Arran from Culzean Shore

Hello Bill, nice one, love the detail and surface texture of both the sand, rocks and water. Perspective and contrast between the background and foreground is spot on. My only critic, I feel, is the lack of range on the value and saturation, resulting in a loss of atmosphere. This is a problem that I suffer from and am constantly trying to improve. By the way thank you for your comments on my work. Have a great Christmas and best wishes for the new year. Really look forward to viewing your work next year, as we seem to have a very similar style.

Thanks for your thoughts, Peter - really appreciated. The painting was based upon a visit on a calm, bright day in late summer, and my intention was that a very limited palette and high-key approach might convey the feeling of calmness that I had. Very useful to get your opinion, as my niggles were mainly about the composition, so something for me to think about! All the best for Christmas and Hogmanay.

A lovely painting with a lot of detail. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I think for a second painting...or even a hundredth painting I just think it is incredible..you have a real talent. Beautifully done.

I think for a second painting...or even a hundredth painting I just think it is incredible..you have a real talent. Beautifully done.

If this is your second painting, it's not criticism you need, just open-mouthed, amazed praise.... It isn't REALLY your second painting, in any medium - is it? (Apologies if we've been over this before, which I sort of think we might have done, but the memory gets a bit foggy with so many different painters on POL. And then you've got to add the effects of age and drink, of course.......)

Thanks for your comments - I'm really feeling totally overwhelmed! Robert, yes it really is my second painting, but perhaps I'd better expand on this. The first was finished in April, this one a few days ago so I'm certainly not prolific! Until I retired a couple of years ago, I did dabble with watercolour - taking paints on holiday etc & doing small sketches & studies, and I've had a lifelong interest in photography. On retiring, I decided to give painting a real go - at first reading far more than actually putting brush to paper then gradually gaining confidence. I think the way I work is probably unusual, in that for each painting I have spent a great deal of time developing the idea - for instance trying lots of ways of painting rocks etc before feeling ready to put it all together. Also, I'm very much a one-trick pony at present! I'm now happy with sea and some types of shore, but I can't paint anything else just yet - I've had a couple of plays with trees, foliage etc & I need an awful lot more work here before I'll begin to be satisfied with the result. Maybe this way of working betrays my career as a scientist!! Sylvia - I have had a go at sketching outdoors, a struggle as it's such a different approach, plus I clearly need bifocals to see both the scene & the paper! I shall persevere & thanks so much for the encouragement.