The Painting Thread... (as opposed to art debate)

[bobo the clown]

"Today" certainly was "tomorrow" .... even at 1.35pm I guess.

[TANGODANCER]

"Today" certainly was "tomorrow" .... even at 1.35pm I guess.

Okay, okay. I apologised.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Recently, through circumstance, having to wallow in some recovery time, I 'forced' myself to 'endure' the 'hardship' of whiling away my time on a foreign shoreline. Lago di Como to be precise in them there Italian Alplets.
It has been said by some historic personages (no I'm not going to quote any, I can't be arsed to look 'em up) that the light in Italy is quite unique.
For not unrelated reasons the first school of open-air painting was established in Italy at the end of the 18th Century and culminated in the works of Corot, and through his paintings was transmitted the idea of working directly from nature back to Northern Europe and later painters such as the Impressionists.

Knowing I was going to Italy I had deliberately packed my paints to take with me but I didn't get much chance to wield them, just a couple of days towards the end of my stay there. But when I did eventually unpack them I tried, in particular, to capture the 'Italian light' and so concentrated on a couple of basic landscapes, one from the lakeside at Menaggio and another from the villa I was staying in.

[clapton is god]

^ Both very nicely captured. Welcome back and I hope things went well.

[TANGODANCER]

Good stuff Spotski and great to see you back here. I love impressionism and you've captured it well here in those two.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ Both very nicely captured. Welcome back and I hope things went well.

Cheers Clappers - things have stabilised somewhat.

Good stuff Spotski and great to see you back here. I love impressionism and you've captured it well here in those two.

I like Impressionism too, though I'm not sure I'd exactly put my style in that school, mine's more like the Wanderer's school of beginner's basic landscapes.

[Dujon]

G'day, Spotty, and welcome back. It's a pleasure to see you posting again.

Well, is there Italian Light? It is often said that Australia has a special sort of light but we tend to be a bit parochial so I don't really know whether that is true. I would have thought that those sort of differences would be merely the effect produced by the observer's latitude (the higher the latitude the 'softer' the light). Still, I'm no painter, so what do I know?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

G'day, Spotty, and welcome back. It's a pleasure to see you posting again.

Well, is there Italian Light? It is often said that Australia has a special sort of light but we tend to be a bit parochial so I don't really know whether that is true. I would have thought that those sort of differences would be merely the effect produced by the observer's latitude (the higher the latitude the 'softer' the light). Still, I'm no painter, so what do I know?

I think that perhaps there is 'Italian' light. I'm not claiming that it isn't exactly the same as other lights, Iranian for example, or wherever. I think the 'softness' is a combination of humid sea air condensing as it climbs the pre-Alps or the Apennines as well as the latitude difference between iItaly and Britain. But one things defo there is a subtle difference, not obvious in day to day activities, but quite apparent when painting...

[TANGODANCER]

Love of painting overcoming all else, so here goes again. This is a view of the old aviary tower in Moss Bank Park (built in 1864), from a photograph, and done in watercolour..

[Lost Leopard Spot]

^ I really quite like that one Tango.. It's illuminating to see how you portray specific things, like for example the grass banking (very minimalist) and the flowers (almost pointillist). The overall style in this particular painting comes across as very late Victorian postcard style - apt for the subject in mind.
I've been splashing the paint to try and liberate a different style, but then when I've painted today (some autumn leaves) I find it still looks like my landscapes in the essentials - colour, tint, touch... It's hard to break free.

[TANGODANCER]

^ I really quite like that one Tango.. It's illuminating to see how you portray specific things, like for example the grass banking (very minimalist) and the flowers (almost pointillist). The overall style in this particular painting comes across as very late Victorian postcard style - apt for the subject in mind.
I've been splashing the paint to try and liberate a different style, but then when I've painted today (some autumn leaves) I find it still looks like my landscapes in the essentials - colour, tint, touch... It's hard to break free.

Thanks for the comments and I think you landscapes have a nice misty look that reflects their surroundings. I'm using wet-on-wet styles to make colours blend into each other, much the same as your own, except a bit more vivid. Most things I've discovered are more accident than design. Keep at it.

Edit. Again, my camera isn't the best for reproducing colours so they may come across a bit stronger than they really are.

