Are there any oil painting enthusiasts?

I paint in oils, acrylics and watercolour. I have lots of paintings that mean something to me as they have depicted my family over the years or places we have been to. They are all very personal.

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Aha! I selected a photo but it hasn’t appeared. I will now select another. Here goes

Another go!

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It’s working. Now I am getting carried away. How about some flowers!

They are lovely. I had lessons in drawing and oil painting in Spain but have failed to find a class I can afford here in London.

I can't paint for toffee but I love playing around with paints and bright colours. My only real success was a 'portrait' of my much loved teddy bear that I did when my DC were small. They still think it's great, bless them. My DD bought me some paints and crayons to get me going again - that's my NY's resolution! In the meantime I take pleasure in enjoying other people's work, looking and learning about historical works and watching Landscape Artist of the Year

We were up in the loft bringing down the decs and DH came across an oil painting I did some years ago - I don’t work in oils these days, just watercolour. I thought it was quite good for a few years and then started to find fault with it, so took it off the wall. I had already ruined one painting by trying to ‘improve’ it, so this one just ended up in the loft. I might try and find a little space for it again.

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My attempts:

Great portraits Lovetopaint.

mostlyharmless is that blue one an example of acrylic pouring technique (I have been looking at that recently) or is it freestyle?

No Greyduster it's an oil painting using brushes (took ages), but I can see what you mean about paint pouring. I did try a sort of marbling effect by floating oil paint onto the surface in one place.
I have experimented a little with acrylic and oil paint pouring on different paintings though which is fun, if a bit unpredictable.

I love your portraits Lovetopaint. Do you do it professionally? I do life drawing (nudes) but will spare you all as don't know how to copy/link on here!

Lazigirl I do life drawing also. I did all the usual at art school but loved life drawing and continued to do it afterwards. I did go to an excellent class but since moving have found nothing in the area. Which is a shame. There is a local art school but it is a half hour drive away and classes are in the evening. I will keep looking though

That's a pity BB. Am lucky there is a weekly daytime drop in here - no tuition - but model organised, and similar weekly on a different evening. If you can get a venue and a few interested people and models you could organise? We pay £6 each for 2 hours which covers venue and model. Mind you the organiser strips off when model doesn't turn up!! (Not often)

I might research that Luckygirl. And I do have the qualifications to teach a class. Don't know about the stripping off though. Might frighten more than the horses?

Mostlyharmless, that is a really clever painting. It should go on a wall. Lazigirl, no I have never charged anyone for a painting. My relatives and friends have them all over their walls! I love doing it. However, I have been guilty of removing paintings under protests that I suddenly realised were not good enough and were driving me mad. BBbevan, do hope you find something in the day. If you are like me I work much better in the day and it is becoming a chore going out in the evening.

I'm a dauber rather than a painter but I do love the smell and texture of oil paints. However I am thinking of trying water-mixable oils especially as I want to do more open air painting as I have heard that they dry more quickly and I would prefer to carry water with me instead of turps. Has anyone tried them and if so have you any tips?

I haven’t used oil paints for years. I have an unopened box that DH bought me some years ago - not even sure if they would be any good now. But I have never seen water soluble ones and have just looked them up. I would be interested to know what the drying time is for them - one of the biggest problems with acrylic unless you use an inhibitor.