The Honeysuckle Bush

Thanks for being a show off Ruth. If you had not posted the link I really would have missed this. Unless you are glued to the gallery 24/7 you miss so much. As you say the colours are so rich and vibrant. I think the weather has gone to your head. I do prefer some of your more gentle painting, but as you say this is early days. I think Robert has the medal whith his acrylics, he somehow obtains all the little subtitles that all his experience has given him. Go girl ,onward and upward.

And if you hadn't posted the link on the forum, I might have missed not only your painting, but Sylvia's comment on mine (I hope I was the Robert she's talking about, anyway: I like to think so!). Softness - well; you'll get it if you work with a stay-wet palette, and keep your paint quite fluid; use quite soft brushes, synthetics such as the Shiraz range from Rosemary & Co - I wouldn't risk my nice sables on acrylic... or even my hakes; brushes aren't crucial with acrylic as they are with w/colour, but the consistency of the paint is: get it to the consistency of single cream on the palette, and see how you go. Or use it in a watercolour technique, with little or no white?

I don't wotk in acrylic so can offer no comments on technique etc but I must say that the result is very satisfying making great use of the shapes in this well considered composition,

Yes Robert , teas you I was extolling. Thanks for the acrylic lesson. I tend to slap acrylics on with a bit of abandon and then find I have nowhere to go. So both of us have had a freebie lesson Ruth.

At present I am working mainly in acrylic. To me it has many of the properties of oil and yet you can apply it like watercolour as Robert said. I prefer painting wet-into-wet as the blending effect helps to avoid distinctive lines between colours. Also I work in layers from background to foreground making sure to achieve the right depth. As you know in contrast to oil the paint dries quickly so you can paint over unwanted sections almost within hours. Stippling is also a good technique to use with acrylics. It gives you wonderful leaves for your trees and bushes.

Thank you all. I look on these as very helpful comments. Robert, I do use a Masterson palette, but perhaps haven't yet got the water spraying right for the consistency. I find that increased use of white in the mix softens the effects, but am still working on that as you can see. And with constructive comments like the ones you have all given I am encouraged to go on. I find the drying times are patchy and you need to be quick with blending. So as you say, Sylvia...freebie lessons and onward and upwards...hopefully!! I have just ordered some Retarded from SAA (sorry! Whoops! That should of course be Retarder! (Oh I don't know, though....!!) And I will remember the tip about single cream consistency.

yes you have achieved softness, a sort of watercolour effect in places :-) this is very eye-catching for me because it is full of light and colour :-) very beautiful :-)

Whatever you were trying to achieve Ruth, the end result is a delight. The greens are great and the flower colours are striking. I also like the shapes you've created and that bird table/ sundial in among the plants just makes it. Lovely!

Thank you very much, Rebecca nd Jane, your comments are mozt encouraging. I did enjoy painting this.

Very zingy colours and a delightful scene :)

Thank you Sarah, it's a part of my garden going wild with all the rain we've had!

I think this is a lovely painting, Ruth and I think your light against dark contrast works very well.If I need to soften an area in acrylic I use D Rowney glaze medium with system 3 paints and liquitex soft body paints. I use a synthetic brush alternating with a small hog hair and scumble and glaze over the relevent area.I hope this helps.

Yes indeed it does help, Teresa. Thank you for your input. I didn't realise that a glaze medium would help to soften an area, but have tried applying a very thin coat of white over it. Which probably gives a very different result.

Well go for it I should, Ruth!! Super use of bold and vibrant colour and you have indeed achieved a softness in places which makes a good contrast with the harder edges of the stone bird bath and smaller bushes. Great stuff!

Thany you Thea...Will take your advice and Go for it...hope you had a relaxing time in France, good to have you back.