colour

Grazing in Glentunnel - Landscape Oil Painting

It's not every day you get to 'break into' a house to deliver a painting. This was the surprise waiting for the client arriving home from her honeymoon. By 'break into' I mean - let in by the house-sitter to hang the painting in place.

Grazing in Glentunnel insitu above the fire place.

Grazing in Glentunnel insitu above the fire place.

I started this commission in January, it was to be a surprise wedding gift. So I have been itching to reveal the results - but only after the client had seen it first! Thankfully they arrived home yesterday.

I am stoked with how this painting worked out and I am truly going to miss it. I find the colours so typically 'kiwi' and restful yet there is also an energy to vibrant colours. I took a series of photos out at the farm to work from. I returned home thinking I hadn't quite captured the true essence of the place but after a little merging of different shots I came up with a composition that both I and the client were happy with.

This was my first time painting a cow I'm quite happy with how this came out. Check out some of the detail photos below.

Grazing in Glentunnel, 2017, Oil on canvas, 700 x 400mm , (27.5 in x 15.7 in)

Grazing in Glentunnel, 2017, Oil on canvas, 700 x 400mm , (27.5 in x 15.7 in)

Detail photos - click on the right side of the photo to see more.


Making art while making art

It's amazing that you can be making art without even realising it. I looked down at my painting cloth yesterday and just loved the overlapping colours. How often do we stop to reflect on the colours we have mixed on their own, as these are the foundation on which the painting is built. This cloth is the result of years of use. I really must get a new cloth as it is hard to find a clean spot. This can be quite frustrating at times but I love the way it looks. It tells a story of the paintings I have created over the last few years. Some of these colours are never seen in the final paintings and as time goes on the colour of the cloth itself is slowly disappearing.

Close-up on my painting cloth.

Close-up on my painting cloth.