I’m inspired to paint!

Not sure if I can post photos successfully Whiff. I will have a go.

Can’t get the hang of this as can only post one at a time.

Whiff will have a wander around tomorrow when it is daylight and take photos of some of the stuff around as all different types. First photo above was oils. The second acrylic. This one another oil.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-659874-img-1619.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202410/medium-216522-img-3135.jpeg

Found another of grandson painting in the garden.

Lovetopaint WOW . Your portraits are better than anything in any art gallery. You are very talented. They are better than any photos. You can see the person's character and how much you care about them in your brilliant paintings . Portrait painting I think is the hardest form of painting . They must have taken you days to do. I hope you are very proud of your work as you should be . They are better than anything I have seen on the show 'portrait artist of the year'.

I hope you can exhibit them so more people can see them.

Lovetopaint037: wow, those are amazing!

I love them and also know how difficult it is to get a likeness. Wow well done.

Those portraits are really lovely. Having only recently started painting I know now how hard it is to do something simple but faces up close are at another level.

Here’s one from me

Some of you are so talented. I won't display my efforts at watercolours. Abysmal is being kind!

I watch a lot of online tutorials for watercolour beginners. They make it look so easy…though I know it isn’t,

silverlining WOW it's beautiful and your can see movement in the flowers and leaves. And bright colours.

Thank you Whiff.

Thank you for saying such nice things which I appreciate. silverlining.that is a really charming painting. It is alive and full of life as flower paintings should be. As for foxie’s cow painting. I would definitely like that on my wall. It is so beautifully quirky and would cheer me up every time I looked at it. I a

Continued - I am sure you could sell your animal paintings. I didn’t see the elephant at first but that is full of character. You have certainly been taught well but it is your enthusiasm and insight into the subject that makes it special.

Nearly 30 years ago I was going to a U3A painting group. Some of the members were men who had been given expensive sets of paints as retirement presents, but had never done any painting before. I remember one in particular who was producing some lovely little paintings with a rather dreamlike quality. He was very unhappy because he couldn't make them look like the pictures in the instruction books, however hard I tried to convince him that his own vision was far better than just reproducing someone else's. So I would just say that if you are starting out don't get too hung up on the step by step instructions or the How To Do It videos. Your own vision is just as authentic.

Deedaa I so agree with you. Especially when you warn against getting too hung up on step by step instruction videos. Really it’s all about really looking at something, noting the shadows and light differences and when drawing using the negative spaces which surround the subject. Getting those right really helps. It’s certainly not about producing a painting that looks like a photograph. The best way in is to actually just paint and see what effects you can achieve. For example I have never felt the need to depend on washes and prefer enough water to allow the paint to remain more or less transparent and drop other colours in or dab some out with tissue etc. It’s all about trial and lots of errors! Also never forget to use a mirror to view your work. The reflection will show you errors in your drawing better than any other observation. So much fun to be had.

Or instead of a mirror, turn it upside down. Taught to do that at art school.

Here are some watercolours

Try another

Another!

Here is my jumble of a painting room.

That’s on one wall. Have another go.

Do you paint from lifelovestopaint

JamesandJon33

Do you paint from life*lovestopaint*

Only when I went to Portrait classes where you have a model who stays still !!! otherwise I take a lot of photos which I often crop and use bits here and there. For example I painted a water colour of a young girl and put her having tea with some Beatrix Potter characters which was intended for her Wendy House built by her grandad. Otherwise I enjoy catching someone in an activity like my grandson painting in the garden or sailing a boat on the round pond. The photos need to show light and dark ideally taken by a window. Best to take them, if possible, without the subject being aware. Flowers behave themselves so much easier to paint.