Adventures in oil 
 
As I am becoming more familiar with the properties of oil painting, I am 
becoming more aware of the potential for the medium.  Alluring, sensuous and
life-like in it's glossy transparency, it can create stunning realism works
as it did in the 17th-century Baroque period when the Dutch painters in
particular used it to great effect. 

 
 Johannes Vermeer
circa 1665
17.5 x 15 inches

Location: The Hague, Netherlands

Oil  has physical body so it can sit upright on the canvas surface to create
a truly three dimensional, textural surface such as in the abstracts of
the Canadian painter, Riopelles (1923 - 2002).  This attribute of body
also reveals the strokes of the artist's brush, revealing the direction of
application.  This evokes a sensation  of movement in a work, keeping
it alive rather than static.


   
 Jean Paul Riopelle
Noctourne, 1954
14 x 9 inches

The young American painter, Daniel Keyes  paintings employ this last attribute to
great effect.  His painting style lends the sense of movement to his work. Light seems
to flicker on his models rather than just illuminate it's mass. His aim is not to illustrate
the subject, but to convey to us the joy of a moment in front of it.  Some say this is to
give an impression of the subject, but it seems to me, a more accurate statement
would be to say that it presents the subject as we ourselves would apprehend it. 

Our ability to mentally process all the visual data present in an element is not equal
to the ability of our eyes to see all the data, unless we take long periods to look and
analyze form, colour, tone, line, shape, texture,and space. We tend to scan rather than
look, a tendency exacerbated by the ever more complex and speedy urban environments
in which we increasingly live.

In my practice, I already have the ability to execute work with watercolours in a
 hyper realistic style that presents how, exactly, something looks. Viewers of these
 works are presented with the opportunity to really see the subjects in all their detail
and subtle beauty.  The promise of oil painting then is that it presents the potential
to paint in a deliberately dynamic style with a focus on light.







Daniel Keyes  
Roses & Lilies
11 x 24 inches, oil

 Scottsdale Blush of Roses

10.5 x 8.5 

oil on panel

Available on Daily Paintworks

Scottsdale, fourth Day:  Daniel Keyes loves flowers. He told us the story 

of how, when his parents would allow each of their children to select something

 to purchase, he would ask for a flower.  This love for blooms is evident in his paintings

.

Our third demonstration was  painting roses.  I finally got the fact 

through my head that one can blend the oil paint on the painting, instead of

 trying to mix it all on the palette.  This allows for the soft edges and lovely 

blurs of  reflected light.  Really enjoyed painting this one and makes 

me wish I had planted more roses in my garden.

 Phoenix Second Set Up

12" x16"

oil on panel 

For sale on Daily Paintworks

 

Second and third day in Scottsdale, we worked on a more extensive still life set up, shown here. Working again all prima, I ended up focusing on the fruit and missing out on the sunflowers above. Never the less, I quite enjoy the optical effect of the grapefruit reflecting in the vase, the way the silver pot lurks in the back ground and the movement of the patterns in the background cloth.  Of note, I changed the composition of the white napkin at the left foreground as it cut the orange from the composition and added an apple to keep the eye from flicking to the white rectangle that was there. This works better in my opinion.

Back to Phoenix

6"x12"

Oil on Panel

This January I was back in Phoenix taking another workshop.  This year the instructor was Daniel Keyes, a young man who paints with astounding care, lusciously  loose works.  His name is linked with Richard Schmidt, a truly premier painter with a long career of creating master works.  Look them both up for a shot of gorgeous painting.

We started the week with this little set up of fruit. Painting all prima, the goal was to focus on the tonal range, not the hues.

"In the Sedge, Lakeside"

5.25" x 3.5"

One of our favourite cross country spots was through the sedge

grasses at the side of a local lake.  It was an area that in the 

summer was quite inaccessible because of it's boggy nature.  

In the frozen days of winter, we could skim nicely along to 

secret coves and beach heads.

 

"Across the Valley"

Watercolour  4"x5.5"

For "Across the Valley" I used a the sketch below as

 a reference to paint from.  The sketch was done high

up a logging road on a cold winters day.  Backing the 

truck into a small meadow, I could sit in the trunk with my

little set of watercolours and a cup of water with the entire 

valley unfolding in front of me.  Magical!

I adore watercolours for their portability, and often take 

them with me on travels. There is now quite a collection 

of quick sketches from all over the world in my sketchbooks. 

It's striking how just a glance at a page instantly invokes

vivid  memories of specific places and occasions.

Once, in a museum, I saw pages from James Whistler's sketchbook. 

 It was dense with acute observations of the English countryside.  

Absolutely gorgeous and compelling.

A painting of a memorable skiing trip 

over the hills to a small lake where we had hot tea 

and left over Christmas cookies.  It was on one of 

those days when the skies clear and the sun 

makes the snow piercingly brilliant.

Watercolour  5"x3"