These days I like to vary the media with which I paint, in turn embracing the unique qualities of oils, acrylics and alkyds respectively. I’ve been working with Winsor & Newton alkyd paints for over 20 years; most of my pre-2010 work (and around half subsequently) labelled ‘oils on canvas’ on my website (www.birtall.co.uk) was…
Month: Mar 2015
Painting the Kiwis
Whilst looking around for suitable subject matter for a quick sketch this afternoon, these kiwi fruit caught my eye. Having heard the conclusion of the World Cup semi-final this morning on BBC 5 Live Sports Extra, in which New Zealand beat South Africa in a tense finish, I thought some kiwis might make tenuously appropriate…
All Teeth and No Trousers
I have recently been doing some research into the working methods of John Constable in preparation for a forthcoming painting workshop, Big Skies, paying particular attention to his oil studies on paper and board. Inspired to give working in oils on paper a go, this oil sketch, made yesterday, is the first result. The paper…
Exercising the Jaw Muscles
The steady trickle of junk mail through the letter box – under normal circumstances deposited straight into the recycling bin without much thought – has proved to be far more useful of late in its provision of alternative surfaces upon which to paint. I thought it might be mildly amusing to depict some chocolate, of…
Drawing Upon Life 