BLOG about PAINTING

I haven't painted in oil or acrylics for over a month now. This is a health issue. In an effort to reduce the number of migraines that I am getting, I am avoiding exposing myself to any paint fumes. In recent months I was four for four: every time I painted in the studio for a few days, I got a vicious five-day migraine. That's enough to dissuade anybody. Mind you, I'm having a very, very diffucult time of withdrawal.

First of all, I've been vetting Richard Robinson's nifty little freebie videos about landscape painting. They're short, informative, and just what a body needs to get all excited about painting en plein air. (That would be OK for me in that I wouldn't have to worry about the fumes out of doors. Though I then wouldn't be able to touch up the paintings once they're drying in the studio - perhaps not a bad thing. That would force me to just do them and then not fiddle-fart around with them, for which I have a penchant...) The fly in the ointment is that it has been very cold for this part of the world, down to -14C with wind chill. What to do???

Well, paint in Oil Pastels, of course. Sure, they're not as quick nor as gestural as oils. Nor can you make those lovely edges and mixes that come from brushstrokes. However, they don't have fumes, and they don't give me headaches! They're strictly a studio medium at this time of year (below 10C they're too hard and brittle to be usable), but that's OK. Since I hate to work from photos, that does limit my subject matter: interiors, still life or landscapes that I can see from the windows. Better than nothing! So, that's exactly what I have been doing - with so-so results.

Day 1: Feb. 5

We had some squashes waiting to be eaten. Nice shapes, OK colours. Not a great composition. And OMG, am I ever rusty!!!

Day 2: Feb. 6

This is our little apple tree in the corner of the yard. Again, my composition leaves something to be desired. (I really should be doing little thumbnails ahead of time. Too keen to get going? Too laze?)

Day 3: Feb. 7

Vegetables one day, fruit the next... Not too sure about the pink background. I had just grabbed a 'magic cloth' dishrag as a foil to the greenness of these Anjoy pears. I really should have gone and found a proper cloth. Maybe one of these days I'll get properly organized. As well, the light kept changing as the sun moved around the house and played hide-and-seek with the clouds. I'm doing these little pastels at my kitchen table. (The studio is pretty nippy in this weather. It's hard enough getting the house up to a temperature where we don't have to wear gloves. I love this house and the woodstove, but when we get 'Eastern Canada' style weather, I do miss 'Eastern Canada' style insulation and central heating!