Oil Painting Books

OIL PAINTING BOOKS

Recently I read a post on Katherine Tyrells’s blog ‘Making a Mark’ asking readers ‘Which are the best books about oil painting?’ I was interested in the responses so I went and rummaged through my bookshelves to see what I had found useful.

100 Great Oil Painting Tips

Helen Douglas Cooper pub Batsford 1995

I find this a user friendly and practical little book that packs a lot of information between its covers. The tips come with useful illustrations making it easy to flip through and find the information without wading through acres of verbiage.

I think it would be useful for a complete beginner and for artists experienced in other media, the mystery of fat over lean is explained and how to transport a wet canvas.

To make it 101 great tips I would have added one about alkyds.

However Helen has produced several books since then including 100 Keys to Oil Painting so it may have been included in one of these.

This book is out of print but available second hand online.

Inspired by Light Ken Howard pub David and Charles

Mmmm and I am inspired by watching Ken Howard painting. This is one of my favourite books to return to again and again. I would suggest seeing the DVDs first.

DVDs

Inspired by Light, Painting in Oils

A Vision of Venice in Oil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJKG4siWPac trailer for Variations on a Theme

Oils Masterclass Learning from professional artists at work. Sally Bulgin Pub Harper Collins

This book starts with a chapter on techniques and materials then follows a series of 8 masterclasses with different artists.

I like the aim of this book which is to give insights into the range of different ways of painting in oils and inspiration for developing ones own visual language. It is not a ‘How to’ book in the sense of following a prescribed ‘step by step’ approach. Ken Howard works in oils and watercolours and in his masterclass the merging of techniques from both is discussed in the way he portrays light in oils.

Oils by Trevor Chamberlain ( Ron Ranson’s Painting School)

A good choice for beginners and improvers, the first section deals with the basics. Each area covered is followed up with ideas for practice. The second section looks at the elements of a painting again with plenty of examples of Trevor’s work and more practical tasks.

I have been painting with watercolours for around 25 years as well as acrylics and I paint on silk. In more recent years I have been to several inspiring and useful demonstrations and workshops in oil painting. William Davies past president of the Wapping Group inspired me at a local art group demonstration when he painted an exquisite little impressionist oil of a Venice scene. Workshops with Stuart Stanley and Stephen Hawkins were helpful and got me to start using a box of oil paints that I had been given on a town twinning visit to Gagny in France.

WORKSHOP Flower Painting with Hidden Gutta Lines

I shall be tutoring this workshop on the Saturday afternoon at The Guild of Silk Painters' Festival of Silk ( Sat 23-Sun 24th July at Wanstead, London E11. For details and booking click here ) No previous experience of drawing or silk painting required. Silk, paints and gutta are available to buy or use for a small fee, Frames, hair dryers and an outline drawing of a flower will be provided or bring your own.

There will be talks and workshops, an exhibition and a fashion show of wearable art.

In the painting above the flower shape has been outlined with clear gutta. This acts a a resist to keep the colour from spreading beyond. When the painting is finished and the colours have been fixed it is washed to remove the gutta leaving the original white of the silk

In the one below the gutta lines are largely hidden as the painting has been built up in layers.

both images (c) Tessa Spanton

Both these images were part of a tutorial that I wrote for Leisure Painter magazine click here if you would like to order a back copy of the magazine from the publisher.

Button Wednesday

Last month I went to the Chelsea Flower Show and it was indeed a feast of flowers and garden design ideas. There is far to much to take in but just as my batteries were running low and begging for a drink I spotted this wall sculpture called Button Circle by Tom Stogden I like idea and the subtle colours of the different slates used to make the buttons.

The photo below shows a 3D slate sculpture also at Chelsea. There are more on Tom's website, I like his Chinese Sandstone Ammonite.

Click here for a Button Wednesday post about fashion designer Patrick Kelly's use of buttons.

Silk Painting Demonstration

Today I was demonstrating silk painting at the Sanderstead Festival of Art. In the morning I drew a rose on silk and outlined the shapes with a pearl pink gutta. I left this to dry thoroughly and will paint it some other time.

In the afternoon I painted a scarf using the wet in wet technique letting the colours flow on the silk, then at the right moment drying it with a hair dryer. The above photo was taken at tea time. There was a huge array of home made cake to choose from, I tried 2 and they were both excellent!

During the day I sold the scarf shown below. This had been painted wet in wet like the one I demonstrated today. This one has some additional brushwork in gold. it will be winging its way to Australia.

Sanderstead Festival of Art 2011

above 'Monet's Garden' watercolour (c) Tessa Spanton

On Sunday I will be demonstrating silk painting at this exhibition.

I will be exhibiting several watercolours and silk paintings there and will have cards and some silk scarves and necklaces for sale too.

There will be several artists demonstrating painting, I think one is doing portraits and another using coloured pencils.

SANDERSTEAD FESTIVAL OF ART 2011

Sat and Sun 11 and 12^th June 10-4pm at All Saints’ Church Hall, Sanderstead. CR2 9AB

Paintings and cards for sale and on Sunday there will be artists demonstrating painting as well.

Refreshments and

Ploughman’s lunches will be available.

Petersham House Gardens

At the entrance to Petersham nurseries there is a display of plants for sale, Click on the photo for a larger version.

£3.50 to get in

The gate between the nurseries and the gardens of Petersham House are closed for most of the year. Today the garden was open as part of the NGS ( National gardens scheme) to raise funds for charity.

In the kitchen garden tomato, potato and calendula share a large pot.

Petersham House from the long border

and time for a cup of tea.

Butterflies and Wild Orchids

These photos are from a walk around the Howell Hill Nature Reserve

It is an area of chalk grassland tucked away behind some school playing fields on the edge of suburbia.

Below The small blue butterfly, Cupido minimus, is Britain's smallest butterfly at below 2 cm

The larval and adult food source is kidney vetch.

below Common spotted orchid