I visited the Northern Territory eleven years ago and one of the places I visited was the Katherine Gorge at Nitmiluk National Park. Couple of months ago I decided to do a painting of a view over this gorge.

As a surface I used a piece of fine linen attached to a wooden panel and primed with an acrylic ground. I started by toning down the canvas with a wash of burnt Sienna, wiping off the excess with a cloth leaving a mid-value warm undertone.  Next I drew a sketch from a number of reference photos I had of the area, organising and placing the basic shapes in the right place, constructing an appealing composition, using the river to lead the eye into the picture. Using a carpenter's chalk line I marked the main lines of composition following what is known as the armature of design.

The next step was to block in the basic colour of every major shape of the composition, focusing on the tonal values. This layer is also know as the grey layer, because all colours used are of lower intensity (low chroma). By the end of this stage, I got all the major values and objects in place ready for the next phase of the painting process.

The third phase is the most intensive as one needs to revisit every section of the painting, adding more colour while adjusting the light and dark values in order to establish form. Starting from the sky and then moving gradually towards the front I started adding more paint, emphasizing the light and adjusting colour and values as needed. Since in this painting I had a lot of rock formations, I used the painting knife to create more form and texture especially in the foreground. By the end of this phase an almost finished painting was obtained.

The painting was allowed to dry for a number of weeks before I started revisiting it again, doing more adjustments to resolve a number of issues I was not happy enough. The techniques used as from this step onwards are glazing and scumbling. In the process one will also be adding more detail, colour variation, transparency and depth. During this process I did some adjustments to the clouds and added more detail to the surface of the water gradually bringing the painting to a finish.

This week I started working on a new still life painting in oils, using the indirect method. 

I staged this still life couple of weeks ago, as I always leave it for a while before I start painting it in order to make sure that I will be happy with the setup. In the process I sometimes change or move around objects to make up a good composition. The choice of objects includes a white vase, reflective silver container, a glass jar holding three peacock feathers, a wooden decorative elephant and a feather from the tail of a lyrebird (very common sighting in the NSW bush). 

For this painting I chose to use Italian linen attached to a wooden panel and oil primed using a titanium based alkyd primer (Gamblin). I did a very rough sketch using raw umber diluted with odourless solvent and original Liquin (Winsor and Newton). This rough sketch helps me to later on see and identify my own mistakes to be able to correct them as I move on to the next stage.

The second stage of this painting was to block in individual shapes with the basic colour of the object separating light from shadow, but without adding any detail. During this step I needed to make a major correction to the proportions of the wooden elephant. This layer of paint was applied fairly thin using paint directly from the tube. The selection of oil paints where fast drying paints including the white of the vase, which was painted with lead white.

As a palette I was using cremnitz white, ultramarine blue, crimson, cadmium yellow medium, transparent yellow oxide, burnt sienna and burnt umber.

In the coming days I will start working on the third layer, during which I will be adding the details by developing the contrasts between light and dark

Today I want to share with you the painting process of this landscape...A view of Mt Roland, Tasmania.

I was driving back to Hobart airport after we left Cradle Mountain, while visiting Tasmania back in 2017. So we stopped to capture a few photos of the views of Mt Roland as seen from the side of the road. It was a lovely view, watching the cows grazing with the view of the mountain in the distance.

Recently I decided to paint this view, using a traditional method of painting in oils. 
Surface used: Caravaggio smooth linen stretched
Oil paints: Ultramarine blue, Cobalt blue, Cobalt teal, viridian, burnt umber, Indian red, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, quinacridone magenta, cadmium red light, cadmium orange, Flake white, Transparent yellow oxide, unbleached titanium.

Top image left, reference photo

I started the painting with a very thin wash of burnt sienna followed by sketching with paint the main shapes and composition (top image right)

Next stage was to start blocking in with the basic shadow colours, each of the major shapes established in the previous step, moving from the distant background mountains towards the foreground and sky. By the end of this stage I wanted to get the basic values of the main big shapes established in order to get a better idea of the composition as well as getting a feel of distance. My focus was on values rather than colour. Most of the paints used are fast drying and transparent. I used a rubbing off technique using a rag to uncover the previous layer of colour in particular areas such as the clouds (middle photos)

The next stage was to proceed to adding more details while establishing the form. This is usually done by starting to establish better the light while re-establishing the darks. As the process moves forward more details will be added, such as fences, cows etc. The light and highlights are also established as late as possible during the process (bottom left).

The completed painting is shown in the image at the bottom right.

Thanks for reading.

Artist's paints used in painting consist of a pigment mixed (dispersed) in a vehicle, which in the case of oil paint, this vehicle is a vegetable drying oil such as linseed. The role of the vehicle is to adhere the pigment to the painting surface once dry forming a very strong but flexible layer of paint. 
Best vehicles in terms of strong adhesion are walnut and linseed oil. Drying times also vary between vehicles with linseed oil having the fastest drying time. 

Artist grade oil paints are the preferred kind of paints used by artists because they consists of real pigments and oil with minimal addition of stabilizers and dryers. Preparing own paint ensures that your paint only consists of the essential ingredients without any additives which can compromise the quality of the paint film. In this video I am showing how I prepared cobalt blue paint from raw pigment. The process took less than an hour to complete. Full details and information about materials are found in the video description on YouTube. Enjoy
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The painting process of how to paint sand and ocean using oils. 