[TANGODANCER]

This is a second offering for now. A view of St Peter's Church, Walsden, Todmorden, where I lived for a couple of years back a ways. Lovely village Walsden, particularly in summer. Taken from a photograph across the canal lock.

[Harry Genshaw]

They're great them Tango. Really impressive.

Any chance that after your recent TV debut you might throw your hat in the ring for next years amateur painting series? (The one with Una & the Scots bloke)

[TANGODANCER]

They're great them Tango. Really impressive.

Any chance that after your recent TV debut you might throw your hat in the ring for next years amateur painting series? (The one with Una & the Scots bloke)

Absolutely not Harry. I'm a long way from that standard and enjoying just learning as I go and enjoying the experience. That'll do for me, thanks.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I think I 've realised what the essential difference is between thee and me Tango, insofar as watercolour technique goes.
Tell me if I'm wrong:
I do wash after wash that build up, after I 've left them to thoroughly dry
You concentrate on small areas and do intense wet on wet bits and move across the whole painting not waiting for any drying moments
I choose a very limited palette (5 colours at most) and mix just two or three at a time before washing my mixes out completely and starting again
You use your entire range and mix until you get a result you like, and continue mixing on top of your mixes never washing your palette out.
I always wash my brushes in pristine water between applications
You wash your brushes in a jamjar or similar that gradually accumulates previous wash tints
Did I hit the mark, or way off?

[Harry Genshaw]

Are you both (Tango & LLS) self taught or have either of you attended classes to improve your techniques/get to where you are now?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Are you both (Tango & LLS) self taught or have either of you attended classes to improve your techniques/get to where you are now?

Speaking for myself, I'm totally self taught. I've done less than twenty paintings, all within the last (two?) years. I could draw, as in pencil sketches, when I was a youth, and I kind of remember art lessons as an infant... but no, not been taught anything for the last fifty years or so.
And to tell you the truth I've got no idea why I took it up. I've got a vague recollection of it being a challenge on here that sparked me into giving it a go.

[TANGODANCER]

Are you both (Tango & LLS) self taught or have either of you attended classes to improve your techniques/get to where you are now?

Never been to a class since schooldays, Harry, but there are lots of useful lesson online on youtube. I do paint lots at the moment and have filled a few sketchbooks practising techniques etc. I enjoy it and do something most days.

[TANGODANCER]

Answering Spot's post. Hi Spots, sorry to be so long in replying but football, dance and rugby got in the way..

I think I 've realised what the essential difference is between thee and me Tango, insofar as watercolour technique goes. Tell me if I'm wrong:

I do wash after wash that build up, after I 've left them to thoroughly dry
You concentrate on small areas and do intense wet on wet bits and move across the whole painting not waiting for any drying moments,

[/quote]Generally you're right. Sometimes I do paint wet on dry though I use washes for the sky or any large areas , sometimes localise an area and don't use a wash but paint small sections.I drop a strong colour into a wet area and fade it off from its middle

I choose a very limited palette (5 colours at most) and mix just two or three at a time before washing my mixes out completely and starting again. You use your entire range and mix until you get a result you like, and continue mixing on top of your mixes never washing your palette out.

I wash my pallet at the start of painting but I do experiment a lot with colour mixes. I rarely use a colour straight from the tube or cake except white for highlights and don't often use black except as a grey wash. Instead, I mix red (crimson) and blue ( Prussian blue or even ultramarine, maybe add green or brown( burnt umber) depending on how dark I want the shade...

I always wash my brushes in pristine water between applications. You wash your brushes in a jamjar or similar that gradually accumulates previous wash tints.

Not a jam jar but a shallow dish, and I change it when it gets too muddy looking. My palatte is a plastic paintbox and goes under the tap when it gets too untidy. Watercolour is so easy to clean off

Did I hit the mark, or way off?

Mainly right and obviously you've studied it which is good. I'd urge you to follow your instincts and experiment for your own style. Lots of my stuff is done in sketch books unless I particularly want a picture, but even then I rarely use totally clear water except at the start. The most important thing in watercolour painting is the water and its use, rather than just the paint

Youtube has loads of watercolour lessons and tutorials which I've learned lots from. Do give that a look. Most artist's paintboxes resemble explosions in paint factories.

[TANGODANCER]

This lady is very good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ1Q9SP99rE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;