Lively still life article

The January issue of The Artist magazine should be out and about in shops in the UK anytime now. In it I have this article about painting vibrant still lifes using acrylics as an underpainting and oils to finish off. Both of these paintings will be framed up for my exhibition in Nottingham in January. 

It's going to be a busy and fun week this week, I have two days in London at the Mall Galleries for the Royal Institute of Oil painters exhibition. Tuesday is the private view and on Wednesday I'm taking part in a figure painting workshop there which will be fun!

I can't wait to see my three paintings hanging, I wonder if they will be next to each other. It's especially exciting that one of them has already sold so I shall see a red dot there! I will also meet up with so many artist friends and it will be great to see everyone. I'll have a better chance to see the paintings in the exhibition when I go back again next week, because on private view day the gallery will be packed.

Peonies and hen

Still life with peonies, a hen and a little china cup

Still life with peonies, a hen and a little china cup

After my flower painting workshop on Friday I came home with some gorgeous flowers. Although I have painted many still life demos in the last year I haven't painted a still life for my own enjoyment for a long time. I couldn't resist these big blowsy peonies though.

You know how I love to paint over an existing painting given half the chance? Well I had this canvas with half completed demo from the workshop so I turned it on it's side like this and that's where I began...

I then began work in acrylics with thin glazes of colour, at which stage it looked like this...

Quite dark at this point but very exciting with it's transparent colour and splashy washes! 

When the acrylic underpainting was completely dry I started on the oils...

Then it was just a case of building things up until I was happy, keeping the bits I liked until I was satisfied overall.