Nothing Finished

I started on this painting of fuchsia flowers a couple of weeks ago while painting with a friend in her studio. I brought it home, but did not make too much progress.

I worked on it a little more, but I am frustrated with the greens and need to go back to it. As usual, life provides many distractions and interruptions.  This is Winsor & Newton Artisan (water mixable) oils.  Yes, I am still struggling with learning to paint with oils.

Meanwhile, I took a set of 12 videos out of the library on Bob Ross and his style of painting. He was a wonderful presenter on PBS stations years ago.  While he is no longer around, his videos and books are still very useful.  I tried using his techniques on a large canvas (18" X 24"). I enjoyed spending the time and learned a few new things, but decided that this is not for me.  I like to have more of a relationship to a painting, not just some mountains, some clouds, some trees etc.  I am letting my canvas (photo below) dry and then I will go back and detail it with the way I usually paint.  His style of painting is wet on wet, with a layer of "Magic White" paint below so everything lightens up as you go down and moves around easily.

I used my own photos for practice. The basket of fuchsias was from a photo I took while visiting a friend in Vermont. I cropped in closer for my painting.  The waterfall scene is from a photo I took in Utah several years ago while at Red Butte Gardens.

For more information, or to see free videos on Bob Ross, just type his name into your search engine. You can also find recipes online to make your own Magic White, or you can buy his products online or at most art supply stores.