Adventures in oils.

Hello and welcome to my Monday Blog

'First thing' 

 Oils and cold wax medium on canvas  16 x 16 inches

My adventures with oils and cold wax medium continue.

I am enjoying the process of layering and scraping back to reveal the underpainting.  

The texture and feel of the oils and wax create lovely luscious marks.

When viewed close up you can see how it adds interest to the work.

Here is a detail of the above painting 'First thing'

This week I received a book by Serena Barton about painting with cold wax.

She also writes about the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, a philosophy that

honours the changes of nature, the imperfect and the hand-made.

Twelve artists shared some of their methods and creative processes.

I found similarities in my own work...an intuitive mark-making process

taking a journey in paint.  Serena calls it taking a journey without a map.

My work is intuitive and I often surprise myself when I stand back to look.

 If my work shows a sense of struggle I don't mind. 

For me, it's all about making something interesting rather than perfect.

A sense of place...

Another detail of a piece I have been working with.

This has several layers which have been scraped back, rolled

and re-worked.  I think it might be finished now or it will get overworked.

Knowing when to stop is the hardest part.

Light and shade...

Just by my studio door...

Plants around a small pool.

I liked the sun on these ferns and iris leaves with the dark wooden railing.

Nature gives a lesson about light, tonal values and shadows.

If you are interested to see Serena's work...

visit her website www.serenabarton.com

Until next week...

Thank you for visiting.