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First gallery posting
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Message
Posted
Hi all
I have just posted my first piece of work in the gallery and would vastly appreciate any constructive comments any of you may have.
The title is Little Red Boat and it is as far away as it possibly could be from what I usually draw (animals - in pencil). It is also the first time I have used oils, other than for practice exercises. I've reposted the picture below for ease of viewing. Thanks in advance!
I
Posted
A decent start in the medium . The boat has all the right curves and they are notoriously difficult to draw and you've indicated its reflection. You sky is too heavy on the dark tones unless you vary the colours, (some mauve/purple,ultramarine blue) but the pink touch is a worthy addition. Were you copying a photo or painting? No probelm if you do. Keep at it and let's see more. Good luck.
Posted
Agree with Derek, the sky is a bit heavy - the trouble with skies in oil is that you're trying always to indicate clouds and atmosphere, which ideally takes thin paint lightly applied - but you need white, and white is heavy, and opaque. Over time you get better at this - there are painters who plough it on in the sky (Seago often did) but on the whole I'd try sticking to thin paint without any additional oil, or at least with as little as possible.
People will tell you oil is easier than watercolour - completely misleadingly, because it simply isn't. And for a first try, you'd done very well indeed. Keep practising, as we all must, and it'll come.
Posted
That's what I like to see! You might be surprised to know how few artists ever research the pigments they use - this is why so many still use fugitive pigments in watercolour, and why some of them even here say they haven't the patience to look into such things, they just want to paint.
That may be understandable - although actually I don't understand it - but you'd have thought it was in their own interests not to have their work fade, or fall off the canvas.