The approach is wet on wet and executed in three simple steps:
1. Drawing
2. Block in
3. Adding details and light
As a general rule when painting in oils, I always apply darker tones first followed by lighter ones as I move forward in the painting process.
The colour palette used was:
Flake white replacement (Gamblin)
Ultramarine Blue
Cobalt teal
Cadmium orange
Quinacridone magenta
Alizarin Claret (Michael Harding)
Cadmium yellow
Indian Yellow red shade (or Australian Red Gold)
Yellow ochre
Viridian
Burnt sienna

The images above shows:
1. The start up of the block in stage, where I painted the shadows. I used a lot of alizarin in the underpainting to help me avoid the problem of getting unwanted greens when adding the sand colour (yellow) with the shadow colour which consists of blue.
2. Second image shows the painting at the end of the block in stage. During the block in stage I establish the basic colour and tone of the various shapes and objects in the painting.
3. Third image shows the finished painting.

Setting up a still life can sometimes be a daunting experience. Sometimes it takes me a few days until I find an appealing setup. Although there are guidelines re composition, however, I do not like to adhere to any specific rules. I just try to find the right combination of shapes, a balance between neutral and more chromatic colours especially complementary colours. Also the combination of materials is another factor including organic and natural materials in combination with man made objects. Then the last aspect I consider is the direction and colour of the light organised in a way to create interest, form and continuity through the cast shadows. Reflective and transparent objects are my favourite challenges. 

For this painting, a person gave me this interested fruit which looks like an apple in colour but having the shape of a pear. So I decided to place it on a piece of fabric along a reflective object. On top a piece of bay leaves from our yard to complement the fruit. The light was from the left and warm in colour.

I chose a small linen board primed with a non absorbent acrylic primer, I prepared some time ago. As a palette I just use the same limited palette of three primaries, titanium white and burnt umber to adjust the chroma. I drew a quick sketch with diluted burnt umber followed by a block in of the basic colours (Images 1 and 2). On the second session, I developed the form and details of each area starting from the darkest colours moving on to the lighter sections.  The finished painting is in the 3rd photo above.

Painting a still life is much more than painting objects and similar to when painting other subjects it starts with the idea or inspiration. I usually start placing a number of objects into the shadow box, objects made up of different shapes and materials and of different sizes. I also keep in mind the choice of colour where usually I include neutrals, light and dark colours as well as some more vibrant ones. A painting is all about contrasts and light. It usually takes me a few days until I am happy with the setup and lighting. 

I also give importance to the narrative of the artwork since one of the most important aspects of true art is the message. This painting is about our life and existence on this planet represented by the globe. The books implies the importance of knowledge in our personal life and as well to humanity. The organic material of the feather also reminds us of the changes in our lives same as the bird changes feathers at different stages of its life. The blue book at the edge almost falling off the rest indicates the stress and our ups and downs while the hourglass symbolizes time. The candle in the symbolizes our life also reminding us of our mortality.

The painting was painted on oil primed linen using a limited palette consisting of ultramarine blue, pyrrole rubine, cadmium yellow light, burnt umber and titanium white. Additional colours used where cadmium red light, phthalo blue and Indian yellow.

The images above show the process, starting from the drawing, an imprimatura with raw umber followed by first underpainting and finished painting.

One of the fundamental principles to keep in mind when painting in oils is the "Fat over lean" approach, that basically means the top layer of paint should dry at a slower rate than the lower layer. This can be achieved by either adding extra oil to paints used in the upper layers, which slows down the process of drying or simply by starting painting from dark to light. Some manufacturers add dryers to the paint preparation to make them dry pretty much at the same rate, however, these chemicals can compromise the quality of the paint in the long term. 

Here is some info about various commonly used pigments and their drying times. Mixing a slow drying pigment with a fast-drying pigment might alter the drying time depending on their proportions. One should always try to start with fast drying and relatively transparent pigments moving on to slow drying and more opaque paints. In the table below I am also giving the pigment number eg: PW1  meaning Pigment white 1

Reading the label at the back of the tube is important as most of this information is given there. The table below is a guideline and there might be some differences between manufacturers as they might be using different pigments under the same colour name and also due to using different oils in the tube. Avoid buying paints that are in safflower oil. Linseed or walnut oil is the best. One also has to remember that oil paints do not dry by evaporation as watercolour and acrylics do. So the thickness of the paint affects the curing, with thick paint taking longer to dry. Ambient temperature might also affect, in hot weather drying happens much faster, however, never attempt to dry your paintings using heat. Do not forget that oil paint dries by reacting with oxygen in air and not by evaporation. If the paint is touch dry it does not mean that it is completely cured. So it is important to apply thin layers of paint at first moving on to thicker and more oily paint as you progress. 

Fast drying   (1 - 2 days)
Lead whites       PW1      Transparent 
Raw and Burnt Umber  PBr6      semi-transparent   (Very fast drying)
Raw and Burnt Sienna  PBr7      semi-transparent
Phthalo Blue    PB15.3    Transparent
Phthalo Green  PG7         Transparent   (Very Fast)
Viridian    PG18  semi-opaque (very fast)
Cobalt Blue  PB28     semi-opaque    (Very fast)

Average drying time (2 - 5 days)
Yellow ochre  PY43 and Yellow oxide (sometimes sold as yellow ochre) PY42    semi transparent
Cerulean Blue  PB35     semi-opaque
Ultramarine blue  PB29   Transparent
Cobalt teal  PG50  Semi-transparent
Quinacridone magenta  PR122   Transparent
Cadmium red light  PR108   Opaque
Ivory black (Bone black) PBk9   Opaque

Slow drying (5 - 7 days)
Alizarin Crimson  PR83   Transparent
Titanium white  PW6    Opaque
Cadmium Yellow  PY35  Opaque to semi-transparent

A full oil painting demonstration, showing how to paint a typical Blue Mountains landscape, focusing on establishing the light effect on cliff walls. 

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