It is always nice for me to see my former students do well. This month I was particular pleased to see two of my former Virtual Art Academy and workshops students, the very fine pastel painter Kim Lordier, and the landscape and portrait artist Kathryn Townsend, both placed in the Top 25 on the Connect2Artists website. They were in excellent company. Also in the top 25 were Matt Smith, John Cosby, Brian Blood, Ray Roberts, and Laurie Kersey—all top names amongst the plein air painter community in America, as well as the very fine Russian landscape painter, Vasily Hudkayov. Congratulations to them!
My still life painting, Tuscany Wildflowers was also voted in the Top 25.
About the Painting
I don’t often do still life paintings, but I thought I’d do one using some techniques I’ve been experimenting with recently using a multi-colored imprimatura.
These flowers were placed on an outside bench at an artist friend’s house. Although they were not very strong in color, they had a lot of different textures and subtle color changes. To start with I thought of adding some more colorful roses, but then I began to think maybe I could make something out of this by playing around with the light in the background and the more saturated greens of some of the leaves in the arrangement. The morning light striking a wall behind the bench gave a beautiful light pattern to contrast with the texture of the flowers and provide some interesting shapes for the background.
Cat. No. 1256 Wild Flowers, Tuscany, Italy – 14in x 11in – Oil on Board
I made a lot of use of thick and thin in this painting and used thick impasto strokes in the focal areas. As always I made sure there was a good contrast in the saturation of the colors in the background, and those in the focal areas.
I started off with a lot of thin washes consisting of paint thinned with rectified turpentine. I mixed different colors on the background in the washes and blended them on the canvas to create variations in color. This created a transparent effect.
I was painting on a gessoed board which is what gives the painting its particular texture in the background.
I used very thick paint and definite brushstrokes for the different flowers. I painted these impasto strokes on top of the washes, avoiding over-blending in order to preserve the abstract nature of the painting.
I am using a full spectrum palette with a Daytripper plein air easel, and mostly mixing on the painting, rather than on the palette to find the color harmony.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you find it useful. If you would like to get free painting tips by email, please sign up for my free tips newsletter.
If you are interested in a structured approach for learning how to paint, take a look at my online painting classes.
Happy painting!
Barry John Raybould
Virtual Art Academy
What The Students Are Saying
A great learning platform
I have been working my way through the Virtual Art Academy for almost a year now, and cannot recommend it highly enough. The Workshops are thorough, structured and substantive. There is a logical and step by step progression that makes the learning process so much easier, with new concepts being introduced and then practiced along… Read more “A great learning platform”
It is wild to see how much I am learning in this course!
Five star rating from me for Virtual Art Academy (VAA)! I retired last year, and decided I wanted to spend my time in retirement learning how to oil paint. But having never painted before, I wasn’t even sure what to look for in an online painting course. However, I did some searches for “Best Online… Read more “It is wild to see how much I am learning in this course!”
comprehensive art education
I wanted to get a comprehensive art education with the freedom to work at my own pace. I’m several years into the curriculum and I feel like my work has drastically improved. I’ve found holes in my knowledge that I didn’t know I had. Critiquing other students posts and reading their feedback to mine has… Read more “comprehensive art education”
Only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice
Before repurposing my vocation into avocation, I spent 20 years in the corporate world as an instructional designer and performance consultant creating training curricula for diverse clientele from NASA to General Motors. I know curriculum development and how to guide a learner from beginning to certification. VAA is the only online learning program I have… Read more “Only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice”
The small steps are easy to do
I am extremely impressed with the process that Barry has developed for VAA. Learning to paint can be intimidating, but when broken into many small projects it is very do-able. I just did my first live model painting session- a 5 hour, one day session. Thanks to VAA, I was able to break the painting… Read more “The small steps are easy to do”
An excellent foundation on so many aspects of painting
I never had formal training in painting and my style has always been very realistic, slow and not at all artistic, just a copy of a photograph. When I got word of the course available through Virtual Art Academy, I was very excited for the opportunity to learn what I never knew about painting. VAA… Read more “An excellent foundation on so many aspects of painting”
Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish
After weeks and even months of searching YouTube, “googling” and spending a fortune on art instructional books I finally came across the Virtual Art Academy®. When it comes to purchasing online I am always very careful how I spend my money. Especially when I already spent a small fortune on art books. They always seemed… Read more “Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish”
No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it
I finished the VAA course a few years ago, but always refer to the notes, rereading the course many times. This is not a course the day you are finished, you are done. No, you keep practising the assignments getting better and better over time. When I look back at my work when I had just… Read more “No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it”
The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost
This is a great course for anyone who is serious about improving their painting. I have been a student here for several years. When I am finished, I will have the equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost. I can do the lessons anywhere and at my own pace.… Read more “The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost”
I adore the fresh simplicity you created, it takes my breath away.
Thank you.
This is beautiful and exactly what I have been looking for. I have been experimenting with oils as watercolors. Thank you for sharing and I am always a student of art. I will be looking into your class.
Thank you! Love this technique.