My wife Judith and I have been making the most of some lovely spring weather of late, and putting in some dedicated work on the garden. The local wildlife seems to be appreciating our handy work, and amongst our regular visitors at the moment are some blue tits. These shy little birds wait in a…
Tag: painting
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…
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 