Wastdale by DEBBIE HENSON

Like the work and its a Great Start.. ..I have tried the water based oil paints some time ago.. (one day they will surpass linsead based me thinks , probably by law...in Sweden the wholesalers are already filling the shelves with them..)..But, for me they are still a product very much ..in progress..You tend to loose the depth of tonal value and the lustre that Linsead Based Oil gives one., its not much, but it can make a large difference to the finished canvas. Also it when painting using transparent 'glazes' the results are very inferior to the Linsead Oil...Good luck with your work... All the best Denis Taylor

A really great painting for your first oil, the rocks at the top of the mountains are especially good. Thanks also for your comments on my painting Blaven. I think you would find painting with a pallete knife not as scary as you might think. I find it not much different to a brush. Its really good for rocks and cliffs, they kind of paint themselves

Hi Debbie, Thanks for all your lovely comments on my work yesterday, much appreciated.I love the water mixable oils (I use Artisan) which are, by the way, linseed oil. It has been modified to be soluble IN WATER, but not to be mixed with water as many seem to think. You cannot add water to them then paint as with watercolours; they should be named water washable oils!! I find them fantastic and much less hassle than real oil paints. To make the sand look wet takes a bit of practise but its more about being bold with the colours...use a nice bright sand colour for the sand in sun, and a nice rich dark as a contrast against this. I used raw sienna/ cad orange for the light sand and burnt sienna with a touch of ultra blue for the dark. Heres the tip though...on the shadowed sand, I lightly brushed in a light blue up to the edge of the shadows which is the reflection of the overhead sky. Its the same blue as used for the water. Look closely and you can see it. You dont see it in the sunlit sand. Feel free to see my website www.grahamhickmott.com Now, I do like your pictures so far. Excellent. As you do more and more you learn so much. The trick is to practice as much as possible. Pick scenes which really grab you...I like water scenes, the beach at sunrise/set or contra jour...into the light. I also like woodland scenes but like to show bright sunlight by using lots of darks.....sounds wrong but looking through a dark wood to a sunlit field shows the brightness much better than painting the field out in the sun. Hope I havent waffled on too much but I do like to encourage as much as poss. By the way we all have failures which we never tell anyone about but they are still another step in learning...which never ends. Good luck and I'll keep an eye on your site for more pics.