This painting, which I made a couple of weeks ago, is a paean to a pair of boots that I’m particularly fond of. Sadly they’re no longer able to service my feet in the way they once admirably did. The soles are breached, the zip is broken, the seams are coming apart. It’s time to…
Tag: Still Life
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…
Thinking Outside the Recycling Box
I have recently started recycling materials – mainly cardboard packaging – as alternative surfaces to canvas or paper. This move probably has its origins in the production of Keep an Eye on the Amaryllis #5, which was painted in acrylics on cardboard, and a self portrait painted on the back of some mount board. However,…
Keep an Eye on the Amaryllis #4
This study is a follow-up to previous sketches of the same amaryllis plant, and was painted 5 days after the last post (see Keep an Eye on the Amaryllis #3), on 16 January 2015. At this point the amaryllis was in full flower, looking at its blooming best. The 16 January painting, pictured here, was…
Drawing Upon Life 