Plein Air Oil Painting

So, this is the last painting this year, painted at Le Page Homestead at Plenty Gorge Park in Hawkstowe.

I spent three and half an hour. Again, trees are always a challenge. Not quite happy, but, it was a beautiful day. 

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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"Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt

One of my all time favourites.

I don't wish to have a funeral when I die. Why should anyone bother?

I just hope friends and others will listen to music like this, see my paintings and remember haircuts I did.

Life is beautiful, is it not?

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One hundred oil paintings in 2014

As the end of year is approaching, I went through all oil paintings I've done this year, and there are 100 paintings!

Strangely enough, I remember every single painting. Just like a photograph, a painting has its own memory, much stronger one than a photograph, I guess.

Having discovered the challenge, struggle and enormous joy painting brings, is one of the best things has happened to me recently.

And people I've met through painting, particularly Gregory Smith, a great artist and my mentor... 

Thank you all, you've certainly enriched my life.

These are this year's first and last painting as of today. What a difference!

Oil on panel. 12 x 16 in.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Alla Prima Ⅱ by Richard Schmid

Probably one of the best books on oil painting I've ever read. The book that really inspires you to paint more and more.

Richard Schmid is a very respected painter, and his paintings in the book are all stunning.

Being a great artist is one thing, but, being a great teacher who can also produce high quality book like this requires a special talent.

This is a very comprehensive survey of his philosophy on painting. One can say that everything we need to know is in the book.

By saying that, I don't mean just the usual stuff like how to mix paint. The beauty of this book is the fact that we can experience his thought process as if we're painting with him.

This is an astonishing achievement. 

I can't help but notice that what Richard is saying in the book is very similar to what Greg is telling us in his studio.

I can't have a lesson with Richard, but, I've been learning to paint with the great artist/teacher Gregory Smith here in Melbourne, Australia.

It's such a privilege.

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Plein Air Oil Painting

I went back to Malmsbury Botanic Gardens. This place has become one of my favourite painting locations. 

I got there around 10:30 am, and decided to paint this wooden bridge.

I spent about three hours on this one. Trees are always a big challenge. There were so much going on, and it's always very difficult to get tonal values right. 

It was a very good subject for studying the effect of light on trees.

 Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

After lunch, I moved to this railway viaduct. This thing is always just stunning to look at.
I changed a position a bit from the last painting of the same subject I did last week.

Because I started around 3 pm, the right side of the foundation started to catch the light. I saw Greg paying a particular attention to this effect, so I tried to do that myself.

Again, I spent three hours on this one. That's the maximum I decided to spend painting outdoors.
I'm reasonably happy with this one. I think I'm getting better painting water. It's a matter of careful observation. But, that's easier said than done.
The tree at the left corner, I think I should have left it out. It doesn't seem to be doing anything. I need to ask Greg.

With two big paintings, I'm a bit tired now, but, I feel really great.
It was a beautiful day.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Plein Air Oil Painting

I went to The Briars in Mt Martha, about an hour drive from Melbourne towards Mornington Peninsula. A good friend of mine is staying in the area, so, we had a joint painting session.

I've never heard of this place, but, it's a gorgeous area. When I looked around, there're great spots for painting everywhere.

The Visitor Centre offers great information about this place, including a short video. There's an enormous effort going on by members of staff and volunteers in order to maintain beautiful nature in a very sustainable way.
And its connection with Napoleon is a fascinating one.

I spent a couple of hours painting this.
I really struggled today, somehow, the panel got very sticky. I've read somewhere before that depending on weather, mineral spirits in medium dry very quickly, and a surface can get tacky while painting outdoors.

I'm not sure if this is the case, but, I did feel paint was not flowing smoothly. Or, it's just my lack of experience.

I'm reasonably happy with its sky (it was cloudy at first) and background forest. But, I don't think I did a good job for the rest of it.
Tricky bit was to paint foreground convincingly, so that it goes downhill. I got an advice from my friend and it looks better now than before.
She also gave me another one to improve grass in middle section. It's really great to have another company.
Small dots that are scattering around in the top area are hey barrels. They are beautiful to look at, but, I just couldn't do it well.

It was a great day.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Plein Air Oil Painting

On this beautiful Christmas Day, I went to Botanic Gardens in city.

I really found this painting difficult. 

After half an hour or so, I lost shadows from trees. And I was under direct sunlight.

Under these conditions, it's really difficult to see subjects.

Well, another important lesson, really.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20in.

After lunch, I moved to another location. 

