My most recent online art class challenged students to come up with something that represented the welcoming of spring and the waving of a metaphorical goodbye to winter. I asked them to include some spring flowers alongside something that represented their winter. Pictured here is my demonstration painting, for which I chose to paint a…
Tag: flowers
Art Classes in Lockdown
Lockdown has forced the move of my weekly painting classes online. Classes, sociably held until March this year in a local community centre with time for painting and chat, are now virtual affairs, with conversations held – and photographs of work shared – via group messaging. I’ve tried to look for the positives in these…
Beyond the Madness
I was asked last month to make a painting demonstration for a group of non-artists. Given a challenging time limit of not much over half an hour in which to complete the demonstration I unwisely chose too complex a subject – chrysanthemums in a glass vase. My approach to the early stages of painting can…
Saying Happy Birthday with Alstroemeria
It’s been difficult to fit in much painting of late for one reason and another (workshops, admin, art group shenanigans), but I was determined to fit in one today in order to dedicate it to my wife’s Oma, whose birthday it is. Something told me last week when I bought these flowers that I should…
In Praise of Alkyds
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…
Drawing Upon Life 