Sunday, November 22, 2009

Recent Work




Here are a couple of recent efforts.

While both of these are in Oils, "DECEMBER DUSK" was rendered using brushes and "WESTERN VISTA" was created solely with painting knives. The difference in the surface textures is clearly evident in these photos.

Sometimes, I prefer a smoother finish and on other ocassions I desire a more heavily textured interpretation. It's the best of both worlds, really, and it's nice to have the freedom to represent something in the way that I see it. Too often, an artist can settle into a comfortable "rut" , which translates into predictable results. Try to shake things up by doing something different once in a while, whether it's using an unfamiliar brush or a different medium altogether.

As for using the knives, I cannot say enough about my fondness for Lukas Painting Butter ( available exclusively through Jerry's Artarama and Art Supply Warehouse ) It's an alkyd-based impasto medium which is fantastic for building up heavy paint layers, such as those shown here. Give it a try, you'll like it!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Wilson,

Both works are great, I really like December Dusk :)

Dawn

Wilson said...

Thanks, Dawn. Hey, how's your weather up North? It's been really mild in northern NY so far. And no snow yet!!

Anonymous said...

Its been pretty mild here too, however they are calling for wet snow on Friday and Saturday :( Blech! I hate the in between stuff. :)

Wilson said...

Yes, I can relate to that !!

Maris Ojasuu said...

SO beautiful work again

Wilson said...

Thank you, Maris.

Amy said...

Hi,
It's neat how you have both paintings close together on your blog. They do display 2 different moods all together. I'm so glad you are able and have the talent to express yourself so well with the oil paints. They are lovely. I just ordered your barn DVD and look forward to viewing that soon. It's interesting how you all haven't had snow yet. I'm down in Florida and we are still growing things in our garden like turnip and collard greens. tc, Amy

Wilson said...

A "garden" in northern New York in November is just a distant memory!! lol We'll soon be shoveling, but it won't be in the turnip patch, that's for sure!
Thanks for your Dvd purchase. I think you'll enjoy it.It contains a lot of useful information which can be applied to other subjects too, not just barns.