I made sure that I would be under shades. And this time, there weren't many tourists, so that was better.

The palm tree on the left isn't convincing. I really had trouble painting its leaves and sky holes.
The proportion of the house isn't correct. It should be much wider.
I'm reasonably happy with grass foreground and flowers in front of hedge.

This place is beautiful, but, there're too many tourists and people, and I found it difficult to concentrate.
With two large paintings, I'm a bit tired, but, it was a good day.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Plein Air Oil Painting

I went back to Le Page Homestead at Plenty Gorge Park in Hawkstowe.

I chose this composition, trying to capture the depth of hedge receding to the barn.
The hedge is not convincing, though, it looks as if it's in a box or something. I think it needs to be shaped rounder.

I'm reasonably happy with the sky and clouds on this one. However, the painting creates a big empty area at the front to its right side, where there's nothing happening. It's actually a ground, but, I think this composition was a mistake.

Well, it's always a good opportunity to learn from the experience.

As I was returning to my car, I bumped into a staff of Ivanhoe salon. What a coincidence!

It was a beautiful day.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Sorolla: The Masterworks - book -

I had never heard of this Spanish artist before, but, after reading a book on Sargent, I was fortunate to have discovered this amazing painter.
And what a great discovery it was.

This book contains quite a few colour reproductions, and they're all splendid paintings. Comparison with Sargent is inevitable, but, I think meaningless. I love both of them.

His paintings of beach scenes are really breathtaking. The texts are relatively short, but, very informative. What a glorious life he lead!

I also enjoyed black & white photographs that captured him painting outdoors in front of a big canvas. You can see his passion for painting clearly.

It's a great book, introducing this relatively unknown artists to us at a very reasonably price.

I like it very much.

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Plein Air Oil Painting

I went back to Malmsbury Botanic Gardens.

The last time I was here as part of Paint Out Day with Greg, I didn't have time to paint the railway viaduct. So, I was desperate to paint this beautiful landscape.

Probably I spent three hours painting this one. 

I tried to get the bridge right with its proportions and tonal shapes, particularly shadows.

I also paid a close attention to water and reflections of the bridge.

I'm reasonably happy with this one. And more than anything else, it was just a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

A good friend of mine turned up unexpectedly, and it was really a pleasant surprise!

I had a great chat with her. Very precious moment.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

I thought about going home, but, I decided to paint another, small panel. 

This time, I chose a fountain. I painted it the last time, it was a view from across the pond, so, for this one, I tried a closer look at it.

I spent about hour and a half on this one. I tried to capture the movement of the water of the fountain, tonal difference of greens and the reflection on the pond.

The tree on the right isn't so convincing, I think, but, overall, as a quick sketch, I'm quite happy with this one.  

This is one of those days when I really feel alive and well. The smell of the fields, blue sky, white clouds, chirping of birds, a lovely friend.....

A bliss.

Oil on panel. 12 x 16 in.

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Timothy Coghill new album 'Nowhere'

First time I saw him at Northcote Social Club in January, I was immediately mesmerised by his subliminal and extremely sensitive music making.
It was just beautiful, and I can't explain well. If you were not there, you missed probably one of the best gigs in Melbourne this year. Here is my previous post on this gig.

Since then, he's been very busy working on his new album, using cloud funding  platform Pozible.
I'm very proud of being part of this project, well, I just donated some money to contribute, but, still it feels very good actually. I've never done this kind of thing.

I've got email from him today, saying that the album 'Nowhere' is now complete.

This is a fantastic achievement from this young Melbourne musician. I just love every single song.
Deep/Tehom, Human, Falling Into Sky, The Dry/Yabbashah, Man (Still), Nowhere....
My favourite has to be 'Oceanus Sola featuring Georgie Darvidis'. It's just bloody sensational. Beautiful. No other words are appropriate.

Its official release is Jan 8, 2015. I highly recommend this.

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'The Sleeping Beauty' at Arts Centre Melbourne

This well-known ballet was performed by The Australian Conservatoire of Ballet at this beautiful State Theatre.

Accompanied by the ACB Orchestra, it was a very mesmerising experience to watch these young people expressing the high level of creativity.

I was also very impressed by costume design. They were all beautifully done.

I think it was a very noble thing to make this top quality production very affordable to anyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

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Oil Painting Sketch

Quick study in the garden outside the block of unit I live in.
I bought small panels for these study.

Oil on panel. 10 x 12 in.

