the rich agricultural land in this part of Ireland. It is based on a photo I took while on my way from Tipperary to Dublin. I saw this tree in an estate as I was driving a small back route which I sometimes take, heading towards the motorway. The nearest towns are called Fethard and Ballinure. The road is very windy and it's not easy or safe to stop long. So as quickly as I could I stopped and climbed up on the not too high boundary wall of the estate to get the above shot. This was around late August. I could see the start of the rusty colour in some leaves. It was a very warm day, and I tried to portray that by the colours I used in the sky and shadows. This painting is 20" x 16" on one of those deep canvases. Feel free to leave comments on it if you wish. It's great to hear what people think of my art. Thanks and stop back again to see my future work. Jim