Thursday 30 October 2014

January Sunlight

Oil on Board, 14 x 20 inches

Well, it's been a manic few days, slightly more than usual...

I wanted to do one more painting to submit for the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), and somehow managed to get this one done in the midst of hand-finishing three big frames for the said pictures.  I finished this painting at around 5pm, spent the next seven hours finishing off the frames and fitting the paintings and backboards, taping up, etc., then got up at 5.30 this morning to give this last painting a lick of Retouching Varnish. I painted this one entirely with Griffin Alkyd fast-drying oil, so the painting was just dry enough to varnish, save for a few still-tacky impasto flicks of paint, which I had to be very careful to varnish around, then just let a drop on to these tacky bits without brushing out which would have smeared the paint - a bit like diffusing a bomb...

The painting itself is right up my street; I love painting frost as regular readers will know, and this subject has everything that sparks my painting juices: frosted vegetation, water and spectacular lighting, with bright sunlight from stage right lighting up the water and picking out a fewhighlights - the left-hand arches of the bridge and the Willow on the left, and the patches of frosty grass around the big tree on the right.

With four paintings submitted for the ROI, it's now down to the hanging committee as to whether any get accepted. I was chuffed to bits to become an associate member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists last year, but was stung by having all six of my ROI submissions rejected last November, so I'm not expecting anything this time. We shall see. Being naturally competitive, failure doesn't come easy, but one must keep trying! To be accepted by your peers at the UK's premier exhibition of oil painters is what we all strive for, regardless of how well we might sell our work. I'll know by November 6th so watch this space for elation or depression!

15 comments:

  1. I love this painting.
    Fingers crossed for a better result this year then Peter - will it be a different panel/jury do you know?

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  2. First prize for this one, just a beautiful feeling love the sun casting across the river,
    Lots of luck for the show

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  3. Lovely light Peter.
    Good luck with your enties...I am sure you will be successful. Best Regards

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  4. Beautiful painting Peter. All the best with your entries. Good luck.
    Vic.

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  5. All best wishes for a great success. Wonderful paintings. Pat

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  6. Good luck with the competition Peter. How do you find the Griffin Alkyds in recent years? I used to use them all the time in the past and then some of the colours started to be rebranded as hues so I looked elsewhere. As my Griffin paints run out I started replacing them with Da Vinci fast dry alkyds. Compared to my regular Michael Harding oils the Da Vinci alkyds are a very close comparison for pigment loading but that is reflected in the price I guess. Another thing I do is use Michael Harding fast dry titanium white. Compared to Griffin Titanium White the Michael Harding one is so much more pigmented. All Michael Harding paints are marked with the drying time and by sticking with colours labelled very fast or fast I can have a paint that dries as fast as my alkyds in most cases. At the most I may have to wait a few more hours but there's not much in it. Any of the colours that are average or slow driers I just buy in the Da Vinci alkyd range.

    Dropped my two ROI paintings off with the courier driver in the week. Fingers crossed for next Thursday. :-)

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    1. Thanks Paul. I'm still using predominantly Griffins, having bought as many Cadmiums as I could, so haven't used the hues yet! I didn't know Da Vinci made alkyds, and neither did I know Michael Harding made a fast-drying Tit.White so I've learnt something, thanks! That's something I must try, especially the white being more pigmented - sounds very promising. Thanks for the info indeed. Good luck with your ROI entries - we'll know soon...

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  7. The titanium white is Michael Harding Titanium White No.103 with added driers. It's oil based rather than alkyd based. See http://www.michaelharding.co.uk/colour-info.php?cID=76 With the Griffin Titanium white I'd usually need about three layers to get perfect coverage. With Michael Harding I can now usually paint everything in just one layer.

    Michael Harding cadmiums are very fast driers too and will usually dry overnight. Very opaque too.

    The only place in the UK that I've found that sell Da Vinci alkyds is Lawrence Art Supplies. I ordered some yesterday as they are 50% off at the moment. http://www.lawrence.co.uk/shop/DVP-Da-Vinci-Paint-Fast-Dry-Alkyd-Oil-Colours.html#.VFipa-bEAto

    I see that Jackson's Art Supplies now carry the Gamblin Fastmatte alkyds. I've never tried them but I may do if they ever have them on offer.

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    1. I find it hard to believe you would ever have a submission rejected Peter! Must be politics or nepotism involved! This is the first time I have seen your work & I find it excellent & finely crafted! Well done!

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    2. Thanks Chuck! This one didn't make it, but one other, 'Glorious Snow', did. There are a heck of a lot of submissions to go through, with a limited number to hang, so it's no easy job to pick, but at least I got one in!

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