Oil Painting

When I was very young I started off with a HB pencil and drew mainly animals. I still mainly draw animals, but I quickly progressed to watercolours and since then I've used gouache and pastels. My current favourite medium is oils, which is strange because when I was young I just couldn't 'get' them. It felt like painting with butter. I longed to use them quick and expressively (and still do), but in my heart I am a detailer. I also paint enamel miniatures (powdered glass on metal) using a microscope, so using a large brush in any medium is almost anathema to me.

The first painting in oils I was really proud of was a painting of my mam's cat Oscar Fox, a ginger and white Maine Coon. It was rough and ready but I have it propped beside me on my desk as we speak. I painted it in 2020, so not that long ago really! I fiddled with another couple of paintings in between but didn't finish them.

Over Christmas I signed up to an online tutorial with Jean Pritchard (wildlife artist on Facebook) to paint a snowy owl. Jean admitted that she also comes from a watercolour background and her painting style reflects this. Suddenly I felt like I could understand oils a bit more. I find my biggest problem has been learning to leave the painting between layers; this is something you don't generally have to do with watercolours (depending on your technique).

I finished the snowy owl (he is also propped up on my desk) and then began on two little miniatures which I'm hoping will be accepted into the Lakes' Artists' Society show this year. 'Two in Hand' is of two little mice, and the other is of snowdrops in a glass vase.

I should have stayed with small paintings because as soon as something gets difficult all of a sudden my attention span gets shorter! But inspired by artists like Annie Stegg, I've decided to a slightly larger fantasy painting in a realist style based on Odin's two ravens, Hunin and Munin. One represents thought and the other the mind. Plus, ravens and corvids in general are just damned cool birds and fun to paint. As usual I will enjoy painting them the most, along with their little hoard of shiny treasures. Painting the clouds, however, is nearly breaking me! Here's a little preview:

I'll let you know of my progress later on in the year and where and when you can buy the two smaller paintings.

Kelly x