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'Jean Paul Gaultier' exhibition at NGV

There're interesting discussions of fashion exhibitions being held at major public galleries at the moment.

I've found it pointless to talk about whether fashion can be art or not. It's just like deciding if photography is art or not. It all depends on one's definition of art.

As usual, I joined a volunteer guided tour. She was extremely knowledgeable, herself a designer, and very humorous.

It's very clever the way some mannequins' facial expressions are projected. It certainly generates liveliness. And the catwalk setting where they are paraded so that audience can experience a mock fashion show.

For me, the highlight was in the Urban Jungle room.
Looking at those works at a very close distance was a visual treat. His use of many different ideas and fabrics from diverse ethnicity and culture is absolutely stunning.

I don't know anything about dress making, but, I can imagine the highest level craftsmanship involved in making those works.

There're a few photos by my favourite Peter Lindberg on display. Fantastic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition.

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Plein Air Oil Painting

I went back to Le Page Homestead at Plenty Gorge Park in Hawkstowe. 

It was lovely to paint with my friend in this beautiful environment. Nothing is better than paint outside with fellow artists. She was very inspiring as well.

I'm not sure about its roof reflecting the lights. It looks like snow. I have to ask Greg about this.

Overall, I'm reasonably happy with this one. Trees are getting more convincing than before, and the statue is not that bad, I think.

It was one of those days that I felt very productive and great.

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Oil Painting Sketch

I thought I should do a quick oil sketch before they're gone.

Oil on panel. 12 x 16 in.

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'The Weekly Hour' podcast

I had a client today whose daughter is involved in this weekly podcast production.
I used to cut Lindsay's hair and enjoy talking about politics.

She and others in Melbourne have done a great job here creating this superb podcast.

It's about Australian politics rendered in a very creative and humorous way.
I really enjoyed it.

You can subscribed to it in iTunes, or here is their website.

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Oil Painting Lesson with Gregory Smith - Day 10

Today, I started out painting two porcelains at front.

I still have difficulty in creating three dimensional forms. These are not just round towards horizontally but also vertically. That's what I've found very tough.
I was fiddling with details on two of them, but Greg got rid of them and helped me create big overall shapes.

Then, I lightened up floor to differentiate from background, also to leave out darkest shadows.

Greg put some more solid opaque colours on the yellow flower to attract more attention, and I did red paper wrap and yellow box.

Floral subjects are big challenge for me, and I only had two lessons, but, I learned a lot from this painting, particularly how to do petals.

We're going to have a summer break now. I really enjoyed Greg's teaching, and it's been a great privilege to learn from him.

I'm looking forward to another year of painting with Gregory Smith!

Oil on panel. 16 x 20 in.

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Gregory Smith exhibition "Within Reach'

My painting teacher and mentor Greg will have an exhibition.
It's a great privilege to learn oil painting from him.
I'll be at the opening, so if you're interested, please come and have a look.

"Seeing his oils firsthand allows visitors to appreciate his refinement in craftsmanship and acute visual awareness of his subject matter."

Incinerator Gallery

180 Holmes Rd, Monee Ponds

Opening: Dec 12 Friday 6pm

Dec 12 - Jan 25
Tue - Sun, 11 - 4 pm

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John Singer Sargent - book

I just love Sargent's paintings. He's very famous for his portraits, but, I think his landscapes are also great.

This book is a catalog by National Gallery of Art in Washington, published by Princeton University.

It's really a gorgeous book with many excellent colour reproductions.
I also like texts in the book. It's fairly thorough, but not too pedantic.

His bold and seemingly spontaneous brush strokes never cease to fascinate me.

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Oil Painting Lesson with Gregory Smith - Day 9

I bought some flowers today from Monet's Garden in Northcote Plaza, but, I forgot to ask what they were. I don't know anything about flowers. 

As usual, I first covered the panel with Raw Umber and started to put highlights by using a rag.
Greg told me not to do it too much, and move on to putting some colours early.

I put Burn Sienna on the area of yellow flowers, a paper wrap and a box as a base colour. That was Greg's question to me, and I got it right!

Pinkish flower is a mixture of White, Alizarin and a touch of Cad Red.
Yellow flower is White, Lemon Yellow and a touch of Burnt Sienna.

By the way, because of the arrangement, Greg suggested to put it on the floor, and he put some porcelain props next to it, and it really worked.

He showed me how to do petals, and it was really amazing to see how simply and quickly the forms started to appear.

I'm reasonably happy with this one so far.

Work in progress. 16 x 20 in. 

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