W.I.P. Lesson in still life. by Fiona Phipps

Having only ever done one oil myself (which is in my gallery) I am watching yours with interest Fiona, so different to the work of yours I always enjoy.

Yet more excellent still life work in progress from you Fiona. This is very promising, I particularly like the set-up, not all bunched together, very creative indeed, and I can see that you are working on your ellipses, re the bottom saucer.

Coming along nicely Fiona. May I ask if you set it up, as that's the bit I tend to stumble on.

Thank you very much Malcolm, yes they are a bit 'tidy', at the moment, not as messy as my usual P&W work. Thank you for your encouraging comment about my still life Alan. The lines for the bottom saucer are just to position it Alan.....I don't think one of them is correct lol. Don't worry, I hope to get it right when I put the paint on.

Thanks Derek. This terms exercises are really about the application of paint and tones, especially local colour (blue, yellow, red for example) and neutral colour (greys, lilacs,etc) For this still life he placed a lemon coloured bed sheet on the floor and randomly placed about twenty different objects on it, from chrome teapots, milk jugs, fruit & veg, rusty lanterns, bottles, plates, cups and saucers. Then we all chose the view we wanted to paint...through our view finders of course! There will be more of the same for the next eight weeks....deep joy!!lol I do hope I get the hang of it by then, especially my ellipses......

You are learning so much Fiona great work

I assume the sugar paper absorbs the oil and you get this almost pastel effect Fiona. I think this is going to have a very modern look to it, I like the set up too.

Thank you Dennis, you're very kind. Marjorie it's great paper. It's very tough you can scrub paint on, it takes thin turpsy washes and thickly applied paint. It dries fairly quickly too if it's thin enough so you can layer paint fairly fast. If you soak it in water then stretch it it goes like leather. It's ideal for all the exercises we do where we only have three hours or so to work on something. The Magpie painting I did is on this paper. Thanks very much for your comment.

Good start. Sounds like your course has excellent tuition!

This is lovely, Fiona.

Having never done a oil painting , I could'nt comment on the medium, but the drawing looks right , ellipses ,shapes and negative space all look correct.. If the drawing is right you're half way there, looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Looking good Fiona, you have some good highlights and shadows already put in. This will be a treat!

I'm grateful for your encouragement Carole, I would just like to finish one, I never seem to finish a still life!lol

He's a brilliant tutor Gudrun, thank you. Many thanks Shirley and Andre much appreciated.